Topic: Mission: A Car and a Motorcycle for under 8 grand...

[PJungnitsch]

Installed Hankook Optimo 4S All-Weather tires and left on a 3000 km tour of Alberta last week, first to Hinton then up to the Peace.

Lots of sipes:



About 9/32nds tread:



Plenty of rain this trip but no snow, on the highway anyway:



Can say they are quiet, and handle dry and wet well. I'll see how they handle snow this winter.

[PJungnitsch]

Also got to drive a semi for the first time. Dropping in on my brother the farmer in the middle of harvest he said, "Hey, can you follow me out to the field in the Kenworth?"



It's a Super-B (two trailer unit, 3 axles in the middle) but with only the one trailer for field work. Middle of the night so I couldn't see the trailer in the rear view mirrors, I just took the corners as wide as I could and hoped it was still on when I made it out to the field.





The transmission has to be rev-matched, and I got hopelessly screwed up going down a hill, had to stop the unit at the bottom and start all over again.

[rrocket]

^^How's the quality of the plastics though??   

[PJungnitsch]

^^How's the quality of the plastics though??   

It's an improvement over the Mack, which is right up there with Arthur's Niva 

[mrthompson]

 

[TopGun]

^^How's the quality of the plastics though??   

It's an improvement over the Mack, which is right up there with Arthur's Niva 

Well, if the plastics suck, then we don't care how that truck performs the task it was designed.

This one is likely way better...

[tpl]

if ever there was a case for a 16 speed DSG that transmission lever is it.  I wonder how much such a transmission would improve the fuel economy. You'd probably still need high and low range.  The software to control downshifts would need some clever work to use engine braking efficiently going downhill I think.

[PJungnitsch]

Well, if the plastics suck, then we don't care how that truck performs the task it was designed.

This one is likely way better...

Don't be raggin' on the Mack, you Hyundai fanboy. It's old but a good solid truck.

The Mack came on the scene just as I was leaving the farm (my brother took over the family place), so that wasn't quite as uncertain to drive. OTOH I had to bring this one back fully loaded at 2.00 am with one dim headlight. Was warned that one of the air split shift positions puts the transmission in neutral and it doesn't always come back, something to avoid on a hill.

[safristi]

how many quarts of Java does that add on coffee maker make per field.............. .... as for the plastics PJ woz always a soft touch...

[PJungnitsch]

Added a steering wheel cover to the Vibe on the weekend. The stock wheel is nice, but the plastic rim always bothered me, not very grippy.



Ordered a 'Wheelskins' one off Ebay

[PJungnitsch]

Has to be ordered to the exact steering wheel size, slips on fairly tightly, then away you go with a needle and what seems like a mile of waxed thread:



The only tricky part is seeing all the holes on the back side, and keeping the count even as skipping has to be done over the spokes:



Tightening is surprisingly easy as the wax keeps the thread tight and the heavy leather holds nicely:



Overall I think it worked out pretty well:

[rrocket]

Good work.  How long did the threading take?

[PJungnitsch]

Seemed like I was going to be there forever at first, but it was only around an hour. When I did this with the truck I think I took the steering wheel off, but here with the airbag I left it on. The one thing you need is good light to see and count the holes on the back side of the wheel.

[airbalancer]

Are you still like the wheel skin
Which place on eBay did you get it from?

[PJungnitsch]

Excellent, it's very good leather.

Checked but can't find who I got it from, probably just typed in 'Vibe Wheelskins' into ebay.ca and picked the cheapest vendor with good feedback and USPS shipping.

[safristi]

Madame Futura sees callouses on per palms and fingers,,,,,RUFF RUFF....... ..........