Our governor is trying to pass a bill requiring all gas sold in Minnesota in a few years contain 20% ethanol. Now, that is going to require redesign of engines anyway. So why not use methanol instead of ethanol? The big push here is 'cause we grow corn. But methanol can be made from much...

Can you teach me more about lug bolts & related tire tools on this vehicle whose tires I rotated today and which I plan on rotating every 4K miles (6K km). First question is what is the practical difference between these three 21mm (13/16ths) "sockets" for the lug bolts on the car I was working on...

Awl -- As all usenet thermodynamicists know, engine efficiency increases with higher compression. But high test can cost 10% more than regular. Does high compression increase engine efficiency by at least 10% to account for the higher cost of high test gas? My crude PV=nRT calcs + Carnot's...

I'm going to follow BadGolferMan's lead, and start changing my own oil. There's a great CD-ROM that comes with the book "Auto Upkeep - Basic Car Care" by Michael E. Gray. On the CD is a great checklist of things to do when changing your car's oil. Here it is: --

If yes, why is that? Serious question.

It's interesting to see how many people in this group and others support the 55 MPH speed limit. The question is, where the hell are you on the highway?!?!?! If 55 MPH is supposed to save fuel, and the speed limit is currently 65 MPH in most places, then why, when I'm doing my usual 68-70 MPH, am...

Interesting story just developed over the past two months that I figured I'd let you know about in case it happens to you. For about five years, I've been in an unfriendly situation with my nearest neighbor (over past events with the kids getting into trouble and barking loose dogs). Then, the...

Hi again, gang. I hope everyone has been great. Well, it's time for another oil change, so I thought I'd check in again with my Toyota friends. Only this time I have a surprise! I did my first-ever oil change the other day! It was a real pleasure to do, and I have to thank all the...

Hello all. OK just to keep it short, my brother has a 1994 Dodge Caravan with the 3.0 engine and automatic transmission. This may or may not be relevant to what I am about to ask but at the beginning of last week he had the rack and pinion changed. Now he says when he drives after about 20-30...

I'm confused - but I have an appointment tomorrow for tires to be mounted - and - I'm confused which two of the four dots should line up: http://i43.tinypic.com/dcfrea.jpg Both documents below say US wheel manufacturers and tire manufacturers are *required* to mark the "low spot" and "high spot"...

Looking for some definitive (or at least of somewhat mainstream credibility) numbers on E85 vs gasoline: For production/hauling/storage/etc, end to end: BTUs consumed to yield X BTUs from ethanol vs BTUs consumed to yield X BTUs from gasoline and

larry moe 'n curly wrote: > ...replaced their own Popular Mechanics brand with Stanley... ======== Thanks for mentioning that Walmart sells Stanley tools. Picked up a 60-piece Stanley ratchet and socket set at Walmart today, since I needed a 10 millimeter socket for the Camry's air filter...

Irrespective whether it was your own (current or previous) car or someone else's (whether you were the one driving, or you were only a passenger, doesn't matter), what's so far been the fastest speed you've driven, without crashing and harming anyone and/or also physically damaging the car. It...

Consider a vehicle of axle-to-axle length L, and left to right wheel separation W (though I don't believe this matters). Assume a X-Y co-ordinate plane, the origin located at the center of the rear axle. What is the car's forward trajectory, if the front wheels rotate left at angle U? What is its...

Hi all, got a bit of a puzzlement. Ever since I've had it, my '08 Impala has had a pronounced steering shimmy under braking - the harder you brake, the more the wheel shakes back and forth. I finally took it in for its first service in my care today, and asked them to balance and rotate the...

Hi, i see tv ads for the mazda RX8 with the rotary engine. have mazda solved all the previous problems with this engine or is it still trouble awaiting?

I have a problem with a 4 cyl. diesel.

Many owners have posted about steering problems here, and guess what? There is a problem and Corolla may be recalled! "Some Corolla drivers in the U.S. have reported experiencing a loss of steering control, typically occurring at higher speeds. Sasaki says Toyota has received less than 100...

A recent thread in a.h.r blamed the government for "ruining" the portable gasoline container: TITLE: The government ruined the gas can... URL: http://tinyurl.com/cszj22e Personally, I feel manufacturers ruined the gasoline can, simply by following only half the requirements for a gasoline can....

How hard is it to replace a clutch in a 5-speed manual transmission? I have never done it, but it's generally cheaper to buy the tools and do it yourself than to pay someone else. Plus you generally get better parts. I've never done a clutch. This is a Toyota 4Runner 1998 2WD with the W59...