Serious Annoyance...
 

On 4/26/2016 3:59 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 4/26/16 3:45 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 13:15:52 -0400, Keyser Söze
wrote:


I go through the gears on Mr. Blue when starting up from a dead stop,
and downshift through them to negotiate steeper hills and 90 degree
turns. First is pretty close to a stump puller, but the truck is not a
lightweight, so I use first to get rolling. I usually don't use
fifth or
sixth unless I'm out on State Route 4 or better.


It's a Tacoma, correct? It's actually pretty light as pickups go.
Depending on configuration it's curb weight is around 4K lbs. Compare
that to a full sized medium duty pickup like a Chevy 2500 or a Ford
F250. Curb weight is over 6K lbs for the gas models. Heck, the curb
weight on the Nissan Altima I recently bought is only about 500-600 lbs
less than the Tacoma.


I think my model weighs 4500 pounds, but it's only a V6. If memory
services, the four cylinder Altima we had weighed about 3100 pounds.

The one I just bought is 3,197 for the bare bones "S" model to 3,463 lbs
for the fully loaded "SL" model with the V6. Mine is somewhere in
between, being the SL but with the four banger.

Still getting used to the weird CVT transmission that doesn't shift.
Reminds me of older automatics that were "slipping". Cracks me up going
down a steep hill with your foot off the gas. RPMs climb but
it is doing engine braking.

Serious Annoyance...
 

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:53:58 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/26/2016 3:33 PM, wrote:

At 2500 RPM, 1st is 12, 2d is 22, 3d is 31, 4th is 40 and 5th is
faster than I could go from here to publix.
I downshifted to 3 from 5 to make the turn into the Publix lot road
(made the light) and hit 2d while I was in the lot itself.
I do hit these turns pretty hard tho. That Prelude still handles
pretty well, probably better than my 69 Corvette ;-)



Car engines today are designed to rev higher than in the old days and
the torque/horsepower ratings can be deceiving because they are
developed at RPM's that you don't get near in normal driving. It's
interesting to look at their horsepower/torque curves and compare them
to the old big blocks of the 60's. A big old 454, 440 or the famous 426
Hemi developed gobs of torque at 3000 RPM or so. The new
engines can develop decent torque but at much higher RPM.

This V-tech doesn't really step out until you hit 5k RPM and the valve
timing changes. Then it feels like the secondaries opening on an old
Quadrajet. I assume the gas mileage starts dropping pretty fast too.
If you drive it up in that power band it is a pretty peppy little car,
for what it is (2 liter) but I get pretty good mileage if I drive a
tad more conservatively. I really don't drive enough to notice the
difference tho.

Serious Annoyance...
 

On 4/26/2016 4:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:53:58 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/26/2016 3:33 PM, wrote:

At 2500 RPM, 1st is 12, 2d is 22, 3d is 31, 4th is 40 and 5th is
faster than I could go from here to publix.
I downshifted to 3 from 5 to make the turn into the Publix lot road
(made the light) and hit 2d while I was in the lot itself.
I do hit these turns pretty hard tho. That Prelude still handles
pretty well, probably better than my 69 Corvette ;-)



Car engines today are designed to rev higher than in the old days and
the torque/horsepower ratings can be deceiving because they are
developed at RPM's that you don't get near in normal driving. It's
interesting to look at their horsepower/torque curves and compare them
to the old big blocks of the 60's. A big old 454, 440 or the famous 426
Hemi developed gobs of torque at 3000 RPM or so. The new
engines can develop decent torque but at much higher RPM.

This V-tech doesn't really step out until you hit 5k RPM and the valve
timing changes. Then it feels like the secondaries opening on an old
Quadrajet. I assume the gas mileage starts dropping pretty fast too.
If you drive it up in that power band it is a pretty peppy little car,
for what it is (2 liter) but I get pretty good mileage if I drive a
tad more conservatively. I really don't drive enough to notice the
difference tho.


When Chrysler introduced the current "Hemi" that they use in their cars
and trucks I was really kinda disappointed. I bought a 2004 Durango
with the Hemi thinking it would have some "ummph" to it. It was ok but
again, it's rated horsepower and torque was developed at some ridiculous
RPM (around 6K, IIRC) that you would never do in normal driving.
Normal acceleration with RPM up to about 3500 didn't feel all that
thrilling. Certainly not the same as tromping on the gas in the '67
GTO I had with a four speed. Threw your head back.

Serious Annoyance...
 

On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 16:26:47 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/26/2016 4:17 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:53:58 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 4/26/2016 3:33 PM, wrote:

At 2500 RPM, 1st is 12, 2d is 22, 3d is 31, 4th is 40 and 5th is
faster than I could go from here to publix.
I downshifted to 3 from 5 to make the turn into the Publix lot road
(made the light) and hit 2d while I was in the lot itself.
I do hit these turns pretty hard tho. That Prelude still handles
pretty well, probably better than my 69 Corvette ;-)



Car engines today are designed to rev higher than in the old days and
the torque/horsepower ratings can be deceiving because they are
developed at RPM's that you don't get near in normal driving. It's
interesting to look at their horsepower/torque curves and compare them
to the old big blocks of the 60's. A big old 454, 440 or the famous 426
Hemi developed gobs of torque at 3000 RPM or so. The new
engines can develop decent torque but at much higher RPM.

This V-tech doesn't really step out until you hit 5k RPM and the valve
timing changes. Then it feels like the secondaries opening on an old
Quadrajet. I assume the gas mileage starts dropping pretty fast too.
If you drive it up in that power band it is a pretty peppy little car,
for what it is (2 liter) but I get pretty good mileage if I drive a
tad more conservatively. I really don't drive enough to notice the
difference tho.


When Chrysler introduced the current "Hemi" that they use in their cars
and trucks I was really kinda disappointed. I bought a 2004 Durango
with the Hemi thinking it would have some "ummph" to it. It was ok but
again, it's rated horsepower and torque was developed at some ridiculous
RPM (around 6K, IIRC) that you would never do in normal driving.
Normal acceleration with RPM up to about 3500 didn't feel all that
thrilling. Certainly not the same as tromping on the gas in the '67
GTO I had with a four speed. Threw your head back.


My 67 Chevelle was like that but it was bought that way. It had a 456
rear and I could chirp the tires in 4th gear.

Serious Annoyance...
 

On Mon, 25 Apr 2016 16:28:58 -0400, Keyser Söze wrote:

On 4/25/16 4:19 PM, Keine Keyserschei?e wrote:
On Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:34:00 -0400, Keyser Söze wrote:

On 4/25/16 10:35 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 25 Apr 2016 09:25:00 -0400, Keine Keyserscheiße
wrote:

I guess I lucked out. The original owner of my truck must have bought a lifetime subscription. Mine
has been playing for five years now, and I've never heard from them. Only place to get 'Bluegrass
Junction'!
--

... and he forgot or just did not know he could transfer that to
another receiver


Maybe that's why he got rid of the truck. :)
I don't "get" the concept of Sirius unless you happen to live in a
really ****ty media market with limited choices of radio programming or
you don't have a little player that holds hundreds or thousands of your
selections you can play through your car radio. My truck's radio came
with about a half dozen of these subscription services pre-programmed
that you have to sign up and pay for...not likely I'll choose any of them.

DC is a great media market, but the media is full of commercials. I'd rather listen to music without
a commercial every two to three minutes.

If I were you, I'd stick with your little player.
--

The "media" is only full of commercials if you dial up a "commercial"
radio station. I don't. I listen to two non-commercial "classical music"
stations and WAMU for news and intelligent discussions. If I happen to
not like the music selections available on the radio, I simply switch to
the 30+ gigs of my favorite music on my iPhone, ranging from Aaron
Neville to Wynton Marsalis, with thousands of alphabetical stops in
between, including the Dillards. I think but I am not sure that the
truck sound system will also play, via bluetooth, my favorite internet
radio stations, which are also non-commercial. Haven't tried that yet.

For my bluegrass break this morning, I was listening to Vivaldi's music
for lute and mandolin.

You are such a man, Krause.
--

Ban liars, tax cheats, juvenile name-callers, and narcissists...not guns!

Serious Annoyance...
 

On 4/26/16 5:39 PM, Keine Keyserschei�e wrote:
On Mon, 25 Apr 2016 16:28:58 -0400, Keyser Söze wrote:

On 4/25/16 4:19 PM, Keine Keyserschei?e wrote:
On Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:34:00 -0400, Keyser Söze wrote:

On 4/25/16 10:35 AM, wrote:
On Mon, 25 Apr 2016 09:25:00 -0400, Keine Keyserscheiße
wrote:

I guess I lucked out. The original owner of my truck must have bought a lifetime subscription. Mine
has been playing for five years now, and I've never heard from them. Only place to get 'Bluegrass
Junction'!
--

... and he forgot or just did not know he could transfer that to
another receiver


Maybe that's why he got rid of the truck. :)
I don't "get" the concept of Sirius unless you happen to live in a
really ****ty media market with limited choices of radio programming or
you don't have a little player that holds hundreds or thousands of your
selections you can play through your car radio. My truck's radio came
with about a half dozen of these subscription services pre-programmed
that you have to sign up and pay for...not likely I'll choose any of them.

DC is a great media market, but the media is full of commercials. I'd rather listen to music without
a commercial every two to three minutes.

If I were you, I'd stick with your little player.
--

The "media" is only full of commercials if you dial up a "commercial"
radio station. I don't. I listen to two non-commercial "classical music"
stations and WAMU for news and intelligent discussions. If I happen to
not like the music selections available on the radio, I simply switch to
the 30+ gigs of my favorite music on my iPhone, ranging from Aaron
Neville to Wynton Marsalis, with thousands of alphabetical stops in
between, including the Dillards. I think but I am not sure that the
truck sound system will also play, via bluetooth, my favorite internet
radio stations, which are also non-commercial. Haven't tried that yet.

For my bluegrass break this morning, I was listening to Vivaldi's music
for lute and mandolin.

You are such a man, Krause.
--

Compared to you, my neutered cats are men.

And the truck system does play internet radio stations, but, of course,
eat into my monthly data allotment.

There's no reason to listen to "commercial" radio stations in the DC
market. There are plenty of no-cost alternatives.

WAMU-FM at American University used to have bluegrass every afternoon.
Now, on 105.5 FM, it has WAMU Bluegrass Country, transmitted from a
tower in Bethesda. Commercial free.

Serious Annoyance...
 

wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 05:42:54 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I run through town in 3rd on my Guzzi. Get it out on the road and a lot
of times I'll do the 1-3-5 Dom a dead stop. Lugging isn't good. I agree

Lugging is not really a problem if you are spinning up 2500 or more
and with a useable RPM band of 2500-7500 (the redline) you don't need
that many gears to get a little car like mine going.
The V-tech doesn't even kick in until 5000.
If you are driving aggressively you probably try to stay between 5000
and 7000 and if you are not in a hurry you stay between 2500 and 5000,
In normal light to light, 1-3-5 seems to work fine and I end up using
2 and 4 when i am slowing down for turns and such. Four is probably
the least used gear. With the speed limits around here and some well
timed lights, I spend most of the time in 5.



Just like in the old 4 speed pickup. Never used first. Was the granny
low.

Serious Annoyance...
 

Ryan P. wrote:
On 4/23/2016 3:32 PM, True North wrote:
Mr. Luddite
- show quoted text -
"I was reading the other day that most of the AM stations are being shut
down or sold to special interest broadcasters. Affected is the first
commercial radio station in the USA ... WBZ in Boston. I used to
listen to 'BZ all the time as a kid ... Red Sox games and then Dick
Summer and Larry Glick at night. Too bad to see them being shut down
but they are another casualty of the Internet and technology."


I don't think there is a single am station left around here.

Interesting. The two top-rated stations up here are AM stations. One
is a news/sports station and the other is a news/talk.

Its kinda sad, actually... I worked for 10 years as a DJ in music
radio, and watched it go from Fun (the DJ's were allowed to have
personality and fun, which formed a "gotta listen" relationship with the
public) to Vanilla (minimal personality is desired because Corporate
wants the listener to like the brand, not the DJ).

Of course, outside of morning drive, very few music stations have a
live person actually in the studio. Assuming the show isn't
satellite-delivered, its either voice-tracked from another state (like
Entercom and Clear Channel iHeart stations), or the local DJ prerecords
it and while they are "on-the air" are really in a production booth
somewhere making commercials.





Rush Limbaugh originally started as a top 40 DJ in Sacramento. So
personality did matter then.

Serious Annoyance...
 

wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 13:15:52 -0400, Keyser Söze
wrote:

On 4/26/16 1:07 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 05:42:54 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

I run through town in 3rd on my Guzzi. Get it out on the road and a
lot of times I'll do the 1-3-5 Dom a dead stop. Lugging isn't good. I agree

Lugging is not really a problem if you are spinning up 2500 or more
and with a useable RPM band of 2500-7500 (the redline) you don't need
that many gears to get a little car like mine going.
The V-tech doesn't even kick in until 5000.
If you are driving aggressively you probably try to stay between 5000
and 7000 and if you are not in a hurry you stay between 2500 and 5000,
In normal light to light, 1-3-5 seems to work fine and I end up using
2 and 4 when i am slowing down for turns and such. Four is probably
the least used gear. With the speed limits around here and some well
timed lights, I spend most of the time in 5.


I go through the gears on Mr. Blue when starting up from a dead stop,
and downshift through them to negotiate steeper hills and 90 degree
turns. First is pretty close to a stump puller, but the truck is not a
lightweight, so I use first to get rolling. I usually don't use fifth or
sixth unless I'm out on State Route 4 or better.


That is just a reflection of the Northeast thing. Your roads were laid
out when people were riding horses and they have fairly low speed
limits. In SW Florida the 2 lane blacktops are 50 or 60, Us 41 is 55
at the end of the feeder road to my street and the interstate is 70.
Most people speed, at least 10 over. The cops seem to not really care
until you are 15 or 20 over is you are not on a residential street or
s school zone. Unlike Maryland, they do not see speeding as a profit
center.
I have to say I am not really that conscious of what gear I am in most
of the time. I drive by the sound of the engine and the feel of the
road. After 15 years in this car, I just pick the gear instinctively.
I have been driving a stick all my life.
I was out today and 1-3-5 is not right. On US41 it was more like 1-2-5
on my little trip today
At 2500 RPM, 1st is 12, 2d is 22, 3d is 31, 4th is 40 and 5th is
faster than I could go from here to publix.
I downshifted to 3 from 5 to make the turn into the Publix lot road
(made the light) and hit 2d while I was in the lot itself.
I do hit these turns pretty hard tho. That Prelude still handles
pretty well, probably better than my 69 Corvette ;-)


I went to automatics for daily driver in 1968. After towing my
B-production vette in a hundred miles of traffic leaving Laguna Seca, and
the leg cramping from clutch usage, went to Automatic on next car. Other
than my VW Rabbit in the 80's no sticks required.

Serious Annoyance...
 

Tim wrote:
I run through town in 3rd on my Guzzi. Get it out on the road and a lot of times I'll do the 1-3-5 Dom a dead stop. Lugging isn't good. I agree


The last car we had with a manual tranny was light and strong so
starting in 2nd was the norm on a flat surface. From there, 4th to 6th
was fine when running up to speed.