in here!
And over the next seven days, round we went clockwise (the proper way to do it): Applecross - Achnasheen - Gairloch - Ullapool - Durness - Smoo - Thurso - John o'Groats - Duncansby Head - Inverness - and back along Loch Ness to Fort William.
All in, an unforgettable trip, and great company.
Tyres? Well, on the way up to Stirling, some steering wheel shimmy began, at first just a tad, but it got worse. And then disappeared. By Applecross it was back again, and so we jacked up the front wheels to take a look, and span them under gentle engine power: both front tyres (Michelin Energy) were no longer circular, and also had some sideways run-out, despite only being half worn. Age had obviously got them, so we on-line ordered an new pair for fitting at NTS Inverness a few days later.
The tyres were there ok, and could be fitted (a day early as it happened). But . . . NTS didn't have a centreless balancing attachment for the Monte Carlo's. And neither did ATS (well they did, but it didn't fit their new balancer), nor Citroen (despite a big tyre bay). Peugeot did have the tool, but couldn't accept the car for a week!
So, we got NTS to fit the tyres, and leave them unbalanced. It turned out not too bad (Michelins after all are decently built), and the shimmy disappeared, leaving only a slight imbalance above 70mph.
On the way South, I overnighted in Warrington (my old college town), and had a bit of time to spare. So, to NTS there (no, we don't have a tool for those, but an independent guy nearby does...). The independent guy produced his attachment, and despite numerous attempts, never got the wheel - let alone the tyre - to spin true. Attempt abandoned, and profuse apologies.
Finally back in Hampshire, a recommended Bordon tyre depot produced their attachment, and utterly failed to assemble it correctly, resulting in a ludicrous number of adhesive weights being added (16 x 5g to each wheel). Above 50mph, the car was undriveable! I stripped off the weights with a blade, and the car drove infinitely better.
And so the long drive home (Hampshire to Andalucia, 2000km) during which I found relative smoothness below 70mph or above 85. Interesting choice.
After a day at home, I took the car to my local Spanish tyre fitter in Algarrobo. Not only did he have the attachment, he had a brand new one - a flange adaptor for 3-, 4- and 5-hole centreless wheels, fitted almost only to Citroen/Peugeot - and he knew exactly how to use it. Job done, and just €10 for the two wheels.
If you want a job done . . .
