Honda Car Forum

ray wrote:
> Steve wrote:
>>
>> Lights are ONLY useful to call attention to a reading that's gone out
>> of range. Gauges warn before the problem gets critical. The best of
>> both worlds is a light that tells you to check the gauges.
>
> <brag>
> My 2001 Trans Am has gauges. And a "check gauges" idiot light.
> And they appear to either be real gauges or very convincing software
> "clones" - oil pressure starts high at a cold start, varies with RPM and
> is lower at idle when the engine is warm. It even registers a bit
> higher when I run 10W30 in it vs 5W30.
> </brag>
>
> Of course, it didn't come with a shift light.
>
> Ray

Anyone who actually uses a shift light should stick to driving
automatics.... ;-)

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article <e4ydnd57VcfA6JrVnZ2dnUVZ_uqvnZ2d@texas.net>,
> Steve <no@spam.thanks> wrote:
>
>> The "my car is a toaster" crowd that made the Camry the best stilling
>> POS in the world is ruining the driving experience for the rest of us
>> more and more every day.
>
> Hardly. There's a car, actually a plethora of them, for every taste.
>
> At any rate, now we know what your ACTUAL complaint is. You can't find
> a car to suit your particular tastes.
>
> Ain't that a bitch.
>

Again, its not MY problem, I'm just commenting on it as a symptom of how
ignorant of how a car works the average driver has become.

Besides I have 5 cars that suit my taste beautifully, and there are
plenty of others I'd love to have (a Challenger SRT-8 tops the list, but
that aint gonna happen unless I were to sell the '69 R/T convertible and
that's not bloody likely)

In article <xZydnWiar5SOLJXVnZ2dnUVZ_rGhnZ2d@texas.net>,
Steve <no@spam.thanks> wrote:

> > At any rate, now we know what your ACTUAL complaint is. You can't find
> > a car to suit your particular tastes.
> >
> > Ain't that a bitch.
> >
>
> Again, its not MY problem, I'm just commenting on it as a symptom of how
> ignorant of how a car works the average driver has become.

No, it's a symptom of how appliance-like the cars have become--which
depends on, and also feeds, the fact that auto transportation has become
a necessity--not a hobby, not a luxury.

When the Model T came out, you had to know everything about the car and
be your own mechanic. Of course, that was OK back then. Now imagine
the Model T being the primary source of transportation today.

Face it: technology starts out in the labs, then hits the early
adopters, then eventually becomes mainstream--and appliance-like. I
don't have to know how a computer works just to be able to take and send
pictures on my cell phone.

You don't like that technology becomes an appliance. Tough shit.
That's how life works.

In article <wKidndW1GcsTMZXVnZ2dnUVZ_tOtnZ2d@texas.net>,
Steve <no@spam.thanks> wrote:

> > Ah, so it CAN leak. Wouldn't you want to know if that happened?
>
> The probability of a rock flying into the condesor coils underneath my
> fridge and causing a leak is astronomically low.

True. But the probability of your $900 fridge being a cheap piece of
Chinese junk and leaking coolant and ruining the food in your fridge is
MUCH greater today than it ever has been.

Hence, it would be prudent to protect your food investment, if nothing
else, by using such a gauge.



> Also there are
> about 4 to 9 pressurized rubber hoses and 8 to 18 hose clamps all
> waiting to leak on a car cooling system, not to mention fans that can
> fail, thermostats that get sticky, and radiator caps that quit holding
> pressure, etc. etc. And that's just the SUBTLE failures that will first
> show up by mild overheating, not the disasters like a burst hose or
> blown head gasket.

And modern refrigerators are Chinese junk made for the sole purpose of
making the manufacturer money by appearing JUST ENOUGH to be an actual
fridge. The details are different from the car, but the risk of failure
is just as great.

Steve wrote:
> ray wrote:
>> Steve wrote:
>>>
>>> Lights are ONLY useful to call attention to a reading that's gone out
>>> of range. Gauges warn before the problem gets critical. The best of
>>> both worlds is a light that tells you to check the gauges.
>>
>> <brag>
>> My 2001 Trans Am has gauges. And a "check gauges" idiot light.
>> And they appear to either be real gauges or very convincing software
>> "clones" - oil pressure starts high at a cold start, varies with RPM
>> and is lower at idle when the engine is warm. It even registers a bit
>> higher when I run 10W30 in it vs 5W30.
>> </brag>
>>
>> Of course, it didn't come with a shift light.
>>
>> Ray
>
> Anyone who actually uses a shift light should stick to driving
> automatics.... ;-)
>

The purpose of the shift light is for drag racing. When the nitrous
kicks in, it's important that I don't hit the factory rev limiter.

(why? because the factory rev limiter works by dropping a cylinder, and
if the nitrous is flowing and I don't get a spark, I'll probably end up
blowing the engine sky high.)

And anyone who makes a comment about shift lights and automatics
probably doesn't (a) bracket race or (b) have 400+ hp on tap.

Ray

Steve wrote:
> Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>> In article <27SdnWxBQMGx65rVnZ2dnUVZ_sqinZ2d@texas.net>,
>> Steve <no@spam.thanks> wrote:
>>
>>>> Do you know the temperature inside your fridge? Oh, I see--you
>>>> added a thermometer so you'd know. The little "1-6" dial isn't
>>>> enough for you, so you added something the manufacturer didn't
>>>> include. And yet you bought the fridge anyhow.
>>>>
>>>
>>> That is without a doubt the STUPIDEST analogy I've ever read.
>>>
>>> And if you really see a car as equivalent to an 'appliance,' then
>>> we've really got nothing to discuss anyway.
>>
>> You really don't understand how the world works, do you.
>
> Yes, I do. The manufacturers build for the majority of nitwits. I just
> don't necessarily LIKE the way the world works....
>
>>
>> Yes, the car is an appliance--for 99.9% of the people out there. Yet
>> you, somehow, think that your desire to have a temp gauge that behaves
>> the way you want it means that it's a necessity.
>
> Actually, >>I<< never said that it would stop me from buying a car at
> all. Its trivial to add a gauge if its important to you (and it SHOULD
> be, but I digress again.) On the other hand, when I see that a
> manufacturer took the time to put in a gauge, it makes me think hjust a
> little more highly of the competence of the engineers who stood their
> ground against the air-headed right-brain type stylists, marketing
> lizards, and bean-counters.

no dude, it's the other way around. the engineers doctor the gauge so
it only tells you two things - normal and too hot, and only one of those
is important. left to their own devices, they'd leave the waste of
space out. it's the marketing lizards that insist on a gauge because
people like you think they need one and get all amped up about a subject
they haven't bothered to analyze or don't understand. even when given
the facts.

Steve wrote:
> Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
>> In article <e4ydnd57VcfA6JrVnZ2dnUVZ_uqvnZ2d@texas.net>,
>> Steve <no@spam.thanks> wrote:
>>
>>> The "my car is a toaster" crowd that made the Camry the best stilling
>>> POS in the world is ruining the driving experience for the rest of us
>>> more and more every day.
>>
>> Hardly. There's a car, actually a plethora of them, for every taste.
>>
>> At any rate, now we know what your ACTUAL complaint is. You can't
>> find a car to suit your particular tastes.
>>
>> Ain't that a bitch.
>>
>
> Again, its not MY problem, I'm just commenting on it as a symptom of how
> ignorant of how a car works the average driver has become.

like the ignorant average driver that thinks the "temp gauge" in his car
is actually telling him anything other than "normal" and "too hot"?


>
> Besides I have 5 cars that suit my taste beautifully, and there are
> plenty of others I'd love to have (a Challenger SRT-8 tops the list, but
> that aint gonna happen unless I were to sell the '69 R/T convertible and
> that's not bloody likely)

On Apr 17, 10:33*pm, ray <rollingviolat...@domain.invalid.com> wrote:

> <brag>
> My 2001 Trans Am has gauges. *And a "check gauges" idiot light.
> And they appear to either be real gauges or very convincing software
> "clones" - oil pressure starts high at a cold start, varies with RPM and
> is lower at idle when the engine is warm. *It even registers a bit
> higher when I run 10W30 in it vs 5W30.
> </brag>
>
> Of course, it didn't come with a shift light.

An interesting note to the "Godsend" GM shift light is that it was
operated by the same circuit (and then slightly modified by vehicle
speed rationality logic) as the torque converter lock up circuit used
on automatic trans models. Sure miss *that* feature :-)

Toyota MDT in MO

Comboverfish wrote:
> On Apr 17, 10:33 pm, ray <rollingviolat...@domain.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>> <brag>
>> My 2001 Trans Am has gauges. And a "check gauges" idiot light.
>> And they appear to either be real gauges or very convincing software
>> "clones" - oil pressure starts high at a cold start, varies with RPM and
>> is lower at idle when the engine is warm. It even registers a bit
>> higher when I run 10W30 in it vs 5W30.
>> </brag>
>>
>> Of course, it didn't come with a shift light.
>
> An interesting note to the "Godsend" GM shift light is that it was
> operated by the same circuit (and then slightly modified by vehicle
> speed rationality logic) as the torque converter lock up circuit used
> on automatic trans models. Sure miss *that* feature :-)
>
> Toyota MDT in MO

I forgot about that "shift light" - my truck has one... the upshift to
save gas nag light. On my old Jimmy I just took the bulb out. On my
current truck, where I like the steering wheel it just blocks it.

Ray

On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:06:33 -0700, Comboverfish wrote:

> On Apr 17, 10:33*pm, ray <rollingviolat...@domain.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>> <brag>
>> My 2001 Trans Am has gauges. *And a "check gauges" idiot light. And
>> they appear to either be real gauges or very convincing software
>> "clones" - oil pressure starts high at a cold start, varies with RPM and
>> is lower at idle when the engine is warm. *It even registers a bit
>> higher when I run 10W30 in it vs 5W30. </brag>
>>
>> Of course, it didn't come with a shift light.
>
> An interesting note to the "Godsend" GM shift light is that it was
> operated by the same circuit (and then slightly modified by vehicle speed
> rationality logic) as the torque converter lock up circuit used on
> automatic trans models. Sure miss *that* feature :-)
>
> Toyota MDT in MO


Comboverfish!

Stop hanging around in r.a.t (hey, how about that!) and come back to us!!!

As for those lights, I had one in a Jetta, and got WORSE fuel economy
using it!