Upcountry

Hey, y'all, thanks for all the input.

I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when I finally called BMW headquarters in BKK, on the advice of my local dealer. The last time I called them a year or so ago they weren't all that helpful, and warned me that my car could not run E10.

Well this year they had a different story. First of all, the well-Engilsh-spoken fellow on the phone seemed prepared to field calls like mine. He told me that my 1993 3-series with M42 could indeed handle E10. The only problem I would have would mainly be a foot-long rubber tube behind the fuel pump. Also, if my pump is more than 10 years old it might fail as well. Mai pen rai!

He explained that California replaced 95, or whatever, with E10 some time ago without telling anybody, and noone blamed their problems on it. Since the Thai gov't announced it, it brought all the old car owners out of the wood-work to complain. Sheesh! Glad they did.

The other good news for my car is that it can be adapted to use LPG or NGV. The BMW rep recommended LPG for it's smaller tank and longer range.

So, I have options.

Ironically, when I called my dealer she told me that just that day (Friday) a BMW in Phitsanulok that had had an LPG conversion, supposedly, blew up! It was on the Thai television news. Guess that underlines how important it is to go to a reputable shop.

I like the idea that I can switch back and forth between LPG and gasoline if I need to. I imagine I can't close off and remove the tank if I need to. I'd like to use LPG in town and 95/gasohol on the highway for longer range and trunk space. I could get the donut tank, but just because I haven't had a flat yet doesn't mean I won't, somewhere between Lampang and a gully.

UC

The only problem is I can't get my head round everything has to be sweet ?? Ok for the obvious cakes etc but not sandwiches & "savoury" dishes.

A lot of what we would consider a main dish is considered "canom", or dessert, to Thais. This is one reason why "pizza" is often made with sweetened tomato sauce. I think another problem is too many Thai youngsters are fed sweetened milk from a young age. They are not weened off their sweet tooth and this has played a role in obesity and diabetes here.

Maybe the poll/question should have asked for the respondents to specify where they live. Those who live outside Thailand will obviously have less access to it.

This is covered because the poll is for EXPATS in Thailand only, for that very reason.

Maybe I misread, but several respondents didn't seem to be in Thailand and were talking about what they eat in their home country.

Guess I'm pretty ignorant about the Slingbox. I thought is was only good for streaming around the house. The idea that I could get Netflix over the internet is pretty exciting - hope for the future, maybe, if bandwidth increases and ISP's don't get more controlling of usage.

I signed up for the faster Maxnet a couple of months ago. It has been generally better than hinet (some international problem today is an exception) but I've had mixed results with torrents. Fast a couple of weeks ago and suddenly very slow downloads (uploads faster). That may or may not be related to Maxnet. Sorry, I know it's not related to Slingbox per se.

Jingthing, when you have trouble, have you tried traceroute (tracert on Windows)? That would give you a sense of where the slow-down might be.

UC

disforkid, I can't help you with light boxes (Phantip or Fortune?) but I'm looking for a smaller "light tent" (or a table with lights and rigging for a camera) to photograph some 12" LP covers that can't be scanned. If anyone can help my find on in Thailand it'll help me avoid international shipping.

I'm also looking for appropriate lighting setups to go with the right light tent.

Thanks,

UC

Maybe the poll/question should have asked for the respondents to specify where they live. Those who live outside Thailand will obviously have less access to it.

There is good Thai food and bad Thai food, depending on how it is prepared (the quality of the ingredients, etc.). Good advice with food stalls is to visit the ones that are mobbed regularly because they probably server better food. Except those who put sugar in the broth.

I'd probably eat more Thai food, but too much spice gets to me. That's why I generally eat farang food for lunch, much of which my wife and I prepare in our kitchen.

As for skipping breakfast, I read recently that skipping breakfast is not good for weight loss. I eat a cold fiber-rich farang breakfast because it is convenient and helps my system. Plus, other than joke, I can't take spicy Thai food before lunch!

This thread went to sleep a long time ago, but I thought I'd ask if, as of late 2007, folks have any updates to the TOT/Maxnet comparison regarding P2P, etc.

I upgraded from HiNet to Maxnet a couple of months ago. Couldn't get TOT in my town to check our line - bunch of bureaucratic bimbos with nothing on their minds but shopping and 'cow', no interest in new customers.

The Maxnet speed was better than what I had with HiNet. I'll go into details later if this thread wakes up , but I've had mixed results with uTorrent recently.

UC

At least even days a week for me (almost all dinners), and many lunches. I do eat farang for breakfast, and many a lunch. But with SO, it's almost always Thai food for lunch/dinner.

... any body out there use "Torrent Bully" I need an invite please

Ditto, much needed here too!

As of tomorrow (Friday), Demonoid will have been down three weeks. I imagine some hard work is going on behind the scenes. It may emerge, sooner or later, in another form for all we know.

Thanks for the advise and feedback, Thaiboxer. I'll update this thread if I do try diesel. But first, yes, extensive research is called for.

Either move (LPG or diesel) would certainly render the car unsellable I think.

Ok, apologies, I realize not many people here can answer these questions, but it's worth a shot:

My brother-in-law is ready to take me to a local shop that may be able to convert my '93 318i with M42 to LPG. From what I've heard, BMW does not recommend it. But has it been done?

Another local garage has tried to get me to put a different old engine in my car, but it didn't interest me. But now I wonder if I could put a non-common rail diesel in!

Die or mai dai?

The car has low mileage and is in rather good shape, so it might be worth the expense if this can be done.

UC

You can also use a regular coffee maker to make a pot (several cups) and pour the extra into a thermos that will keep it warm for a long time. It will stay good long enough that you could pour it into a cup a day or so later and heat it up with a microwave.

Another option would be a French press, or coffee press, (they come in single cup and multi-cup sizes). They make best use of slightly courser ground than a drip but the result is the best. If you have the press and the coffee, you can use hot water from those water heaters the instant coffee lovers use. The nice thing about this is that it works well on a trip if you know you won't be able to get fresh coffee at the hotel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press

Thanks, dominique355,

I've heard do of this. Price is a bit steep for me though. I am glad the FORD seems to have gotten past the "fix or repair daily" reputation they earned a few years ago. The Focus seems like a good car.

UC

Upcountry, I don't mind helping anyone with vehicle questions as motors/ vehicles are my passion, but you ask the same questions twice to my answers read my posts.

Didn't want to hassle you with a PM or follow-up to your post on my Diesel Merc thread. You seemed to imply, that, in the end, the only diesel Merc option was an old 300. So, I thought I'd take a fresh shot at finding other alternatives.

The nexT best diesels are BMW 6 cylinder ones fron the 90/s that are non common rail, and will burn bio fuels, a lot of small diesel engines under 2.5 litre are just rattle pots, but there again the v w/s are not bad.

Now that's interesting. What years? I didn't know 'BM sold diesels, at least in Thailand, other than maybe the very newest offerings.

I also have not heard of diesel VW's here. It would be good if they were available. For that matter, I'm sad I can't get a Golf here, gas or diesel.

There is no point to buying a motor that is rare to T/land and you will have a job to get parts for if it breaks down !

Point 'grokked' entirely. Part of the point of my threads.

I can supply you with a merc c 250 turbodiesel year 1997 100, 000 miles F SH 2 owners price £5000 delivered southampton docks ! Yourself to pay for shipping/ import duty !

Now that is interesting. I didn't know you were in the UK. Can you make a case for the import of such a car? Seems like tricky proposition, especially if getting parts might be an issue.

........... NO ALL THIS ECO STUFF IS NON SENSE ! you will try do do your bit to save Los, and the planet, while the Chinese, Indians as they get richer, polluting more and more will destroy a million times over + what you are trying to save ! and they are never going to listen !

They are doing it a different way here in uk, just Tax the hel_l out of us, we without doubt are the most persecuted motorists on gods earth !

If your gonna live forever, invest in a horse or a donkey !

I think this part belongs in another thread, my friend. I'm thinking now of getting a good mountain bike in Bangkok, with paniers (the side bags you see long distance bicycle riders use) for my visits to the store. That would be true bio-fuel, and natural air conditioning too.

But I'll still miss my Bimmer!

I guess not.

I thought maybe a VW or some other car of some year range might be out there that I hadn't heard of. Maybe if this thread had been started in the General area someone outside the motoring forum might have some input.

I know my problem is getting boring to the folks in the Thailand Motoring Forum.

Well, I'm starting to get the idea that finding a good diesel Mercedes sedan is not easy.

So, I'm starting to wonder what other brand would be worth buying. Our family doesn't need another diesel pickup around.

Any suggestions?

It's like reading the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Sure, he's full of sh$t, Choe. You know that pipe on the back of your car or motorbike? It's harmless, why not take a big puff?

the hypocrite Al Gore ...

I feel like I have to respond to this (for those who might be confused, not to fruitlessly attempt to convince Gore-haters). Until anyone has walked a block in his shoes, they should think twice about calling Gore a hypocrite. If he and his family moved to a 'Walden Pond' his message would probably be more discounted for being impractical.

Yeah, the guy is big, and he drives a big car - but it is a hybrid. Yes, he has two houses, or so, but he has made serious efforts to make them energy efficient (he would have solar on the roof, but his NIMBY neighbors won't allow it*) and I know people like to mock this idea, but he says he pays money to "plant trees" to offset things like his private jet. At least he is setting an example to show that if we must use energy, we can take financial and moral responsibility and voluntarily pay for the theoretical impact of our usage.

The message this brings to the average and not-so-average consumer and jet-setter is that every bit of responsibility and effort helps to reduce energy use for the greater good. This makes sense from an energy "independence" point of view, regardless of belief in man's impact on global warming.

* http://www.ecotality.com/blog/2007/gore-goes-green/

I used the water heater to wash dishes all the time until the soap and hot water started to bother my hands. Since then, I either use gloves with the hot water, or wash with cold water.

Until this thread came along, I thought we were one of maybe five households in the entire country to use a heater for the kitchen sink.

It's actually more of a 'warmer' than a heater, and I know it doesn't kill germs the way a dish washing machine would, but with the regular soap we buy it really does cut the grease. With cold water, the grease is really annoying, but with the warm water less soap and less time gets things clean. Especially at this time of year it makes the process of cleaning the dishes a bit less unpleasant.

Hate cold, greasy water.

A MB burning OIL ???

"Oil" is the Thai way of saying gasoline or 'benzine', as opposed to diesel.

The models you quote are petrol, I really do not know what if any diesel models went to T/land.

Quietness is good, I'll miss the smoothness and quietness of my current car. But I have the feeling that diesel fuel will be available in Thailand longer the 91 octane benzine (which will soon go the way of 95 as Ethanol-crazy Thailand keeps destroying valuable forest land to to grow palms). Plus, as I said above, if biodiesel ever became an option here, I'd like to be ready for it.

I'm not really crazy about getting a really old 300td even if I could find one. So. "Hedonist", are you saying that the c250 that you mentioned before is not available in Thailand? That would explain what the dealer told me.

If you want a bigger saloon as the other man said a 300d or 300 td are brilliant, but to find one of the above with low kms is hard !

Another good choice is the same era BMW DIESELS the 6 cylinder ones are best.

Going on what you have said the c 250 turbo would be ideal.

Thanks. I did a search on some thai car websites, but all I see for search options are C240 or C280, not C250. I do see C250 via google, though. I' don't know if this indicates that the C250 is not sold here of just not available used. Is the C240 or C280 more or less the same car?

Thank you both for your replies.

So, I am guessing that most pre 1997/98 are oil burners, not diesel. That makes the diesels rare, but probably worth looking for.

Next, I need to determine which model years and models are best to buy. Smaller is probably better for me (don't need one of those giant models with a tiny engine!). The oil-burner I'm selling is a BMW 318i. One of the things I love about it is the handling and tight turning radius. It's amazing how maneuverable it is in tight spaces and how beautifully it handles the curves on the mountain roads. I hope I can find a Merc that is similar.

The thing I probably dislike most about the 'BM is the smallish trunk space. I doubt I could convert it to LPG, but if I did you could call the trunk space practically zero.

Anyone in Thailand, outside of Bangkok, using biodiesel?