StandardShift.com

Look up computer stupidities at rinkworks.com.

Yes the expansion will recover some energy from the gas which was compressed in the compression stroke. But the process is not lossless, or isentropic or whatever. Not all energy is recovered. How much is, depends on valve timing obviously. Many trucks have specialized small auxiliary valves that re...

There are a few bad cases I've personally witnessed but they are no match for what I've seen on Britain's Worst Driver. There was an episode where they made the Britain's worst drivers parallel park uphill in reverse. There was also a guy spraying water on the windows so that the drivers wouldn't se...

Cold causes interesting things. I've seen and heard the following occur. The asterisks have affected my car as well. * insufficient heat power to keep the windshield clear * engine not being able to keep normal temperature at idle * thermometer running out of scale * huge black clouds of soot from e...

Mark's wife had a Flash related problem too.

I've used Windows XP since 2003 and Debian/Ubuntu since 2000. I think Vista has a steeper learning curve than Ubuntu.

Drying your brakes can help but I don't see how if you're driving around in a snowstorm or cold rainstorm where water's always getting on the brakes. The point is to do it just before parking so that the brakes are still hot when you stop. The brakes dry when the car is parked. Of course it won't w...

It's not necessarily frozen, it may also be rusted/corroded. I've had the rear brake disks changed twice in eight years because of corrosion. Both mechanics said I had the most corroded disks they have ever seen. But yes, it does pop. Sometimes very loudly. I think drum brakes freeze more easily. If...

I would vote for Citroën but it's not listed.

If studs are allowed, I recommend Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 for ice and snow. You should also get wheels for the winter tires so you don't have to remove tires from wheels. The winter tires should be the same size as the summer tires, the size recommended by the car manufacturer. Don't use winter tires...

Can you hear it outside the car or inside only? Check if opening the bonnet makes it louder. Some cars typically suck ice in their charger compressor thus bending the blades and causing it to go out of balance. This in turn causes massive howling noises and eventually more or less catastrophic failu...

First off, my post was made on my itouch, so yeah it was not my best. All i asked was 2 questions, 1. how bad is that for the clutch in terms of life, and secondly what are some signs of a failing clutch. I knew from previous posts that some will say HANDBRAKE launches. But I clearly said that I li...

Bawked wrote:You bought a mitsi and didn't expect shit to break? ever been to a car graveyard? mitsi account for like 80% of the cars ford the other 20%

Come on, diamonds are forever!

Get a measurement microphone and a signal conditioner, connect to a laptop and use something like Baudline to analyze the signal. Measure in different modes, like standstill with engine running at different speeds, driving with different gears and neutral, radio on and off. Run-up tests could also b...

So you are waiting for friction to do the job of the synchronizers. That's ok, but there's no denying that it's also slower. The automatics don't wait, they use their brakes as they were programmed to do so you will lose if you want to be nice to your gearbox and wait.

I would buy a car with an automatic transmission if the transmission would 1) not be more expensive 2) not consume more fuel 3) shift quickly 4) shift smoothly 5) keep engine speed as low as possible 6) do what I want. Number 6 is obviously the most difficult requirement to meet. I just happen to ha...