..the battle was lost” or so goes the nursery rhythm.  I was the victim of the modern equivalent over the last week or so.  I’d noticed some problems with kind of grabbing sensation occasionally as I was cornering, and when I started to notice the traction control warning light coming on randomly I thought perhaps that system was being triggered.  I noticed the suspension seemed to be lower as I was going over speed bumps and much softer too.  I was really getting rather concerned I might be in for some very expensive repairs.   And then I noticed… that one of the tyres seemed a little flat.  Got home and discovered that both front tyres were seriously under-inflated.  I then began to wonder if the want of little air could perhaps produce all these problems.  It certainly cured the ride problem, and seems like it might have been the answer to the rest too.

Sometimes it is something very simple and basic that causes us real problems and in this over sophisticated world it is easy to start checking all the complex things and only look at the simple ones as a last resort.  No doubt if I had taken it into a main dealer I’d have had some big bills for exploratory ‘surgery’ and diagnostics before some old hand looked at the tyres. Remember, if things aren’t working for you, don’t forget to begin checking the simple things first.

“For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”