Highly recommended metal numberplates

[Laney760]

I just wanted to update that my legal metal numberplates are now over 5 years old, have never failed MOT, I have never been stopped by the Police, no rust, and they were a good cheap investment! I'll add my original post below

[Laney760]

This was my original post

Originally Posted by Laney760

I left work yesterday at 3pm to get the 940 ready for MOT which was booked for 8am this morning. My rear plastic number plate was definitely going to fail so I bought some hydraulic pressed aluminium ones from Autostyle: http://www.autostyle-plates.com/ . I've done lots of research, I believe them to be road legal, they are reflective at night, the text is of the correct size and spacing, etc. I'm not actually sure if I like them but at least I'll have no more water ingress and bleeding text. They came with sticky pads but I drilled holes in them, didn't fancy them falling off!












I expected to fail on a front brake imbalance. I used to do all my own brake work but due to my last job a garage did my brake work and there have been a lot of problems. They fitted cheap ATS discs without my permission, I would have insisted on decent quality discs and immediately after fitting there was a judder and the fns was seizing and overheating badly, the garage fitted one new caliper fos to rectify this, probably a cheap caliper too I realise now I have time to think about things. I now have a slight judder, I reakon the fos disc warped when that wheel very badly overheated and also, sometimes at very high speed braking, the car snatches badly to the left, maybe because the garage didn't fit a pair of new calipers and the old one fos is old. So anyway, I expected her to fail on an imbalance

Well, she passed yet again! :-) A few advisories this year though! No advisory on the brake imbalance though, their test did not pick up on this

Advisory that the handbrake has little reserve travel. This is my fault, I have been yanking it up for years without pressing the button in, I never ever use the button on handbrakes, bad habit I don't seem to be able to correct!

Advisory that the anti-roll bar bushes are worn, but not excessively. I had wondered why my 17" Aurigas had started rubbing on the body so much more on turns and now I realise that what I am feeling is the anti-roll bar bushes! Duh! I also reakon that this is this is why the car doesn't feel so stable on bends, I do drive very hard and fast around and powering out of bends, the car had not handled so well of late, she does not feel so stable. Interestingly and a bit worryingly is that since the mot they are terrible, I am really feeling the 'rubbing', I am going to get new bushes asap, hopefully next weekend. I was wondering, is it these bushes that people often replace with poly bushes? Since my 940 is a keeper I would rather buy longer lasting premium parts

Advisory about the minor leak of exhaust gases at the front manifold, I had heard this a couple of times in the last year and bolted it up hard again. I haven't heard it lately though, the mot station said that there is a bracket needs replacing

So I've got a few jobs to do. I am going to get a price for all new Volvo discs, pads and calipers from Rufe and start over with my brakes I think. The brakes used to pull up beautifully and very true at any speed, I would like it back to that standard again plus I don't like the very minor juddering which I sometimes feel whilst driving

Overall, chuffed that a 19 year old car which was driven very hard indeed day and night for eight months solid in a carer's job last year has passed it's mot again!

Oh, one other query please guys! I had a new lambda probe and the throttle body cleared out last year, the lambda light had been on. My Lambda reading (min limit 0.970 and max limit 1.030) was 1.003 on the mot test. Is this reading a bit high considering the new lambda probe?

Cheers

Originally Posted by Laney760

I just wanted to update that my legal metal numberplates are now over 5 years old, have never failed MOT, never been stopped by the Police, no rust, and they were a good cheap investment! I'll add my original post below

[Laird Scooby]

Nice one Ellie! Usually pressed aluminium plates last very well, if the Lambda figure on the MoT is a concern, it's not a problem, it's only indicative of the engine running rich or lean which in the case of being 1.003 is very slightly lean. This can also indicate a pin-hole leak in the exhaust so it's pulling in fresh air but unless it gets worse i wouldn't worry.

[Laney760]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Nice one Ellie! Usually pressed aluminium plates last very well, if the Lambda figure on the MoT is a concern, it's not a problem, it's only indicative of the engine running rich or lean which in the case of being 1.003 is very slightly lean. This can also indicate a pin-hole leak in the exhaust so it's pulling in fresh air but unless it gets worse i wouldn't worry.

That post was from 5 years ago Dave, when the plates were first fitted. I should have deleted all that text at the bottom if I was able, sorry!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Laney760

That post was from 5 years ago Dave, when the plates were first fitted. I should have deleted all that text at the bottom if I was able, sorry!

No worries Ellie, no harm done.