Silly-snot-pounding continues, even literally, as the dirt roads, thawed by warm temps, immediately re-froze all rutted and pot-holed.
Sometimes 5MPH is max.......
Last tank blended Mobil and Gulf premium, and Mobil regular, yielded 24.0 MPG.
91,714
114 days; Part II
I followed my 'note to self' before I crashed; I rotated (and balanced) my best tires to the front, because the old fronts --now rears-- are to the wear bars. Now they're on the back, and hopefully I'll get sufficient bite from the also-well-worn-but-still-way-better now fronts to keep it between the lines.
3/9/17 92,181 had my tires balanced and rotated.
They also washed it, and it's all shiny.
Shocks seem fine, brakes and pads look okay, no new damage underneath.
92,191
3/9/17 92,181 had my tires balanced and rotated.
They also washed it, and it's all shiny.
Shocks seem fine, brakes and pads look okay, no new damage underneath.
92,191
What??? Say it ain't so, Joe! They washed it? I hope they gave you a discount for doing that. The dirt was probably making the body stiffer and helping your handling. Let us know if it handles different clean. You might get better mileage as I'm sure there's a lot less drag on it now... and I'm sure it lost a few pounds.WESHOOT2 wrote:I followed my 'note to self' before I crashed; I rotated (and balanced) my best tires to the front, because the old fronts --now rears-- are to the wear bars. Now they're on the back, and hopefully I'll get sufficient bite from the also-well-worn-but-still-way-better now fronts to keep it between the lines.
3/9/17 92,181 had my tires balanced and rotated.
They also washed it, and it's all shiny.
Shocks seem fine, brakes and pads look okay, no new damage underneath.
92,191
While my Kizashi maintains rather clean and meticulously cared for, my first Suzuki, the Sidekick, didn't get the same level of care. And I offroaded it... a lot. The dirt and mud would get all over the underside of the vehicle and that was the norm. I even recall that around the exhaust pipe, the mud had basically got baked by the heat to something that resembled clay.LPSISRL wrote:
What??? Say it ain't so, Joe! They washed it? I hope they gave you a discount for doing that. The dirt was probably making the body stiffer and helping your handling. Let us know if it handles different clean. You might get better mileage as I'm sure there's a lot less drag on it now... and I'm sure it lost a few pounds.
However, it's a good practice to clean under your vehicle, even for offroad vehicles. I recall reading about a fire risk with older Jeep Wranglers that Chrysler explained was from the claying effect. Basically, people took their Jeeps offroad and didn't wash the underside. Over repeated offroad trips, the dirt and mud baked on like clay, engulfing the exhaust components. This led to a risk of fire. Given my observations with the Sidekick, it looked like a plausible explanation, but my Sidekick never failed me offroad. That Suzuki Sidekick is a major reason why I now own a Suzuki Kizashi.
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
Two things:
--My stereo's right channel is not working, so I am not enjoying any loud music.
--I slid into a ditch 300yds from my house yesterday (backing up, misjudged snow for road), and when it was being dragged out the left fender inner liner got a bit mangled. $75 tow. BFD.
Last tank blended Gulf regular / mostly premium 28.6 MPG. Very slow blizzard driving......
93,150
--My stereo's right channel is not working, so I am not enjoying any loud music.
--I slid into a ditch 300yds from my house yesterday (backing up, misjudged snow for road), and when it was being dragged out the left fender inner liner got a bit mangled. $75 tow. BFD.
Last tank blended Gulf regular / mostly premium 28.6 MPG. Very slow blizzard driving......
93,150
It was a wise move to rotate the better tread up front, because the weather's been frightful.
Missing my booming stereo, though, so driving's been my only distraction. Fling toss throw hammer repeat.
Last tank Gulf premium 29.5 MPG.
94,160
Missing my booming stereo, though, so driving's been my only distraction. Fling toss throw hammer repeat.
Last tank Gulf premium 29.5 MPG.
94,160
Somehow my Rockford Fosgate healed itself, and the right channel is again working.
Perhaps the same travels that took out my left headlight were the same travels that bounced the stereo together again?
Bulb will be replaced at the dealer tomorrow.
Tires are making a ton of noise now. Bald tires do that.
Last tank Mobil premium 23.4MPG (horrific blizzard driving).
94,720
Perhaps the same travels that took out my left headlight were the same travels that bounced the stereo together again?
Bulb will be replaced at the dealer tomorrow.
Tires are making a ton of noise now. Bald tires do that.
Last tank Mobil premium 23.4MPG (horrific blizzard driving).
94,720
3/28/17 94,837 had both headlamp bulbs replaced (cost $111.65; worth it).
I encountered a muddy road I refused to traverse; it was the road I live on, and its worst section was literally in front of my drive/dooryard.
Wife's CR-V successfully slopped through, but I parked mine up the road a piece.
Town fixed it this morning.
Really glad the stereo healed itself, 'cause deafening music is good for you.
Last tank blended Mobil and Gulf premium 28.5 MPG.
95,070
I encountered a muddy road I refused to traverse; it was the road I live on, and its worst section was literally in front of my drive/dooryard.
Wife's CR-V successfully slopped through, but I parked mine up the road a piece.
Town fixed it this morning.
Really glad the stereo healed itself, 'cause deafening music is good for you.
Last tank blended Mobil and Gulf premium 28.5 MPG.
95,070