--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00013 Date: 02/23/98 From: MARC GERGES Time: 08:45am \/To: DEVIN DIMITRI (Read 0 times) Subj: Active Handling Salut Devin! DD>> Would your sister or dad be driving as aggressively as you? MG>> Well, I guess my sister is far more aggressive on the road than I MG>> am. She has that tiny VW Polo and she gets all out of it that's in MG>> it :-) DD> If she's outdriving her ability, then a FWD car won't save her. Oh, her car is quite used to save her, I guess. :-) It's simple: she goes to fast, finds out she's too fast in a corner and goes off the accelerator. The car's front tires squeal and brake themselves in the corner, she puts a lower gear in and off she goes :) MG>> I normally try to foresee what is going to happen, so I can save MG>> on ac and braking (and normally still am faster than her which MG>> makes her bus DD> That is just good driving. Congratulations. It's in the first point a try to minimize costs for fuel, tires etc and still be reasonably fast :) MG>> My dad... well, he's slow. DD> Most are. :) :-) DD>> Also, if they're in a situation where they're not driving DD>> aggressively, ie, ice, turning into the drift and feathering the DD>> throttle wouldn't do any good anyway. MG>> Right. DD> BUT, it wouldn't do them any good to do anything in a front wheel DD> drive car either, because if they're skidding because of the DD> conditions, they are in the same situation as a RWD person. But if an fwd car (at least mine and my sister's too) is starting to skid, it is over the front tires and therefore losing a lot of momentum. Built in security valve :) cu .\\arc ... To a dog (or a child) "NO" means "Not while I'm looking. --- * Origin: sympathy for the debil (2:270/47) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00014 Date: 02/25/98 From: ROY J. TELLASON Time: 12:46am \/To: DON DELLMANN (Read 0 times) Subj: Insurance Rates Go Up? Don Dellmann wrote in a message to John Faerber: JF> I have not had so much as a parking ticket in the last 20 yrs, my last JF> claim was maybe 10 yrs ago for a tow when the car would not start. JF> Given this info, and the fact the accident was not my fault, will my JF> rates go up as a result of this claim? JF> BTW, we are both insured with the same company if that would make a JF> difference. DD> Depends on the Company. If you're with a "Stock" company, DD> probably not. If you're with a "Mutual" company, they probably DD> will. In fact, with a "Mutual", 3 accidents in one year, even DD> though NONE of them is your fault, can be enough for them to DD> cancel you and put you into a "high risk" pool. I'd be interested in hearing more about this, and in how to locate one of those better companies. I get really torqued about being put into assigned risk with a vehicle simply because I haven't had any insurance within the past 30 days, which is prettty typical in this state. It means I've got some *extra* expense to look forward to when I finally get my truck put together... :-( email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com --- * Origin: TANSTAAFL BBS 717-432-0764 (1:270/615) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00015 Date: 02/24/98 From: DON DELLMANN Time: 11:43pm \/To: JOHN PUMMILL (Read 0 times) Subj: TCC Lockup While tripping merrily through the mail, John Pummill was overheard RL> Ooogabooga! Hm... Howbout fuel additives? "Suber octane RL> boost" an what such? JP> Not much to them at all. Very little difference between them and JP> plain gas. Until you start to mix chemicals known to act as JP> oxygenators you will get minimal results. I think 104+ adds a whopping JP> .5 or .7 to the octane. If you're running "plain" gas, an addition of 10%, by volume, of ethanol or MTBE will increase octane approximately 2 1/2 to 3 octane numbers. If you're in an area mandated for "reformulated" gas, you're already getting this, and any additional oxygenating elements are actually illegal. (And, living in such an area, and experiencing both, my preference is for the plain gas! The additional oxygenating elements actaully cause other problems, {my '83 Cordoba with the "lean burn" engine started eating fuel pumps every 15,000 miles or 9 months, and developed a very major habit of getting "vapor lock" on the reformulated fuel. My milage also dropped a good 10% - 15%). Back in the 80's, when this first became an issue, some users of "high performance" engines added "water injection" to the fuel system to add water to the fuel to "increase" octane (slow down the burn rate.) Saab actually offered it as a factory installation on the "Turbo" models. If anyone really wants to find out all about the "new" gas, there's an interesting "manual" put out by a company called "Downstream Alternatives Inc." that'll tell you a lot more than you'll ever want to know. I got my copy free from a filter manufacturer that our company distributes for, but you can buy copies for $2.50 a pop by calling the "DAI" at 1-800-378-9974. It's called "Changes In Gasoline III" Don ... Digression is the better part of valor. --- * Origin: *YOPS ]I[* 8.4 GIG * RA/FD/FE * Milwaukee, WI (1:154/750) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00016 Date: 02/25/98 From: JOHN FAERBER Time: 12:51am \/To: JAN DEBOER (Read 0 times) Subj: Timing belt lifespan? JD> running one of these unitl it breaks. JD> I'm also wondering about variation in quality. Canadian Tire wants JD> fifteen dollars for the belt, Chrysler wants $38! Same belt, or JD> do you get what you pay for? Couldn't say, and would hate to venture a guess on that one.............. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: * MacSavvy OS/2 BBS * Dallas, Texas * 972-250-4479 * (1:124/1208) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00017 Date: 02/25/98 From: JOHN FAERBER Time: 12:54am \/To: JAY EMRIE (Read 0 times) Subj: Insurance Rates Go Up? JF>BTW, we are both insured with the same company if JF>that would make a differen JE> Shouldn't make a bit of difference. HER rates may well go up. Don't know if I put this in the original message, but while waiting for the Police to show up, she said this was her second this week! --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: * MacSavvy OS/2 BBS * Dallas, Texas * 972-250-4479 * (1:124/1208) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00018 Date: 02/25/98 From: JOHN FAERBER Time: 12:56am \/To: JASON WEDEHASE (Read 0 times) Subj: Insurance Rates Go Up? JW> There's one way to be sure they don't. Don't ever mention this JW> to your insurance company. There's no reason for them to know. Sure is! She turned my car into something which appears to be an early casualty of a Demolition Derby, and i don't see why I should pay for her carelessness. --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: * MacSavvy OS/2 BBS * Dallas, Texas * 972-250-4479 * (1:124/1208) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00019 Date: 02/25/98 From: JOHN FAERBER Time: 01:00am \/To: JAN DEBOER (Read 0 times) Subj: Cold Tranny JD> fourth year. In cold winter weather, with engine/tranny cold, i.e. JD> overnight, when starting out it shifts fine from 1st to 2nd, but JD> doesn't want to shift from 2nd to 3rd. The engine races, but JD> the tranny just slips. Once the 2nd to third shift does happen once or JD> twice, and I have driven a few blocks, from then all is normal. Have the Trans Governor checked, I think it is an external piece and has a cover similar to a master brake cylinder on the older cars (circa 80 ish Caprice if memory serves correctly) I know of one that had this same problem, though it was not a Dodge but trans governor gear at the end of the governor ($5 plastic gear) was replaced and the shifts were then normal. No guarantee, but..................... --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: * MacSavvy OS/2 BBS * Dallas, Texas * 972-250-4479 * (1:124/1208) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00020 Date: 02/24/98 From: JAN DEBOER Time: 07:05pm \/To: JASON WEDEHASE (Read 0 times) Subj: Timing belt lifespan? On 23 Feb 98 12:28:00 Jason Wedehase wrote to Jan Deboer... JD> Anyone know what the normal lifespan of these belts is? JW> My mom's '89 Dodge Daytona 2.5 throws one every 50K JW> MILES, almost like clockwork. I believe they went out JW> at about 50,003, 100,121 and 150K + change. I'm JW> surprised you still have that one! Yikes! Scary. Those are finely calibrated belts. Reminds me of my VCR repair with 90 day warranty, which failed again on the 91st day. Just out of curiosity, are those belts from Chrysler, or are they aftermarket, and if so, from whom? Locally, Dodge dealer wants $38 for a belt, and the lowest price aftermarket belt is $15, with other suppliers price in between. I'm just wondering if there is a price/quality relationship, or if they all come from the same Chinese prison labour factory. --- Everything/2 * Origin: Tiny's BBS - Inet: tinys.oix.com / On,Canada (1:229/600) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00021 Date: 02/24/98 From: JAN DEBOER Time: 03:43pm \/To: JAY EMRIE (Read 0 times) Subj: Timing belt lifespan? On 23 Feb 98 19:18:00 JAY EMRIE wrote to JAN DEBOER... JE> CAn't help except to say, "Come down here! It was 81 F JE> today." VBG I wouldn't trust the belt for such a long trip! :-) You're just trying to make me feel bad. Actually, it was 40 F here today, and no snow. Great winter, unless you own a ski resort. I bet timing belts don't last long in that heat, either. --- Everything/2 * Origin: Tiny's BBS - Inet: tinys.oix.com / On,Canada (1:229/600) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 246 AUTOMOTIVE Ref: F2U00022 Date: 02/25/98 From: DON DELLMANN Time: 05:22am \/To: JOHN FAERBER (Read 0 times) Subj: Insurance Rates Go Up? While tripping merrily through the mail, John Faerber was overheard DD> Depends on the Company. If you're with a "Stock" company, probably not. DD> If you're with a "Mutual" company, they probably will. In fact, with a JF> Can you help me with difference between Stock and Mutual? It's in the way the company is structured. A "Stock" company is a regular publicly traded Corporation. A "Mutual" company the policy holders each have a "share" in the company. Generally a Mutual Company will have lower rates initially, but much stricter standards for claims. "Prudential" is a Stock Company, "State Farm" is a Mutual. Another analogy would be like the difference between the "First National Bank" and the "XYZ Credit Union". Don ... He then left in a Huff (A small German sportscar). --- * Origin: *YOPS ]I[* 8.4 GIG * RA/FD/FE * Milwaukee, WI (1:154/750)