HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: alan@lancaster.nsc.com (The Hepburn)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Engine Braking - what causes it?
Date: 14 Apr 92 19:11:35 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: National Semiconductor Corporation

In article <9389@vice.ICO.TEK.COM>, philw@vice.ICO.TEK.COM (Philip White) writes:
|>
|>  
|> All I have experienced is engine braking in gas engines, turbo and
|> non-turbo.  Non-turbo have more braking, due to higher compression
|> ratio I think.  No doubt there is some power dissappated across a
|> gas engine's throttle, but I think (not based on actual calculations)
|> that the compression takes more power than the throttling.

I've tried to be civil in this discussion but I've reached my limit.  HOW IN THE
HELL DOES AN ENGINE'S COMPRESSION MAKE A DIFFERENCE?  THE COMPRESSION STROKE DOES
NOT, REPEAT NOT, KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACCELERATION AND DECCELERATION!!!!!!!

|> 
|> Also, different diesels might have different valve timings, which
|> would give different amounts of compression braking.  (Eg. Cummins
|> turbo vs. VW car diesels.)
|> 

If the valves are open, you have NO compression.


|> If the turbo diesels do have less compression braking than the 
|> non-turbos, that might explain the installation of "Jake" brakes
|> (also known as "compression" or "exhaust" brakes) on large
|> truck tractors.
|> 

Jake brakes are installed BECAUSE DIESELS HAVE NO VACCUUM BRAKING.  Without exhaust
braking (which could be looked at as compression braking, after a fashion) then a
tractor trailer rig must rely solely on friction braking, ie pads against a drum and/or
disc.  
 
|> Usually you're right on the money Walt, but I'm not sure I agree
|> on this one.
|>  
|>

If you respect Walt's opinion so much, why is it so hard to agree on this, especially
since he's right?


-- 
Alan Hepburn           "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain
National Semiconductor       a little temporary safety deserve neither
Santa Clara, Ca              liberty nor safety."
alan@berlioz.nsc.com                              Benjamin Franklin
Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: tedebear@leland.Stanford.EDU (Theodore Chen)
Subject: Re: End of Golden Era at Honda
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 05:19:26 GMT

In article <1992Apr07.083211.14477@microsoft.com> jondu@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan Dubman) writes:
>IMHO, the '92 Quaalude marks the end of a golden era at Honda, an era that
>peaked with the '84-'87 Civic hatchback and '86-'89 Integra, the Accord and
>CRX, and continued even through the new Accord design.  The new Integras
>are good but there is a subtle decline, again IMHO, in the ergonomics of
>the dash, the moving seatbelts, the rear windows that don't go down all
>the way and the elimination of hatchback version.

what???  there isn't a hatchback version of the '90 integra?
i am thorougly dumbfounded.  do you know what this means?
it means i'd better get my car fixed.  the rear window must be
stuck to the trunk lid...


you must mean the 5 dr. hatchback, because the last time i looked
my car was a 3 dr. hatchback.
and by the way, i liked the old CRX better, even if it has less power.
>
>And that new Prelude is the UGLIEST car I have seen a long time, with a
>dash that in my mind rivals old AMC cars in its lack of aesthetics.
>For the same money I'd rather have an old Civic.

yeah, the new prelude is a rolling hemorrhoid.
they didn't even do a good job of copying oldsmobile.

-teddy

p.s. i still like my integra a lot, for the price.
at the time i bought it, there wasn't anything like it that cost
$12K and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to insure.

p.p.s. i run my front tires at higher pressure to reduce understeer.
Xref: sparky rec.autos:11019 rec.autos.vw:2296
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: rec.autos,rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: Experience purchasing 1992 VW GTI 16v (long)
Date: 9 Apr 92 15:18:52 GMT
	<1992Apr7.235054.11540@unixg.ubc.ca>
	<1992Apr8.124847.26292@wpi.WPI.EDU> <SS.92Apr8085504@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Followup-To: rec.autos
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: ss@wpi.WPI.EDU's message of 8 Apr 92 13:55:04 GMT
bcc: carl


>jimk> Not all North American VW's are assembled in Mexico. Look at the
>jimk> VIN.  If it begins with a "W", then it was built in West(ern)
>jimk> Germany. The Fox is built in Brazil, all of the Jettas are built
>jimk> in Germany, some of the Golfs are built in Germany, some are
>jimk> built in Mexico, some might be built in U.S. (This is all as far
>jimk> as I can tell)

>My friends Golf was made in Pennsylvania

Ah, yes, the VW plant in New Stanton, PA.  I still remember when it
opened.  There was a lot of hoopla.  I worked 7 miles from there one
summer.  It's about 40 miles south (maybe se or sw?) of Pittsburgh.  I
think it's been closed for a couple of years now, hasn't it?

-Carl-
--
From: lito@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Angelito Lucena)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: photo radar
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:45:17 GMT
Reply-To: lito@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Angelito Lucena)
Distribution: usa
Organization: David Taylor Research Center, Carderock

hi,

where is photo radar currently being used in the us??
and which states/localities has its use been curtailed
because of legal challenges ??
and are these units normally mounted in stationary vehicles??
(i've never encountered one, i think)

thanks in advance, 
and email to:
lito lucena
lito@oasys.dt.navy.mil
 now at  :  dtmb, cdhq, nwsc          'if the defaults weren't good enough,
 formerly: dtrc, carderock                  they wouldn't be defaults.....'
           bethesda, md				bill's sister
From: borowski@hpspkla.spk.hp.com (Don T. Borowski)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 18:27:42 GMT
Subject: Re: Caprice vs. Dodge Grand Caravan
Organization: Hewlett Packard Company, Spokane, Wa.
Newsgroups: rec.autos

>In rec.autos, jek@icf.hrb.com (Joe Karolchik) writes:
>
>Recently, my friend and I were returning from lunch when we both saw an
>interesting comparison.  Has anyone seen a late model Caprice parked
>next to a late model Dodge Grand Caravan?  Not only is the Caprice wider,
>but it appears to be over a foot longer and is not much shorter.
>
>I guess I didn't realize how completely HUGE this car actually is.

I've noticed this too.  I think is is the low, sloping hood line that makes
the car look smaller than it really is.


Donald Borowski    WA6OMI    Hewlett-Packard, Spokane Division
"Angels are able to fly because they take themselves so lightly."
                                       -G.K. Chesterton
From: ramki@cirrus.com (Ramki Ramakrishnan)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: CASS PLAYER PROBLEM IN TOYOTA CAMRY
Keywords: CASS PLAYER
Date: 16 Apr 92 23:48:30 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Cirrus Logic Inc.

I have the following problem with my 1987 Toyota Camry station Wagon car:
- Recently whenever I try to play a cassette the player automatically fast
  forwards for a few seconds and plays for a few seconds and so on..
- I have not used the player extensively.
- Is there anything I could do myself or should I take the car to the dealer
  for fixing it?
Appreciate any help regarding this problem
Thanks,
Ramki
From: peterco@eff.org (Peter A. Cohen)
Newsgroups: rec.autos,rec.autos.driving
Subject: Parking diagonally on an incline?
Date: 9 Apr 92 16:25:19 GMT
Organization: ON Technology, Inc.
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1a2

Please help settle an argument between two friends:  what's the best way
to park diagonally on an incline?

In other words, you are driving up a steep grade, and there are parking
spaces set diagonally on your side of the road:

|             /|
|            / | <--- Here's the parking space (there _is_ a curb)
|             /|
|            / |
|              |
|      +-+     |
|      |^| <------Here's your car
|      +-+     |

How do you park?  Specifically, which direction should you turn the
wheels, and should you leave your car in gear (if it's a stick)?

- Peter

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|ASCII artwork available for weddings, birthday parties, and bar mitzvahs|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: CONSLT24@Zeus.unomaha.edu (Issa El-Hazin)
Subject: Re: why buy japanese?
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 00:40:19 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.11

> 
> *I don't know about cars, but Japanese audio and video equipment is better than
> *anything that I can find produced anywhere else.  The quality is high and
> *the price is right.  The only American audio equipment that I can find is

> You have not looked very hard!
> 

Hmmmm, What can I say, how hard one suppose to look esp. since (as far as
I know) the US don't make any VCR's, Cam Corders, CD's (CD players?) ?
As it has been said, only one American manf. makes TV's (Zenith) and their
stuff is assembeled in Mexico. The Japanese are being used as an escape goat
due to the US bad economy IMHO. Whoever you are please give your fingers (an
over due) break. Its easy to point the finger I guess.


(P.S.  When are you going to hammer your VCR, Hi Vi, camcorder, CD's, DATs..
       (if you have any) ? I'll be there to watch a fool at work)
From: koziarz@halibut.nosc.mil (Walter A. Koziarz)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Engine Braking - what causes it?
Date: 15 Apr 92 12:24:04 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego

In article <15op02qG10SD01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> kls30@DUTS.ccc.amdahl.com writes:

>I've been listening to this and boy you are a mess.

I don't think so...

>1. Large diesels don't experience the braking force that cars do simply
>because a diesel truck is so damn heavy and has so much momentum.
>It takes a lot of force to stop a huge truck, remember F=ma.

I hardly consider my pickup to be 'damn heavy'...  only 4500-or-so lbs... It is
Diesel-powered and experiences negligable engine braking...

>2. The atual throttle plate doesn't cause the engine to break or slow
>down.  The side effect of the throttle plate closing does.  Namely lack

nope nope nope...  considerable pumping losses result...  energy is required to
try to pull air past the closed intake...

>of air and no fuel to burn.  No fuel burning = no go.
>Also compression does slow the car down.  Less air = less fuel.  This

not very much, since a considerable amount of the engery required to perform
compression is returned on the piston-downstroke... even in the absence of
fuel...

>also means a super lean mixture which is hard to ignite.  If you can't
>ignite the mixture you lose power because there is nothing to force the
>piston back down except inertia.

inertia?!?!? even with *NO* fuel burned, there's compressed air 'up there' to
push the piston, admittedly not a lot but enough to invalidate a claim of
inertia alone...
of course, with a Diesel, there is always a full-cylinder of air... compressed
to somewhere around 500psi...

Walt K.


Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: powell@interlan.Interlan.COM (Glen D. Powell)
Subject: on Honda & Mitsubitchy
Organization: Racal InterLan, Inc., Boxborough, MA (1-800-LAN-TALK)
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 18:56:34 GMT

From _Autoweek_, April 6, 1992

"Honda is recalling about 400,000 ACCORDS for possible fuel leaks."

Isn't that special? A Japanese Pinto!

"MITSUBISHI MOTORS OF AMERICA last week RAISED PRICES 2 percent.....
....$900.00 on the 3000GT"

Yet another good reason NOT to buy Mitsurubbish.

-glen
-- 
Fundsalo Racing (used with permission) -- 73 CP Firebird, 85 Quattro
The Few..... The Proud..... The Concurrently Executed.....
Ex-Alliant
From: peterco@eff.org (Peter A. Cohen)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Are all Americans Stupid???
Date: 14 Apr 92 14:45:22 GMT
Organization: ON Technology, Inc.
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1a2

In article  Adrian T Kerr, kerrat@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk writes:

>Well where do I start?

Well, Adrian, we Yanks aren't perfect, but at least we drive on the
correct side of the road and put the steering column where God intended
it to go!   >:-)

- Peter
Newsgroups: rec.autos,rec.autos.tech
From: mrdavids@descartes.waterloo.edu (Mark Davidson)
Subject: Best Honda upgrade for the buck????
Keywords: Honda Civic modifications cheap
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 14:46:28 GMT

G`day, eh!

As a result of my summer co-op work placement, it seems I am going to
"have to" get a car... gosh, darn!  :^)   (I couldn't convice Mom and 
Dad that I needed one until now.)  I have been driving my mothers
Honda Civics for the past three years, and have learned to trust them
immensly.  (No problems of ANY kind since 1985!)  I expect to buy a 
used one... so I have two questions for y'all:

1)  Having been in a family that looks after cars, are there any things
    that I should look out for in a used Civic.  (Most likely a DX HB.)

2)  Once I do get this, what is THE BEST performance upgrade I can make
    for the dollar.  I am primarily interested in handling... I don't
    need to start collecting tickets for doing 200mph in a 20mph zone!
    Besides... the way I see it, most any fool can go fast in a straight
    line.  (Excluding "proper" drag racing... no offense...)

    I was thinking along the lines of springs, shocks, bushings, whatever
    (that's why I'm asking YOU!).  I'd especially like stuff that is easy
    to do at home... we have most of the necessary tools, and access tp
    the stranger tools.

Any help is truely appreciated.

I would prefer direct Email to:  mrdavids@descartes.uwaterloo.ca
but posting would do.

Thanks in advance, y'all,
                      Mark

-- 
Mark Davidson, Comp Sci, Faculty of Math, U of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Ferrari Club of America, East & Central Canada Region, "Northern Prancer"   :^) 
Email:  mrdavids@descartes.uwaterloo.ca                          
----------------============ Forza Ferrari ============------------------------
From: bill@Celestial.COM (Bill Campbell)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Passing cars on the right...why?
Date: 14 Apr 92 17:33:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: Celestia.1992Apr14.173352.11544
Distribution: usa
Organization: Celestial Software, Mercer Island, WA

In <18039@oasys.dt.navy.mil> tobias@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Steve Tobias) writes:

>    If police radar guns target one lane, I would imagine speeding in
>the right lane would be safer. Is police radar that narrow, or is the
>beam wide enough and the unit accurate/selective enough to handle traffic
>in more than one lane??

Police radar isn't nearly as selective as they would like you to
believe.  It generally picks up the largest radar cross-section
vehicle.  The police policy is that it picks up the vehicle
closest to the radar, but that's simply not true.  It may well be
getting a truck a hundred yards behind you whose radar return
swamps yours (I haven't worked with police radar, but I did work
on the SPADAT AN/FPS/85 radar at Bendix Radio).

Another factor is the angle to the radar gun.  Here in Washington
State, the police tend to use radar from the center median so the
speeds registered on the right lanes are less than that in the
left lane since this is a function of the cosine of the angle
between the radar gun and the vehicle.

In reasonably heavy traffic the radar gun will say someone is
speeding, not who.  The officer must visually identify the
vehicle.  Now which is he going to see, the red Corvette in the
left lane, or my sandstone Subaru Legacy wagon in the far right?
That Corvette has gotten more than one of my tickets :-).

My personal view on passing on the right is that the law says,
keep right except to pass.  If I'm in the right lane and there's
no one in front of me, then by definition all the people to my
left must be driving faster than I otherwise they would be in the
right lane -- Riiiight!  Let the left lane hogs stay there and
get my tickets.

Bill
-- 
INTERNET:  bill@Celestial.COM   Bill Campbell; Celestial Software
UUCP:   ...!thebes!camco!bill   6641 East Mercer Way
             uunet!camco!bill   Mercer Island, WA 98040; (206) 947-5591
SPEED COSTS MONEY -- HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO?
From: peterco@eff.org (Peter A. Cohen)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: American engines oversized,underpowered ?
Date: 17 Apr 92 16:23:09 GMT
     <1992Apr17.082246.10072@hasler.ascom.ch>
     <1992Apr17.100533.19372@gdr.bath.ac.uk>
Organization: ON Technology, Inc.
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1a2

In article  James P. Cavanaugh III, jim@mwhhlaw writes:

>Creditable?  I'm afraid that these figures just won't get the job done  
>in the US.  Even our Honda (which I gripe about because of its lack of  
>power in the real world) has about 110 bhp. I wonder if you can even  
>buy a 78 bhp car here anymore?  There used to be a good number of them,  
>but there is a very limited market for that sort of thing when not  
>faced with rediculous fuel prices.

Cases in point- Ford Festiva, Geo Metro, Suzuki Sidekick.  I'll be
willing to bet that the VX Honda engine is a sub-100 hp motor.


- Peter

+---------------------+----------------------+
|   Peter A. Cohen    |  ON Technology, Inc. |
|   peterco@eff.org   |   155 Second Street  |
|   (617) 876-5122    |  Cambridge, MA 02141 |
| fax: (617) 876-0391 |    Product Support   |
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Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: barry@geovision.gvc.com (Barry Comer)
Subject: After looking at cars
Organization: GeoVision Systems Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 22:04:16 GMT

I have spent some time over the last few months looking at new cars with some
friends(thanks Bill and Andrew).  I decided to look at the North American
cars first out of fairness.  I found that most of them were of better 
quality than they used to be back in 1987 when I was a mechanic at a local
G.M. dealership.  The main thing I noticed was that the overall fit of the 
body panels is much much better than it used to be.  After deciding between
the Sunbird (3.1 liter V6) and the Mustang it was time to hit the Japanese
dealerships.  
I found the following cars to my liking:
Civic DX 
Tercel
Mazda 323

	The Civic was nice but the new bubble look is kind of hard to get used to
	after seeing last year's body style.

	The Tercel looked like it was put together very well, but it was a little
	to bare bones for me.

	The Mazda 323 LX was the nicest of the three and had the best warr.(
	3 year 80000 km).  It had the best finish on it and the overall quality of
	the car is better than the Civic and the Tercel(here come the flames).

The next step was to compare the 323 to the North American cars.  It is
amazing how outdated the technology of the Ford and G.M. are compared to the
Mazda(and other Japanese cars).  Their cars may be put together better then
before, but they have not really changed that much.  

I went back to the Mazda dealership and saw the new MX-3 Precidia, well it
was love at first site.  The base MX-3 is about the same price as the Civic
and it comes standard with duel electric remote mirrors and a nice AM\FM
cass. deck with four speakers.  For an extra $3000.00 you can get the GS
model which gives you the following options:
1.8 liter V6(130 hp. DOHC 24 valve)
15 inch alloy rims with wider tires(P205/55R15 87V radials)
Rear spoiler
Front spoiler
Power windows
Power locks
Cruise control
Four wheel disc brakes
Upgraded interior and fabric
etc.

Well I am now the PROUD owner of a new red 1992 Mazda MX-3 Precidia GS.  It
only costed $395.00 to extend the bumper to bumper warr. to six years. Just
for the record my last two cars were G.M., but never again!  I remember 
the general meetings that G.M. would put on for the local dealers to let us
know that unless something was done about the quality of their cars, the
Japanese would steal away a big part of their market.  This was back in 1984
and I still think they have not reacted in the proper manner.

anyway, that is all she wrote, what do ya think?
Barry Comer
From: rjwade@rainbow.ecn.purdue.edu (Robert J. Wade)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: CRX [was: Re: Future Honda Accords]
Date: 9 Apr 92 21:55:39 GMT
Article-I.D.: noose.1992Apr9.215539.27217
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network


IMHO the del sol is a pathetic looking/use of metal.
i hear rumors thought that a SURPRISE crx will show up instead of the del sol.
-king bob
From: IADLRC@ASUACAD.BITNET
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Dealer Prices for 92 Accord EX
Date: 6 Apr 92 22:11:25 GMT
Organization: Arizona State University

I saw a posting a while back which had the dealer and MSRP prices for
1992 Honda Accord Models.  Could some helpful person out there in Netland
forward me the prices for an Accord EX 4-dr model?  Your help  is greatly
appreciated!
Larry Carlson
From: geoffb@coos.dartmouth.edu (Geoff Bronner)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Are all Americans Stupid ??
Date: 16 Apr 92 19:15:42 GMT
Reply-To: geoffb@Dartmouth.EDU
Organization: Amos Tuck School

In <8dv73bC00Uh784Fc55@andrew.cmu.edu> sh50+@andrew.cmu.edu (Sam Hui) writes:

> As for drivers education, I had to take a US driving test in order to
>obtain a PA licence and to be truthful, it was pretty lame. The English
>driving test is far tougher and you get to drive on a real road with
>other real drivers and real situations, not in an obstacle course (
>again, I am quoting from personal experience...this may not be the case
>for all states). 

Not the case fo most states. Speaking as someone who took a drivers test
in several states: most involve a 'road test.' Now, I admit, the road test
isn't a real challenge to a competent operator but if you are an idiot the
road test will reveal it pretty quickly since it tends to be in some
shitty traffic pattern in a downtown area. Even in rural Vermont I found
the road test to be laid out on some lousy streets.

>I even went to take the advanced driver's course for
>fun and found that pretty unchallenging. However, having said all of
>that, the US has a far tougher written/multi-Choice test than the UK. 

I thought the test was for eediots. I don't know how they could be any
easier. I passed it without even reading the state handbook (in two
states).

> Studying books on driving will not make one a better driver, so the
>point of all this is that, after basic driver's ed in both countries, I
>think that the average English driver is more skilled at DRIVING and
>parallel parking :) , than the average American. This does not in any
>way make Americans stupid but just shows an that American driver's ed is
>not on par with European Driver's Ed.

You had me and then you lost me. What does this have to do with Driver's
Ed? Have you taken Driver's Ed in the US? Licensing tests and Driver's Ed
are totally different.

-Geoff
--
geoffb@Dartmouth.EDU  -  Computing Support Consultant, Tuck School of Business
____________________________________________________________________________
Channel Z. All static, all |   "Great pate, mom, but I've gotta motor if I'm
day, forever. - The B-52's |    gonna make it to the funeral."   - Heathers
Newsgroups: rec.autos
From: Peter A. Cohen <peterco@eff.org>
Subject: Re: Fabulous New RX7
Organization: ON Technology, Inc.
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1a2
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1992 18:07:32 GMT

While I think the new generation RX-7 is a technological wonder, I'm
disappointed.  The car has certainly departed from it's original concept
when it was introduced in 1979.  Then again, Mazda's changed a lot in the
last 14 years, as well.  Still, I think it's lost something in the
translation- the RX-7 has gone from an affordable, fun car to drive to a
high-bred racing vehicle more on par with a Porsche or a 300ZX. 
Admittedly, Mazda still has the Miata, but I wish they'd get back to
basics- this is why I loved my RX-7 so much.

What's really out there for a cheap new sports car, by Mazda or otherwise?

- Peter
Newsgroups: rec.autos