First Driving Lesson, In 25 Minutes Options

[twistedsymphony]

motza?
wheat thin?

WFT is that...

[grim_d]

motza?
wheat thin?

WFT is that...

it's a jacobs cream cracker.

bloody philistine.

[bucko]

not quite sure how this turned into a animal, vet, texas etc thread but anyway I have another driving lesson tomoz can't wait I think this is like the most exciting thing I've done in a long time (except when I see F1 at Silverstone this year ) it's like I have something to look forward to every week it's great.

[twistedsymphony]

oy... I'm starting to hate those Mini Coopers...
While forgetting that European cars are nothing like Japanese cars I volunteered to install a stereo in my fiancee's and it's been nothing but a headache... what is it with the Europeans and needlessly complex wiring

[Just a Shadow]

how cute, scared of driving... lol

you should try come driving in texas. its like nascar, a monster truck rally and a drunken riding lawn mower race all one road.

lmfao

[bucko]

Don't worry twisted, ill be learning in a Volkswagen soon, German built to last think shes getting a Golf not sure.

[grim_d]

oy... I'm starting to hate those Mini Coopers...
While forgetting that European cars are nothing like Japanese cars I volunteered to install a stereo in my fiancee's and it's been nothing but a headache... what is it with the Europeans and needlessly complex wiring

i dont know how it is in the states but most cars (new mini being an exception) for a long while here have used a standard 2 plug system for stereo harnesses, pull out the OE one and plug in a aftermarket stereo, 5 minute job.

even older cars that dont have this standard system you can buy wiring harness adaptors for around £10, did this for my sunny (had the exact same style plugs that you do on your 240). So this is why i was a bit confused as to why you had to do all that wiring on your double din. dont you get the adapters there?

heres the one for the new mini

you can even get adapters to retain functionality for the steering wheel controls. makes it all easy and clean.

Don't worry twisted, ill be learning in a Volkswagen soon, German built to last think shes getting a Golf not sure.

psst, bucko, new minis are built by BMW!

/hush hush

This post has been edited by grim_d: May 6 2008, 11:43 PM

[bucko]

I know I know, just had a lesson, AMAZING again , did loads of left turning, she said I was doing great, few misshaps like making it jump but I got better, stalled it once on a T junction it was on a slight hill needed more power, the Mini is a petrol car I asked, shes getting a Golf next week thats gonna be a diesal. Went into 2nd gear a few times though!

Was a great feeling, more power, went on these big wide roads noticed lots of other learners to, it was great but when I turned left went out a bit wide to the right but I kinda fixed it, I kept looking in mirrors, indicating correct to she said I was doing really well filled me with confidence, was also bit to far to the right of the road (left hand on the road here) but again I kinda fixed it it's just awesome driving!

This post has been edited by bucko: May 7 2008, 12:34 PM

[twistedsymphony]

i dont know how it is in the states but most cars (new mini being an exception) for a long while here have used a standard 2 plug system for stereo harnesses, pull out the OE one and plug in a aftermarket stereo, 5 minute job.

even older cars that dont have this standard system you can buy wiring harness adaptors for around £10, did this for my sunny (had the exact same style plugs that you do on your 240). So this is why i was a bit confused as to why you had to do all that wiring on your double din. dont you get the adapters there?

heres the one for the new mini...

Yes we do use a plugin harness, it's different on nearly ever car though. The way it works is the aftermarket stereo will come with one plug with 6" of wire hanging out from it, then you buy the harness that matches with your car which is one or two plugs with wires hanging out of it, then you have to solder or crimp the two halves of the adapter together... They do make pre-made harness for popular stereo brands and popular cars but they're quite rare.

The Mini uses a harness similar to what you showed but the mini harness is missing a bunch of wires that are needed by the aftermarket stereo, meaning you have to run additional wires al over the place.

I wont be installing the stereo any time soon anyway, the Mini is the in shop because the Power Steering pump decided it wants to keep running after you shut the car off. Drained the batter. Looking it up online it would seem that over 60% of all mini's made from 02-04 have had their power steering pump replaced at least once with at least 6 recorded incidence of them catching fire due to a faulty pump

Why BMW hasn't done a recall is perplexing... it's a good thing your instructor is getting a Golf, bucko

[grim_d]

Yes we do use a plugin harness, it's different on nearly ever car though. The way it works is the aftermarket stereo will come with one plug with 6" of wire hanging out from it, then you buy the harness that matches with your car which is one or two plugs with wires hanging out of it, then you have to solder or crimp the two halves of the adapter together... They do make pre-made harness for popular stereo brands and popular cars but they're quite rare.

The Mini uses a harness similar to what you showed but the mini harness is missing a bunch of wires that are needed by the aftermarket stereo, meaning you have to run additional wires al over the place.

thats quite silly, see in that picture i showed you, the end with the 2 blocks will fit in 99.9% of aftermarket stereos regardless of manufacturer. and they make harnesses for almost all cars on the road. Though ya might have trouble if your driving something silly like a trabant.

so its just "original car wiring-->harness adapter-->stereo" no wiring or soldering needed. Good thing you enjoy doing it cause that would drive me nuts since it's always me people phone to install their car audio *sigh*

This post has been edited by grim_d: May 8 2008, 02:50 PM

[twistedsymphony]

yeah I have no idea why after market stereo companies use different connectors but they're ALL different. Alpine uses their own, Kenwood uses their own, Pioneer uses their own, etc.

and some companies use different connectors depending on the model...

it's quite a pain...

even worse, is if you buy a used stereo and it doesn't come with the harness you're completely F*cked because it's almost impossible to find replacements...

This post has been edited by twistedsymphony: May 8 2008, 05:01 PM

[grim_d]

that truly is retarded.

we really hijacked this thread huh?









This post has been edited by grim_d: May 8 2008, 07:32 PM

[bucko]

Did my first right turns today yay (one at a stop and one curving round) was on more tight roads (cars parked etc) and more busy roads but was doing good went into 3rd gear yay .

[o The Drizzle o]

i think everywhere in the u.s is different with laws...
back in pa, when you turn 16, you can get your learners permit, which means you can only drive sunrise to sundown, and family 18+ or nonfamily 21+ has to be with you at all times in the passenger seat...
then after 6 months, you can go for your license.
but once youre 18, you can take the permit test, pass it, come back a week later and take the license test. no driving school or anything

[bucko]

bit of an update, had 6 lessons now, it's going good, fastest i've gone so far is 45mph, today i just went around my village, I stalled it almost 5 times though, I have something on my mind though so I dunno if it's that and I forgot my glasses it's only my left eye thats bad but I had all sorts coming at me cop car, lorry's etc lol. Got the highway code today so I can start reading that, gonna book my theory soon once I tried some mock tests.

This post has been edited by bucko: Jun 5 2008, 12:36 AM