But it wasn't there last night!


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @C-Octothorpe said:

    @snoofle said:

    @blakeyrat said:

    Book-smart, maybe, but world-dumb.
    Bingo!

    This is the same kid, who, after driving for a week, her mother asked her if she had checked her gas guage yet, to which she replied: Why would I check it?

    Would she also believe you if you told her that all cars now require adding at least one gallon of maple syrup to ensure the engine fires correctly and the buffers stay flushed?  If so, I would even doubt "book-smart" and put her in the "she can remember a lot of things" category, which can be very scary depending on her career choice (i.e. doctor).

    I believe the canonical troll is headlight fluid.



  • @Cassidy said:

    @esoterik said:

     Ever seen two housewives backout from oposing garages and hit each other in the street? Who's fault is that?

    Both. Clearly neither were checking beforehand.

     

    Oh, Cassidy, just for reference, esoterik's is an example of a sexist remark. ;)

     



  • @dhromed said:

    @pjt33 said:

    Maybe checking tyre pressure too, but I assume that most people will be familiar with that from bicycles.
     

    Yes, because you just squeeze them between your fingers.

    HELL NO... Some bicycle tires run at pressures upwards of 70PSI, and even a 10% difference can have a measurable impact, and there is no way you are going to determine that by "squeezing". In fact for these types of tires, the only way to have a good pressure is to over-inflate and reeate through the gauge until the pressure is right (since the act of measureing the pressure using a conventional gauge will let out sufficient air that the tire is now underinflated.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @blakeyrat said:

    @morbiuswilters said:
    @pjt33 said:
    I have, on the other hand, once changed a wheel.

    "Changing a wheel": is this a British-ism? In the US we say "changing a tire" even though "changing a wheel" is definitely more accurate.

    When I change a wheel, I am simultaneously changing a tire. Blakeyrat on Logic, 2/2.

    How many spare wheels do you carry?



  • @boomzilla said:

    Yes, of course, but it's a lesson learned pretty quickly if you didn't already pick it up.

    Yeah, but like anything reactive lessons aren't always the best way to learn.

    @boomzilla said:

    Do they also need to make sure you can use both electric and manual windows?

    No, but solely because you can drive a car for some period of time without having to drop the window. Learning things about oil, water, tyre pressure aren't essential to driving, but are components of car maintanence, so it makes sense to have that as part of a lesson.

    I suppose, being a PD here, that a "school of motoring" sells "driving lessons" and not "car ownership lessons", but it's still a value-added component of a driving lesson.

    @boomzilla said:

    Do we really need a law for this stuff?

    No... not sure where the law features in there.

    @boomzilla said:

    Do these people need to be monitored to ensure that they breathe, too?

    There are many people in UK who are so chronically stupid that they probably require this level of observation. Overlooking rather than overseeing is doing both a favour...



  • I'm of the opinion that every drivers' training road test should begin you with a car that has a punctured tire, an uninflated spare in the trunk, a dead battery, an empty gas tank, a few ounces of oil left, and a blown ignition fuse. The car is conveniently parked only 50 feet away from the air compressor, quick charger, gas pump, and oil pump. If you're physically handicapped, you will be afforded an extra 15 minutes for the test. If you're missing a limb, you can use an automatic transmission.



  • @db2 said:

    I'm of the opinion that every drivers' training road test should begin you with a car that has a punctured tire, an uninflated spare in the trunk, a dead battery, an empty gas tank, a few ounces of oil left, and a blown ignition fuse. The car is conveniently parked only 50 feet away from the air compressor, quick charger, gas pump, and oil pump. If you're physically handicapped, you will be afforded an extra 15 minutes for the test. If you're missing a limb, you can use an automatic transmission.
    No matter how hard you try to stop stupidity by usage of rules and laws, idiots will always find far more creative ways to disappoint you.



  • @TheCPUWizard said:

    HELL NO... Some bicycle tires run at pressures upwards of 70PSI, and even a 10% difference can have a measurable impact, and there is no way you are going to determine that by "squeezing". In fact for these types of tires, the only way to have a good pressure is to over-inflate and reeate through the gauge until the pressure is right (since the act of measureing the pressure using a conventional gauge will let out sufficient air that the tire is now underinflated.

    You know what's awesome? Pedeantic dickweed posts! This thread needed more of those, thanks CPUWizard for being a complete tool.


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @Cassidy said:

    @boomzilla said:
    Do they also need to make sure you can use both electric and manual windows?

    No, but solely because you can drive a car for some period of time without having to drop the window. Learning things about oil, water, tyre pressure aren't essential to driving, but are components of car maintanence, so it makes sense to have that as part of a lesson.

    Ah, so you want to kill dogs. And small children.

    @Cassidy said:

    @boomzilla said:
    Do we really need a law for this stuff?

    No... not sure where the law features in there.

    Eh, I guess it was standard extrapolation on my part of the modern totalitarian nanny state. "X is a good idea? Make a law! Now, X is mandatory!" Of course, I'm sure these same people who don't understand the relationship between fuel and driving are meticulous when it comes to charging their cell phone or music player batteries.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @TheCPUWizard said:
    HELL NO... Some bicycle tires run at pressures upwards of 70PSI, and even a 10% difference can have a measurable impact, and there is no way you are going to determine that by "squeezing". In fact for these types of tires, the only way to have a good pressure is to over-inflate and reeate through the gauge until the pressure is right (since the act of measureing the pressure using a conventional gauge will let out sufficient air that the tire is now underinflated.

    You know what's awesome? Pedeantic dickweed posts! This thread needed more of those, thanks CPUWizard for being a complete tool.

    I dont see how my post was either:  1) ostentatious in one's learning. or 2) overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.

    While improper (but not criticaly "bad") inflation of an automotive tire will cause wear, millage issues, ride comfort, etc issues, it will rarely be something that causes a significant difference in the trip itself. So it you tire pressure is supposed to be 28 PSI, and you are running 26 to 30 PSI, many people will not even notice the diference. On the otherhand, if riding a (human powered) bicycle and the tire pressure is off by this much (percentage), then the effort required to maintain a speed over a difference can quickly change from comfortable to exhausting quite quickly.



  • @TheCPUWizard said:

    I dont see how my post was either: 1) ostentatious in one's learning. or 2) overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.

    Ok, Mr Spock.

    What the fuck is up with your HTML? You wrapped every word in its own SPAN? Why would you do that? Why do you change the cursor on "obstentatious" and "concerned"? What the fuck?



  • @Cassidy said:

    Actually, thinking about it - I recall at a younger age watching someone splashing fuel on their shoes on a forecourt... so I'm guessing that the sensors stuff came in shortly before leaded (4-star) was phased out.

     

    How long ago was leaded phased out in the UK?  I'm too young to remember leaded gas in the US, but I still see gas tanks overflow fairly often when the sensors go bad (and the station owner is too cheap to fix it in a timely fashion).

     



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Ok, Mr Spock.

    What is up with your HTML? You wrapped every word in its own SPAN? Why would you do that? Why do you change the cursor on "obstentatious" and "concerned"?

    Seems you can not recognize material directly pasted from http://dictionary.reference.com/.  I did *nothing* to the HTML. Any percieved anomolies are either from the original material (so go ask them) or are part of a Transform performed by this site during the posting.



  • @db2 said:

    I'm of the opinion that every drivers' training road test should begin you with a car that has a punctured tire, an uninflated spare in the trunk, a dead battery, an empty gas tank, a few ounces of oil left, and a blown ignition fuse. The car is conveniently parked only 50 feet away from the air compressor, quick charger, gas pump, and oil pump. If you're physically handicapped, you will be afforded an extra 15 minutes for the test. If you're missing a limb, you can use an automatic transmission.

    "Driving Test for Linux Users".

     



  • @boomzilla said:

    @Cassidy said:
    @boomzilla said:
    Do they also need to make sure you can use both electric and manual windows?
    No, but solely because you can drive a car for some period of time without having to drop the window. Learning things about oil, water, tyre pressure aren't essential to driving, but are components of car maintanence, so it makes sense to have that as part of a lesson.

    Ah, so you want to kill dogs. And small children.

    WTF? How can you guess the objects of my hatred from the content of a driving lesson?

    (I'm not saying your're wrong, just interested in how you did it... )

    @boomzilla said:

    Eh, I guess it was standard extrapolation on my part of the modern totalitarian nanny state.

    Laws are really only there when we don't trust people to observe good practise so we feel the need to enforce it.

    However, I'd watch your zinc count from now on...


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @Cassidy said:

    @boomzilla said:
    @Cassidy said:
    @boomzilla said:
    Do they also need to make sure you can use both electric and manual windows?

    No, but solely because you can drive a car for some period of time without having to drop the window. Learning things about oil, water, tyre pressure aren't essential to driving, but are components of car maintanence, so it makes sense to have that as part of a lesson.

    Ah, so you want to kill dogs. And small children.

    WTF? How can you guess the objects of my hatred from the content of a driving lesson?

    (I'm not saying your're wrong, just interested in how you did it... )

    I just converted my original troll into a concern troll. Everyone knows that you just have to crack the window a bit on a summer day when you leave your dog or kid in the car.



  • @boomzilla said:

    @Cassidy said:
    @boomzilla said:
    @Cassidy said:
    @boomzilla said:
    Do they also need to make sure you can use both electric and manual windows?
    No, but solely because you can drive a car for some period of time without having to drop the window. Learning things about oil, water, tyre pressure aren't essential to driving, but are components of car maintanence, so it makes sense to have that as part of a lesson.
    Ah, so you want to kill dogs. And small children.

    WTF? How can you guess the objects of my hatred from the content of a driving lesson?

    (I'm not saying your're wrong, just interested in how you did it... )

    I just converted my original troll into a concern troll. Everyone knows that you just have to crack the window a bit on a summer day when you leave your dog or kid in the car.

    You also have to check the windows from time to time as they get thicker at the bottom as they age.



  • @TheCPUWizard said:

    Seems you can not recognize material directly pasted from http://dictionary.reference.com/
     

    ... you copypasted the word "ostentatious" from a dictionary? oh ok. Never mind. Your post was very pedantic, though!

    I squeeze my bike tires. If they give to a degree that I find unsatisfactory, then I need to pump 'em up. There is absolutely no way you can squeeze a car tire, because the pressue is higher and the tires are wider and also BECAUSE THAT WAS THE JOKE, SIR.

    There is no strict requirement to test ordinary bike tires with anything more than a squeeze, unless you're serious about cycling, have a racing- or otherwise sports-oriented bicycle, and want to shave off seconds from your personal record.

    I have a common city bike. I squeeze. Since tire pressure isn't likely to reduce my commute by minutes, it's not worth it.

    That said, I of course agree that a hard tire is best, and soft tires are a nuisance, and I try to keep it hard. I'm just not going to buy a pressure measure thingy for it.



  • @dhromed said:

    I squeeze my bike tires. If they give to a degree that I find unsatisfactory, then I need to pump 'em up. There is absolutely no way you can squeeze a car tire, because the pressue is higher and the tires are wider and also BECAUSE THAT WAS THE JOKE, SIR.

    There is no strict requirement to test ordinary bike tires with anything more than a squeeze, unless you're serious about cycling, have a racing- or otherwise sports-oriented bicycle, and want to shave off seconds from your personal record.

    I have a common city bike. I squeeze. Since tire pressure isn't likely to reduce my commute by minutes, it's not worth it.

    That said, I of course agree that a hard tire is best, and soft tires are a nuisance, and I try to keep it hard. I'm just not going to buy a pressure measure thingy for it.

     I was a long distance competitive cycler for many years. Although I no longer compete, I will occasionally participate in a "long ride" (> 100 miles). My last competitive bicycle cost more han either of my first two cars...



  • @Anketam said:

    I can see that someone could go up their entire childhood without ever being in a car when it needed to be filled up.  But to live such a sheltered life where they never saw cars pulling into a gas station, nor watched the news where people are constantly complaining about high gas prices, nor used a gas powered lawnmower, nor been in a science (or history) class that explain the concepts of the combustion engine I find impossible.  There is just too much evidence out there to deduce that cars need fuel to run.


    Yes, but how often do you need to put fuel in a car?

    Is it like rinse aid in a dishwasher, needed every few months? It's clearly not like detergent in a dishwasher, as I can drive without filling up every time. Is it like my mobile phone, where I have to fill it every day, even if I don't use it, or face it conking out on me?

    And there's all these scary lights and gauges on the dashboard, of which the only one anyone's explained to me is the big speed measuring one. If only I knew what they were trying to tell me...

    At least my current car makes it easy - when it's low on fuel, as well as illuminating the low fuel light, and bonging at me to get my attention, it also puts a little message on its display screen saying "Please refuel - 80 miles range left"



  • @esoterik said:

    Ever seen two housewives backout from oposing garages and hit each other in the street? Who's fault is that?
    Happened to me (as a passenger). Fortunately it was just a bumper hit, so we just shrughed and resumed our lifes.

    @Cassidy said:

    Both. Clearly neither were checking beforehand.
    Yeah, because both drivers were more concerned with checking if there were cars coming from the left or right, rather than from behind. (not that it mattered much, because they were in each other's blind spot).

     



  • @Zecc said:

    Yeah, because both drivers were more concerned with checking if there were cars coming from the left or right, rather than from behind. (not that it mattered much, because they were in each other's blind spot).

    Okay, so perhaps I should have written:

    @Cassidy said:

    Both. Clearly neither were checking all around them.

    I mean, fundamentally - how did they collide? Because they never saw each other.

    Why didn't they see each other? Because they were in each others' blind spots. Because they looked only in certain directions. Because they couldn't see all around and didn't have someone else standing nearby to guide them safely out. Because they relied upon radar bumpers that--

    Fuck, there are many reasons why they didn't see each other, but...

    @dhromed said:

    Oh, Cassidy, just for reference, esoterik's is an example of a sexist remark. ;)

    Oh, arse - it wasn't your question. 



  • @farnz said:

    @Anketam said:

    I can see that someone could go up their entire childhood without ever being in a car when it needed to be filled up.  But to live such a sheltered life where they never saw cars pulling into a gas station, nor watched the news where people are constantly complaining about high gas prices, nor used a gas powered lawnmower, nor been in a science (or history) class that explain the concepts of the combustion engine I find impossible.  There is just too much evidence out there to deduce that cars need fuel to run.

    Yes, but how often do you need to put fuel in a car? Is it like rinse aid in a dishwasher, needed every few months? It's clearly not like detergent in a dishwasher, as I can drive without filling up every time. Is it like my mobile phone, where I have to fill it every day, even if I don't use it, or face it conking out on me? And there's all these scary lights and gauges on the dashboard, of which the only one anyone's explained to me is the big speed measuring one. If only I knew what they were trying to tell me... At least my current car makes it easy - when it's low on fuel, as well as illuminating the low fuel light, and bonging at me to get my attention, it also puts a little message on its display screen saying "Please refuel - 80 miles range left"
    My primary point is that people should know their car needs fuel.  As far as telling how much is left, ignoring the gauge, even old cars have the Low Fuel light, which the driver should notice.  Also I just though of another way people could be aware of this, movies.  I remember multiple movies growing up where a character is driving in a car that runs out of gas and to highlight this fact they normally show the gas gauge and the needle on the E.  Don't people learn anything from watching movies?


  • @Anketam said:

    My primary point is that people should know their car needs fuel.  As far as telling how much is left, ignoring the gauge, even old cars have the Low Fuel light, which the driver should notice.  Also I just though of another way people could be aware of this, movies.  I remember multiple movies growing up where a character is driving in a car that runs out of gas and to highlight this fact they normally show the gas gauge and the needle on the E.  Don't people learn anything from watching movies?

    I'd really prefer that people not learn about cars by watching movies.  That ends up with people dying, or being paralyzed for life, because a well-meaning bystander pulls an accident victim with a broken neck out of the car in a big hurry to get them away from the imminent explosion.

     



  • @blakeyrat said:

    @TheCPUWizard said:
    HELL NO... Some bicycle tires run at pressures upwards of 70PSI, and even a 10% difference can have a measurable impact, and there is no way you are going to determine that by "squeezing". In fact for these types of tires, the only way to have a good pressure is to over-inflate and reeate through the gauge until the pressure is right (since the act of measureing the pressure using a conventional gauge will let out sufficient air that the tire is now underinflated.
    You know what's awesome? Pedeantic dickweed posts! This thread needed more of those, thanks CPUWizard for being a complete tool.

    WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?  Why do you accept underinflated tires?  **Insert blakeyrant about GUIs here, changing words as appropriate** WHY DOES NOBODY CARE ABOUT QUALITY?


  • @Mason Wheeler said:

    well-meaning bystander pulls an accident victim with a broken neck out of the car in a big hurry to get them away from the imminent explosion.
    I think you linked to the wrong page on that site. You should have linked to the douche who is about to ruin TNMT.



  • @db2 said:

    The car is conveniently parked only 50 feet away from the air compressor, quick charger, gas pump, and oil pump.
     

    "Oil pump"?

    I don't know about whatever third-world place you come from, but here in the You Ess of Ay oil for cars comes in plastic bottles that we atavistically call "cans".

    (As for the air compressor, I assume you're also going to supply the test subject with a pocketful of quarters.)



  • @da Doctah said:

    I don't know about whatever third-world place you come from, but here in the You Ess of Ay oil for cars comes in plastic bottles that we atavistically call "cans".

    I've never heard "cans"; they're usually called quarts.



  • @da Doctah said:

    (As for the air compressor, I assume you're also going to supply the test subject with a pocketful of quarters.)

    Tire places will usually give you free air if you ask nice and they have a nozzle free.



  • @da Doctah said:

    @db2 said:

    The car is conveniently parked only 50 feet away from the air compressor, quick charger, gas pump, and oil pump.
     

    "Oil pump"?

    I don't know about whatever third-world place you come from, but here in the You Ess of Ay oil for cars comes in plastic bottles that we atavistically call "cans".

    (As for the air compressor, I assume you're also going to supply the test subject with a pocketful of quarters.)

    I don't know if you've ever gotten a full-service oil change before, but they tend to dispense the oil via pump at all the places I've been to. And I don't see any coin slot on the air compressor out in my garage.



  • @TheCPUWizard said:

    My last competitive bicycle cost more han either of my first two cars...
     

    That I can believe.



  • @Zecc said:

    Happened to me
     

    But... you're not a housewife...?

    @Zecc said:

    (as a passenger)

    ohhhhh ok

     

     



  • @OzPeter said:

    You should have linked to the douche who is about to ruin TNMT.
     

    Seriously?  He's going to do the next installment of TMNT?

    Really now.  I have to ask . . . what's there to ruin?



  • @nonpartisan said:

    @OzPeter said:

    You should have linked to the douche who is about to ruin TNMT.
     

    Seriously?  He's going to do the next installment of TMNT?

    Really now.  I have to ask . . . what's there to ruin?

    Well the Turtles become "Aliens" to start with. This caused a major outburst from fans, including one of the original voice actors who said that Bay was anally raping their memories. Bay responded to the outcry with "Chill" and "Relax". And you ask "Whats their to ruin"?? I'd say that Bay hasn't yet plumbed the depths of ruin.



  • @OzPeter said:

    Bay hasn't yet plumbed the depths of ruin.
     

    Why the fuck would ruins need running tap water?



  • @db2 said:

    And I don't see any coin slot on the air compressor out in my garage.
    There's none on the air compressors at petrol stations around here either. I usually pump my bike there, as it's faster than starting the compressor in the garage (and less noisy).



  • @Weng said:

    In other words, New Joisey is an even bigger automotive backwater hellhole than most people realize.

    FTFY.



  • @Zecc said:

    @esoterik said:
    Ever seen two housewives backout from oposing garages and hit each other in the street? Who's fault is that?
    Happened to me (as a passenger). Fortunately it was just a bumper hit, so we just shrughed and resumed our lifes.
     

    This is why I always reverse into my carport, so that leaving in the morning (when more likely to be time-critical) I can just drive out. But then there's no neighbours directly opposite my house so I wouldn't have that problem. (Nearby neighbours kids on the other hand, are up for grabs: their mother lets them play on the road)

    However a twice I've run up the bum of the car in front of me: both times at a "Give Way" sign and the car in front inexplicably stopped dead when I was looking at the oncoming traffic. It seems some people will give way to people kilometres away! I'm now careful when in that situation.

    @Justice said:

    How long ago was leaded phased out in the UK?

    In Australia it was 1986 that new leaded cars were banned, but the fuel was still sold for some time. My family had a 1986 Toyota Corona - the last model sold outside Japan but the first with unleaded. Some tiny towns didn't sell unleaded fuel back then! My first and third cars used leaded (1982 Ford Laser and 1980 Ford Cortina) that I got in 1998 and 2004 respectively - LRP ("Leaded Replacement Petrol") was available for a few years, before I had to buy the supplement separately. But I got a much newer car recently so I don't have that issue.

    I heard a rumour that real leaded fuel was still available in the USA? Maybe they were just working on outdated information.

     



  • @Zemm said:

    I heard a rumour that real leaded fuel was still available in the USA? Maybe they were just working on outdated information.

    It was available for special use (e.g. race cars) until recently. And it's still used in aviation gasoline in almost every country.

    I've never seen leaded gasoline. It's been gone from the US for a long time.



  • @Zemm said:

    owever a twice I've run up the bum of the car in front of me: both times at a "Give Way" sign and the car in front inexplicably stopped dead when I was looking at the oncoming traffic.
     

    Our office looks out onto a busy intersection and every couple of months we hear and see this happen... the car behind reckons they can both get through on amber but the one in front bottles* it.

     * Colloquialism alert
    noun (Slang; Brit) nerve; courage (esp in the phrase lose one's bottle)



  • @Zemm said:

    In Australia it was 1986 that new leaded cars were banned, but the fuel was still sold for some time. My family had a 1986 Toyota Corona - the last model sold outside Japan but the first with unleaded. Some tiny towns didn't sell unleaded fuel back then! My first and third cars used leaded (1982 Ford Laser and 1980 Ford Cortina) that I got in 1998 and 2004 respectively - LRP ("Leaded Replacement Petrol") was available for a few years, before I had to buy the supplement separately. But I got a much newer car recently so I don't have that issue.

    Not that it matters now, but "leaded" engines only need to run a few years on leaded gas. After that, you can switch them to unleaded and they run fine-- my dad's '65 Chevy S-10 has the original engine, and runs great on unleaded.



  • @pjt33 said:

    There are a few basics which really should be taught as part of driving instruction but, at least in the UK, aren't. At a minimum, filling up with petrol, checking oil levels, and changing a wheel.

    In South Australia, once you pass your driving test, the driving instructor has a list of things that she\he has to explain to you before they can let you go with your piece of paper which you trade in along with a sum of money for a Probationary License.

    The last thing on the list is "Petrol (how and where), Oil (check the levels), Water (radiator and washers), Electrics (signals and brake lights) and Rubber (legal tread)". There was some other stuff ont he list as well but it was all stuff I'd been taught already. The entire rundown through the list took maybe five minutes. Besides, most of it (to me) is common sense anyway: most cars will complain and kick up a fuss if they're running out of fuel\oil\water anyhow.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Not that it matters now, but "leaded" engines only need to run a few years on leaded gas. After that, you can switch them to unleaded and they run fine-- my dad's '65 Chevy S-10 has the original engine, and runs great on unleaded.
     

    I think it would depend on the engine, wouldn't it? Like that some engines do and others do not like E10 fuel. Though a lot of stations are now removing E10 and bringing back U95.



  • @Douglasac said:

    The last thing on the list is "Petrol (how and where), Oil (check the levels), Water (radiator and washers), Electrics (signals and brake lights) and Rubber (legal tread)".
     

    Is that POWERful instruction?



  • @Zemm said:

    I think it would depend on the engine, wouldn't it?

    Possibly? But I wager the vast, vast majority of engines designed for leaded gas can run unleaded fine, presuming they get enough time with leaded gas for the lead to coat all the necessary parts.

    @Zemm said:

    Like that some engines do and others do not like E10 fuel.

    I've never heard of a unleaded engine that doesn't like E10. Even that Chevy designed for leaded 1960s gas runs fine on E10. I've heard "horror stories" about problems, but never actually seen an actual case of problems.



  • E10 runs a bit leaner than traditional gasoline (stoichiometric A/F ratio of E10 is 14:1 as opposed to 14.7:1 for gasoline). In a vehicle without an oxygen sensor based feedback system, the engine won't compensate. So, if an old car is already running on the lean side, E10 certainly could make it worse. The few sources that address this issue don't recommend using over 5% ethanol with carbureted engines without adjusting the mixture.

    Fuel injection doesn't completely address the problem. For example, most brand-new motorcycles don't have closed-loop exhaust gas oxygen monitoring ECUs, so they come from the factory tuned for one type of fuel. More or less ethanol will cause a mixture problem.



  • @blakeyrat said:

    Not that it matters now, but "leaded" engines only need to run a few years on leaded gas. After that, you can switch them to unleaded and they run fine-- my dad's '65 Chevy S-10 has the original engine, and runs great on unleaded.

    I was told that too but it seems the frequency of adding leaded is dependent upon the engine size.

    Many engines over in USA tand to be larger-capacity and more tolerant of wear and tear; in the UK most engines are 1.3 -2 litre so not as resistent to timing and lubrication issue.

    I used to drive a leaded 1.6 Rover, thus:

    When leaded fuel came in, a mechanic gave me 3 options:

    • run on LRP (which would result in a power reduction and faster engine deterioration)
    • use unleaded but periodically top up with leaded (1 in every 5 tankfulls)
    • modify it to run on unleaded
    The last option wasn't a large job, surprisingly - it had been carried out on many classic MG cars and simply involved some work done on the head, a different inline fuel filter and a change in timings, but I'd have to follow option 2 for some time prior to (and post) the operation. For some of the older Rovers with soggy great 2.2L or 3.2V6 engines, the ratio was 1 in every 10-20 tankfuls or so.


  • @blakeyrat said:

    I've never heard of a unleaded engine that doesn't like E10
     

    There is a list here. My quick scan of it suggests "European" type cars have more problems than "American" type cars. (Note "Holden" is pretty much "General Motors".)

    Though one American execption I see are the pre-1992 F-series. My neighbour has two F-trucks from the 1960s but he has had them modified to run on gas. (I mean real gas: LPG. What do you call gas when it is not gasoline?)



  • @Zemm said:

    (I mean real gas: LPG. What do you call gas when it is not gasoline?)

    We call it LPG, too, or just propane.



  • @Zemm said:

    (I mean real gas: LPG. What do you call gas when it is not gasoline?)

    They're both gases - both petroleum-based. It's just their state that differs.

    I couldn't understand how cars over the pond ran on "gas" yet ours ran on "petrol" (we ran our cookers on "gas") until it was explained to me that it's not the liquid that powers it, it's the vapours (the gas) that come off it, and the "natural gas" powering our ovens and producing tasty roast dinners (with decent veg, naturally) was no different in concept... just different additives and different state.


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