By Jeff Glucker
Good tires on a car are an important item. It’s always nice to see great tire brands offered from the factory, especially on sports cars and trucks or SUVs alike. Still, I’m blown away by the fact that you can now get a 37-inch tire on a vehicle right off the showroom floor. That is a massive piece of rolling rubber, and it was once reserved for off-road race vehicles. Of course, top-spec Trophy Trucks are now running 40″ tires but at the rate we’re going a Ram TRX or Raptor R might offer something like that as well.
I’m driving the 2021 Ford Raptor this week. And it is wearing the optional 37″ BFGoodrich KO2 tires. They are insanely big. They add tons of weight to each corner. And I imagine the cost to replace one is high. Still, they do add a bit more capability to an already capable machine by raising the ground clearance and improving approach and departure angles. Also, you could probably smack into actual boulders on the trail and laugh it off.
What’s another example of a feature or option on a vehicle that you’re amazed is offered?
Touch screen center consoles. You want to turn a well driving, conscientious Dr. Jekyll into a swerving, manslaughtering maniac Mr. Hyde then just make him stare into a big, colorful, mesmerizing flat screen and navigate through menus and sub-menus instead of watching the road. Put the name and artist of the song on the radio right there behind the steering wheel, along with the temperature differential between the front and rear of the cabin; all of which is way more important than that baby stroller.
I’m flabbergasted (flabbergasted I say, flabbergasted!) that anything like this is allowed in today’s 3500 pound Road Panzers.
Engine Auto Stop/Start. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s good for the environment, if you ignore that extra big battery that will have to be recycled, but the damn system is dangerous. Here’s the deal. My modern-mobile has a turbo-charged two-liter four-cylinder engine, with an eight-speed automatic to compensate for the lack of low-end torque.
Now, I live in a city where traffic is fairly heavy. Exiting a parking lot into traffic particularly when turning left, one takes such gaps in traffic as one can find. You have not experienced near sudden-death in an ugly way until the first time, you spot yer gap, and floor the gas to squeeze into it…and first nothing and then very-damn-little happens. You see, the engine is OFF and must turn on when you hit the pedal. The engine does start quickly and spins up just enough to move your car into traffic ….and then you MUST wait for the turbo to spin up. This takes long enough to start reciting “Hail Mary, full of grace…” and ponder life in Hell as you stare into the horrified face of the dude slamming his brakes while he watches your car sluggardly creep in front of his grillwork. Finally, just as the the urine level in your crotch is about to reach the bursting point, the turbo spools up and your car chirps its tires and you escape death but not shouts and curses. F that.
Holy cow…and I thought the overzealous hill-hold in my WRX that occasionally hamstrung it out of steep-ish driveway exits was bad…that sounds terrifying.
Can’t you turn that off? I’m almost embarrassed at how many of the “features” carmakers want us to pay extra for are on my “never used”-list.
Do a little brake-torque to get the engine on and depending how keen you are, a start on the turbo (at least it’s ok with a torque converter auto briefly). Same with a hybrid to get the engine on and avoid the similar glacial set-off those can have.
I’d say the prevalence of cars with low 4 sec (or quicker) 0-60 times, that aren’t just supercars or even 911/M5 dollars any more.
I experienced that lag in my Prius, but I never have in the two Accord Hybrids I’ve had. The Honda system is primarily electric drive below highway speeds, I believe, and has plenty of torque.
I drive stick, so the stop/start feature only really comes on at traffic lights, when I know I’ve got time to put it in neutral and let off the clutch.
Just add vinyl seat surfaces to help deal with the urine issue.
Problem solved.
Yep, I can relate. I normally turn off the stop/start when I get in the car but once in a while I’ll forget, go to pull into traffic…… and there’s nothing.
“Full Self Driving”