58 MPG by 2032

[scootr]

4 or 5 in 85,000 miles on street bike. Am very careful about where I put my wheels, crud at intersections, etc. Flats are always on the rear. 2 lane country roads. The porcelain slit was on urban roads.

Very few on my automobiles. One on Subaru while touring my property. Oddly I have only had one on dirtbike in 20 years but in races on the same trails with 150 or 500 bikes we continuously pull people out with flats. Tube tires go flat quickly. My street bike is tubeless.

One on Tesla. On 4 lane US-64. “Thump thump thump” big fender screw made noise. Quickly pulled over. Prepared plug kit. Took screw out, no air escaped. Splashed with water to confirm. Put plug kit away. Bought 4 new tires the next week. See photo below.


Radial tires are very hard to eyeball tire pressure.

View attachment 821832

That's the plug kit ? lol when I was a kid we ran dune buggies in the desert. I always carried an assortment of big sheet metal screws to plug tires with.

 

[Grumpycat]

That's the plug kit ? lol when I was a kid we ran dune buggies in the desert. I always carried an assortment of big sheet metal screws to plug tires with.

That was the thump thump fender screw I stopped to remove. Then no leak.

 

[WinterDeere]

100% agree, if only mfg's would all make a deactivation button, to let consumers decide if they want their engines to last longer.

Is there a vehicle with cylinder de-activation, in which the driver can't disable that feature? I like big-displacement engines, so all of my newer cars have had cylinder de-activation, but also all easy to turn off. It's annoying that it turns back on each time you restart the car, but all turn off with just one or two button presses.

I'm perfectly capable of using a tire gage and maintaining correct air pressure.

Me too. But I have to admit that hitting two buttons on my steering wheel to check it while sitting at a stoplight is even easier than busting out the tire gauge. When I had to do it old-skool, I'd set a reminder on my phone to check the tire pressure once every 3 months. But with TPMS, I probably check them once per week!

One thing people forgot both before and with TPMS, is the spare tire. People having flat spares has always been common, and spares rarely contain TPMS. Check your spare, folks!

 

[deserteagle71]

If you are having one flat tire after another, your doing something wrong.

Over the last 20 years, I have only one tire go flat, and that was a blow-out on my trailer.

Check your tire pressures and look at your tires.

Richard

That's true if all you ever drive is pavement. Some of us have to drive dirt roads. Rocks will get you every time. Some of the ranch and mine pickups around here carry 3 spares...the OEM under the bed, plus two mounted in the bed.

This is why.

 

[Eagle1]

True that -- I have not been on pavement since May. Fixing flats caused by our rocks is an ongoing endeavor. We run 10 ply on cars and at least 8 on tractors , 6 or better on ATVs. My feed wagon is on solids because I got tired of flats. Pulls like crap but the tires are up

 

[Grumpycat]

One thing people forgot both before and with TPMS, is the spare tire. People having flat spares has always been common, and spares rarely contain TPMS. Check your spare, folks!

The TPMS sensor sleeps when not rolling so the spare is problematic to check. They use a 125 kHz RF wakeup burst (simple CW) to wake a sensor without rolling. Same as the "TPMS Clicker" widely sold on eBay and Amazon. At a minimum this tool is needed to wake a new TPMS sensor from manufacturing hibernation. Put in a deep sleep during manufacturing to keep it from waking during shipping.

Proper TPMS scan tools emit the 125 kHz burst when one initiates a wireless read of the sensor so a separate clicker is not of much use.

Think some BMW and Audio Audi have TPMS in the spare. They must also have the 125 kHz to initiate a read.

 

[WinterDeere]

Interesting point on putting TPMS to sleep. Wasn't aware of that, but it makes sense, as most are just using lithium or NiMH batteries, which do have a limited lifespan.

I also assume you mean Audi, and the spell checker got you there. Our Audi did not have TPMS in the spare, only the four mains, but maybe they've changed that in the last few years.

Only time I ever had a TPMS go bad was in our 2003 or 2004 Jaguar, but that car was in such a terrible accident shortly after we bought it, that a lot of things ended up failing. I've owned at least a dozen cars with TPMS, and it's been flawless in all of them, never a problem. The longest I've ever kept a car with TPMS was 12 years though, which does appear to be about the expected lifespan of a TPMS battery, so I could see buyers of older cars having to deal with battery or sensor replacement.

 

[Grumpycat]

Interesting point on putting TPMS to sleep. Wasn't aware of that, but it makes sense, as most are just using lithium or NiMH batteries, which do have a limited lifespan.

I don't think NiMH is used, only know of lithium.

Yes, many purchase replacement sensors on Amazon or eBay, DIY, then complain their vehicle never sees the new sensor. Some vehicles are capable of auto-detecting sensors but this is not 100% reliable, and if a new sensor is not woken from manufacturing hibernation it will never work.

I also assume you mean Audi, and the spell checker got you there.

Thanks! Fixed. Apple's predictive speller has gotten overly aggressive in "fixing" earlier words several words later in typing where one is no longer looking.

Our Audi did not have TPMS in the spare, only the four mains, but maybe they've changed that in the last few years.

Likely not a feature of all models. Is not a common option.

 

[aircommuter]

I completely agree with the notion that private jets and other forms of conspicuous consumption don't set a good example.

I'll push back a bit on the use of the phrase "campaign vehicle". It's not that simple.

Our current sitting president was well known for using public transportation to commute to work when he was a senator. The massive vehicles that come with a full suite of communications equipment and security came with the job of president, and these vehicles are a requirement, not a choice. When he had the choice, the current president chose the form of transportation that consumes least fuel.

A president or vice president is *required* to use the vehicles supplied by the military and secret service, even on personal or campaign trips. However, when Air Force One is used for a campaign trip, the campaign must reimburse the Air Force for the equivalent cost of chartering a private jet. So the campaign pays for the basic transportation, and the taxpayers pay for the upgrade to vehicles that keep the president in communication and secure at all times. That's part of the job, not a choice, and there are reasonable rules in place around reimbursement for campaigning.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2016/07/07/485097272/fact-check-air-force-one-who-pays

If you're going to call politicians out for their conspicuous consumption, I'd say it makes sense to focus on those who, when not constrained by their work duties, *choose* to throw away fuel in a grand display of their wealth. It also makes sense to look at the number of personal or campaign trips they make while in office. I'll leave it as an exercise for the readers to assess who the worst offenders are by that measure.

I don’t think campaigning for other candidates around the country as necessary. It doesn’t matter if they have to pay the air force for use as you say, the waste and pollution is the same. Typical hypocrisy.

 

[aircommuter]

Watts is significantly different than Watt-hours.

When you cutsie slang shorten Watt-hours to Watts the meaning of what you are saying totally changes.

It’s still the standard of measuring for sale purpose.