Insurance, legality and your modifications

[pletby]

Originally Posted by LittleBlackDuck

Doesn't it concern you that you may injure or kill a pedestrian because you modded the car to save a few drops of fuel?

Simon

I would say the vast majority of the drivers on this forum who modify their cars pay much more attention to what's going around them in traffic with the intent of conserving momentum but with the side benefit of vastly improved situational awareness than those that don't. We'll also likely be driving a tad slower than the inattentive majority of the drivers around us.

We also represent a regrettably small portion of the driving population. So with all that said your stunned texting pokemon playing pedestrian is going to die at the hands of many more average drivers driving 'regulation' vehicles any day of the week. Period.

[freebeard]

When I'm driving I continually run scary, what-if disaster scenarios in my head. But I discount them when they [mostly] don't happen.

Come to think of it, also when I'm a pedestrian. Or riding my bike. Or a passenger on the bus.

[LittleBlackDuck]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Do stop by from time to time to see how the pot you stirred is simmering.

Freebeard, it is bubbling away really well. I am interested in others opinions and will post more replies later today when I get some time.

Simon

[LittleBlackDuck]

Originally Posted by aardvarcus

I am really glad you can afford two Lexus. Per the website, a CT 200h with the minimum options to get active collision avoidance is $40,450 USD. So I can get one for me and my wife for $80,900. That might be a bit out of my budget. But to be realistic, you would want to get the F-Sport suspension and sway bars, because anyone who really cared about safety would want be make sure the car had the best handling possible.

Not quite as expensive as that. I bought both secondhand. The CT was $20K AUD and it has everything in it. The RX was nearly double that but cheap compared to the list price of nearly $120K.

Both are the Sports Luxury model which has the uprated suspension with all of the luxury bits too. Their handling and stopping is unbelievable.

[LittleBlackDuck]

Originally Posted by pletby

I would say the vast majority of the drivers on this forum who modify their cars pay much more attention to what's going around them in traffic with the intent of conserving momentum but with the side benefit of vastly improved situational awareness than those that don't. We'll also likely be driving a tad slower than the inattentive majority of the drivers around us.

We also represent a regrettably small portion of the driving population. So with all that said your stunned texting pokemon playing pedestrian is going to die at the hands of many more average drivers driving 'regulation' vehicles any day of the week. Period.

Pletby, I dont disagree with your premise that most of us will be more attentive than Joe Public, but SOME of the modifications put forward are downright irresponsible in my opinion.

Having said that, there is a quote that goes something like:

Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has got one. Some stink and most should not be seen in public.

and it applies to me as much as everybody else.

Simon

[LittleBlackDuck]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

As for tire grip; the sideways grip seems to improve with high pressure due to less deformation. High tire pressure may help avoid danger, even if braking distance suffers (which I doubt, actually).

One thing that goes beyond doubt is that both braking and handling improve when you get top tier tires.
All cars and bikes I bought secondhand had cheap tires on them, all of them improved dramatically when fitted with the right stuff.
I air up my tires (moderately, even) with a clear conscience.

RedDevil, agreed totally and there is a happy medium that delivers improved economy, better handling and also reduced braking distances. I do not believe that it is 25% in excess of the maximum sidewall pressure...

I also run my tyres at an increased pressure, generally about 20-25% above the manufacturer's recommended. I also run a tyre pressure monitoring system to alert me of a puncture and to optimise economy. These can be bought aftermarket for around $80 and will more than pay for themselves if you avoid one puncture being run flat at highway speed.

Simon

[LittleBlackDuck]

Originally Posted by freebeard

When I'm driving I continually run scary, what-if disaster scenarios in my head. But I discount them when they [mostly] don't happen.

Come to think of it, also when I'm a pedestrian. Or riding my bike. Or a passenger on the bus.

Yep! Treat everybody else on the road as a homicidal maniac intent on killing you. Unfortunately, 99% of the time you are accurate.

Simon

[aardvarcus]

I think I am going to have to stop posting in this thread, it must be bad karma as I almost got hit on the highway yesterday.

I was traveling the speed limit of 55 with my cruise on in the slow lane of a four lane highway. Conditions were very sparse traffic nobody even near me. As I approached a green traffic light, there is a car in the turn lane opposite me waiting to turn left. That car would have had a green as well, so he was to yield to oncoming traffic (me). Just as I am about to enter into the intersection, I see the car in the turn lane start to come forward. For a split second I thought he was just inching up to turn right after me, but as the car gained speed I quickly realized he intended to complete his turn right into my driver’s side door. I immediately swerved hard to the right into the shoulder area, but after going over about 10’ or so had to quickly correct back to straight so that I didn’t clip the front bumpers off of the cars waiting at the light on the cross road. All this was done in what felt like fractions of a second. I managed to miss both the impatient turner and the cars on the cross road but it was close.

I am not aware of any “crash avoiding” vehicle out there that would have handled that situation. If I or the car had simply hit the brakes I would have definitely been in a collision. If the car had attempted to hit the brakes on me while I was trying to swerve, I would have been in a collision.

As I cut my vehicle hard at speed I could feel the vehicle wanting to lift up and lose traction, but it didn’t. It was close though. I am glad to be running my front air dam, which noticeably increases down force and improves handling. I do not think that my truck would have made those two quick hard turning corrections without that airdam. There is little doubt in my mind that it have lost traction on the front steering axle and skidded during at least one of those turns. If I didn't execute both turns, I was going to hit or be hit by something.

So heres to ecomodder, yesterday the things I learned and implemented from this site most likely kept me out of a collision.

With that, I am signing out of this thread, as I no longer want to be a guinea pig for this topic. You guys have fun arguing the rest of the issues out. I think I and my menace to the world non-self-driving vehicles need to find something more productive to focus our energy on. I should probably start a thread on my 1994 Turbo Diesel Suburban project.

[LittleBlackDuck]

Aardvarcus, good to hear you are ok and avoided a collision.

Simon

[pletby]

Glad you're okay Aardvarcus.