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Auto repair myths
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mugs
Lifer
The problem is that people are stating myths like the OP requested, but people are interpreting them as statements of fact instead of examples of myths. Perhaps it would be more clear if people prefaced each myth with something like "MYTH:"
Edit: List started here: http://www.at-wiki.com/wiki/index.php/Car_myths
gsellis
Diamond Member
x. You should fill your car when it is freezing out as you get free gas because it is denser.
y. Oil change places will help you find real problems with your car.
z. When skidding, you only need to steer into the skid to save it.
aa. Grooves in a tire help grip the road better (this one was believed until somewhere in the 60's!)
bb. The max cornering force a car could have is 1g (believed until ground effects were discovered.)
y. Oil change places will help you find real problems with your car.
z. When skidding, you only need to steer into the skid to save it.
aa. Grooves in a tire help grip the road better (this one was believed until somewhere in the 60's!)
bb. The max cornering force a car could have is 1g (believed until ground effects were discovered.)
shortylickens
No Lifer
Much more intelligent than ASSuming the vehicle in question has anti-lock breaks. If you wanna make an ass out of yourself fine, dont inflict your ignorance and stupidity on me.
As it so happens, my current vehicle is a little older and doesnt have ABS. But it has 4 wheel drive and 4 proper winter tires on it.
Incidentally, questioning someone elses intelligence does not enhance yours. It only makes it easier to point out how dumb you really are.
Now please go to bed and let the grown-ups finish their conversation.
thetxstang
Senior member
Here's a myth I learned of recently: I'd always heard that running your car on Max A/C was harder on your cooling system than running it in Normal A/C mode. An automotive A/C technician that I know and trust recently explained that this is not the case at all.
Evidently, when running your car in Normal A/C mode, outside air is allowed to blow over the evaporator core, which, since the outside air is usually much warmer, makes it harder for the evaporator core to cool and do its job. Conversely, when your A/C is set to Max, the air is set to recirculate mode, using the already cooled cabin air to blow over the evaporator core.
He also said the following method is the best way to cool the inside of your car on a hot summer day: Use the Normal A/C setting for the first couple of minutes or so, then set your system to Max A/C. Maximum cooling and the most efficiency, FTW!
Evidently, when running your car in Normal A/C mode, outside air is allowed to blow over the evaporator core, which, since the outside air is usually much warmer, makes it harder for the evaporator core to cool and do its job. Conversely, when your A/C is set to Max, the air is set to recirculate mode, using the already cooled cabin air to blow over the evaporator core.
He also said the following method is the best way to cool the inside of your car on a hot summer day: Use the Normal A/C setting for the first couple of minutes or so, then set your system to Max A/C. Maximum cooling and the most efficiency, FTW!
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Your profile says "Guam." Get much ice on the roads down there?! 😛
Unless you're riding the clutch, downshifting on very slippery roads is pretty stupid, with or without ABS. Here's a nice, scientific explanation: there's a maximum amount of force that friction can possibly provide to your vehicle. Once your tires start slipping on the surface, the coefficient of friction drops (the difference between the static coefficient of friction when the tires aren't sliding to the coefficient of kinetic friction when the tires are sliding wrt to the road surface.) Downshift on black ice and you're going to lose control. Downshift in what 75% of the users here would consider "slippery", and you'll be fine (i.e. 1/4 inch of snow in North Carolina is enough to throw people into a panic; the people in western NY and other areas that need a foot of snow and -20 wind chill factors before they consider closing schools laugh and continue moving at the speed limit, and don't do idiotic things which cause them to lose control.)
Rubycon
Madame President
If a sensor was placed behind the evaporator, a simple controller could modulate the outside air damper (using an electrohydraulic actuator or EHA rather than the conventional vacuum actuator to prevent excessive engine vacuum loading) to provide optimal evaporator return air temperature. 🙂
exdeath
Lifer
This is somewhat true... though to what extent is questionable.
Using a gasoline with higher knock resistance allows more timing which produces optimal power out of a given volume of mixture, which should in turn require less slightly less throttle application to achieve the desired power level.
Also, in addition to retarding timing, some systems inject additional fuel to richen the mixture to cool combustion temperature in an effort to control detonation. This is wasted fuel that is used only to absorb heat and is burnt up in the exhaust system.
You will always get better efficiency (mpg) and power using the fuel the engine was designed for. Increasing octane will simply give you the full advertised power and mpg you were missing out on all along if you were using a lower octane fuel than what was recommended by the manufacturer. Increasing the octane beyond the factory recommendation, however, will result in no benefits unless the ignition maps and/or compression ratio of the engine are modified to take advantage of it.
Evadman
Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
AWD? Agreed. Doesn't help worth a damn. However, I have to disagree with you on a 4WD vehicle. I can stop quite a bit faster with a center locked differential, and even faster with a front and rear locker.
That is because the center differential will not allow a wheel to lock, only all 4 of them. That means you will get absolute maximum breaking force before sliding as the force is applied across all 4 wheels.
If you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle with a locked or chain driven transfer case you can easily see for yourself. Go out in a slick surface and leave the vehicle in AWD or 2WD. Get mocing and pull the emergency breake hard enough so the rear wheels lock. Note how fast you are going. Now, lock the transfer case (or shift into 4WD) get going, and pull the ebrake. I seriously doubt you would have the strength to lock the wheels, and you will stop a hell of a lot quicker.
Without axle lockers, you would have to lock one front and one rear wheel. You can't lock both front or both rear unless you lock all 4 as the front and rear driveshafts are locked together. That means any uneven braking force will be applied through the drive shafts to the wheel with the most traction. In other words thus giving you the optimal friction surface.
In other words, in a standard braking system, the front does about 70% of the braking force, and the rear 30%. But what if the front only has 10% of the traction and the rear 90%? With a locked transfer case, the rear can do more work than the proporting valve would normaly allow. Go ahead, try it.
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