KeithB wrote:

New tyres are on and look good . Tracking checked and corrected (only marginally out-think that was a bit of a con but done now) I think we'll stick with the Hankook spare for the time being. Had a good look at it today and couldn't see any signs of deterioration. Next thing to check is behind the wheel arch liners to see whether any mud has collected and any rust has set in. Has anybody done that?

Northcroft wrote:

I am still trying to come to terms with your claim of 50mpg . . . . if I had got that I would have kept mine

[quote="Nbuuifx"]

KeithB wrote:

With the spare tyre, look for the DOT code on the tyre wall. There are plenty of DOT code calculators on the web which will tell you how old the tyre is. If it is older than 6 years then it shouldn't be used - although as a spare some people are willing to chance it.

Just been looking for some Winter tyres for the other car and some on the bay of fleas where advertised as "Like New" the DOT code on them was 3602 so like new but 20 years old

 .
my first ever FL2 and I did keep it longer than most other cars!
But its now gone way up Norf

Yes I've seen the same when looking.

A local limo company had some discovery tyres for sale which I thought would be perfect for my in-laws. They listed them as brand new and they still had the labels on them etc.

When I looked into the dot codes they came back as 12 years old! So 12 year old brand new tyres 😂

Northcroft wrote:

I am still trying to come to terms with your claim of 50mpg . . . . if I had got that I would have kept mine

With the spare tyre, look for the DOT code on the tyre wall. There are plenty of DOT code calculators on the web which will tell you how old the tyre is. If it is older than 6 years then it shouldn't be used - although as a spare some people are willing to chance it.[/quote]

I suspect it dates back to 2009 when the car was new. In 55yrs of driving I've put a spare on the car once. I think we'll risk it for a while!

Sidthecat wrote:

Northcroft wrote:

I am still trying to come to terms with your claim of 50mpg . . . . if I had got that I would have kept mine

50mpg ??

I don’t ever get near that figure , I leave the setting showing av mpg and it hardly varies from 38 mpg . It’s gone down to 37.8 this last week with over use of air con I would think, always thought that was reasonable for a manual FL2, and I’ve got a light right foot , and certainly no speed merchant. Oh well must try harder as my school reports said !

50 mpg was for a single long journey at a fairly constant moderate speed. I don't doubt in every day use the figure will be much lower, probably mid thirties, which will be fine.

You can get oddities, I had a 2007 Santa Fe before the Freely, towing 1350kg van, topped up in Amsterdam reset the trip and away we went, built up to 50mpg all the way through Holland and into Belgium to Antwerp where we came to a low bridge, it started counting down very quickly and reached 26 mpg within 20 miles. I put it down to a software glitch my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

There aren’t many journeys where I could do a full tank brim to full tank brim on one day, but the trip from Bristol to half way down the western coast of Loch Fyne is one of them. My FL2 would regularly top 45 mpg doing this run. M5,M6,M74,A8,A82 and A83 at whatever speed the flowing traffic is moving at. Not hanging around but making good progress as conditions allow. Overall over the last 12 years, the fuel consumption measured, not computed by the car, has averaged out at 33.55 mpg. As an aside SWMBO’s fiesta only does about 28 mpg!

KeithB wrote:

In 55yrs of driving I've put a spare on the car once. I think we'll risk it for a while!

Hi,

you must be the Ying to my Yang

the same day I had my FL2 dropped off I noticed a nail in the tyre, spare on and trip for a repair, last month bought a D3 first week a screw in a tyre, spare on and puncture repair sorted, week later a nail in the same tyre spare on again and back for another repair, one of the other wheels had some lacquer peel so while I had the spare to hand put that on to run round on while I sprayed the wheel

I am all Yanged out now so watch out

 .
my first ever FL2 and I did keep it longer than most other cars!
But its now gone way up Norf

BossBob wrote:

There aren’t many journeys where I could do a full tank brim to full tank brim on one day, but the trip from Bristol to half way down the western coast of Loch Fyne is one of them. My FL2 would regularly top 45 mpg doing this run. M5,M6,M74,A8,A82 and A83 at whatever speed the flowing traffic is moving at. Not hanging around but making good progress as conditions allow. Overall over the last 12 years, the fuel consumption measured, not computed by the car, has averaged out at 33.55 mpg. As an aside SWMBO’s fiesta only does about 28 mpg!

Nope, just allowed the speed to build up rather than accelerating hard and reading the road ahead and allowing the speed to drop off rather than braking if at all possible. Saved on brake linings and discs too, only had one set in the 12 years and they weren’t horribly worn by any means!