The physics behind worn tires and braking distance

On 06/16/2016 02:30 PM, geo pearl wrote:
> On Monday, June 13, 2016 at 6:54:09 AM UTC-7, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>> The Real Bev > wrote:
>> >
>> >So I'm thinking that, given a choice, I'd be willing to trade a little
>> >less longevity for a little more traction. How do I do that?
>
> Buy Radial T/A tires from BF Goodrich at Tirerack.com
>
> They had a soft compound when I bought them. Back in the 80's.
>
> Talk to a Tire rack specialist on the phone first.

The 2013 Corolla (17K miles) came with Goodyear Eagle <something>
H-speed tires that would look brand new even if they hadn't painted them
with pretty shiny tire black stuff. Thus endeth the problem :-)


--
Cheers, Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"No one's life, liberty or property is safe while
the legislature is in session." -- Mark Twain

"The Real Bev" wrote:

> Well, not COMPLETELY perfect. The lumbar support (like they all have
> now) makes me bend a bit backward so I can't rest my upper body against
> the seat back, but I figure I can hang some sort of pillow from the top
> of the seat;

You can't "unadjust" it enough with the rocker switch on the side of the seat,
behind the forward/back and seatback angle switches?
(Owner's manual, pg 51).

> and the instrument console is only illuminated when the
> real headlights are on, which is stupid. Not all designers are geniuses.

You have Daytime Running Lights, correct? On most cars that just turns on the
high-beam headlights at half brightness. I've seen WAY too many people flying
along the highway in the middle of the night, DRLs so dim they can hardly see,
and the back of their cars totally black, because they think "Well, the dash is lit up...
that must mean my lights are on". The dash being dark reminds you to turn on
the main headlights (and tail, side, license and dash) at night.
(Owner's manual, pg 159).

The Real Bev wrote:
> On 06/16/2016 07:12 AM, Steve W. wrote:
>> The Real Bev wrote:
>>> On 06/15/2016 09:36 PM, RayL12 wrote:
>>>
>>> Sorry, that was just sort of the tail end of a thread and I was in a
>>> hurry. I bought a 2013 Corolla S with 17K miles (I'm ashamed to say
>>> that it was the first car I looked at -- I couldn't see a reason to NOT
>>> buy it!) and 16" alloy wheels with P205/55R16 89H tires. The paranoid
>>> who leased it even had it serviced more frequently than required -- 20K
>>> checkup/oil change was done at 13K, so I guess I'm good for a while :-)
>>>
>>> I need to find out what kind of oil they actually used. I can't believe
>>> anybody in southern California uses 0-20 :-(
>> Well if you run the Synthetic 0-20 W you get a 10,000mile or 1 year oil
>> change interval.
>
> Oil that thin is intended for cold climates, which we definitely don't
> have. 10-30 is normal, but I'd been using 20-40 conventional when I
> changed my own oil. Is the thickness no longer an issue with
> synthetics? I bought a case of Mobil 1 at a divorce sale ("Here, take
> the whole thing for $2, that'll teach the *******...") maybe 10 years
> ago but I've never used it. Still good?

Oil that thin is what the company wants you to run because new engines
have much tighter clearances and oil passages than engines from the 90s
even. Run a thicker oil and you can easily damage parts of the engine.
Long ago you would switch to a thinner oil for cold weather, these days
the oils are MUCH better. I run a 5W 20 blend in the 03 Jeep, it's got
209756 on it at the moment, uses about 1/2 pint of oil in a 5000 mile
change.

Oil should still be fine as long as it is sealed. BUT it may not meet
the spec for that new engine.

>
> I only drive the Caddy 3K-4K/year, mostly on the freeway, so I just
> change the oil (probably 10-30 bulk, whatever Pep Boys uses) once a
> year. It doesn't need top-ups and the oil looks pretty clean toward the
> end, although not 'clean'. I don't feel good about it, but good enough :-)

Well, if you drive the new one that way you can easily go with a yearly
change.

>
>> Personally every time I get a new buggy I change out all fluids to give
>> me a known baseline. I also send out samples of the oils for testing.
>> That way I know what oil, coolant and lubes were used and can start
>> tracking from there.
>
> Carfax claims the dealer I bought it from, as well as the other dealer
> (several times) changed the oil; how much incentive does a dealership
> have to lie about stuff like that?

Not much, but it's just a check mark on the form. Plus remember that
Carfax only reports things that go through a dealer or insurance claim.
You can buy a car that has been pieced together from parts of 3 cars and
if it was done by a small shop it won't show on the sheet.

>
>> Have fun with the new car...
>
> Fraught with anxiety. It's perfect now, all I can do is make it worse :-(
>
> Well, not COMPLETELY perfect. The lumbar support (like they all have
> now) makes me bend a bit backward so I can't rest my upper body against
> the seat back, but I figure I can hang some sort of pillow from the top
> of the seat; and the instrument console is only illuminated when the
> real headlights are on, which is stupid. Not all designers are geniuses.

The lumbar support should be adjustable.

>
> Not as stupid as the Caddy designer who put the useful tech information
> in a thing down in the middle of the dashboard two feet below the window
> line and DIM so that if you really want to see it you risk whatever you
> risk by bending over and looking away from the road for 5 or 10 seconds.
>


--
Steve W.

The Real Bev wrote:
> On 06/16/2016 02:30 PM, geo pearl wrote:
>> On Monday, June 13, 2016 at 6:54:09 AM UTC-7, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>>> The Real Bev > wrote:
>>>> So I'm thinking that, given a choice, I'd be willing to trade a little
>>>> less longevity for a little more traction. How do I do that?
>> Buy Radial T/A tires from BF Goodrich at Tirerack.com
>>
>> They had a soft compound when I bought them. Back in the 80's.
>>
>> Talk to a Tire rack specialist on the phone first.
>
> The 2013 Corolla (17K miles) came with Goodyear Eagle <something>
> H-speed tires that would look brand new even if they hadn't painted them
> with pretty shiny tire black stuff. Thus endeth the problem :-)
>
>

Yeah they seem to love tire shine, Even when rubber isn't supposed to be
glossy...

--
Steve W.

On 06/16/2016 09:26 PM, Sanity Clause wrote:
> "The Real Bev" wrote:
>
>> Well, not COMPLETELY perfect. The lumbar support (like they all have
>> now) makes me bend a bit backward so I can't rest my upper body against
>> the seat back, but I figure I can hang some sort of pillow from the top
>> of the seat;
>
> You can't "unadjust" it enough with the rocker switch on the side of the seat,
> behind the forward/back and seatback angle switches?
> (Owner's manual, pg 51).

This has manual seats. I can tilt the back more forward, and probably
will, but i'd rather just dig out some of the lumbar padding -- my back
is kind of weird. Not going to do that, of course, I'll just complain :-(

>> and the instrument console is only illuminated when the
>> real headlights are on, which is stupid. Not all designers are geniuses.

In fact, there's a transparent cover over the whole thing which reflects
badly. For one thing, it's curved and distorts the upper part of the
display. If I were taller (or the seat would actually rise up rather
than just tilting to make my knees higher) that would be less of a
problem. The tiny liquid crystal information displays are totally
useless for those of us in the bifocal generation who have to move our
heads too far forward to actually read them, providing there's enough
light AND no annoying reflections.

I't like the actual mechanicals of the car were designed by experts, who
then left the user interface to the interns :-( It's not bad enough to
have disqualified the car (I didn't even look while I was test driving,
I figured anything would be OK because I'm not real picky; I was kind
of wrong.) but bad enough to bitch about.

> You have Daytime Running Lights, correct? On most cars that just turns on the
> high-beam headlights at half brightness.

I think they're separate. There are two headlights on each side, one
bigger than the other, and the turn-signal light. Down near the bottom
is another white light, which I assume is the fog light. Those used be
yellow, but I guess modern technology has found that white is better. Or
cheaper. Too much trouble to hop in and out of the car etc. Maybe if
I'm in a convenient place at night pointing at a wall...

When only motorcycles had DRL they were actually useful. With their
proliferation to cars, not so much. Just more visual clutter.

> I've seen WAY too many people flying
> along the highway in the middle of the night, DRLs so dim they can hardly see,
> and the back of their cars totally black, because they think "Well, the dash is lit up...
> that must mean my lights are on". The dash being dark reminds you to turn on
> the main headlights (and tail, side, license and dash) at night.
> (Owner's manual, pg 159).

Duh. I'm more likely to need a louder bell to remind me to turn the
headlights off during the day. I've actually driven on the freeway at
night with NO lights and then been shocked to find that I was doing so.
Once only, but still.

The 88 Caddy was capable of turning off the headlights a few minutes
after you turned off the engine, but I never trusted it; when my mom
had the car it didn't work once and ran her battery down. We couldn't
jump it because there was a cabinet in her carport overhanging the hood
AND we couldn't put it in N with a dead battery so I could push it out.
The AAA guy showed us the magic switch under the right fender, but we
never needed to use it again.

It seems stupid to turn on the headlights just so I can see the
instrument panel better. It can't help but wear out the battery sooner,
right?

--
Cheers, Bev
================================================== ================
"America is at an awkward stage: it is too late to work within the
system, but it is too early to shoot the *******s." -Claire Wolfe

On 06/17/2016 01:06 AM, Steve W. wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:

>> Carfax claims the dealer I bought it from, as well as the other dealer
>> (several times) changed the oil; how much incentive does a dealership
>> have to lie about stuff like that?
>
> Not much, but it's just a check mark on the form.

Probably more than that -- misspellings, etc.

> Plus remember that
> Carfax only reports things that go through a dealer or insurance claim.
> You can buy a car that has been pieced together from parts of 3 cars and
> if it was done by a small shop it won't show on the sheet.

It will show up as a 'salvage' car on the pink slip, though, right?
Unless that's just a California thing and/or cheating is easy, of
course. A kid-friend bought a really nice salvaged Mustang that he
invested a lot of money in for dragstrip purposes. It broke in half.
Not good. The fact that we told him beforehand to NEVER buy a salvaged
car didn't make it any better.

The Carfax site looks like it has a place to add additional information
even if you're just an owner. Didn't try, though.

>>> Have fun with the new car...
>>
>> Fraught with anxiety. It's perfect now, all I can do is make it worse :-(
>>
>> Well, not COMPLETELY perfect. The lumbar support (like they all have
>> now) makes me bend a bit backward so I can't rest my upper body against
>> the seat back, but I figure I can hang some sort of pillow from the top
>> of the seat; and the instrument console is only illuminated when the
>> real headlights are on, which is stupid. Not all designers are geniuses.
>
> The lumbar support should be adjustable.

Not with manual seats.


--
Cheers, Bev
When you wish upon a falling star your dreams can come true. Unless
it's really a meteorite hurtling to the earth which will destroy all
life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for.
Unless it's death by meteor. --Demotivators

The Real Bev wrote:
> On 06/17/2016 01:06 AM, Steve W. wrote:
>> The Real Bev wrote:
>
>>> Carfax claims the dealer I bought it from, as well as the other dealer
>>> (several times) changed the oil; how much incentive does a dealership
>>> have to lie about stuff like that?
>> Not much, but it's just a check mark on the form.
>
> Probably more than that -- misspellings, etc.
>
>> Plus remember that
>> Carfax only reports things that go through a dealer or insurance claim.
>> You can buy a car that has been pieced together from parts of 3 cars and
>> if it was done by a small shop it won't show on the sheet.
>
> It will show up as a 'salvage' car on the pink slip, though, right?
> Unless that's just a California thing and/or cheating is easy, of
> course. A kid-friend bought a really nice salvaged Mustang that he
> invested a lot of money in for dragstrip purposes. It broke in half.
> Not good. The fact that we told him beforehand to NEVER buy a salvaged
> car didn't make it any better.

It won't unless the VIN they use was actually declared as totaled AND
the state records it as such. There are a lot of vehicles out there that
were "totaled" but not reported as such. I've bought a few and rebuilt
them myself. Done correctly they are as good as factory, sadly there are
a lot more folks who stick them together and don't do it correctly...

>
> The Carfax site looks like it has a place to add additional information
> even if you're just an owner. Didn't try, though.
>
>>>> Have fun with the new car...
>>> Fraught with anxiety. It's perfect now, all I can do is make it worse :-(
>>>
>>> Well, not COMPLETELY perfect. The lumbar support (like they all have
>>> now) makes me bend a bit backward so I can't rest my upper body against
>>> the seat back, but I figure I can hang some sort of pillow from the top
>>> of the seat; and the instrument console is only illuminated when the
>>> real headlights are on, which is stupid. Not all designers are geniuses.
>> The lumbar support should be adjustable.
>
> Not with manual seats.

I'll have to look at one, but the adjustment may not be "user friendly".


--
Steve W.

On 06/17/2016 07:13 PM, Steve W. wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> On 06/17/2016 01:06 AM, Steve W. wrote:
>>> The Real Bev wrote:
>>
>>>> Carfax claims the dealer I bought it from, as well as the other dealer
>>>> (several times) changed the oil; how much incentive does a dealership
>>>> have to lie about stuff like that?
>>> Not much, but it's just a check mark on the form.
>>
>> Probably more than that -- misspellings, etc.
>>
>>> Plus remember that
>>> Carfax only reports things that go through a dealer or insurance claim.
>>> You can buy a car that has been pieced together from parts of 3 cars and
>>> if it was done by a small shop it won't show on the sheet.
>>
>> It will show up as a 'salvage' car on the pink slip, though, right?
>> Unless that's just a California thing and/or cheating is easy, of
>> course. A kid-friend bought a really nice salvaged Mustang that he
>> invested a lot of money in for dragstrip purposes. It broke in half.
>> Not good. The fact that we told him beforehand to NEVER buy a salvaged
>> car didn't make it any better.
>
> It won't unless the VIN they use was actually declared as totaled AND
> the state records it as such. There are a lot of vehicles out there that
> were "totaled" but not reported as such. I've bought a few and rebuilt
> them myself. Done correctly they are as good as factory, sadly there are
> a lot more folks who stick them together and don't do it correctly...

Perhaps wrecking yards are required to do that. A normal pink slip is
no guarantee, of course, but a salvage title is pretty definite -- a
trout in the milk, as it were :-)

>> The Carfax site looks like it has a place to add additional information
>> even if you're just an owner. Didn't try, though.
>>
>>>>> Have fun with the new car...
>>>> Fraught with anxiety. It's perfect now, all I can do is make it worse :-(
>>>>
>>>> Well, not COMPLETELY perfect. The lumbar support (like they all have
>>>> now) makes me bend a bit backward so I can't rest my upper body against
>>>> the seat back, but I figure I can hang some sort of pillow from the top
>>>> of the seat; and the instrument console is only illuminated when the
>>>> real headlights are on, which is stupid. Not all designers are geniuses.
>>> The lumbar support should be adjustable.
>>
>> Not with manual seats.
>
> I'll have to look at one, but the adjustment may not be "user friendly".

I'm right about the lumbar thing, but I was wrong about the seat height
adjustment, I just wasn't pushing hard enough. It does raise the height
of the seat, which is definitely a good thing. I never feel comfy
brute-forcing things when I'm totally unsure of how much force is
required.

--
Cheers, Bev
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Nobody needs to speak on behalf of idiots, they manage
to speak entirely too much for themselves already.

"The Real Bev" wrote:

> > You can't "unadjust" it enough with the rocker switch on the side of the seat,
>
> This has manual seats.

What? The InterWeb lied?!?!?
One no-longer-trusted site said the S model got power seats.

Then I found this:
http://www.toyota.com/content/ebroch..._ebrochure.pdf

"Fabric-trimmed front seats; 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat;...."
But, only in the LE model, and only as part of some "package".

On 06/17/2016 09:01 PM, Sanity Clause wrote:
> "The Real Bev" wrote:
>
>> > You can't "unadjust" it enough with the rocker switch on the side of the seat,
>>
>> This has manual seats.
>
> What? The InterWeb lied?!?!?
> One no-longer-trusted site said the S model got power seats.

Extra-cost option on the S. I read that too, but the manual and the
thing itself don't lie. There are two similar downloadable 5xx page
manuals, with no indication which is the proper one. Not easy to find
the manual for the radio either. I hate relying on intuition when
somebody else designed the interface :-( Decent radio/CD player.

> Then I found this:
> http://www.toyota.com/content/ebroch..._ebrochure.pdf
>
> "Fabric-trimmed front seats; 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat;...."
> But, only in the LE model, and only as part of some "package".

I made up my mind in advance that I was going to be indifferent to the
bells and whistles, regarding them as a detriment rather than an
advantage. I'd rather NOT have the keyless entry system, but it's not
as bad as the keyless START system. I don't like daylight running
lights, but I don't think they're a serious disadvantage. I lucked out
with the wheels and tires, I guess. The illumination and STUPID small
liquid crystal numeric displays in the instrument panel are the only
seriously annoying problems.

--
Cheers, Bev
===============================================
Last night I played a blank tape at full blast.
The mime next door went nuts!