Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

[Rope-Pusher]

One of my winter tires seems to be leaking. There's still some tread and studs left, and I can't afford a new set, but since the winter seems to be cancelled anyway, I guess I'm fine with topping it up once in a while. Nevertheless, I could have done without this issue as well. The car's turning out to be more expensive than expected.

In other news, less than four weeks until my two-and-a-half week winter holiday in Thailand. It's been ten years since my previous visit to Southeast Asia.

In other other news, it's December and it's warmer than it was in June. Gotta love Finnish weather...

Since Winter doesn't even officially start for a few weeks, and your weather is unusually warm, why not go spray some soapy water on the tire and look for leaks?

I say this after removing a screw and plugging a cow-orker's tire as we left work today.....same cow-orker that I removed a screw and plugged the other rear tire for last week Tuesday.


I went to Thighland this last Saturday, but here in Michigan, we call it Frankenmuth. "In 2007, Zehnder's ranked as the eighth largest restaurant in the United States based on total sales, with a total annual patronage of approximately a million people. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as I enjoyed mine.

So fix that tire so it doesn't go completely flat while you are gone for tuna-half weaks.

[Tups]

Do you suppose it's a little early to call winter off?

Probably and quite likely. However, long-term predictions are leaning towards a very mild winter, the third one in the row. I'm really looking forward to the discussion in the media during the spring as our new $150 million icebreaker is nearing completion...

Anyway, I'll try to find the leak next weekend. The problem is that I don't have any extra tires, so the car will have to stay on jack while I'm soaping up.

[theholycow]

I'm jealous. We got absolutely BURIED in snow last winter.

There's no need to remove the tire to find the leak. You can soap up the exposed area of the tire, then if you don't find it, move the car a little bit and soap the remaining portion of it.

[wannabe]

Do you suppose it's a little early to call winter off?

Probably and quite likely. However, long-term predictions are leaning towards a very mild winter, the third one in the row. I'm really looking forward to the discussion in the media during the spring as our new $150 million icebreaker is nearing completion...

Anyway, I'll try to find the leak next weekend. The problem is that I don't have any extra tires, so the car will have to stay on jack while I'm soaping up.

3rd in a row? No....last two winters were hell in michigan at least.

I know right now Iceland is getting buried in snow, but i guess thats cuz they're north and cold. (one of my friends lives there.)

We had one weekend of snow, but thats it so far, and i'm happy to call off winter.

[watkins]

F*ck snow.

Still havent put the snow tires on the wife's car

[Rope-Pusher]

F*ck snow.

Still havent put the snow tires on the wife's car

I've still got to do some maintenance and repairs to my snowthrower - oil change, axle bearing blocks, new tube in one of the tires, etc. I went thru the carb and cleaned the jets this summer. Sometimes I need life to leave me alone and let me finish things.

[Rope-Pusher]

U.S. proposes major changes to vehicle crash ratings
Automakers encouraged to add crash avoidance technology to earn top score
http://www.autonews.com/article/2015120 ... news-blast

Yee-Haw. F N I Kin whole don fur another 3 seccons, I'sle earn that top bull-rider belt I've always wanted.

Madlock • 5 hours ago
Give me strength. Can't wait to hear the advertising clams and disclaimers to follow.
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ROBERT_WEST Madlock • 3 hours ago
I have to agree with you. I don't like clams either. In fact, I won't eat any shellfish.
There are very few bodies of water that are not polluted, and fish without scales
absorb pollutants in the water. Fish with scales do not.
This is off the topic of autos, but kudos to you for bringing up this important subject.
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WARD_EDMONDS ROBERT_WEST • 40 minutes ago
Off topic? You should eat lake trout from the great lakes then without a second thought. Clams, however may come from a variety of sources.
Just not a scale guy, I guess.
The advertising claims will be spectacular! Volvo should get their old agency right on it!!

[Rope-Pusher]

Dual-clutch transmissions stuck in neutral: Why American buyers are rejecting a once-promising technology


While Ford is the target of Capstone's lawsuit, it isn't the only automaker that has struggled with dual-clutch issues. Honda Motor introduced an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission on the 2015 Acura TLX sedan, followed by the ILX compact sedan.

To ensure smoother performance at low speeds, Honda added a torque converter, but complaints piled up anyway. SaferCar.gov has logged 38 reports from motorists who said their vehicles hesitated, surged or suffered from jerky shifts at low speeds.

Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/du ... z3tnHaSCkY

If you follow the link, there is a nice chart showing sales volumes for vehicles with different types of transmissions, including the Amish.

[IMBoring25]

Unless you have a plumb bob somewhere in the system, higher clutch wear on launch than a skilled manual driver is likely unavoidable. Any driveability issues, though, would seem due to sloppy programming to me.

[theholycow]

I've still got to do some maintenance and repairs to my snowthrower - oil change, axle bearing blocks, new tube in one of the tires, etc. I went thru the carb and cleaned the jets this summer. Sometimes I need life to leave me alone and let me finish things.

Oh, thanks a lot for reminding me to be responsible! I thought I was doing well when I started mine and brought it from the shed deep in the forest to the little snowblower shelter I made against the house, but now I realize that I need to grease it in various places, change the oil, and silicone spray the bucket/auger/chute...

[Tups]

3rd in a row? No....last two winters were hell in michigan at least.

I know. If I recall correctly, last year the industries around the Great Lakes lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of ice whereas in the Baltic Sea, which has the largest combined fleet of icebreakers in the world to guarantee year-round traffic to all ports in all conditions, had one of the smallest sea ice extents in recorded history and perhaps five icebreakers were deployed in total. In Svalbard, my home away from home, there were a lot of slush avalanches due near the settlements to high temperatures and rain, and polar bears have been suffering due to lack of sea ice.

Climate, you're drunk. Go home.

The near-zero temperatures, constant rainfall and government-mandated winter tires are also eating up the roads in Finland, and we don't have any money to fix them. Of course, across the border the situation is even worse.

[theholycow]

The near-zero temperatures, constant rainfall and government-mandated winter tires are also eating up the roads in Finland, and we don't have any money to fix them.

Do the government-mandated winter tires have mandatory studs?

[potownrob]

The near-zero temperatures, constant rainfall and government-mandated winter tires are also eating up the roads in Finland, and we don't have any money to fix them.

Do the government-mandated winter tires have mandatory studs?

i was wondering that myself. based on what he said about the icebreakers, implying they usually have lots of ice, it sounds like they do require studs. i think tups even has mentioned about studs in the past.

[Tups]

Yes, we do get ice. Helsinki, which lies on the southern coast of Finland, is about as far north as Anchorage.

You can use studless winter tires ("friction tires", as we call them) or all-season tires as well, but you have to use winter-rated tires with a tread depth of at least 3 mm between 1st of December and 28th of February. However, I've always had studded winter tires - the only time I've driven studless tires was last New Year in Norway where I was sliding down an icy hill in the middle of the forest with the ABS kicking back.

I had excellent Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 set in my previous car and my dad has the new Hakkapeliitta 8 which are pretty much the best ones you can get. I might buy them once I'm done with the Bridgestones, although they do cost a fortune especially for 17" rims...

[theholycow]

Hakkapeliitta 8 studded tires:


Edit: They don't have them in anywhere near my size!