EnG Weekend Snippets
Wow. I’ve been absorbed in work and family life for the last couple of weeks and haven’t kept up with the site at all, so forgive me if I duplicate Swade’s previous entries. Since Swade’s away, I thought it best that I take a crack at putting a few things up.
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If Swade can have his fling with another marque, I can weigh in with my alternate: American muscle. As I’ve said before, my tastes run toward the GM and Mopar intermediates of the middle 1960’s to early 1970’s: 1972 Oldmobile 442, 1972 Buick GS, 1965 Pontiac GTO, 1970 Dodge Challenger 440/6, late 1960’s Plymouth GTX.
I’ve found my siren call.
Lately, I’ve been mesmerized by the Saturday broadcasts of Mecum collector car auctions on HD Theatre. If you tune in on Saturday night (I’m watching NOW!), the auction is carried LIVE. You may even bid online. The recorded auctions are run at other times during the following week; that’s where I’ve seen them most.
The collection of cars paraded through the “Chicken Coop” at the Indiana state fairgrounds in Indianapolis is simply astounding. Shelby Mustangs, Yanko Camaros, lime green Dodge Dusters with 426 Hemis, Corvettes from the 1950’s, etc. If it’s American and collectable, it’s there and it’s perfect. Mecum gathers other cars for the auction, too — tonight there was a 1935 Packard that brought US$260,000, a beautiful 1959 Mercedes Benz convertible, a 1916 Ford Model-T, a 1957 BMW Isetta and a hot rod made from a 1936 Essex (cool).
So if you want to see grown men bid US$72,000 on a 1967 Plymouth Hemi GTX (and see the owner reject the offer by standing firm on his reserve), tune in. There’s a new car every minute or so, and the guys on mic aren’t bad.
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I’m not a fan of CarDomain.com because the folks there tend toward ricer style and ricer tastes, but in a recent runoff, the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo Convertible beat out the 2008 Volvo C70 Convertible is an unofficial readers poll.
I suggest taking a win as a win and not delve too far into the comments or your blood pressure will go up, believe me.
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I don’t know why all of these great Sonett shots are popping up seemingly in close succession, but here’s another so good that I can’t pass it up. From os♥to on Flickr:
Sensational car, sensational picture from a great city, Copenhagen.
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And, I just found out this week from reading the 1999 Saab 9-5 Owner’s Manual that the conventional wisdom of tire rotation may not serve us so well anymore.
Per the 1999 Saab 9-5 Owner’s Manual, it is more important to have the better tread on the rear pair of tires, not the front as I’ve always known. In fact, it goes so far as suggesting that any new pair of tires should be mounted on the rear if an entire set of tires isn’t necessary.
All of my adult life, I’ve done the opposite: rotate regularly, but if push comes to shove, keep the better tires on the front for better steering and stopping.
Turns out that the tread on the rear tires is essential for reducing unwanted lateral motion, while the effect of worn front tires can be felt and compensated by the driver.
I’m not 100% convinced that this is an absolute, but this video demonstrates the concept:
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My local guy, Steve E, has always been advocate of best set on the back. I’ve always thought the same as you.
And that Sonett is a model for all future Sonett restorations.
Absolutely, that Sonett is perhaps the best I’ve ever seen. EnG
This is interesting. When i had my car serviced for the first time they told me it was better to move the new tires to the front and put the not so new tyres on the rear. These guys were SAAB specialists so I would have thought this was correct.
But how does that video you linked Eggs stand now in the days of TCS and ESP? The videos on the SAAB website seem to suggest the systems would intervene to stop the fishtailing.
And were those cars FWD or RWD? That was why I thought the best ones were to be on the front because they are the tyres that do the driving on a SAAB.
“All of my adult life, I’ve done the opposite: rotate regularly, but if push comes to shove, keep the better tires on the front for better steering and stopping.”
Sorry Eggs, but that is a _very_ bad advice!
People seem to think that braking have the same physics as accelerating and driving forward.
It has not!
When you brake hard the front of the car dives down, meaning that the major part of the car weight is carried by the front wheels AND THE REAR BECOMES VERY LIGHT.
If you have your best tires at the front it thus follows that when you brake, UNLESS YOU BRAKE IN PERFECT STRAIGHT LINE, you will loose the rear of the car and you will be fishtailing wildly, and probably go off the road.
Always, always mount the best tires at the rear!
This tyres idea goes against every bit of advice or expertise I’ve ever been given or exposed to.
I’m intrigued. Will do some mental gymnastics on it overnight and call some tyre techs tomorrow for their thoughts. Fascinating idea.
Cdp: the Ford Taurus used in the video is front-wheel-drive.
Good point about the newer traction systems, I can’t say what they would change about tire tread and tire rotation.
This comment from the CarDomain poll shows that Saab isn’t as well known for its safety heritage as Volvo is.. Stop selling Saabs as born from jets!
Mike
Apr 3, 2008 2:52:29 PM
I would probably pick the Volvo due to its well known safety, but you really have to test drive to find out what car is better!
I told you that you wouldn’t like the comments… EnG
Edonis: Yeah, that’s the one that got my blood pressure to go up.
Cdp: the Ford Taurus used in the video is front-wheel-drive.
Good point about the newer traction systems, I can’t say what they would change.
My tire specialist agrees with the video. Following the same logic, NEVER install winter tires only on the front of a FWD. Sure its better for taking off, but at the first curve on the slippery stuff, the rear will try to kiss the front. Believe me, I know what I am talking about. I tried it as an experiment on my 9000T many years ago. Talk about over-steer!
I couldn’t believe my sister’s Hyundai dealer advised her to do this this Winter because she couldn’t afford four snows. You’re better off without snows. The best than can happen is that you will get stuck in your driveway because of poor traction and will leave your car there…where it belongs, until the roads are plowed.
“I couldn’t believe my sister’s Hyundai dealer advised her to do this this Winter because she couldn’t afford four snows. You’re better off without snows.”
Actually, she be better off with the two winter tires on the rear. Then she have a hard time going anywhere but at least the rear would stay in place and not trying to kiss the front
In a safety-driving course with my previous Ford Focus ST170 (front wheel drive) I once had the older tires mounted on the rear and the newer on the front. I had no chance with several excercises unless I changed the bad ones to the front.
ESP and TCS do NOT change the physical behaviour of the car, they just assist the driver in preventing from an accident. So the rule that newer tires should be mounted on the back is still valid, even a car is fitted with ESP and/or TCS.
So after the experience with the Ford I have always the older tires mounted on the front and the newer on the back.
It´s sad that many people, and even journalists, don´t know about Saabs safety.
Regharding the C70.. Sales are going so slow that the factory in Gothenburg has stoped production for a week or as long as it takes.