My Dutch boss currently lives on the US. According to some of my other bosses they had to wean him out of his wooden shoes as they damaged the office floor...
That tale might not be true but they always tell it with such a straight face I honestly can't tell.
Bellhead wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:56 pm
On a completely unrelated note, my '68 passed a state sticker the other day. Even though the inspector was actively looking for an issue...
Over half a century of wear and tear and New England roads, and she's still more solid than most everything half her age.
-snip-
..because I can't resist posting memes, for some reason...
I am gonna assume your 68 is a motorcycle or a car. In any case it sounds like it works better than my knees Despite being half its age...
Indeed. 1968 Jeep CJ5. Buick "Dauntless" 225 c.i. V6, 3-speed partially synchronized on the floor, twin-stick gear-driven transfer case and twin-stick shaft driven front and rear PTO, manual steering and the factory 5-drum manual brake setup. It's so much fun to drive... Although, anyone remotely close to 6' tall can't drive it. Non-adjustable steering wheel and seat, and the clutch and brake pedals pivot below the floor instead of above. I have coworkers that literally don't fit in it. And none of them can find all the light controls without help.
I could tell you stories. But oh, I love it so...
Gearhead mechanic in the digital era, who will probably grow upis in the process of growing up to be a very grumpy old man.
Manual drive and stick shift?. That is not what I imagine when I think of "fun driving" but to each it's own. Regardless your cars does sound like quite the beast.
Also I think I would do not fit in it...
That reminded me: I am under the impression most cars in usa where hydraulic or electronic drive and automatic transmission these days. And regardless if that is true or not I wonder how will cars compare in the not so far future.
I am very curious about the near future of cars.
Not only in a technical aspects mind you. In a couple decades fully electrical cars will be common, I hope, and that's is very interesting by itself. But also in our relationship with vehicles. there is a push by automakers and companies to create " car as a service" where you do not own a car you simply hail a ride.
A lot of people I know have very fond memories with/in their cars. But in the not so distant future it may be uncommon to own a vehicle.
Yeah most cars in all of North America are like that. Kinda wish manual transmission were the norm though. Certainly keeps you busier than automatic, which could be a deterrent against texting while driving. Plus it just gives you more control over the car.
I agree. But manuals, though more fun, tend to be more of a pain on anything with a drive-by-wire accelerator pedal, or with a MAF sensor instead of a MAP. The delayed response from the computer detracts a LOT from the stick-shift experience. Most automatics are more efficient, simply by virtue of having the engine run at a lower average RPM. CVTs like the ones I work on are great for that, but they don't hold up to load to save their lives.
That said, I can understand why sticks are so rare these days. It's a combination of laziness, and lack of skill. If you know how to drive a stick, driving an automatic will make more sense, and you can control it far better. There's also the angle that there are some people who physically can't drive stick, for one reason or another. I know that in some places, there's a separate license for a manual transmission car, just to prove that you can drive one. It makes a lot of sense, even here.
Now, on to another thing. Technic, you mentioned "hydraulic or electronic drive". Not sure what you mean by that, but I'll throw a few cents in.
On the subject of brakes, nearly all passenger vehicles use a vacuum brake booster for more braking force, while some larger vehicles use a hydraulic or hydroelectric booster. There are systems where the brake assist comes from the power steering pump, hence "hydraulic", and others where braking force is applied by a small extremely high-pressure tank, which is charged by an electric pump, hence "hydroelectric". Some of the cars I work on also have a feature where, if the vacuum is too low in the booster, the ABS pump will supplement your braking force. Really strange when that kicks in. Then there's Semi's, Big Rigs and the like, which use air instead of brake fluid. That would take time to explain, let me know if you want me to.
My CJ-5 uses an unassisted hydraulic brake system with 4-wheel drum brakes, which need considerably less pressure to operate, hence the lack of a booster. The four drums operate the same as any other one would, applied by fluid and released by springs. The parking brake, or transmission brake as Jeep called it, is a separate, 5th drum mounted on the rear output shaft of the transfer case, operated mechanically by the driver. And so, unassisted 5 drum brake system.
If you were referring to power steering, that's a different story. A lot of economy and passenger vehicles use electric power steering these days, because of simplicity. It reads the torque on the steering shaft, and applies power accordingly. On the other hand, a traditional hydraulic power steering system uses a valve that directs the flow of fluid based on the torque of the wheel. It's a more durable system that tends to last longer, but there's the issue of fluid leakage. What I'm more afraid of, is the near future of "steer-by-wire", where there is literally NO direct connection between the steering wheels and the rack. *shudders*
However, my CJ-5 has none of that. Large steering wheel turns a worm gear turns a shaft turns a pitman arm, pushes a drag link, pushes a pivoting arm, pushes one tie rod, which pushes the other. Complicated linkage, and the steering is a bit loose because of it, but I can feel rocks in the front tires through the steering wheel. So I'm not complaining.
Sorry... I just felt like typing. Been a long day. And apparently my general manager, of the whole dealership, can't figure out how to raise a flag on a flagpole...
Gearhead mechanic in the digital era, who will probably grow upis in the process of growing up to be a very grumpy old man.
I am gonna go on record and say I am too stupid to drive stick. I can hardly keep the car running if it has a clutch pedal. And at the end of the day I do not even like to drive.
Incidentally. I think it has been recently amended but in Mexico City you do not need to pass a driver's exam to get a license. You go to the equivalent of DMV pay a fee get a picture taken and you can drive. You only need an exam if you want to be a taxi or drive a big rig and that is more a background check not a driving exam.
Now that license allowed to bypass the exam on the city I currently reside. Moreover due to some international treaties I can use my Mexican license to rent a car in the us and drive around. So despite never ever passing a driving exam , I would likely fail one,. I can technically drive in the us
In any case I was talking about power steering. Sorry about that. The language of mechanics varies widely from english to spanish and my translation was lacking. Again sorry I am not a mechanic but I should now about that.
I have never driven a fully mechanical steering but I have heard it is really hard to control and I also rumors of people getting their arms broken by mechanical steering wheels.
In any case wether we like it or not automakers seem intent in "drive by wire" mechanism. I think that let's them decouple the driver from the car and effectively add features like automatic parking, lane change assist and other futuristic stuff. Personally the less involved I am in driving the better so I welcome our future of drive by servo.
Finally
The future are electric self driving cars! coming to you this Century
well maybe next.
I am so used to manual that driving automatic is genuinely confusing sometimes. Just force of habit.
Also, in all honesty, I don't like driving either. Traffic makes it tiring for me, and the larger the city the worse it is.
Manual steering can cause you harm, but no more so than anything else. Vehicles like my Jeep have a dampener piston, basically a shock absorber, attached to the steering mechanism to prevent bone-breaking force being transmitted through the linkage. And even without it, it's only under impact, when the wheel is ripped out of your hand, breaking whatever is holding it.
The bigger issues people have with manual steering is the lack of assistance at slow speeds, like while parking, and that (especially on mine) there is nothing that keeps the wheels straight without user input. You have to constantly overcome whichever way the car pulls, and adapt to the road surface as you hit it, else you'll just wander right off the side of the road. People usually react to that sort of thing with "It really doesn't want to go straight". Most roads around here have road crown, so with a proper alignment, it's really not that bad. Light pressure to the left, and she'll go straight as an arrow, smooth as butter.
Having seen the loaner cars my father got back when his Tesla was under warranty, you don't need steer-by-wire for automatic parking, lane assist, autopilot.. Any of it. They just use the steering wheel angle and the power steering motor, anyway. And I want to be able to steer my car in the event of a total electronic failure, just like I want my brakes to work when I step on the pedal.
As far as traffic goes, yeah, it gets tiring after a while. But the more of a hurry you're in, the worse it gets. As somebody who's been through Boston at rush hour, I can handle traffic. 'Course, after that... Not much scares me on the road.
Kellard, I know what you mean. When I first got the CJ back on the road, I drove it as a daily for about a week, since the weather was nice. For the first 5 miles after I switched back, I was reaching for the shifter on the floor. It just felt so natural, y'know?
Gearhead mechanic in the digital era, who will probably grow upis in the process of growing up to be a very grumpy old man.
If it moves but shouldn't: Duct tape. If it doesn't move but should: WD-40. With a hammer everything fits, and if it still doesn't fit: bigger hammer. If it can't be fixed with a hammer it's an electrical problem.
