Automotive Myths, Lore, and other incorrectness

I was talking to someone the other day about an RX-7 I used to autocross and the person I was talking to gave me the strangest look, and then he gave me an even stranger sentence:

"But your apex seals scatter when you go above 7000rpms!"

(Boy, I don't know what I'd do if my apex seals decided to scatter on me)

This isn't my first encounter with this sort of automotive myth/mistaken-ness, but it never ceases to surprise me. The last time I heard something this dumb it was:

"Did you know if you lay a board across your rotors and roll them across a flat surface the board wont move?" (referring to up or down motion)

Uh.... that would make them "circles". Although the sides are rounded, these are still triangles...

or

"A roller-rocker motor is as close as you can get to a rotary without actually going 'rotary'... "

oh really?

Does anyone else have this problem? Where does this stuff come from?

"An original GTO will wipe the floor with the "new" (read 04-06) GTO . . . "

I silenced that myth quickly amongst my Pop'd peers . . . I had "slow" 04 with only 350hp

Car-x told me my p71 was reprogrammed to be street legal.

Did anyone ever ask you how to check if the "power band" was working on a two-stroke?

Or betted yet, ask you to put one in a four stoke

TQ accelerates you
Backpressure is necessary
The hub of a hub-centric wheel carries the load

Hungary Bill wrote: ..."Did you know if you lay a board across your rotors and roll them across a flat surface the board wont move?" (referring to up or down motion) Uh.... that would make them "circles". Although the sides are rounded, these are still triangles...

He's thinking of Reuleaux's rotor:

It's close, but not quite:

Hot plugs (hotter heat range) make more horsepower.

Nitromethane will make a stock engine make more horsepower.

Premium fuel gives any engine more power.

Installing a turbocharger improves fuel economy.

You can hot-wire certain cars by shorting out the fog light (my friend swears this is true because it was in 'Gone in 60 Seconds').

Schmidlap wrote: Installing a turbocharger improves fuel economy.

It did on a friends Accent..

Probably because he could then drive it in a way other then WOT.

Schmidlap wrote: You can hot-wire certain cars by shorting out the fog light (my friend swears this is true because it was in 'Gone in 60 Seconds').

My favorite is when the thief gets in, hotwires the car in no time flat because apparently the owner was in the process of splicing in a new ignition and left the critical wires cut and stripped.

The guys with a new high compression engine show up at the airport wanting to buy jet fuel, for the high octane. I always explained that they wanted 100LL, not Jet A. They would argue that I did not know what I was talking about. I probably should have sold the morons what they asked for.

overhead cam engines make no torque

Harder suspension is always better

Lower is always better

Small steering wheels give you a quicker steering ratio (no seriously)

Short-throw shifters are more than just a comfort mod

• 911s are air cooled.
• High octane has more energy than low octane
• 27 way adjustable suspension is superior to the one correct setting
• Window nets need to be replaced every two years (thanks SFI... berkeleying cartel)
• short shifters and/or seat brackets are somehow worth $300
• rotors warp

When I was 19 I had a guy with a Neon yelling at me when I asked about his huge rear spoiler. His reply:

"it doesn't create drag it makes downforce which lowers the car and makes it more aerodynamic at high speed and that makes it faster!"

and when I say he "yelled" I mean: "wipe the spit off my face" screaming at me.

Once you switch to synthetic oil you can't go back to conventional.

pilotbraden wrote: The guys with a new high compression engine show up at the airport wanting to buy jet fuel, for the high octane. I always explained that they wanted 100LL, not Jet A. They would argue that I did not know what I was talking about. I probably should have sold the morons what they asked for.

LOL!!! yes, yes you should sell them Jet A. Especially if they argue with you before filling.

GameboyRMH wrote: Small steering wheels give you a quicker steering ratio (no seriously)

Actually - if you look at the ratio of hand movement to steering angle ...it is quicker.

"A front-wheel-drive car can't back up" – I guess even stuff "everybody knows" has to succumb to reality at some point.

That cop car has the Police Engine right?

That cop car has the 5.4 right? (it does now)

That cop car does 200 mph right?

That car ain't legal because the cops had it, they took out all the engine stuff right?

How do you have the spot light on that car, that's illegal! (no, not in Texas)

ProDarwin wrote: TQ accelerates you

Torque IS what accelerates you. Horsepower is just a convenient way to balance torque against engine speed and gearing (Xhp is Xhp whether it's high torque/tall gear or low torque/short gear)

Also... the apex seals do scatter over ~8500 if you have iron 3mm units. For 2mm seals, the answer is "higher than the oiling system will tolerate". BTDT on both counts, multiple times.

Favorite wives' tales:

Coolant can go too fast through the radiator to transfer heat Batteries run down if stored on concrete

There are others, I can't remember them at the moment. But the coolant one is wrong on so many levels, even a light examination proves it wrong.

Light cars don't handle well because they don't have any weight to keep them on the road.

Diesel truck are better off road than gas.

N Sperlo wrote: Car-x told me my p71 was reprogrammed to be street legal.

If I had a nickel for every yokel that asked me if my P71 "still had the cop computer?!?" I'd be able to afford a new Ferrari.

No, AMC did not get their 360 from Mopar and 390 from Ford. No, the AMC 327 is not from Chevy.