Aftermarket air intake sys...

Jstas

The problem with tire pressure is not as much wear as it is heat.

If the tire is over inflated, the air inside the tire heats up as the tire and brakes and other unsprung weight heats up from the friction of rolling down the road. Air, as with all things, expands as it heats up. When it expands, it increases tire pressure which can cause excessive stress on the tire and even the valve stem. This can lead to tire failure. There is also the wear problem as mentioned.

If the tire is under-inflated, you increase the contact patch. Every tire has a temperature rating along with a wear rating and traction rating. The temperature rating is essentially how much heat the tire can absorb and dissipate in normal operation. When you increase the contact patch through under-inflation, you put more tire in contact with the ground. That means that more tire touches and more ofthe tire generates heat. If more of the tire is generating heat, there is less of the tire available to disapate the heat. That becomes an issue because then the tire can get overwhelmed with heat and you have problems like Ford Explorer/Firestone Wilderness HT tire problems from a few years ago. What essentially happened there was Ford ordered tires that would roll at say 32 PSI and hold up 1250 pounds of weight at that pressure. Firestone supplied tires that were under-spec and required 34 PSI of pressure to hold that much weight. What happened? Ford Explorer drivers were driving with under-inflated tires. Those tires heated up to the point where the tread block would separate from the tire carcass and cause catastrophic tire failure bad enough to cause rollovers.


As far as wear, yeah, it's an issue but inflating a 29 PSI tire to 32 pounds is not going to cause enough of an issue to care. Over-inflating a tire if better than under-inflating it. You can over-inflate it though so stay 5 PSI under the max pressure rating and that gives you enough of a buffer to not have an issue. Under inflating kills gas mileage and tire wear and can cause excessive wheel bearing wear.

It's better to just keep your tires inflated properly. Personally, my manual says the tires should be inflated to 34 PSI but since I don't have the stock tires on the truck, I inflate mine to about 42-44 PSI. Max pressure is 50 PSI. If I leave the tires at the recommended 32-34 PSI, there is not enough pressure to hold up the weight of the truck. Keeping it that high, I get better tire wear, longer tire life, better mileage and since the sidewalls are quite tall, I get a more compliant ride with that tire than the stock tire anyway.

Stock tire is a Goodyear Eagle F1 in a 295/45-ZR18
The tire I have now is a Kumho Ecsta STX 255/65-VR16

Very different tires.

Serendipity

Thanks again.

AB and Jstas, what do you suggest next?

audiobliss

Driving lessons! And track time! Or at the very least the latter, though the former would really help you enjoy the latter!

I would sooo love to get into racing at a track. And I've serioiusly cosidered, 'cause since my speeding ticket, I've slowed down on the road, and driving just 5 over is SOOOO boring. I need some kind of driving outlet.

Shoot, I'd take the Jeep to a track, but Dad wouldn't let me wring out my main mode of transportation.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

And I've serioiusly cosidered, 'cause since my speeding ticket, I've slowed down on the road, and driving just 5 over is SOOOO boring.

Hmm, 5 over is pretty fast to me already.

If the sign says 55 - I go 55.

I'm not really interested in going FAST, but more interested in learning about cars.

audiobliss

Which is kinda weird. So now you've got a slightly faster car, that grips MUCH better and stops on a DIME. But you're still going to drive like grandma. That's interesting, to me.

I would just LOVE to drive around a track a few times, all out, just see what it's like, how hard it is, etc. I'd love to do it in the Jeep see how sideways she'd get, how much speed she can hold through some corners. Would be massively fun!


Oh, and if it says 55 and traffic and visibility aren't problems, I wanna go at least 70!

Face

appadv wrote: »

Hmm, 5 over is pretty fast to me already.

If the sign says 55 - I go 55.

I'm not really interested in going FAST, but more interested in learning about cars.

I hope you stay in the right lane, otherwise you'd be run right off the road here.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Oh, and if it says 55 and traffic and visibility aren't problems, I wanna go at least 70!

Just be careful in that Jeep. It's got a high center of gravity and is definitely not a sports car.

OTOH, I share a car with mom and ever since I was young I've been in a FAST car - thats why I go safe and slow.

audiobliss

Oh yeah, I'm aware of how far from a sports car my Jeep is, but it'll handle a LOT better than anyone would expect a 4x4 brick to handle. There's a s-turn right down the road that I like going through occasionally, and I've hit 63 through there before.

Serendipity

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1689304628442662683&q=minivan+race&total=124&start=20&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6-CADcY4KU

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Oh yeah, I'm aware of how far from a sports car my Jeep is, but it'll handle a LOT better than anyone would expect a 4x4 brick to handle. There's a s-turn right down the road that I like going through occasionally, and I've hit 63 through there before.

You mean 36, right?

Never said your Jeep doesn't handle well...

Serendipity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q1L-q27rVQ

AB - Jeeps are FAST...

You want to take it to the track, don't you

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

I would just LOVE to drive around a track a few times, all out, just see what it's like, how hard it is, etc. I'd love to do it in the Jeep see how sideways she'd get, how much speed she can hold through some corners. Would be massively fun!

In all seriousness, what is involved in going to a track? I would assume you need safety equipment (helmet, fire extinguisher, etc.) and lessons first, and then permission from mom or dad (I'm a little bit younger than Trey)...

Jstas

I really doubt that you have a car that is capable of exceeding 120 MPH in a 1/4 mile. I don't think you are going to break 13 seconds either. Road course is a different story.

That being said, most drag strips run by NHRA rules and won't require much saftery equipment if you are slower than 14 seconds. However, most tracks require a helmet for all competitors. So go to JEG's or Summit Racing Equipment and grab a helmet. You can pick up an adequate G-Force helmet for about $150. Seems like alot but your cranium is a bit more valuable than any brain bucket. Make sure you get one with a NOMEX lining. NHRA rules require a NOMEX lining for a car helmet. Some tech guys let you slide with a motorcycle helmet but alot won't. The reason you want NOMEX is because it's fire retardant. Motorcycle helmets have nylon linings. In an accident with a motorcycle, you are usually thrown clear of the fireball. In an accident with a car, you aren't and the nylon in a motorcycle helmet will melt and shrink wrap your face. Not fun. Safety equipment is expensive but still not nearly as valuable as your life and it's designed to protect it. Don't skimp because if you do need that equipment to protect you, you're gonna wish you hadn't skimped when the chips are down.


As far as a road course, best thing to do is either get involved with an amateur club or go to a driving school. They will not let some kid with no experience on to a track day to get in the way and louse things up. If you want to get REAL track experience, stop blowing money on your car and get a shifter cart. But if you want to go racing your car, I would suggest finding a local SCCA or NASA event. SCCA will let anyone in a autocross and they are very helpful to a n00b provided you don't have a chip on your shoulder. NASA has driving clinics and the instructors are very good and very patient. However, without seat time on a track and a certain number of hours of instruction, no sanctioning body will even let you apply for a competition license let alone issue one.

Safety equipment for road racing is much more extensive. You usually need a helmet and a fire extinguisher plus some other stuff. You will also need to upgrade brakes, brake lines and make sure tires are in good condition. For autocross, you will usually need the same things. Road racing requires alot more prep and financial outlay including the cost of the event. Going drag racing, you hit a street night at the local strip and can race all night for anywhere from $10-$20 in most cases.

I don't know what is available in your area but depending on what you want to do, you should start surfing the websites of groups like the SCCA, NASA/ or other local clubs and tracks.

I'm not sure where you live but the SCCA website is a good place to start. There is lots of info there and even some suggestions on what to do to prep for each event including class rules. Those are very important. You should be able to easily search for a dragstrip in your area with Google also. The NHRA website has rules for their classes too. Most tracks run NHRA rules for street nights. You also have other sanctioning bodies like the IHRA, NSCA, NMRA and NOPI's Drag Racing arm NDRA and quite a few others that will sponsor local races and have slightly different rules. Those are the biggest ones I know of and there are quite a few out there. There are also specialized events like the Fun Ford Weekends if you own a Ford and those special events can get quite fun.

Hope that at least gives you a place to start.

VR3

I just wanted to point out --

That you are not younger than me... lol - You started college one year before me broham

Back to your regularly scheduled program

Serendipity

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I just wanted to point out --

That you are not younger than me... lol - You started college one year before me broham

Back to your regularly scheduled program

I am

I started college one year before you due to other reasons. Not because of my age.

I think we both turn 19 in 3 months

Serendipity

Jstas, thanks again.

Although this was more of me asking for AB than anything else...

audiobliss

Dang, y'all ARE young. I'm just sooo much older than y'all. I'll turn 20 in the first week of November.

Jstas

appadv wrote: »

I am

I started college one year before you due to AP classes, college credits, placemenet exams, etc.

Not because of my age.

I think we both turn 19 in 3 months

Dang Sid! I think he just said he was smarter than you!

You gonna take that?

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Dang, y'all ARE young. I'm just sooo much older than y'all. I'll turn 20 in the first week of November.

I never knew you were 20.

Cool that we have quite a few youngsters on this forum.

audiobliss

appadv wrote: »

Jstas, thanks again.

Although this was more of me asking for AB than anything else...

Yeah, thanks for asking, appadv. I had no clue it would be that costly to get into track racing. My dream would be to just find a track, an empty track, and drive around it for about an hour. Forget all the prep, cost, and training, hahaha.

But it would be great to take some lessons, have a vehicle actually worthy of taking to a track, and then go out working on lap times. That'd be SWEET.

But drag racing is awesome, too, and obviously a heck of a lot cheaper!!!

Serendipity

Jstas wrote: »

Dang Sid! I think he just said he was smarter than you!

You gonna take that?

That's not what I meant...

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Yeah, thanks for asking, appadv. I had no clue it would be that costly to get into track racing. My dream would be to just find a track, an empty track, and drive around it for about an hour. Forget all the prep, cost, and training, hahaha.

But it would be great to take some lessons, have a vehicle actually worthy of taking to a track, and then go out working on lap times. That'd be SWEET.

But drag racing is awesome, too, and obviously a heck of a lot cheaper!!!

Sorry for the dumb question, but what's the difference between road racing, drag racing, road course, etc?

audiobliss

I would equate road racing with racing on a road course; I think of them as being the same. They're when you're racing on a closed track and working on lap speeds.

Drag racing is when you just race in a straight line for 1/8 or 1/4 of a mile. The 1320, baby!

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

I would equate road racing with racing on a road course; I think of them as being the same. They're when you're racing on a closed track and working on lap speeds.

Drag racing is when you just race in a straight line for 1/8 or 1/4 of a mile. The 1320, baby!

So which do you want to do?

audiobliss

BOTH!

A few posts ago I was talking about wanting to do the road course racing. I think that'd be a lot of fun. There's a lot more skill involved in that. However, I've always loved drag racing, too. I think they'd both be a LOT of fun.

There's a 1/8 mile track about 40 minutes from my house that I go to occasionally to watch. I could run my Jeep there with no helmet or anything for just $10, I believe. THAT would be tons of fun. I would do that in a heartbeat...if Dad would let me.

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

BOTH!

A few posts ago I was talking about wanting to do the road course racing. I think that'd be a lot of fun. There's a lot more skill involved in that. However, I've always loved drag racing, too. I think they'd both be a LOT of fun.

There's a 1/8 mile track about 40 minutes from my house that I go to occasionally to watch. I could run my Jeep there with no helmet or anything for just $10, I believe. THAT would be tons of fun. I would do that in a heartbeat...if Dad would let me.

Only $10 and nothing else? Wow that's cheap.

Your dad won't let you? That's gotta suck.

audiobliss

Yeah, it does. I'm pretty sure I could do high 10's in the 1/8, certainly low 11's. Not fast by any means, but it'd still be fun. Especially the smokey burnout I'd do in the water box!!!

Serendipity

audiobliss wrote: »

Yeah, it does. I'm pretty sure I could do high 10's in the 1/8, certainly low 11's.

What does that translate to for a 0-60 time?

audiobliss

I've clocked it, and my Jeep does 0-60 in dead on 9 seconds. Not too bad for a 12 year old, boxy, brick of a 4x4 with 140,**** miles and beaten daily by me.

Serendipity

According to http://www.theautochannel.com/vehicles/new/reviews/2000/lweitzman_nissanmaxima2000.html, 0-60 for a 2000 Nissan Maxima is 6.84 seconds.

Your Jeep, being a boxy vehicle, is VERY good.