Do you ever drive with rear seats down for more exhaust sound?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

I recall from my econ classes in college (and I think it ended up in the first Freakonomics book as well) that although driver and passenger fatalities have decreased as vehicle safety measures have improved, overall accident rates have either stayed flat or increased. In particular, economists love to quote a guy named Tullock who studied seat belt laws and found that although the percentage of accidents resulting in fatalities of the driver or passengers went down, the occurrence of accidents went up because people felt safer and would drive faster and more recklessly. It still would have been a positive gain, except that there was also a corresponding rise in fatalities among pedestrians and bicyclists, so net fatalities remained about the same.

Tullock said that if you wanted safer drivers, the way to do it would be to put a steel spike in the center of the steering wheel. Then everyone would slow down, drive extra carefully and keep a sharper eye out for other drivers.

Except for guys on car forums. They would just want bigger, flashier, more powerful JDM spikes!

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

To be fair sixties American Cars more closely resemble the Flintstones than they do modern cars made today.

Very true. I'm sure most of us older guys lost friends due to car accidents. Mind you, drinking and driving was somewhat "normal" back then and most lives were lost to stupidity.

"Bush runs" Good times...

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf

Sounds more like a death trap honestly.

Now, HERE is a deathtrap back in my younger days. Especially after I had cut the bed off to save weight.

Nope, NO safety features what so ever.

That puppy would do 80 mph ...... on bald retreads .......


humfrz

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

Very true. I'm sure most of us older guys lost friends due to car accidents. Mind you, drinking and driving was somewhat "normal" back then and most lives were lost to stupidity.

"Bush runs" Good times...

Most still are.



Actually, you could say ALL lives are lost to stupidity. Well, damn near all anyway. If we knew how to not die, we would probably do that.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Now, HERE is a deathtrap back in my younger days. Especially after I had cut the bed off to save weight.

Nope, NO safety features what so ever.

That puppy would do 80 mph ...... on bald retreads .......


humfrz

Well let's not forget the rest of the list.
Tail lights (or light) with a lense a little bigger than a quarter.
Brake lights marginally brighter than the tail lights (or light)
Single cylinder brakes so if they went you lost them all.
One hood latch so if it doesn't catch...
Single manual (from appearance) wiper blade. Be vacuum powered at best. No washer.
Mirrors that would seize solid and could not be adjusted or vibrated so bad you couldn't see anything anyway.
No reverse lockout.
Emergency (parking) brake snapped or seized.
No seat belts.
No fan shroud. Fun when adjusting the carb or such.
Early "safety glass". Not all that safe.
Steel bumpers mounted directly to a rigid (very) frame. A 5 mph crash imparts all the force directly to the driver.
Crumple zones? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Turn signals and horns were an option so may or may not have.
Massive steel and Bakelite steering wheel.
Glass gauge faces that turn to shrapnel when in a collision.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Well let's not forget the rest of the list.
.

just to add:

6V non sealed beam headlights ....... which were about as bright as a flashlight.

Yep, with no defrosters, and a windshield wiper blade that needed to be operated manually, if the engine hogged all the vacuum, driving on a rainy night had it's challenges.

Yep, you had to be wiping the fog off the inside of the windshield with an old T-shirt, while flooring the vehicle in second gear, trying to pass, manually operating the windshield wipers (cause the engine was using all the vacuum) and pushing in on the clutch and reaching down on the floor to shift into 3rd gear.

Now, since you only had two hands ...... pick only two things you wanted to do with your hands ......

Maybe that's the reason us old timers don't seem to have any problems shifting modern day manual transmissions ......


humfrz

[jtice]

Originally Posted by dinfern22

Do certain tires create more road noise than others?
I heard the Michelin PSS create more road noise.

Oh with out a doubt, some tires are way noisier than others.
I am not sure how the stock tires compare to others, only had the car a few weeks, not even thought about what tires I would replace them with.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by jtice

Oh with out a doubt, some tires are way noisier than others.
I am not sure how the stock tires compare to others, only had the car a few weeks, not even thought about what tires I would replace them with.

I have the Pilot sport A/S 3+ tires and the very first thing I noticed was how much quieter than the stock ones they were. Found it odd since they are an A/S tire with a meaty tread but the difference is substantial.


Then there are my snow tires which on dry pavement sound like I am driving a car with four banshees strapped to the wheels.

[SCQTT]

Originally Posted by bkharmony

I'm interested to see accidents (not road deaths) per year. I truly feel our cushy, safe modern vehicles have given people the sense that paying attention is optional, resulting in more accidents.

Ohio State did a study 10 years ago that illustrated that people were taking more risks because the cars made them feel safer. I'm sure it has only gotten worse since then.

Want folks to be careful? Replace the driver's airbag with a 6" stainless steel spike.

I think auto braking will be accepted and trusted before auto steering. One think is for certain people want to be less involved and more coddled.

[mazeroni]

Okay. Tried it with the seats down. All I got was that terrible plastic vibration noise from the rear trim piece. Seats are going back up.

[dinfern22]

Originally Posted by mazeroni

Okay. Tried it with the seats down. All I got was that terrible plastic vibration noise from the rear trim piece. Seats are going back up.

What exhaust do you have? Or other mods done to the exhaust?

[mazeroni]

Originally Posted by dinfern22

What exhaust do you have? Or other mods done to the exhaust?

Speedfactory V1 resonated.

I get the vibration just a little bit from the front under load at low RPMs, but it is nothing compared to what comes from the rear.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Crumple zones? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

That was usually your head as it bounced off the steel dash or any of the other unpadded steel interior components, as you sailed out the windshield...

[jtice]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have the Pilot sport A/S 3+ tires and the very first thing I noticed was how much quieter than the stock ones they were. Found it odd since they are an A/S tire with a meaty tread but the difference is substantial.


Then there are my snow tires which on dry pavement sound like I am driving a car with four banshees strapped to the wheels.

LOL I know how you feel, I have some tires on my Tacoma that are WAY louder than the 37" aggressive tires that are on my Jeep.
Road noise will be a big factor in my tire selections from now on.
Gotta burn off these stock tires first though