MoonRiverOasis

Also note that if the load index of your new tyres varies from OEM by more than 1 or 2 points, you've probably just fitted inappropriate tyres for your vehicle. Thus, the pressure difference when upsizing should never really vary by much more than +/- 2 PSI..

Tyre pressure when upsizing is determined by the load index differential - for every 1 point change in load index, the pressure varies by 1 PSI in the opposite direction.

For example, the standard tyres on my Pajero are: 265/70R16 112S - 112 being the load index ("S" being the speed rating)

Thus if I were to fit:

265/50R20 112W the pressures would remain unchanged from the factory recommendations.

265/50R20 111V I should increase the pressure by +1 PSI all-round.

There should be a placard in the driver's door jamb with recommended pressures, and you'll be able to determine the load index they refer to from the spare tyre.

Thanks for the replies guys

I think I may have found what I want

Can someone please confirm what this says

บ้า

Thanks

บ้า = Crazy, but not crazy in a "cool" way (i.e. mad, sick, stoopid), but crazy in very much a derogatory way.

When: Expected this year

Who: Hyundai Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd.

How Much: No pricing announced.

That last car is lush Moonriver. And if you look like Mark Wahlberg and have that car, its a done deal

I'm afraid not sbj - The car is being held hostage to an end of Thai custom's import lunacy, and Marky Mark is 3 years my senior (and boy does it show)

thanks to everybody, i did the run again and checked the cars again. The camry won hands down, so I just ordered the 2.4. It comes loaded and is really roomy and comfortable. Hope it was the right choice but as posted on this thread, the resale is really good. I am 6'1 190# and the yarris, although a nice small car, is just too small and basic to drive all the time.

thanks for replies

I may have been a little harsh in my previous reply, but fact is, all considered, the Camry truly does make the best sense in the Thai market (I did hint at that, didn't I?). Congrats - you won't be dissapointed.

Best of luck with the electrics.

OK so this was intended as a dig, but unbeknown to you, it invoked childhood memories of my friends and I having electric seat 'races" in an 850i - we'd push them all the way back, start with a count-down, then declare the winner as the first to face-plant the dash. True story

Note: I was young at the time

and I want my mechanic to look like this, if possible, cheers

OMG, I've been unveiled!

I'd pitch in with mine, but it changes so often it'd be irrelevant within a few days.

I'm surprised at how many people still lust after old cars though - I dig the styling of many of them for sure, but I couldn't drive one more than 2 meters without it driving me absolutely insane. Scratch that, I'm pretty sure they'd all lose me at opening the driver's door That said, I do have a thing for (new but) old Bugatti's and Auburns:

Here's a link: http://www.shoptocar.com/productSearch.php?catid=1 (Warning: Thai language)

I don't normally weigh into these types of direct comparisons, guess you caught me at a soft moment

If you want something comfortable and quiet, steer well clear of the Accord - it's horrifficly bad on these two pionts. Buy a City and laugh at the Accord owners queed up at the local dentist.. I have now test driven the Accord twice and still can't get over how badly they missed the mark. Don't even get me started on the stereo and aircon controls - what an abortion they are!

The Teana 2.5L V6 is far and away the best in this segment in LOS, so long as you can learn to like it's styling and can eat the (slightly) lower resale value in return for a far better driving experience. Fit, finish and finness are head and shoulders above the beloved H & T offerings.

The Camry falls somewhere inbetween, with acceptable styling, a soft (but mushy) ride, and an adequate drivetrain. OK, let's be frank - it's as boring as bat-sh!t but Thai's will pay you a mint when you're sick of it, so there's little risk involved. Be warned that the Hybrid version is horrificly bad to drive if you lean towards a heavier right foot - the drivtrain lag will 'drive' you insane unless you drive like a granny.

As for the Sonata, the current model is all-round mediocre, as accurately reflected by it's price and market share. Bear in mind that there's an all-new model due later this year in Thailand (styled like a cross between a Camry and a Hyundai Coupe) that could be a challenger in the segment based on early reports. Pricing probably won't be as aggressive as we're seeing on the current, outgoing model though.

Just my 2 Baht

My gut says it's probably worth mid to high 500's as a trade-in, but if you want to be sure it's only 100 Baht for a Redbook valuation: https://www.redbookasiapacific.com/rbcert/i...ng=en&cc=th

There's a huge range of aftermarket seats around the accessory shops, here's a link to get you started: http://www.rstyleracing.com/index.aspx?Cat...070908015606504

Excuse my ignorance...

I am in the process of ordering a new Nissan March. The cars in the showroom all have lightly tinted windows and the salesman confirmed that this is how my car will arrive. Do all the cars that people are talking about already come with a light tint and the film is added in ADDITION to that, or do all of these vehicles come as standard with clear untinted windows? As I said - excuse my ignorance...

Yes, in addition to whever the car comes with from the factory (most have some form of basic tint standard).

One thing you need to bear in mind is that all brands are not equal - some are visibly darker than others even with the same grade.

Over the years I've tried various brands/grades, but settled on 3M reflective tint for my newest car - 40% on the front windshield (full coverage) and 60% on the rest. My wife and I can see just fine in all conditions with it. The only time we really notice it is on overcast days, when it always feels a couple of hours later than actual

Age is probably also a factor I guess - everyone's night vision will degrade given enough time so that should also be a consideration, especially if you're in the 50+ bracket - I'd probably recommend 20% front, and 40% all-round in that case.

The Triton doesn't come with a CNG built in right? Would that mean that the warranty is void after installation?

There are two models of Triton CNG (single + extended cab) - see here.

Have I missed something obvious?

You mention Honda at the start but not the Honda City/Jazz. Another contender in this class worth considering is the Ford Fiesta, due in August.

รถต่ำ (rot dum), ต่ำๆ (dum dum) or รถเตี้ย (rot dia) is how you'd actually refer to a lowered car, but ต่ำ on it's own doesn't have quite the right meaning, and it also contains vowels that'd break the 2-character limit..

Actually, ลด on it's own (suggested above) is similar - on it's own it may just be confusing for a Thai.

While Thai's are not big into acronyms, รต might be the best compromise - it could be taken as either รถต่ำ (rot dum = lowered car) or รถเตี้ย (rot dia = low car) - the latter of the two suggesting it's really low..

Note that Thai number plates cannot contain vowels, so a literal translation of "low ee" won't work..

ลด (lod) = to lower or reduce

Here's some acromyms that are popular with the locals and can fetch pretty good prices in Thailand (esp. in conjuction with 9's as the digits):

กห (Gow Nah) = Moving Forward (literally GH - หน้า starts with an H)

กร (Gor Ror) = Successful

And a couple of literal suggestions off the top of my head..

รถ (Rot) = Car

ไว (Wai) = Fast

Perhaps some others can tip in their ideas too

- What is the approximate size of a car plate

Don't have a tape measure handy.

- These are black text on white?

For passenger cars, yes. For light commercial it's green text on white. There are numerous special edition plates with colourful backgrounds too.

- I understand they are 2 Thai characters and then numerals. The numerals will be my car model, but what would be two Thai characters that would be nice to use? Doesn't have to be like a real genuine plate, but any suggestions are welcome.

1 or 2 Thai characters followed by 1 to 4 numerals. 1st character varies province by province. If you want it to look genuine, you'd want to get some examples of the characters used in Phuket I guess - can't help with that.

- I understand that at the bottom of the plate is the province name? Wikipedia gave me this, just want to confirm its correct and says the right thing. ภูเก็ต

That would be correct, so long as you want it to read Phuket

This link should be useful: http://www.rstyleracing.com/?CategoryID=Ca...071107183606632

These are all aftermarket parts - multiply the prices by at least 6x to 10x for genuine Toyota parts.

New Ford Focus, When in Thailand?

2012

Umm it looks like the Focus is made in the Philipenes

The new Focus will be made in Rayong (Thailand)

Toyota only has to look at sales of its own Yaris to know that.

The Yaris is outsold by the VIOS by a factor of more than 5:1

Are you sure that's right in terms of annual sales in Thailand? The Vios has been on the market for quite a lot longer, as I recall, so you can't go by total sales figures, and I certainly dont see 5 times as many new/recent model Vios around as new/recent Yaris (Yarii?). Overall, though, its hard to tell as markets seem very "parochial" in Thailand.

I'm talking in an overall sense. The actual figures for Q1 2010 are as follows (these are the national sales figures):

Vios: 12,096

City: 8,439

Mazda 2: 3,492

Jazz: 3,333

Yaris: 3,017

There are currently 7 dual fuel/CNG vehicles available in Thailand, and any vehicle can be converted.

These are:

Chevrolet Optra Estate CNG

Mitsubishi Lancer CNG

Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT

Chevrolet Colorado CNG (diesel 65% NGV ratio)

Proton Persona CNG

Toyota Corolla Altis CNG

Hyundai Sonata CNG

Add the Mitsubishi Triton 2.4L Petrol/CNG to this..

Toyota only has to look at sales of its own Yaris to know that.

The Yaris is outsold by the VIOS by a factor of more than 5:1