New Mileage nut, Long-Time efficiency seeker.

[MetroMPG]

not 400 miles a year - 1500 miles in its first 6 months, then parked for 7 yrs.

i bought it this fall after it had been in storage. the orig owner drove it in the winter of 97/98, then got sick and stopped driving altogether. it was in the family's garage gathering dust, and they just sold it to me this fall (i found it in the auto trader).

[JanGeo]

Sweet deal - I always thought that buying a new car and then storing it would be a better investment than money in the bank - you get a new "old" car and the excize tax around here goes to zero if the car is old enough. Just have to keep the rubber in good condition.

[kickflipjr]

I was going to make a thread about tire pressure and saftey. It snowed 4" today and my 40-45psi tires didn't have much traction. 30psi would have been better in the snow.

[JanGeo]

HA HA HA Yeah too much pressure!! I have to start thinking about that also at some point we will get some snow around here in Newport RI. Looks like maybe an onboard engine powered air compressor to charge an air tank during braking is also in order to have air to reinflate after the snow melts. Sure wish I had the room under the hood in the xB that I have in the Geo for all this stuff. I still have not even seen the transmission so I can find the filler plug to add some Slick50 gear lube to it. Actually I better find out what they have in there for oil in the first place to make sure it is 80/90 weight.

[RGR...]

Originally Posted by diamondlarry

I would say that for the average driver, 55 psi might be too high. Since I'm always driving for max efficiency I generally drive much slower than the average driver so handling doesn't seem to be an issuse. I have never had any loss of traction in a turn/curve at 55 psi. My tires are rated at 44 psi max and I have heard that there is a very healthy reserve built into that max pressure rating. It's good to see another long time mpg fan. Welcome and enjoy the good info!

MOST things that are de-rated for safety and durability have
a 20% reserve or more, or looking at it another way, one could
increase the pressure 25% and get to the 100% (not de-rated)
pressure rating. My _current_ (pun intended) profession is
Electrician and we derate most electrical items to 80% almost
across the board, like conduit sizing, amp ratings, etc. for
surges, safety factor, uneducated users and the like.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, and I hope to make some
contribution here and learn alot in the process!