Entries with tag "lancer"

It's time to change my oil, so yesterday I stopped by Pep Boys to pick up the needed supplies. While browsing the aisles, I discovered that they sell used, "professionally cleaned" coveralls. They are stained with grease and oil and most had a hole or two in them, but they were cheap as hell; about $3-4. I was tempted to get some, but it scared me. The idea that some sweaty auto mechanic has spent days toiling under a hot undercarriage in them is difficult to get over, no matter how well certified the cleaners were. Still, now that it's time to go out and change my oil, I realize that I didn't bother to ship down my grease-stained coveralls when I moved to PR, so I guess I have to find my least-favorite jeans and t-shirt to sully. I kind of wish I'd spent the $3 on the hairy-man-sweat-laden coveralls at the auto parts store.

My car has incredible handling, but that comes at a cost. Part of that grip comes from stiff, well-tuned suspension, but one of the biggest factors that contribute to a car's handling are its tires; they are your entire interface with the road. The Evo comes with very soft tires; the treadwear rating is 160. A numerically lower treadwear rating equates to a softer and usually grippier tire — race slicks have ratings of 60-80. Compare that to the tires on your Camry; they're probably rated 400 or more.

The downside of that, of course, is that stock Evo tires only last around 10,000 miles. Roughly three months ago I started noticing a marked decrease in my tires' grippiness, and realized with sadness that it would soon be time to replace them. However, cheap bastard that I am, I figured I could probably stretch them a little longer if I just drove carefully. They've lasted me this long; I just hit 12k miles last week.

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