TIRES - please read

[Yamaha V6]

Is it possible that running low pressure at the strip might have overheated the tires? The rolling resistance is much higher with the tires at low pressure, thus generating more heat.

Bob

Fronts were lowered, not rears. Rear blew out.

 

[Markus]

rangerj:
Detonator,

At 70mph there should be a minimum of 7 car lengths between you and the car in front of you. This leaves plenty of room to safely handle a blown tire, at any speed. I know, it aint gonna happen, 17 ricers would fill the gap!

As for NOT expecting it, you should be ready for anything at anytime, it is called "defensive driving". You should have both hands on the steering wheel at all times, except for the brief times it takes to shift.

The problem is, as you say, the weavers, tail-gaters, "burm-runners", and the idiots who are talking on the cell phone, reading the newspaper, eating, drinking, playing with the radio, and putting on make-up or jewelery (or shaving), all at the same time.

Any they usually have no clue as to how to check their tire pressure, or anything else for that matter.

They get into an accident and they sue the manufacturer of the vehicle, or the tire maker, go figure!

We need a national license, like they have in England (United Kingdom). And we need a driving test like England. Then half the clowns driving the ricers will not get a license until they mature, IMHO.

In the UK if you get caught doing 30 mph over the limit you can lose your license for LIFE. (I'd have to slow down a little, OK, OK, a lot!)

We also need to do what some states have done, that is, not let anyone without a high school diploma have a license. (They make exceptions for "family needs".

Unfortunately the States have "dumbed down" the requirements for a drivers license, as well as for a high school diploma. Did anybody out there who got a license in the last 10 years have to paralell park as part of the test?

In order to compensate for this the goverment wants to make the manufacturers put sensors in the cars to tell us when a tire is low on pressure, at $70 a pop. So you and I pay $280 more for a new car to compensate for the idiots.

Yamaha v6, I'm glad you are OK. You handled it without rolling over, and thats the point! You had your head on your driving, and not up your tailpipe, know what I mean Vern? And thats the point of all this light hearted banter.

Lets see if we can keep it between the ditches! rangerj

Very well said. Especially the part about two hands on the wheel. I have 5 friends who have had blowouts at speeds over 60mph over the past 20 years. The three who were driving with two hands on the wheel, at speeds greater than the two using one hand, successfully stopped. The other two crashed.

From a control point of view, positioning hands at 9 and 3 on the wheel means you are using muscles of wrists and elbows to control the car. Using one hand at the top of wheel means you are using your shoulder muscles to control the car. Very simply, shoulder muscles do not allow for the same level of fine motor control than wrist/elbow muscles. Relying on shoulder muscles to try to control a car wanting to go out of control will get you in trouble.

I have seen lots of people cornering enthusiastically with one hand on the wheel. Their path through the corner is anything but smooth. It ends up being a zig-zag path. If the speeds are high enough this zig-zag path will lead to loss of control. All inputs to a car (steering/brake/throttle/shifting) should be done smoothly. At high speeds this means using two hands on the wheel.

Another thing that almost nobody thinks about is hand position and airbags. Driving with one hand on the top of the wheel, or simply with it across the airbag, when an airbag deploys is very likely going to send your arm crashing into your face. Broken arms and/or broken bones of the head are very likely to occur. Unfortunately people find this out the hard way. And some of these people include my wife. She lost the use of her right hand when an airbag pushed her arm into her face. Her arm broke in three places. Her arm's radial nerve was destroyed.

In the UK you may or may not have your licence suspended for 30 mph over the limit. It is a discretionary suspension. It is NOT a lifetime suspension. It is usually for 6 months. A good friend of my family living in London is a professional chauffer. He recently got caught at 130 mph on the motorway (most UK motorways [freeways] have a 70 mph limit). He received just a fine and 6 points. Five or six years ago I was driving on the M1 in the UK. I was doing 95 mph in a 70 mph limit. One of the bridges across the motorway had a pixelboard sign attached to it. As I approached the bridge the sign displayed my car's number plate (licence plate), my speed, and told me to slow down. Pretty cool! No ticket was issued.

Apparently speeding in Switzerland can be dangerous to your licence. I came across the following letter to a British car magazine. The author states:

"However in Switzerland there is a grading system which takes into account the road type, the conditions and the specific limit. At 15mph over the limit in a residential area you get a five-week jail spell and a huge fine."

See the URL
BBC Top Gear


Edited to correct a spelling mistake.

<small>[ July 25, 2003, 02:12 PM: Message edited by: Markus ]</small>