6th gen Honda Civic owners - Gearing Question

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by mwilliamshs

just get it weighed at a truck stop, scrap yard, etc. For inspiration you could watch the French Connection first.

True I could. But by the time I'm not at work they are shut. 6am-6pm is fun😊*sarcasm*

[iveyjh]

I've been to lots of sites and most of them vary, I just took the first one I found. The one you found is probably the one he was looking for (all options).

[hayden55]

I'm trying to get new tires and a roof rack so I'm trying to watch load and not overload the tires or the car's capacity. Might start weight reduction items as well.
I figure I should replace the 5 year old tires considering how important my car is a 1200mi/wk and a blowout wouldn't be fun. That and the roof racks would help a ton in not having to borrow my father's truck from home for a week (going from 40+mpg to 18mpg), and if I want to go kayaking or anything else I just load them up.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by mwilliamshs

I replace everything in its 5th year (age recommended by most mfg and the DOT). I've lost enough tires to last me a lifetime. The last flat I had cost over $2,000 when it destroyed the fender of my DRW pickup. I'd just bought it and the tires were 6 years old. Checked the pressures and all looked good, blowout on the way home from the sellers house.

The blowouts seem like bad luck... I've run 30 year old tires on a motorcycle to the cords without an issue, and also 30 year old tires on a Buick Riviera. I've only once had a blowout, and that was from going airborne in a VW Bug and landing sidways, ripping the bead from the rim. My last flat was from someone shooting a 9mm bullet into the tread of my Jeep Liberty, and it still held air for 6hrs before going flat.

I'm not taking liability for people running older tires, but I am saying that it's unlikely to suffer a blowout due to tire age and no other abuse, such as under-inflation or previous severe internal damage from impact. Even a new tire is likely to blow out in this case.

[mwilliamshs]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

The blowouts seem like bad luck... I've run 30 year old tires on a motorcycle to the cords without an issue, and also 30 year old tires on a Buick Riviera. I've only once had a blowout, and that was from going airborne in a VW Bug and landing sidways, ripping the bead from the rim. My last flat was from someone shooting a 9mm bullet into the tread of my Jeep Liberty, and it still held air for 6hrs before going flat.

I'm not taking liability for people running older tires, but I am saying that it's unlikely to suffer a blowout due to tire age and no other abuse, such as under-inflation or previous severe internal damage from impact. Even a new tire is likely to blow out in this case.

Probably climate differences. 110* heat indexes (which do not include the surface temperature of asphalt) and 90%+ humidity days are the norm in Arkansas, where hayden and I both live, for about 1/3 of the year. Our interstates pile up with tire tread, literally. An old, weakened tire is far more likely to experience tread separation in extreme heat. BTW, a "blowout" is not the only form of tire failure.

Tires as old as those you describe were made differently and especially in the case of bias ply construction, were much more durable. New rubber compounds, those with high silica content especially, degrade more and lose more elasticity with age.

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by mwilliamshs

Probably climate differences. 110* heat indexes (which do not include the surface temperature of asphalt) and 90%+ humidity days are the norm in Arkansas, where hayden and I both live, for about 1/3 of the year. Our interstates pile up with tire tread, literally. An old, weakened tire is far more likely to experience tread separation in extreme heat. BTW, a "blowout" is not the only form of tire failure.

Tires as old as those you describe were made differently and especially in the case of bias ply construction, were much more durable. New rubber compounds, those with high silica content especially, degrade more and lose more elasticity with age.

Yup the weather here is retarded. Update on the window tint. So, last Friday I drove to Germantown in Memphis to a 3m dealer to get my driver window tint. 40% 3m Crystalline. 90 bucks and it keeps out 13% more heat than their standard 5% tint. So my tint setup is now a 6" 5% brow and a 40% crystalline window. I only spent like 10 bucks at walmart for my brow. AND a huge (hilarious) bonus: when I was walking back in the shop to check out the tint they had a 12" x 18" piece of my tint they trimmed off just laying on the floor so I asked if I could have it and they gave it to me so I put that patch on my windshield right under my brow and in directly in front of me. So it keeps all but maybe a 3" line of sun off my torso if driving into the sun, and if the sun is on my driver's side it keeps all the sun off me and the steering wheel as well. Huge improvement. Feels like i'm sitting in the shade in 100 degree weather versus laying down in the street baking in the sun. haha

Also it is hot AF in AR from May until the end of Sept. Pretty much same weather all the way through.

[mwilliamshs]

Originally Posted by hayden55

...I drove to Germantown in Memphis to a 3m dealer to get my driver window tint. 40% 3m Crystalline. 90 bucks and it keeps out 13% more heat than their standard 5% tint...

$90 for how many windows?

Originally Posted by hayden55

...a 12" x 18" piece of my tint...I put that patch on my windshield right under my brow and in directly in front of me...

AR state law says windshield tint is allowed only on the top 5" of glass

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by mwilliamshs

$90 for how many windows?




AR state law says windshield tint is allowed only on the top 5" of glass

Yup. lol
I'll just peel them off if I have a problem.
I've been with friends who have been pulled over and it is usually peel it off before the court date and no fine.

90.13$ for one window.
Look up the prices on 3m crystalline 40% and factor in that I always **** up my tint installs for the most part.

Finally pulled the trigger on Michelin Defender 175/70/14's.
I'm gonna put these back on the vehicle with custom smooth ABS plastic disk wheel covers. Then finally throw the $50 dollar almost 6 year old wheel and tire setup back on craigslist.

[mwilliamshs]

Originally Posted by hayden55

...90.13$ for one window.
Look up the prices on 3m crystalline 40%...

Any thoughts on the economy of tinting one window with very very good film vs tinting them all with good film? Or maybe I've misunderstood, do you have all windows tinted and had the driver's redone in a better film?

I feel confident tinting all windows to a lesser degree of heat rejection leads to greater driver comfort with less ac dependence via lower cabin temperature than tinting only the driver's window to a higher degree of heat rejection. Maybe the driver only method would work if the sun was always on your left while driving and while parked and the rear side window was otherwise blocked from the sun. Just seems implausible.

My best local quote is $110 for 5 window tinting. Fuel and time to Memphis and back (120 miles one way) would make the $20 difference a wash I'd say. Still think I'd rather have more good tint than less great tint

[hayden55]

[/QUOTE] Maybe the driver only method would work if the sun was always on your left while driving and while parked and the rear side window was otherwise blocked from the sun. Just seems implausible.

My best local quote is $110 for 5 window... [/QUOTE]

For reference I drive Mon-Fri, 140mi per day with the sun on my direct left so it is plausible. That's 2-2.333hr/day of direct sun light through my driver's window. It was so bad after about a month my left arm is much darker than my right arm.
That quote isn't bad. What city? What tint? I want to tint out the rest with standard tint once i fix the track of the other windows better.