[Ratmagiclady]

The early Datsun Z cars have lots of room. At just under 6' tall, I can move the seat back as far as it will go and not be able to reach the pedals. A 7' tall person can fit comfortably, and still have some room to slide the seat back a bit.

They get good fuel economy too.

And they are fun to drive.

I happen to know firsthand that a 7' tall person can fit in an old Z... Comfortably in the passenger seat, but my seven foot tall friend could not shift into first in mine, because his knee was between there and the steering wheel.


Oh, and on the snow tires/chains thing, for whoever just moved somewhere new back there: Generally it pays to pay attention to what the locals do. Also as a stopgap, they make rubbery-plastic tire chains you can carry around and put on if you get stuck. Assuming there's fender clearance for them, Best not to get the very cheapest of them, but even so they seem pretty bound to fall off, so it's best to remove them again once you get to better ground.

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Last edited by Ratmagiclady; 10-26-2018 at 02:03 PM.

[Canada_Rockies]

I happen to know firsthand that a 7' tall person can fit in an old Z... Comfortably in the passenger seat, but my seven foot tall friend could not shift into first in mine, because his knee was between there and the steering wheel.


Oh, and on the snow tires/chains thing, for whoever just moved somewhere new back there: Generally it pays to pay attention to what the locals do. Also as a stopgap, they make rubbery-plastic tire chains you can carry around and put on if you get stuck. Assuming there's fender clearance for them, Best not to get the very cheapest of them, but even so they seem pretty bound to fall off, so it's best to remove them again once you get to better ground.

Good points. And when checking the locals, make sure you find the ones that use the same vehicle. I drive a mid sized pickup truck (2002 Tundra) and the best tires I have found are Nokian WGR series. In this area, changing tires is a pain. Studs are illegal except from Oct 1 - May 31; many switch to tires such as Michelin X-ICE with the soft sticky tread. The problem with them is you never know when to change over. Right now, at the end of October, the roads are still dry and treads get eaten quite quickly.

[wtlwdwgn]

I like my 2017 Outback a lot but I do wish for some of the lens holders to be a bit larger. I can't fit my D FA 150-450 into any of them.

[lesmore49]

I like my 2017 Outback a lot but I do wish for some of the lens holders to be a bit larger. I can't fit my D FA 150-450 into any of them.

Good one.

[cooltouch]

Regarding chains, I've had occasion to use them only once. When driving back to LA from Denver, we got caught in a blizzard in Flagstaff, so I bought a set for my old Honda Civic. These weren't chains, though. They were cables. Bare metal, multi-stranded cables. They added plenty of grip and worked well. I suspect cables won't tear up the road surface the way chains will.

[Ratmagiclady]

Good points. And when checking the locals, make sure you find the ones that use the same vehicle. I drive a mid sized pickup truck (2002 Tundra) and the best tires I have found are Nokian WGR series. In this area, changing tires is a pain. Studs are illegal except from Oct 1 - May 31; many switch to tires such as Michelin X-ICE with the soft sticky tread. The problem with them is you never know when to change over. Right now, at the end of October, the roads are still dry and treads get eaten quite quickly.

I've rarely actually needed dedicated snows, even in really snowy places. My ex and I got some Bridgestone Turanzas for a Mitsubishi Lancer which did surprisingly-well even on packed snow roads. (Definitely kept some of those plastickey chains in trunk, though.) I was all around impressed with those tires, though. The car came with some sticky old Yokohamas that were fun, but the road noise was actually miserable on the highway, so when it was time, we got those Bridgestones for almost entirely different purposes, so that was a surprise.

Otherwise I'd usually just go with leaning-sporty all-seasons on various vehicles. I don't suppose the GT Qualifiers on my old Duster counted there, but those were some of my favorite-ever tires even in whiteout conditions. (I suppose it didn't hurt that I could totally snow-ballet that car at will. Sideways was fine as long as I had control. )

*eyeing Ratmobile. Hrm, GT Qualifiers would be kind of cheeky when I have to replace these Kellys. I suppose it wouldn't be too silly if I mounted em with the white letters inside. Those were surprisingly practical and didn't cost to much.

[Just1MoreDave]

I just got done changing the SLK tires to winter. It's not bad if I can catch the right day. I still have a peculiar wear problem with the summer rear tires. The car came with summer tires, Pirelli PZeros, directional and wider in the rear. So they can't be rotated at all. The summer front tires are fine with 20,000 miles on them, probably good for 10,000 more. The rear tires have gone right down to the tread wear indicators after 10,000 miles, been replaced and the same thing on the second set. The winter tires show a little more wear on the rears but nowhere near what I see with the summer set. I can rotate the winter tires because they are all the same, so the winter set is good for a few years. German sporty cars typically have a problem with rear tire wear, but this seems excessive even by those standards.

[hks_kansei]

That doesn't sound right at all re: tyre life.

I mean, without the ability to rotate them you'd expect shorter life than the fronts, but even so, half the life is a lot less...

Plus, 10,000miles (16,000km) is a really short lifespan...... that's a semi slick sort of lifespan. (especially since the SLK isnt exactly a heavy car is it? and i'd assume they're fairly well balanced front to rear)


Has the car had a proper wheel alignment in recent times? if not, maybe it's due...

[Racer X 69]

I just got done changing the SLK tires to winter. It's not bad if I can catch the right day. I still have a peculiar wear problem with the summer rear tires. The car came with summer tires, Pirelli PZeros, directional and wider in the rear. So they can't be rotated at all. The summer front tires are fine with 20,000 miles on them, probably good for 10,000 more. The rear tires have gone right down to the tread wear indicators after 10,000 miles, been replaced and the same thing on the second set. The winter tires show a little more wear on the rears but nowhere near what I see with the summer set. I can rotate the winter tires because they are all the same, so the winter set is good for a few years. German sporty cars typically have a problem with rear tire wear, but this seems excessive even by those standards.

The tires I use on my race car start with 3/32” of tread, and are worn out long before I get 1,000 miles on them.

And they cost a lot more than the ones for your Mercedes.

[Ratmagiclady]

*eyeing Racer X's minimum tread depth.*

So, today, I've fixed something about our household's work truck (that mid 90's S-10 you've seen before,) that I actually liked but couldn't live with, namely, way too much window tint.

You see, the back and side windows came decked out in ridiculously-dark but fairly well-applied limo tint. This is nice for a pickup in the South, in summer, but it's absolutely impossible to see out of at night f you live in the woods. So, today, I carefully sliced out a six-inch swath of it based on my finely-honed Pentaxian sense of angle-of view and other optics, as well as no particular need to inspect cargo in the middle of the night or be too worried about enemy fighters strafing me. This went quite well, so, me, a disinterested kittycat, and my heat gun teamed up on removing the not-so-dark but still damn near hazardous and non-street-legal windshield tint.

Happily, I found factory tint underneath and have very little residual glue to scrape off when I'm not out of light. (Plastic double-edged razor blades. Brilliant. My good friends in some 'Hey, let's make plastic razor blades!' factory, thanks. )

(Edit: Also, everyone seems to agree my rear-window-tint-slicing actually looks real cool, even. I got some pics via a dodgy old Iphone thing that I'm presently emailing myself.

Here: It's actually what I call 'Probably a real good idea that someone less-arthritic-than-me-waiting-for a narrow weather window could make some bank on.' Really, really really darkens what you don't need to see through, clears up the rest. Beats compromise tints by a long ways. 8

Also, I'm considering applying some fender flares, probably made of rubber garden-edging, since the wheel arches came factory-drilled for something like that. Thoughts?

[Just1MoreDave]

The tires I use on my race car start with 3/32” of tread, and are worn out long before I get 1,000 miles on them.

And they cost a lot more than the ones for your Mercedes.

It's not so much cost as trying to figure out the problem. The alignment is probably the best guess. Although I try to keep up with it, roads around here kind of suck. If it is alignment, it's cheaper to keep buying tires than a dealer alignment.

I didn't ever think I'd use a heat gun until last year, but now I have a lot of hours on mine doing canoe restoration.

[hks_kansei]

If it is alignment, it's cheaper to keep buying tires than a dealer alignment..

Either tyres are really cheap, or a alignments are really expensive.

The average alignment for me is about $120au, that's for a 4 wheel laser alignment.
Even an alignment at a specialist who does mainly racecars to tight tolerances is about $250au


Last tyres I bought were $140au per tyre, for only 195/50/15

[Racer X 69]

It's not so much cost as trying to figure out the problem. The alignment is probably the best guess. Although I try to keep up with it, roads around here kind of suck. If it is alignment, it's cheaper to keep buying tires than a dealer alignment.

I didn't ever think I'd use a heat gun until last year, but now I have a lot of hours on mine doing canoe restoration.

Alignment issues should show up in the wear pattern of the tread. Uneven or cupped.

Also, do you keep the tires properly inflated?

What is the tread wear rating?

Being a rear wheel drive car the rear tires will wear down more quickly, depending on driving style.

Also, an independent alignment shop should be able to do the job for about the cost of one of those rear tires.

[Just1MoreDave]

The car has the good kind of TPMS so it tells you right away about a one psi pressure change. The factory specs are 30psi in the front and 36psi in the rear. It has a lot of negative camber in the rear. Owners with the V8 models have to really watch the inside shoulders because aggressive acceleration can run those down to cords when the outsides look OK. I have just slightly more visible wear inside, no cupping. The treadwear number is 220. Two rear tires plus mounting and balance are going to be around $400. Mercedes dealers have a proprietary alignment machine that connects directly to your credit card. I tried not to show fear when they told me the alignment charges.

[Ex Finn.]

The car has the good kind of TPMS so it tells you right away about a one psi pressure change. The factory specs are 30psi in the front and 36psi in the rear. It has a lot of negative camber in the rear. Owners with the V8 models have to really watch the inside shoulders because aggressive acceleration can run those down to cords when the outsides look OK. I have just slightly more visible wear inside, no cupping. The treadwear number is 220. Two rear tires plus mounting and balance are going to be around $400. Mercedes dealers have a proprietary alignment machine that connects directly to your credit card. I tried not to show fear when they told me the alignment charges.

$400 is not too bad for two balanced and mounted tires. Two tires for my truck are more than that tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Wrangler+DuraTrac&sidewall=Blackwall&tab=Specs&partnum=77QR8WDT
Shop-labor per hour for my daughters VW at the dealer is USD 130+ ...