cotharyus Wrote:Do what you want to do here, but over inflation can cause abnormal tire wear, which is to say, it will tend to bow the center of the tire out on the tread patch, resulting in the middle wearing bald while there is still tread on the shoulders of the tire.
Yeah that can happen, it really depends on the tire you're using and how you drive. I recommend starting out slightly above recommended pressure and working your way up to something that feels OK and watch your tires for abnormal wear. If you find yourself going through tires really quickly then obviously something is wrong.
reece146 Wrote:Back in the day this was true but not so much any more. Between a lock up torque converter and 4+ speeds in the automatic transmission some auto vehicles are rated better than their manual counterparts.
For the old cars I drive (10-20 years old) this is still true. The manuals are almost always rated at 5-6 mpg better from the factory specs than the automatics. There's always a little time during shifts though where there's slippage and in a manual you can control it, but in most automatics you can't, and you're going to waste a little power there. It's not much, but another point is that with an auto it's harder to use some of the other techniques to improve your mileage.
reece146 Wrote:Hmm, not a fan of turning off the engine for the safety reasons noted. Maybe if we were living in a post-apocalyptic "Mad Max" world (hmm, new car for vdrift?) I could get behind this. Couple of points:
Yeah it's not the safest way I agree. You've got to use your own discretion when it comes to this. I know my route to work very well, I know the blind areas and potential hazards and I can prepare myself for them. I am also not a spaz.
If you decide to try engine-off-coasting you better know what you're doing and getting into first.
reece146 Wrote:Some poeple mentioned using a K&N. I'm not a fan of these filters because they do not filter as well as a normal, quality filter.
Another argument against a K&N is that they're damn expensive. But one positive to them is that you can clean them when they get dirty and continue using them instead of just throwing them away and buying another. So performance is not the only reason to get a K&N.
reece146 Wrote:This alone is worth having a car with OBD-II - it'll tell you if your O2(s) is bad.
Not everyone has that choice, switching out your entire wiring harness, distributor, and more is often not worth the miniscule power gains you get from an OBDII conversion (my car is OBD0!) so you have to work with what you've got. Personally I got the hint that mine was bad when I was constantly smelling fuel in my exhaust.
reece146 Wrote:Very important points above. Don't do it on an old vehicle (oil leaks), depending on the car changing grade may not be a good idea - research the hell out of it before doing. Some engines run really hot and/or have marginal oiling systems - stick with mfg rec'ed grades for those cars. Some (most?) mfgs will have synth recs in the manual.
Check out
http://bobistheoilguy.com/ for more detailed info on oils. Lots of knowledgeable folks on the forum there.
