Oh SH1T situations. What have u been in? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

ChillyBear · 02-09-2010, 02:47 AM

Well, I figured I would start a thread about mechanical/driver errors that could have really gone bad on our daily commutes and reckless adventures. Heres mine, please post your funny mishaps, no "my floormat is stuck" lol.

1. My 79' el camino had no e-brake cable and the proportioning valve was going out (tap the brakes and the fronts would lock up at random) I was exploring a back road at about 70 mph when I was coming up to a blind hill with a yellow sign that said "10mph" I figured that was just silly to do 10 miles per hour around a turn. When I came over the hill I saw a 90 degree turn with mature woods 10 feet off the road and lots of gravel on the turn. I said "oh ****" and hit the brakes, the front brakes locked up and didn't let off when I let off of the brake pedal, With some quick thinking I pumped the brakes about 75 feet before the turn and they let go, then I floored the gas and turned as fast as I could expecting to hit a tree at 40mph, Some how I managed to get the car sideways and into the turn quick enough to slide on the gravel and get grip right before the trees. I literally had a quarter sized spot of pee on my pants.

2. I had my fun little saab convertible with the top down and the 90wrms per channel stereo jammin' after a car wash. when I decided to floor the gas on a curvy back road, my wet shoe slipped off of the throttle into the gap infront of the center console, and getting my foot lodged between the firewall and console. This led to squeling tires, and angry guy getting his mail, and a cut that made me bleed and ruin my $80 dollar pair of white shoes. Good thing it wasn't a turbo, because I would have been in big trouble if the car actually had guts. Luckly I hit a dear six months later, which makes a great avitar pic

Piwoslaw · 02-09-2010, 04:34 AM

This looks like a thread created just for Christ

Christ · 02-09-2010, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

This looks like a thread created just for Christ

It's probably not a good idea to bypass the word filters on the forum. You might be seen as disrespectful, especially since it's a thread title, which people will inadvertently have to read, as opposed to the chance of missing it buried in a post somewhere.

luvit · 02-09-2010, 08:41 PM

i idled my accord to almost 500-600 RPM according to it;s RPM gauge.
since these cold winters hit, it sometimes, but rarely, stalls when i drive it (before it;s fully warmed-up).. i may have an OH SH1T situation before summer.

Christ · 02-09-2010, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvit

i idled my accord to almost 500-600 RPM according to it;s RPM gauge.
since these cold winters hit, it sometimes, but rarely, stalls when i drive it (before it;s fully warmed-up).. i may have an OH SH1T situation before summer.

Rent a dwell tach from autozone and check to make sure it's actually at the correct idle RPM. The tachs often don't read 100% accurately 20 years later, especially at lower RPM readings.

luvit · 02-09-2010, 09:04 PM

yeah, but i think it contributes to my occasional 38mpg when i shift to neutral.

Christ · 02-09-2010, 09:08 PM

Idle creates such a miniscule amount of your daily fuel usage (unless you idle alot), you wouldn't even notice the difference.

If it's only doing it when the engine is cold, it's likely just not getting enough fuel in the combustion charge. Not really a big deal, you could either run partial choke, or you could also put a heat riser on your exhaust manifold that might help it a little bit.