The Car Thread

[CMcK]

Has anyone used a 12v to 230v in car power invertor? I fancy getting one to power a laptop and TV tuner so we can watch / hear qualifying on the way down to Silverstone on Saturday.
The laptop PSU is rated at 85w which shouldn't place much strain on the cars electrical system.
I've read a few reviews and peoples biggest complaints seem to be fan noise and heat.

[NW2013]

Insurance question: If you get third party only cover does this count towards any no claims bonus for any fully comp insurance you might purchase at a later date?

[CMcK]

Yes. A claim free year is a claim free year irrespective of what class of insurance you have.

[VR46]

Has anyone used a 12v to 230v in car power invertor? I fancy getting one to power a laptop and TV tuner so we can watch / hear qualifying on the way down to Silverstone on Saturday.
The laptop PSU is rated at 85w which shouldn't place much strain on the cars electrical system.
I've read a few reviews and peoples biggest complaints seem to be fan noise and heat.

I bought a power invertor couple of years back for use on a camping trip, works a treat, fan noise and heat are there but nothing to worry about. Stick it in the passenger footwell and you'll hardly notice it's there.

[Alastair]

I got rid of the MX-5 last week and picked up one of these:





That's not mine but it is exactly the same. Finally some comfort and quiet.

Sorry for the large pics but I can't find any smaller ones that show the same spec as mine

[charlesr]

Talk to soundwave. He has a Leon too. See pics a few pages back. Cool.

[ChrisF]

Very nice. I thin Seats are quite overlooked and underrated! I had an Ibiza FR for a while and it was solid as a rock (shame it's petrol tank was the size of a tennis ball).

[Alastair]

Very nice. I thin Seats are quite overlooked and underrated! I had an Ibiza FR for a while and it was solid as a rock (shame it's petrol tank was the size of a tennis ball).

Yeah, I thought that too, plus they are less common, although I did pass 4 on the way back from Silverstone on Saturday!

The build quality of this Leon is a lot higher than the 04 Ibiza I had a test in a year ago, that was very cheaply screwed together indeed.

Fuel tank on this is 60 litres so no complaints there either.

[charlesr]

I think Seats are quite overlooked and underrated!

When I read that, I was thinking "wtf... all cars have seats" followed by "oh..."

[ChrisF]

Yeah, I thought that too, plus they are less common, although I did pass 4 on the way back from Silverstone on Saturday!

I counted 4 Audi R8's on Sunday so you're in good company

[Yakumo]

When I read that, I was thinking "wtf... all cars have seats" followed by "oh..."

You're not the only one however I read "Thin Seats" (as in chair) which got me thinking, what the hell are thin seats,

[Alastair]

Did you guys see the McLaren F1 Vs Veyron race on TopGear last night? Although it was obvious that the Veyron would come back and win at proper high speed it was interesting to see that the F1 had a pretty decent lead up to VERY illegal speeds, must have been around 150. Those are the sorts of speed that bhp is needed to overcome aerodynamics though so I guess 1000+ is going to win.

I would have loved to see the V8 Atom they showed in the race too, although I doubt it's possible to get the power down in those things without cooking clutches and shredding tyres!

[ChrisF]

Aston Martin Cygnet... under £20k... http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle6605832.ece

Basically it's a Toyota iQ with an Aston badge on the front!

[booth83]

A shame really that you have to own a proper Aston before they'll let you buy one, guess it would de-value the brand if everyone could get there hands on it

[CMcK]

Personally I am intrigued by the iQ as a packaging concept. It's arguably the real successor to Ignosis's Mini. But this Aston version seems like green marketing gone mad. It'll certainly give a big boost to the iQ's image though. I wonder how Aston will differentiate their version other than a reskin? Maybe a far higher quality interior aping the AM V8?