Marc's X7, C3 Aircross, Rants, Raves & Everything Else

[GiveMeABreak]

I'm looking at this brand in my comparisons as we speak Eric

I'm looking for 128 to 256 Gb and am looking at offerings from PNY, Samsung, Sandisk and a few others.

[Paul-R]

I run every uSD card or USB stick I buy through Flash Drive Card Tester or H2testw (sometimes both) to check for incorrect size information or faulty memory.

https://www.vconsole.com/download It's been on V1.14 for a while but still does the job. Malwarebytes objected to the link suggesting it was a phishing site but I went past the warning and can't see anything wrong there.

https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Sy ... estw.shtml You run this program simply by clicking on the executable file. It's a standalone program and does not need installing.

[GiveMeABreak]

Thanks - I use Crystal tools for testing Paul - as I like to test claimed speeds. I never use Softpedia - as a lot of stuff they have is wrapped full of crapware from past experience - but thanks anyway.

[GiveMeABreak]

So an update on my adding a second USB port to the vehicle project.

After initially fitting the new Fakra to USB cable to the back of the Head Unit, I was waiting on the flush mounting cable to arrive so had to drive around with the cable poking through the glovebox latch:

This is how the cable was left - routed via the glovebox latch.


After receiving a faulty cable which resulted in a USB over-voltage charge warning from the Head Unit after plugging in a USB drive that scuppered the mounting plans. That has now gone back.

I ordered a new cable and that arrived yesterday afternoon, which was too dark to go and attempt to fit, so I had another go today - and just as I had all the tools assembled, - it rained

So I decided to attempt to remove the glovebox so I could drill out a section indoors. As it turned out there was no room to get a dremel from inside without seeing anything, so I decided the box needed to come out regardless.

A while later I marked an area and drilled 6 holes and used a cutting wheel to take out a nice rectangular shape of plastic. I ground the sides down with a grinding wheel and fitted the cable in - perfect fit. After the heavens gave me a break, I legged it out and managed to get the glovebox reassembled with only the loss of one screw - the bloody awkward one that was the most difficult to get out. So no doubt my OCD will be kicking off if I get any rattling noises while driving.

Anyway, it's all done and works a treat:

Now with the USB port mounted in the Glovebox.

With plenty of room for a USB drive and well away from the fusebox.


For the observant, you can also just see the now standard glovebox accompaniments these days of a wedge of disposable face masks.

Now I have all my tunes playing from the flash drive and nicely hidden away.

[GiveMeABreak]

As far as the USB drive went, I wasn't going to risk a 128Gb drive - just in case it caused any errors reading, but these Head Units do support Mass Storage devices - they just don't specify the maximum capacity or number of files. I hope with the NAC system that the capacity has increased from the older 4000 limits on older systems.

So I decided after pouring over hours of reviews and comparisons to go for a Samsung Fit Plus USB 3.1 64Gb. This will have about 8 x the storage capacity of my current 8Gb drives I use, so should be more than sufficient.

I'ts X-Ray, water, shock, heat and the rest-of-it proof and has a 5 year warranty with Samsung, plus I took out a 3 year warranty with Amazon for under £2 to cover me for accidental or non-manufacturer covered issues for 3 years. Read and write speeds are up there with the best, bit I'm really only going to be using this for copying over FLAC files and then it will more or less be left in the car.

All I need to do now is to locate the other thousand or CDs I never got round to ripping. Trouble is, I can't remember where the heck I put them all....

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok, so it's been a while since I've updated my blog, so here's one for the MOT savvy members that may be looking in.

I had a quick check on my front brake pads yesterday, and immediately noticed how badly scored my discs looked. On the front discs they have grooves running round and on one of the pictures, you can see that one disc has quite a deep groove that isn't replicated on the other side. I'm not sure what causes this sort of damage apart from grit or something getting caught between the pad and the disc, but it looks quite bad.

So in your opinion, as they stand would this be an MOT failure looking at the condition of them? You can run your finger over the surface and feel all the smaller grooves as well as the larger one quite obviously.

Front left

Front Right

Front Right

Rear Right

So onto my reason for asking....

My car won't be due it's first MOT until December 2022 time, and of course I realise I can get an MOT anytime I want.

I have as part of my warranty a Citroen MOT Warranty. This means that if my car fails its MOT for any of the listed items - the relevant ones in this case include discs, track rods, calipers, pipes, ABS, suspension struts and springs, hoses, cables, leaks, rust / corrosion, seizure etc.

I need to be able to produce the MOT fail document that lists the failure of the components of course.

So I'm wondering if I should just get an MOT earlier than required, knowing it will fail (if this is likely to be the case) and let Citroen undertake the repairs FOC. The trouble is if I get the car serviced before the MOT is actually required, they may of course point out that they need replacing anyway.... in which point they probably will record it and won't cover them later on if they do fail!

[myglaren]

Brake discs, as well as pads, seem to be a consumable item these days, mainly due to the harder pad material since asbestos was banned in their manufacture.

I noticed while checking my tyre pressures that my rear discs are scored like that, they are less that two years old, they were replaced when I bought the car.
I popped in to the mechanic to say I would be bringing it in for new discs. He seemed to think that it was linked to low mileage driving, which is very much the case with this car, 10,800 miles in 20 months.

The warranty clauses can be a headache Marc.

Perhaps ask an MOT tester if they would be a fail.
Or have it tested at the dealers, if they do MOTs, then if they fail it they have to fix it.

[GiveMeABreak]

Indeed, that was my thought - but I think with the quite significant lip on the fronts too, they are in need or replacement. I too only do low mileage Steve, but that is a huge gouge in the front right disk that is concerning.

[myglaren]

Could the brakes be binding?

I had another thought about my 'low mileage'..Although it is my son who does most miles, I rarely use the brakes, always use engine braking where possible. Not as good on this heap as it was with the C5s but still works with a bit of planning.
Which may have contributed to the brake disc wear.

[mickthemaverick]

You do have some nasty grooves there Marc, do you have a gravel drive by any chance, or drive on unmade roads a lot? I think your MOT warranty may specify scheduled MOTs which precludes you from having an early one in order to get service items replaced under the warranty. If so, and as we all know, the warranty is bound to be conditional upon you having it serviced according to schedule which again may ensure they have the opportunity to recommend replacement before MOT time, unless you can keep the mileage below next service due point until the MOT is due. If your service intervals are defined as X miles or Y months and the months are up then I fear you are stuck with it!!

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes I think they have it covered.

The MOT warranty is not conditional on specified MOT schedules, it applies to any warranty period that an MOT is undertaken so not worried about that.

But I think the low miles and the clippings on the roads are the cause as suggested.

I think I’ll just get them replaced and be done with it!

[GiveMeABreak]

So I'm not happy with the rust nor that huge front groove that Madonna would have no trouble getting into.

I've therefore decided I'm going to get the front discs and pads done myself as Citroen want over £150 for the disks alone and to be honest, for the discs to get into this state at 13k miles, then I'm not impressed with the OEM quality.

So I'm looking for some recommendations on Disc brand. So far I'm looking at Brembo, Febi Bilstein, TRW and Valeo, which are a third of the price. Brembo have a coating to help prevent rust that is mentioned. If going for these, I'm not worried about the fancy grooved versions (got enough grooves in the old ones) nor the holed ones as I'm not after performance but reliability and longevity these days

Scrub Mr Auto, it seems they are not trading at present nor have they been for some time by all accounts.....

[mickthemaverick]

I have been using Mintex discs and pads since my rallying days and I've never had a disc warp or pad break up, I honestly don't know where they come in the price band but I always reckon around £60-70 for discs and pads bought together from my now 40+ year local motor spares shop!! (and I have never had to change them twice on the same car!)

[GiveMeABreak]

I'm quite annoyed to be honest as I spent ages sifting through all the discs and pad brands making sure they the correct fitment, went through the entire order process, setting up an account only to find that I couldn't place the order

What a waste of over an hour, and given that I won't use GSF either, I have broken a golden rule and been a hypocrite by ordering from, wait for it, Euro Car Parts Yes, I think I may have OD'd on the caffeine when making that decision. Anyway, they are Brembo discs and pads, and they are apparently in stock, so will be off to pick them up in the morning.

What could possibly go wrong?.......

[bobins]

I've used standard Brembo's on my hairdryer - no complaints and would happily use again.