How many Brits? Fancy a cuppa?

[Dr_Watson]

But it's not all about revs, you need the torque to hold the revs or a body with less drag. It's like going up a steep hill at 40mph in 6th with your foot flat down, the revs are low, but the economy would be worst than if you were in 3rd. Hence if you put 7 or 8 gears in, you would have your foot all the way to the floor at the speeds you can travel on certain motorways, there may be a benefit at 70mph like you say. I think the balance is about right.

I just had to pop into work earlier, 3 miles on the motorway, a few flat sections, at 70mph indicted the revs are around 1950rpm, economy on the flat was 51.7mpg.

 

[xtrailman]

I'm not an expert on this but I have noticed that turbo cars are now delivering max torque much lower down the rev range, that along with extra gears in an auto appears to be the solution to gaining maximum economy, as you say weight and aerodynamics also count.

 

[MeatN2veg]

For reasons I don't need to go into (it's a bit of a saga of electrical problems caused in my opinion through water ingress) I had a new ECU fitted a couple of months ago and ever since my fuel economy has improved by nearly 10%

 

[ghb]

Hi Xtrailman,
Some time back you recommended MGI towing mirrors (3698) but several Amazon purchasers have snapped the plastic screws ! Did you consider the MGI 3872 steady XL strap on mirrors for SUVs ? If so I would appreciate your feedback or observations on them.

 

[xtrailman]

The screws are only made of nylon, so if anyone had sheared them they are clueless.
The ones I have I've been using over two years and I find them really good, but I spent a life time installing and maintaining so maybe I have more idea on how to tighten a screw.

I did see them as a potential weak spot which is why I take care, the clamps along with the two straps are really good.
I still have a 55 pair of grand Milenco as a standby but don't rate their clamp only method of attaching them.

You won't get many owners to admit it but more than one has dropped of or been knocked off. My cheap 20 ones have a lanyard if the worst happens.

So no I haven't tried the strap only ones. Being a regular user on Amazon I would say reading reviews you wouldn't buy anything!
I did consider buying some SS screws to replace the nylon ones, and I also have a spare clamp, but as yet not needed any.

 

[ghb]

The screws are only made of nylon, so if anyone had sheared them they are clueless.
The ones I have I've been using over two years and I find them really good, but I spent a life time installing and maintaining so maybe I have more idea on how to tighten a screw.

I did see them as a potential weak spot which is why I take care, the clamps along with the two straps are really good.
I still have a 55 pair of grand Milenco as a standby but don't rate their clamp only method of attaching them.

You won't get many owners to admit it but more than one has dropped of or been knocked off. My cheap 20 ones have a lanyard if the worst happens.

So no I haven't tried the strap only ones. Being a regular user on Amazon I would say reading reviews you wouldn't buy anything!
I did consider buying some SS screws to replace the nylon ones, and I also have a spare clamp, but as yet not needed any.

Thanks I have taken your advice and ordered the MGI 3698. As I struggle to undo the lid on marmalade jar the nylon screws should be safe. When will you be taking delivery of new automatic CX5 ? I love the auto box, it is silky smoothe and is always in the right gear. A real joy in stop go traffic without any transmission shunt and I don't worry about being in the wrong gear or stalling at busy roundabouts.

 

[xtrailman]

End of November hopefully.

The auto sounds good, just what I need.

 

[m4zda.man]

Hi,

New (old) topic re SMS messages, which I've raised before. I have an LG G2 mobile and have had no problems receiving and displaying SMS messages, until recently. Now I can't display the downloaded message, no idea why.
Anyone know what the fix is?

Thanks.

 

[Jonno21]

Replacement Front Discs at 23,500 Miles?

Hi all

As above title. Went in for 2nd service (2years) last week with the above mileage. Tech reported Front brakes worn uneven osf worn to 70% front discs 26.95 min thickness 26mm plus slight brake bind from osr brakes pad wear ok.

Is it normal for discs to wear at this mileage? Total cost 429 to fix(silly). I've just driven normally and I never tow anything.

Cheers

Jonno21

 

[xtrailman]

I have only had the auto (collected) today, but its obvious that stopping requires more braking due to less engine braking that I would always use with the manual.

23K doesn't sound like a lot but it really depends on driving style, and the locality the driving takes place.
Why don't you contact Mazda and put in a complaint, they may contribute.

 

[ROCKETRON]

There seems to have been plenty of people complaining about brake pad/disc life over the last couple of years so Mazda may give you some goodwill as they must have heard the complaint many times. With normal driving i have always got around 50-60k out of brake pads/discs on previous cars and sometimes longer.

 

[Jonno21]

Hi all

Just for information, had the brakes done yesterday and negotiated the price down with the dealer from 429 to 276 all in. No "goodwill gesture" was forthcoming from Mazda as classed as wear and tear even though the front offside disc and pad was worn a lot more than the onside.

Cheers

Jonno21

 

[dad of jon]

booked cx-5 in for 3 yr service which will be 268 vat included. mot is extra. 3 years have flown! written a book, started brewing - done 240 litres this year and still get a smile when I get behind the wheel of the cx-5.

there's still nothing out there i'd prefer. (although I like the look of the xc60 i'm put off by the reports on the handling)

 

[xtrailman]

Dad, Dr Watson was asking about you some time back through a PM.

I was starting to think you were dead. (flame2)
Get yourself a 2016 car with a three year 3 service pack for 299, available from most dealers.

 

[m4zda.man]

RECALL

I've had a "Special Service Campaign" recall from Mazda in the post today. It's for CX-5s with the 2.2 diesel engine, but bizarrely worded. The title mentions "unusual brake pedal feeling", but in the main text it says "routine quality checks have found a number of CX-5 vehicles may experience an engine problem that will be highlighted on the dashboard with the engine management light indicating an oil filtration problem . . . your CX-5 is in the affected vehicle range . . . " It's a 2.5 hour job which apparently is for a modified oil filter and new engine oil, and possibly updated software.

Anyone else aware of this? What on earth has "unusual brake pedal feeling" got to do with the oil system? Is this to do with the old problem of high oil levels, dipsticks, etc?

 

[ROCKETRON]

This sounds like the brake vacuum pump inspection and the modified oil filter and free oil change,software upgrade, i had this done in the summer as did lots of others on this site, maybe you are just at the end of the queue. I needed a new vacuum pump and it took 2 weeks to get it so i had a hire car during that time.

 

[xtrailman]

It's definitely the brake vac pump.

Mine was done at service, it was one of two campaigns, the pump was found out of tolerance and the dealer would not let me drive the car away.
It took about a week for the part to arrive and be fitted, the remap i was told was for a different issue to do with idle speed.

It affect cars produced before some date in september 2013 from memory, which included my car.
I did complain that it should have been a recall. considering mine was suddenly unfit to drive, apparently Mazda have now decided to send out letters, i leanrt about the issue on this forum.

I turned the filter and oil change to my advantage getting both removed from the cost of my service bill, ended up paying only around 175 for second service.

Wife trashed my drivers side door mirror yesterday, car goes in next week for a 209 replacement!! new car is only a couple of weeks old, but its our first automatic and it was only the second time she had reversed out of the garage, this time she forgot to fold the mirrors.

I'm going to wrap up the old mirror for an extra xmas present. (burnout)

 

[m4zda.man]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

In fact, I decided to pop into my local Mazda dealer and got more or less the same answer. She emphasised it wasn't a 'recall', just a 'campaign'. I said what's the difference . . . and she smiled! So apparently it's to do with too much wear of the camshaft or followers, she wasn't sure, and the resultant metallic particles finding their way to the brake vac pump causing damage. I said I didn't like the sound of excessive wear of an important component like the camshaft, and was told it usually affected high mileage cars, e.g. 20k miles/year. The camshaft is more prone to wear initially, but gets harder with time . . . hmm, not as I remember it when I did my HND and engineering apprenticeship a few decades ago!!

Anyway, car's booked in for inspection, which may or may not result in an oil and filter change.

 

[m4zda.man]

Another question, and apologies if it's been covered before.

The 'auto dim' feature on my NB1 just doesn't work properly! The main problem is there appears to be no graduation between mav brightness and max dim. Taking today as an example, it's 9 am, daylight but pretty gloomy, engine running the NB1 is fully dark and unreadable. I turn the 'pushpin' just one click clockwise and the screen goes to max brightness, nothing in between. Another example is driving in normal daylight, screen is on full brightness, and, say, I enter a tunnel. The screen goes to full dim, unreadable, and I have to rotate the pushpin to get it back to full bright. I wonder if there's been a software update which I've missed? The car is just over 2 years old.

 

[xtrailman]

Have you tried adjusting the brightness in settings? But i agree its not ideal, new version is the same, unless i've missed a setting i could adjust.