The (front) wheel reinvented?

[Crescentius Vespasianus]

One is
> that the unibody tends to develop a large crack in the firewall panel
> aft of the engine; another (which was known at least as early as 1983)
> is that the inner cowl panel above the suspension mount tends to
> develop cracks.
---------------
An intact firewall is essential. I
remember having to drive a Dodge truck
(70's) in the agricultural industry, and
every once and a while I would have a
fire under the hood. I was just a kid,
and didn't know any mechanics, but
somehow there would be gas leaks. So I
had fire extinguisher and I'd put the
fire out. Or if I just stopped, and
turned the ignition off, the fire would
go out. It never seemed to do any
damage, and I'd be on my way again. But
I did drill a hole in the firewall, and
if I saw fire coming through there, I
knew I had another engine fire going.

And then there was the a Triumph that I
drove in those days. One day I had an
electrical fire behind the dash. And
if I remember, I used snow to put it
out. Even after that fire, the car
still worked afterwards, it just stunk a
little. Even when I ride my bike,
occasionally I'll smell the burning wire
insulation of cars passing me, you can't
miss it.

 

[Tom Sherman]

dabac wrote:
> Werehatrack Wrote:
>> ... rotting out the brake lines under the carpeting.
>
> What? Brake lines ran THROUGH the passenger compartment? Never seen
> such a thing.
>
My "Wabbit" (Golf I in Europe) had them there.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

 

[Steve Kirkendall]

dabac wrote:
> Maybe according to the old adage "the more the merrier" the following
> contraption has seen the light of day: 'Streetsurfer'
> (http://www.streetsurfer.nl/streetsurfer) (Yes, despite the name the
> link does contain cycling content. Well, perhaps bicycle-looking object
> content...)
>
> Apart from the obvious "advantage" of making potholes, curbs and
> similar indefinitely more thrilling, is there any truth to their
> statement of better cornering ability through the front quad set-up?

A couple of years ago, I had the idea of mounting a skateboard in place
of the front wheel. The idea was attractive mostly because it's weird,
but I also hoped it would also make the steering "feel" a little better
for a chopper with an extra long fork and shallow steering tube angle.
Or even better: a street luge. Turning the handlebars would make the
skateboard lean, which would then cause it to turn.

But improving the handling of a chopper with long forks is a loosing
proposition anyway. With so little weight on the front wheel, nothing
is going to make a chopper handle well.

Besides, there's the pothole problem.

One other issue that nobody's mentioned: precession. With a big
wheel in front, if you start to lean toward one side or the other,
the gyroscopic precession will cause the front wheel to turn in that
direction, making the bike move back under you again. That's why
you can right a bike with no hands. The skateboard rig wouldn't do
that, so you'd need to work harder to maintain your balance.

That's how it seems to me anyway. I never did get around to trying
this out.

 

[Peter Cole]

Werehatrack wrote:
> On Wed, 6 Feb 2008 10:40:47 -0800 (PST), Ed Pirrero

>> Out here in the West, where they do not see fit to salt the roads, I
>> see first-generation Rabbits quite often.
>
> But, I will wager, not too many...and if you examine some closely, you
> may find undetected faults or evidence of unusual repairs. There are
> a number of long-term Rabbit structural failure modes that were not
> discovered until the cars had been around for quite a while. One is
> that the unibody tends to develop a large crack in the firewall panel
> aft of the engine; another (which was known at least as early as 1983)
> is that the inner cowl panel above the suspension mount tends to
> develop cracks. Then there's the not-necessarily-salt-related
> corrosion problem in wet areas due to water getting inside and rotting
> out the brake lines under the carpeting. And those are just some of
> the body-related problem spots; the electrical system faults, fuel
> system glitches and various engine woes combined to make maintaining a
> Rabbit more of a career than a pastime.

I don't doubt that you had more experience than I did, but I can't
complain about my 1976 (German-made) Rabbit. It made it's 100K with
virtually no repairs. I only kept it 7 years when I replaced it with a
new Sirocco (11 years). That went 100K too, with only a CV joint. I
don't remember much rust on either car. Plenty of salt in Boston. Loved
both cars.

 

[Ed Pirrero]

On Feb 11, 2:07 pm, Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:
> Werehatrack wrote:
> > On Wed, 6 Feb 2008 10:40:47 -0800 (PST), Ed Pirrero
> >> Out here in the West, where they do not see fit to salt the roads, I
> >> see first-generation Rabbits quite often.
>
> > But, I will wager, not too many...and if you examine some closely, you
> > may find undetected faults or evidence of unusual repairs.  There are
> > a number of long-term Rabbit structural failure modes that were not
> > discovered until the cars had been around for quite a while.  One is
> > that the unibody tends to develop a large crack in the firewall panel
> > aft of the engine; another (which was known at least as early as 1983)
> > is that the inner cowl panel above the suspension mount tends to
> > develop cracks.  Then there's the not-necessarily-salt-related
> > corrosion problem in wet areas due to water getting inside and rotting
> > out the brake lines under the carpeting.  And those are just some of
> > the body-related problem spots; the electrical system faults, fuel
> > system glitches and various engine woes combined to make maintaining a
> > Rabbit more of a career than a pastime.
>
> I don't doubt that you had more experience than I did, but I can't
> complain about my 1976 (German-made) Rabbit. It made it's 100K with
> virtually no repairs. I only kept it 7 years when I replaced it with a
> new Sirocco (11 years). That went 100K too, with only a CV joint. I
> don't remember much rust on either car. Plenty of salt in Boston. Loved
> both cars.- Hide quoted text -

100k? Pfffft. Just getting broken in. I purchased an '83 GTI at
150k miles and ran it to nearly 300k. It had an unfortunate inelastic
collision with a Suburban when the Suburban's autotranny park pin
broke off and the thing rolled down a steep driveway, across the
street and right into the side of my pristine, fast, small car. I
drove that car like I stole it EVERYWHERE, and it still got over
30mpg. I then went out and bought a very nice, low-mile '78
Scirocco. 161k at purchase. I drove that car until it had 330k miles
on it. Some college students stole it and wrapped it around a phone
pole.

I still miss that car.

E.P.

 

[Peter Cole]

Ed Pirrero wrote:

> 100k? Pfffft. Just getting broken in. I purchased an '83 GTI at
> 150k miles and ran it to nearly 300k.

> I
> drove that car like I stole it EVERYWHERE, and it still got over
> 30mpg. I then went out and bought a very nice, low-mile '78
> Scirocco. 161k at purchase. I drove that car until it had 330k miles
> on it.

> I still miss that car.

I'm sure both of my VW's went way past 100K, just not with me. I miss
them both, especially the Sirocco, which was pristine, but having kids
made me trade it for a minivan <sigh>.

The thing that most impressed me about the Rabbit was its stability at
high speed. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but in those days I would drive
North to ski late at night on weekdays and would typically drive for an
hour or two at 100mph. At that speed the car felt like it was on rails.

 

[datakoll]

solid, predictable, fun driving, rain snow waterspouts typhoons glaze
ice
Monte off the floor.

 

[Ed Pirrero]

On Feb 12, 5:29 am, Peter Cole <[email protected]> wrote:
> Ed Pirrero wrote:
> > 100k?  Pfffft.  Just getting broken in.  I purchased an '83 GTI at
> > 150k miles and ran it to nearly 300k.
> > I
> > drove that car like I stole it EVERYWHERE, and it still got over
> > 30mpg.  I then went out and bought a very nice, low-mile '78
> > Scirocco.  161k at purchase.  I drove that car until it had 330k miles
> > on it.
> > I still miss that car.
>
> I'm sure both of my VW's went way past 100K, just not with me. I miss
> them both, especially the Sirocco, which was pristine, but having kids
> made me trade it for a minivan <sigh>.
>
> The thing that most impressed me about the Rabbit was its stability at
> high speed. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but in those days I would drive
> North to ski late at night on weekdays and would typically drive for an
> hour or two at 100mph. At that speed the car felt like it was on rails.

My current Audi is like that. At 100+ mph, it is the picture of
solidity. You can tell the car was designed for that kind of
environment, and that U.S. roads are German car Purgatory.

I am dismayed by the Sciroccos I see these days. Either basket cases,
or unobtanium. I saw an '81 Scirocco S, Mars Red, 82k miles. The guy
had set the reserve to $5k. The bidding when I saw it was at $8.3k.

That's nearly what it sold for, new.

E.P.

 

[datakoll]

Once, I watched a man cry talking about the cost for replacing his
Audi' door latch mechanism.

 

[still just me]

On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:20:58 -0800 (PST), Ed Pirrero
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> The thing that most impressed me about the Rabbit was its stability at
>> high speed. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but in those days I would drive
>> North to ski late at night on weekdays and would typically drive for an
>> hour or two at 100mph. At that speed the car felt like it was on rails.
>
>My current Audi is like that. At 100+ mph, it is the picture of
>solidity. You can tell the car was designed for that kind of
>environment, and that U.S. roads are German car Purgatory.

Funny you should mention that. While my Japanese cars are far more
nimble at lower speeds, they get squirrely at higher speeds. Even with
modified suspensions, they are still not right. Quality European cars
have the opposite configuration - a bit stodgy at lower speeds, but
much more stable at higher speeds, positively "comfortable".
(Disclaimer added by my attorney: "not that I ever exceed legally
posted US speed limits" .

>I am dismayed by the Sciroccos I see these days. Either basket cases,
>or unobtanium. I saw an '81 Scirocco S, Mars Red, 82k miles. The guy
>had set the reserve to $5k. The bidding when I saw it was at $8.3k.
>
>That's nearly what it sold for, new.

Ah, the vintage Scirocco... few left in good condition.

 

[Michael Press]

In article <[email protected]>,
still just me <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:20:58 -0800 (PST), Ed Pirrero
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >> The thing that most impressed me about the Rabbit was its stability at
> >> high speed. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but in those days I would drive
> >> North to ski late at night on weekdays and would typically drive for an
> >> hour or two at 100mph. At that speed the car felt like it was on rails.
> >
> >My current Audi is like that. At 100+ mph, it is the picture of
> >solidity. You can tell the car was designed for that kind of
> >environment, and that U.S. roads are German car Purgatory.
>
> Funny you should mention that. While my Japanese cars are far more
> nimble at lower speeds, they get squirrely at higher speeds. Even with
> modified suspensions, they are still not right. Quality European cars
> have the opposite configuration - a bit stodgy at lower speeds, but
> much more stable at higher speeds, positively "comfortable".
> (Disclaimer added by my attorney: "not that I ever exceed legally
> posted US speed limits" .
>
> >I am dismayed by the Sciroccos I see these days. Either basket cases,
> >or unobtanium. I saw an '81 Scirocco S, Mars Red, 82k miles. The guy
> >had set the reserve to $5k. The bidding when I saw it was at $8.3k.
> >
> >That's nearly what it sold for, new.
>
> Ah, the vintage Scirocco... few left in good condition.

Not the case with my 1999 Accord.
Out of the factory with Michelin
MXV4 Plus tires, it runs on rails at all speeds.

--
Michael Press

 

[still just me]

On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:14:08 -0800, Michael Press <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>Not the case with my 1999 Accord.
>Out of the factory with Michelin
>MXV4 Plus tires, it runs on rails at all speeds.

Have you driven any Euro cars? Audi, Saab, BMW at speed?

I spent years modifying suspensions on Jap cars and was thrilled with
them...until I drove some Euro cars at high rates. I was shocked at
how the Euro mobiles hunker down at higher speeds and glue themselves
to the road. Japanese cars get looser as speeds climb.