Ma-fia

I totally agree, -- and when/if my back ever gets better I'll be doing much more useful/fun things... It can't be a science anyway, perhaps a reference point, no more. Personally, I never tried drastic rev-matching, and I do not exactly feel like trying to wreck transmission on any of my two cars for practice! Renting one is out of question as well, so... I was simply curious how close the calculations were to the real life. Pretty close -- from what I could feel by paying attention to syncros while shifting regularly.

Here is the logic behind my calculations: Engine RPMs : Gear Ratio : Differential Ratio = Wheel RPMs Wheel RPMs * Circumference of wheel (in inches) = Distance per minute (in.) Distance per minute (in.) * 60 min = Inches per hour Inches per hour : 12 : 5280 = Miles per hour (12 in. in 1 foot; 5280 feet in 1 mile; I found this real cool Converter Tool somewhere on the web, it’s an .exe file and you can easily create a shortcut, in order to launch it from the desktop)

There has been enough of transmission discussions lately, and I'd like to bring it another step further. I do not know if anybody will find this interesting, but I certainly did. A somewhat relevant story: When I bought a new car a year ago, the old one got jealous and snapped a piece off the clutch cable right in the dealership's parking lot -- what an irony. Only thanks to rev-matching techniques it was possible to bring her back home the same day. An interesting transmission thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/usmb/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9498 ...I was wondering, if I could come up with some mathematical approximation that could be a guideline for practical rev-matching. From what I understand, the main task of it is to match RPMs of the engine with RPMs of the drive train in order to facilitate gear engagement, so my meager calculations are about just that -- mathcing speeds. (I would not recommend practicing it unless your clutch is disabled for one reason or another and you HAVE to go!) I have set up an Excel sheet, that shows the relation between the speed of the car and engine RPMs in each gear. Anybody who knows their gear ratios, differential ratio and tire size is more than welcome to play with it and see how close my scheme is to their practical experience.

Sorry to get astray, but you, Cookie, started talking about birds on the hood... Here's a story. (I saw this personally.) There was a sparrow on the top of a car (doesn't really matter what car and where, I don't remember anyway), and it was like this, no exagerration: every time the sparrow hopped, the car's alarm system said "honk!". After 7 or 8 hops the sparrow got bored or frustrated and left the car. One nice example of stupidly adjusted car alarm -- the bird only weighs a couple ounces, and it triggers the alarm?! Or maybe the owner disliked birds. (Sorry again for this interruption, -- please go ahead with the main topic).

Hartless, I love it -- both in color and b&w. Very nice. I'm curious what Miles Fox will produce (if any) -- I looked at his website some time back, and his drawings are awsome.

All insurance companies (to the best of my knowledge) have to cover windshield damage caused by rocks (and don't have the right to jack up the rates). Fix it; if you don't the w-shield will start cracking sooner or later because of vibration.

How strange. You would think that the authorities should welcome anything that improves mpg and passes emissions! Is there a centralized webpage that lists inspection rules by the state?..

EuroB-rad, I'm glad you are alive and kicking, and even liked out little discussion. Stay around, and you'll find things to laugh at most of the time! I didn't even know they had such things as speedlimiters. What if it breaks and starts limiting you at 35? What other cars do you all have? Any new Fords? I know, most people on this board consider Ford to be a lower class animal (compared to almost anything Japanese -- I can't but agree), but I've got one, because I just had to have it -- nobody else offers this bodystyle (Focus ZX3). When I get rich, I hope to gut it out and put some good diesel engine & a 5-speed in... Well, it's got a 5-speed now, but I don't hold my breath over it. I am curious what oil recommendation European dealerships have. But, I'm even more curious about Australian ones. Over here Ford wants the car to be fed 5w20 year round, and I'm questioning how wise this recommendation is in summer at over 100F (=37.8'C) here in sunny Texas.

Why? Does it pass the emission test alone?

I like the gauges, too.

Green = good, I agree. Were you thinking of a "solid" logo or "transparent" -- the one you can just design in contrasting colors and lay over the background?

Rooinater, I like the front page of yours as it is! The main color/theme is green (my favorite), the shot is excellent and everything goes together so well. Just thought I'd give my opinion. Hope you get a nice green logo, too!

Boy, I hope we didn't squeeze EuroB-rad out of his own thread. Talk about hi-jacking! Are you still out there?

Gentlemen, apparently there're enough idiots everywhere. I did some driving around Europe, but not too much, so I couldn't make very reliable comparisons. All I know I will never want to drive around Rome again in a large car; as a matter of fact walking is much more pleasant. I had a rental diesel Ford Mondeo station wagon, extremely cumbersome on narrow windy streets. On the top of that someone broke in and stole the full-size spare at night. Mind it, for the States, I think it's a mid-size (leaning towards small) vehicle! On quite a few occasions I flashed my brake lights. A few times I got mad and hit brakes real hard (at various speeds), still leaving enough room in front of me to speed up fast if needed of course. Most of the times it works, but I do not enjoy doing it. Slowing down is the least dramatic method of "getting rid of 'em". Unfortunately, I have below zero sense of competition or desire to "prove" things to people, thus it only set me out of balance. Perhaps, the crazy trick is best -- most people are afraid to "catch crazy" and would stay away , like you can catch it as a flu. Maybe I should learn to scratch behind my ear with a foot; always wanted to get into stretching and gymnastics.

Setright, I wish you could come over here and explain this to all those butt-sniffers around here. Over here, one can't even calmly do the speed limit in the RIGHT lane most of the time without an insolent moron hanging on his tail! In my whole life I did not have anybody hit brakes on me, because I was too close behind. I respect other people, besides I'm not in a hurry to hit someone -- so I always try to keep safe distance. Maybe I should purchase a videocamera and start sending vids to the cops. Sure with high enough resolution they can figure out the license plate.

Here's a thread that might be of interest. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/usmb/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9498 It won't solve your problem (sorry), but there's a lot of interesting information that helps to feel how transmission "behaves" and how to make things easier for it. For me it was big news.

Wow, this is so cool. I wish they had it in the US! Following skills of big trucks and little bitty cars with high beams on is way too good over here. Heck, you would think that butt-riding is a national sport.

Ph.B., do not feel bad, we all try to give "chinese advices" at times, as my grandfather used to say. I think everybody will agree with me.

c150l, Interesting info. I got curious and started searching. All in all interesting, but I did not find any reliable info so far. Do you know of any? BTW, I found information on some rather curious gadjets, like this one: http://better-mileage.com/memberadx.html And a comment on the page is very cute, too: "Remember to save this page to disk straight away and make a backup copy. This page will change names frequently for security reasons." I wonder if something like this would kill the engine at once or over some time.

Most part stores have a special "tool" to turn pistons. Looks like a 1" brass cube with different "bump" patterns on each side of it to fit different pistons. Costs $4-5, and makes the job WAY easier. It goes on a regular 1/4" ratchet. I highly recomment to get it. I almost ruined my pistons trying to turn them with vicegrips.

Yeah, I know. Unfortunately "stupid" doesn't have a cure. I love cruise control, but not when I'm in the left lane and see folks in a hurry behind me, then yes the long skinny pedal is being used to make way. I actually wouldn't mind putting "Slower Traffic Keep Right" in reverse on the front w-shield (as someone on the board did), and "Slower Traffic KeepS Right" on the back -- for when I don't feel like speeding (most of the time). Unfortunately in the country of huge pick-ups and SUVs it would only cause more butt-riding. What can you do . Besides, I am not all that fond of stickers.

Thanks for the priming suggestions, folks. I don't have anything with EJ in it, so... I guess I do need antidrainbacks . The reason I asked is that Mobil 1 didn't seem to be in any hurry to go down the Wix I got. Maybe they disliked each other. After, I beleive, 15-20 minutes, it went down maybe 1/8 of an inch (about 3 mm), so I lost patience and just slapped the filter on. As to the "friends" in question, I'd say that I would not be surprised if 3 hours Paris-Berlin were true; I don't know them all that well, but they're complete nuts, can't find enough ways to waste money and are the worst rental-car (and probably any-car) abusers I have seen in my life, not pleasant people to be around all in all. What would they care about few extra hundreds in fines. Besides, I think that rental companies have insurance for such occasions: I don't know if it's possible to trace out-of-country people to fine then; I've known people to get tickets and simply trash them with no consequences. I generally like how people behave on highways in Europe, in my experience most of the time they're very nice, especially in Germany. What I like about Italy (not counting my friends, and historical and spiritual places) is that when someone wants to pass and you're in the left lane, they politely turn their left blinker on -- no light flashing, no a** riding. Of course that's on highway, in the city it's all different story. If I lived in a bit city in Italy, I am not sure I would even WANT to own a car.

I think this is relevant: how do you "prime" a filter with an anti-drainback valve and a by-pass valve? Do you have to push something open? And how much time does it take. And this not too relevant: Is it true that there're no speed limits on some of European highways? Friends of mine claimed it took them a little over 3 hrs to drive from Paris to (I think) Berlin or Hamburg. I didn't even want to ask what speed they were going, was just glad I wasn't there.

Beachbum, If you check out my webpage (in the sig), you can get an idea what a GLF looks like (if you didn't already know). If you happen to see one in your junkyards, say 4 mo from now (in april-may or thereafter), let me know! (Right now can't go anywhere.) I think my manual has a good section on removing w-shields. If you want, I can scan it and e-mail it to you. Moosens, (and BBum) Unfortunately GLF windshield is unique. I have a factory manual for '82, and the measurements they show differ by 1 to 5 or more mm. Go figure why they did it. Do you know how much it costs to ship a windshield? WHO HAS ONE?.... Let me know pl-se. I've got 2 of 'em, but both are cracked.

Thanks for the offer... Other than the windshield (not in a hurry to get it at all), I don't really need anything else (got a whole identical car like mine for parts), I asked because you're almost a "neighbour". I am pretty sure I can get a new w-shield locally for smth. like $120, but I'd rather take a road trip to FL if someone had it there cheap... Stupidru, Moosens is in CT, way too far, I'd go bankrupt on shipping alone probably! So I didn't ask him. Besides, I think he'd let us know if he had any...