north wind and ecomod
 

Pondering contrast of several thoughts lately. One was computing, and realizing, I do not need to upgrade, after a certain chipset came out in 2004...

that is great news. The first in history to possibly go for a decade or more, and not sit there like a 386 multiplying single digit numbers ...

The other is of course the automobile and rigs.

There is a certain wind that starts in late november, sometimes earlier. It gets everything, indoors and out. It can make a brick building creak and moan...it can pop a mosfet off a mobo, it can do alot of things to what marketing deems strong.

I quickly remember, as if the wind slammed my brain...

no thoughts on aero. No thoughts on intricate sensors, dangling duct tapes, inferior wheels, tires, exhaust and even safe-lite replacement glass.... I ponder 1/8th inch thick urethane where it matters...

I ponder 2 gallons extra, each and every start for all fuel injected automobiles. Big goofy pulsing gas drop dangling slops buzzing away to whatever crystal is on the motherboard....and even that can't warm up ...

Ever heat a diesel fuel tank ...with diesel fuel burning underneath it? Those days are gone, unless a wilderness trucker, and even then, enough battery gets to an invertor....

Something to think about, the next time you get in a very non-american cultured 12 inch wheeled 3 cylinder vehicle....and call it economical..

I have found a champion, in just about everything...and it is not marketed.

A few gallons each and every cold start from here to may or june....

I'd rather yell at an old carbed sube in the cold..."warm up you stubborn bi**ch!".. and know, I saved enough for coffee and munchkins and dunkin donuts. :)

I mention this, because it is getting worse. When is the dainty gonna leave ...
solid states please. Solid as Gods weathers.

For sure!

Except no, EFI doesn't pissaway a coupla gallons every cold start. It just ain't. No way bucko. Nuh uh. Where did you come up with that? :confused: :thumbup:

I've heated diesel tanks with shallow pans filled with hot coals from the woodstove. Oh yeah, good times! not.

ANd I too need to copy XP or Vista or 7 or ? onto my old tower which just might have enough brains to handle it. ME and 98 are just too obsolete and they do sit there crunching numbers dumb.

Pondering urethane... weigh or estimate the weight of you soobyglass then weigh or estimate the weight of the plastic replacement... I've done it... weight savings weren't fantastic and fe impact for all practical purposes nil although if you're going after every last pound then OK... better dump before every trip!!! but realize you will no longer be able to scrape your windows when they frost up. That was one factor that kept me from doing it. Oh and the weight savings will NOT be enough to counteract all your welding and painting, I gurantee it! :eek: :)

You'd be better off saving weight by cutting large sections of body panels out and replacing them with fiberglass sheets... and really, you're still no better off than when you started.

I might suggest Windows 2000 Pro if you can't run XP reliably. Of course, there are also the various Linux distros, most of which seem to run themselves lately... no user interface required, other than learning that C:/ isn't a drive, it's an image of your computer's expression while running Windows software. Linux looks more like =)

(Sigh) You might want to look at a map of the US, and think about the fact that a good bit of the country - and even more of the people - is south of Maine, and therefore a good bit warmer. Heck, there are places where people haven't ever SEEN snow. So why should they drive around in Maine (or Alaska) capable vehicles? That just raises the price of fuel for everyone.

There's that, then there's also the fact that some of the more capable drivers can get around just fine with FWD vehicles, even during the winter. AWD isn't any safer than FWD, in fact, I often believe that it gives a false sense of safety to most drivers, who believe that just because they can go, they can also stop.

That and the people that think that if they can go this fast, they must be able to go faster just as safely.

Hopefully not venturing too far, uhm, north of the topic, but I can't quite agree. AWD and FWD are relatively equal safety-wise, when all-season tires are in use. But AWD + 4 winter tires is a whole 'nother matter.

I'm with Christ on this. 15 years in snow country, and the best combination is a light FWD and studded tires all around. My wife and I both preferred the ~2000 lb. RWD econocar to the 4500 lb. 4X4 (both with studded tires at all four corners, because the 4X4 took forever to stop on slick roads. Too much inertia. It's simple physics. The 4X4 was nice for packing down the snow before the plows got to our street, but once it was packed, all of us in my neighborhood got along just fine with our econoboxes, and my 5 mpg 4X4 stayed parked.

When we got FWD econoboxes, life was even better.

I agree with Frank on EFI v. carbs. You simply don't see EFI cars going down the road spewing out black unburned gas smoke, like you used to see with carburated cars.

How about a light AWD?

If I can get around northern MN with a lowered Tempo fwd on half-bald tires... how much traction do you need?

I've had AWD, 4WD, and FWD/RWD. I prefer the 2WD. It gets me to remember my limits. If i can't get out of the driveway, I don't go out on the road. It's that simple.

I don't believe that AWD handles any better with a responsible driver behind the wheel, except in the case that the responsible driver makes a mistake. It's bound to happen, of course, but does it merit having AWD sucking up your fuel and maintenance budget all the time? No. I don't think it does.

Most of the time, Simple is Effective. Anything more is often benign, therefore a waste.

No such animal, AFAIK. Name me one that weighs <3500 lbs that's available in the U.S.

1988-1991 Honda Civic Wagon RT-AWD, for one. I'm not sure about the Mitsubishi GSX and variants, they might be in that weight range, as well.

Either way, it's not necessary.

I wasn't aware of that Civic model, but it is at least 19 years old now.

Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 and Eclipse GSX, Eagle Talon TSi AWD, etc. are in the 3300 lb. range, essentially 3500 lb cars.

I'd put my money on a heads-up driver in a 2WD over an average driver in an AWD.

That's exactly how I feel... replace the added weight and complexity of the AWD system with a trained high speed course and associated driver education. Stop making the cars safer, make the drivers more responsible.

I have to disagree a bit. 4WD/AWD can be useful if you live where there are mountains, and a good light 4WD, like for instance pre-'85 Subarus, can get decent MPG.

That said, I did spend a couple of years making weekly trips over the Sierra Nevada (via Calif 88) in my Insight, and the only time I couldn't get through was when a jackknifed semi had blocked the road.

the majority of the population is not rural however, cuz that's just not what rural means.

I'm rural. I've never needed 4wd. If I can't get out of it with two wheels, I can get out of it with two feet, and that's probably how I should have gotten into it in the first place.

Hell, I go mudding with 2WD trucks.

Now, if you wanted to get up to where I get wood for the stove, that would require 4WD. And even that doesn't always make it.

Darn near every Subaru, old and new, for starters. TT and 3- and 4-series Audis, probably the older ones because they've been bloating upwards of late. (So have Subies, sad to say.) Honda CRVs and their ilk, although I am loathe to call their systems "AWD". A bunch of itty bitty SUV's from across the Pacific, from Kia and its bretheren.

If you insist on old and quirky there is of course the Justy. :)

I had Tempo AWD up there but took it down since it's 4WD.