Search found 3085 matches

by Prodigal Son
Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:27 am
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: What Tire Pressure are Yall Running?
Replies: 44
Views: 5714

Re: What Tire Pressure are Yall Running?

You know, the manufacturers should really start putting a sticker on the car some place -- maybe inside the driver's door opening -- to tell you the correct pressure to inflate your tires for your particular car. That way you would know the correct pressure to use to optimize the overall balance of ...
by Prodigal Son
Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:37 pm
Forum: U.S. Northeast
Topic: Winter Driving Conditions
Replies: 20
Views: 9352

Re: Winter Driving Conditions

Snow tires is something of a misnomer. They should really be called winter tires or cold weather tires. All season tires start to lose grip when the temperature drops below 7C. The colder it gets, the less grip they have. Winter tires are made to handle three common winter driving conditions: Cold: ...
by Prodigal Son
Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:30 pm
Forum: Manual Driving Tips
Topic: Physics or Me?
Replies: 17
Views: 2774

Re: Physics or Me?

Its physics. You cannot shift gears without interrupting acceleration. When you shift, the car goes from accelerating to coasting, and the force of acceleration which is pushing people back is removed, causing them to move forward. You cannot remove this, other than by buying a slushie or a DSG, but...
by Prodigal Son
Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:57 am
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: Blowout
Replies: 48
Views: 4911

Re: Blowout

First time it happened to me I hit a decent-sized sharp piece of metal on the road with my Camaro, with the exact same tire (passenger side rear). I couldn't have avoided it unless I wanted to risk getting that Camaro sideways doing 80 on the highway. Yes you could, if you were paying proper attent...
by Prodigal Son
Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:27 am
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: Blowout
Replies: 48
Views: 4911

Re: Blowout

Tinton wrote:One thing you should all know is that a blowout can happen at any time and it happens more often than you think, so be careful people.
I've been driving 35 years and never had one yet. With proper maintenance and proper attention to what you are doing, a blowout is highly unlikely.
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:15 pm
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: A GPS for my mom
Replies: 21
Views: 3643

Re: A GPS for my mom

Well, if they put a POI describing a gorge in the middle of nowhere, that must be their idea of a cruel joke, because I fell for it. In TomTom, at least, I have come to be suspicious of some of the touristy POIs. I suspect a lot of them come from Map Share and have not all been entered with the gre...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:49 pm
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: A GPS for my mom
Replies: 21
Views: 3643

Re: A GPS for my mom

:lol: Yes, makes me remember WV when the GPS lead me to non-existent places. All maps have errors, and those built into GPS's are no exception. They may contain mistakes or be out of date just like paper maps. (That's one of the reasons I like MapShare on the Tom Tom.) Also, map makers will sometim...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:44 pm
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: A GPS for my mom
Replies: 21
Views: 3643

Re: A GPS for my mom

Christopher Columbus was the worst geographer of his age. Every other educated man in Europe knew the earth was too large for the ships of the day to sail west to China or India. (They knew the earth was a globe, and they knew its approximate size quite accurately.) Columbus believed an incorrect th...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:14 pm
Forum: Manual Driving Tips
Topic: Problem with my 1st gear + brakes
Replies: 17
Views: 2939

Re: Problem with my 1st gear + brakes

The debate about ABS and braking distance goes on and on. It does seem that ABS may increase braking distance under some conditions, such as deep snow or gravel, because it prevents the locked wheel from piling up snow and gravel in front of the tire. It is certainly not the case, however, that a lo...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 11:23 am
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: A GPS for my mom
Replies: 21
Views: 3643

Re: A GPS for my mom

Teach your mom to use a map. A map does not know where it is at all times. The virtue of a GPS is not simply that it contains a map, or even route planning, but that it knows where you are on the map at all times. A GPS is not a replacement for a map, and I still carry one with me at all times. A G...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 11:01 am
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: A GPS for my mom
Replies: 21
Views: 3643

Re: A GPS for my mom

I don't know what's available in that price range at the moment, but I would highly recommend a unit with voice synthesis so that it can give directions with actual street names rather than simply saying "turn right in 200 yards". With that feature, you really do not need to look at the sc...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:46 am
Forum: Rants and Raves
Topic: Another Day, Another Idiot Driver (Misc Thread for Stories)
Replies: 3506
Views: 319883

Re: Another Day, Another Idiot Driver (Misc Thread for Stories)

It is MUCH harder to hang back, sometimes you have to wait until EVERYONE in the left lane has passed you until you can merge. Its not racing if the other driver didn't know to race you :wink:. I'm always puzzled by the difficulty many people have with merging. I have almost never had a problem mer...
by Prodigal Son
Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:39 am
Forum: Manuals in the News
Topic: Automatic revmatching manual. Wait....what?
Replies: 54
Views: 10214

Re: Automatic revmatching manual. Wait....what?

so for now I'll enjoy my assistless car while I can. (Although I hate not having ABS. :( :cry: ) I hear you. However, I can't resist pointing out that your car is far from assistless. I remember my father driving cars with manual chokes, and when I got my first car I remember feeling kind of grieve...
by Prodigal Son
Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:50 pm
Forum: Tranny Talk
Topic: Low boost = better gas mileage?
Replies: 43
Views: 7155

Re: Low boost = better gas mileage?

Boost is about getting more air into the engine in order to burn more gas in the same size cylinder. Of course it burns more gas. That said, a turbo engine making the same power as a larger NA engine will burn less gas because it will take less fuel when not in boost. But adding boost to an engine i...
by Prodigal Son
Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:46 pm
Forum: Manuals in the News
Topic: Automatic revmatching manual. Wait....what?
Replies: 54
Views: 10214

Re: Automatic revmatching manual. Wait....what?

I took it up to about 4500, released the gas...and it just felt so wrong. Well, technically speaking that is not the DBW but the EBA, which is part of the traction control system. DBW does, of course, do a lot to enable advanced traction control and stability control systems. It is different, I'll ...