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Comments
Varmint, I don't foresee driving my 'V up north much, but I was nevertheless a bit concerned by your words of caution regarding the use of the LTX M/S tire up north. Tire Rack classifies the LTX M/S tire as "Highway All Season" Their general description of "Highway All Season" is:
"Your worst driving conditions are gravel roads and snow covered highways...
These light tuck/SUV tires feature small independent tread blocks positioned around the the tire to maintain very good on-road performance, as well as traction on gravel roads, in sand and moderate snow."
Tire Rack/Michelin's specific description of the LTX M/S tires is:
"The Michelin LTX M/S offers optimal durability and traction in combination with exceptional mileage and the classic Michelin smooth, quiet ride for pickups, vans, sport utilities and other commercial light truck applications. If you, like most light truck owners, spend a lot more time on the road than off, the LTX M/S gives you the manners of a car tire, with the ruggedness of a light truck tire while maintaining an exceptional amount of snow traction due to the interlocking, full depth sipes."
FWIW, here's a LINK to the survey comments at Tire Rack on the LTX M/S tires. Based on this info, it sounds like this particular tire would be well-suited for your neck of the woods, so I'm wondering if perhaps you could elaborate on your concerns.
a full tank of gas but I was wondering if you only
put a few gallons in,what happens?The air in the tank has to be vaccumed off by the recovery
system and the check engine light might come on.
Cars are way to complicated now all in an attempt
to make them idiot proof.The best safety device is
drivers training and strict enforcement of rules of the road.Remember,it is the nut behind the
wheel that may be loose.
juice - congrat on your new Legacy, it sounds like a great deal. Like you, if I can convince my wife, my next car would be a WRX. How about a Sti? I can dream, at least
varmint - as usual, always enjoy your advice and info. It is funny you have changed from varmit
to varmint since Feb, but you are still being called varmit some times.
susanlm - I had the side airbig light turned on once. My wife of driving and I was sorting out
bunch of CDs on the passage seat. I was either leaning forward or on the side, my wife told me
the side airbig light turned on, I leaned over and looked it went away already. We haven't seen
it came on since. Does your side airbig light come on frequently?
I prefer "varmit", because that's how Yosemite Sam pronounces it when he's talking to Bugs. :-)
Thanks tman, I still have my Miata BTW.
-juice
juice - do you keep your miata in a garage? Since we bought our CR-V, my miata has been sitting on the street instead of our garage. After a few months of Texas sunlight the clear coat on the rear license area started to fade/peel. I think I will need a car cover, any suggestion?
And I have the Crystal White, a color notorious for peeling. I guess I like to live on the edge! ;-)
Out of curiosity, are both cars yours? Do you drive the Miata on nice days, the CR-V the rest of the time? I'm asking because I do (Miata and Forester), and I think they make a good team, complementing each other nicely.
-juice
According to GatorGreg, an SUV must have 8" of ground clearance otherwise its just a wagon.
I would think that capability is a better measure than ground clearance. Some SUV's (like the X5) don't have 8", but are certainly quite capable. Anyway most "SUV's" are wagon or car based. The CRV is based on the Civic platform.
I think GatorGreg is getting confused with SUT (truck) vs SUV (vehicle). Vehicle being the operative word. If its sporty, has utility and is a vehicle - then call it an SUV.
Chaya - We often end up posting the same issues and their corrections repeatedly for new members. It happens in many threads. For that reason, many folks keep coming here to have their issues solved. So we get a lot of talk about "problems".
Personally, I seldom post about the great trips I've had, simply because I've already done that dozens of times over the past few years (Edmunds, you owe me a life). But I'd be happy to do it again for you!
I have 60,000 miles on my 99 CR-V. The only unscheduled maintenace I've done was to replace a set of worn out wipers at around 25K. I average over 25mpg (mine is a 5 speed). My daily commute is about 60/40 split between highway and town roads. There's typically a few minutes of bumper to bumper traffic.
Most frequently, I use the cargo area to haul my two greyhounds to the local ballfield. I give them some quality time in a fenced-in area big enough for them to reach full speed. However, I've also used it for Home Depot runs, numerous camping trips, and ski trips. One of my camping buddies is 6'4", so the diminutive RAV4 was not going to cut it.
I've also done a few long trips simply for the sake of being a CR-Ver. My last one was more than 2,000 miles round trip. I drove from the Boston area down to St Augustine Florida to meet up with GatorGreg and a few other CR-Vers (and two MDXers). Prior to that, I made a trip to join up with about 26 CR-Vs in Baltimore for the second Mid Atlantic CR-V meet. I won a cargo mat and several other groovy CR-V items. My first CR-V meet was the first Allegheny National Forest run in PA. That's when I met TheRacoon and my first visit with "RECS" (known on other boards as the lovable Goonga Ron). He and his family were also there at the Mid Atlantic meet.
Along the way, there have been a few off-road trips, more than a few snow storms, and even a leisurely drive through the atlantic ocean. Okay, maybe just the surf...
Buster (that's the CR-V's name) turned three years old this April. He has a few mods to make him my own. I've got custom leather seats (with dual heaters), the leather steering wheel wrap, an OEM skidplate, obnoxious little blue lights on the hood, all red taillights, mud guards, XtraVision bulbs in the headlamps, dynamat sound proofing, and a few other rinky-dink items.
My only complaint with the vehicle has been road noise at highway speeds. The new models are better in this regard, but some folks still wish for more quiet. YMMV
Ground clearance is one (of the many) measurements that gauges a vehicle's potential for off-road performance. Some of the others include approach, departure, and breakover angles. Then there is the ramp index (for suspension travel or articulation), and measurements to various points other than the rear diff.
For a decent discussion on the merits of articulation vs clearance, check out this thread.
As for your definitions of SUV and SUT, umm... why does it matter?
My list of things to mention/ask about while there:
The funny buzz/sizzle noise when turning the key sometimes.
The rear washer squirt thing doesn't seem to work.
Seat jiggles when I hit a rough place in the road. (Not rocking, more like loosely attached.)
Anyone think of other ideosyncracies I should ask about while I have their undivided attention?
I love Rosebud--a fun drive, very responsive, easy to park, smooth at speed. Wish the seats were more comfy though.
8" seems like a pretty arbitrary number, chosen specifically to include the CR-V. If you ever get the chance, tag along on a Jeep Jamboree. Most of those are modified and anything less than 10" or 12" is considered lacking.
-juice
Thanks
Top speed can be affected by a number of things. Gearing and engine rpm being the most significant. You can have an engine with lots of power, but, if it runs out of transmission, you're out of luck. Aerodynamics would be the next. A brick isn't going to fly as fast as a baseball even if they are "thrown" with the same amount of power. Acura recently upped the top speed of the NSX by giving it an aerodynamic facelift.
That said, I think that 110 mph is plenty fast for an SUV. IIRC, the actual number is 106 or 108. Don't try it at home, kids.
I've never seen a review with either the 6.6" or 8" measurement of ground clearance for the CR-V that you mentioned, but then again, I don't subscribe to the Cuckoo Times. The lowest I've ever seen was 6.5" in the recent CR comparo of 2nd gen 'V v. Liberty v. Freelander v. XL-7 v. VUE which according to CR the 'V won "easily". In the same comparo, CR says the ground clearance for the Jeep and Land Rover are also 6.5", while the Saturn and Suzuki are both listed at 5.5". Thus, they obviously have a unique testing arrangement. Rightly or wrongly, ground clearance is almost always measured from the rear diff and most reviews I've seen list both the 1st and 2nd gen CR-V's at 8.1" (Automobile, Car & Driver, Motor Trend, Truck Trend). Therefore the CR-V meets my own personal criteria, unlike, for example, the Highlander (maybe they should have called it the Lowlander instead
For those of you wondering why I'm being so nice to nimrod/mikey/raymond,etc..., it's cuz someone posted under my name at CR-VIX in addition to posting an anonymous death wish towards me. When the administrator over there temporarily revealed the IP addresses, nimrod/mikey/raymond, etc... was the loser who did it.
ateixeira, you're right, the 8" of ground clearance is an arbitrary number. However, I did not pick it to specifically include the CR-V. I picked it to specifically include the MDX which has a ground clearance of 8.0"
GREETINGS FROM SUNNY MIAMI
BTW, it's not taken at the rear diffy. I've actually measured mine and the Forester is nearly 10" off the ground at the diffy. The front cross member under the boxer engine is 3 inches lower.
CR probably measures the minimum clearance before you begin to scrape bottom, so it's a useful figure. I think the Camry has like 3.8" because the exhaust dips under the rear suspension.
But I can live with your 8" standard since I have bigger tires that put mine in the acceptable range. ;-)
-juice
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
The most common is to measure from the ground to the lowest point on the drivetrain (diff) or the body supports (frame). Most off-roaders do not count the "hanging" mechanicals like the muffler piping, since you can break that and still drive away. (Not that I recommend it.)
CR takes a rather silly approach and measures to the lowest point on the axles. In layman's terms, this would be the "joint" where the suspension meets the wheels. I call this silly, because that joint will move up and down with the tire. When you roll a wheel over a bump, the joint will be lifted up with it. It's like a dog chasing his own tail. The only time this measurement might matter is if you were driving through deep ruts.
However, the single lowest point isn't the only measure. There is also the height of the sills for example. If you roll over a rock and bottom out on the panel under your door, you're bummin'. In this situation, it doesn't matter how low to the ground your differential is.
That said, ground clearance is only one measure of a vehicle's ability. The example Gator mentions is a good one. The Freelander is a very capable vehicle despite its low clearance. The old RAV4 was better than the CR-V, in part because it's short wheelbase gives it a decent breakover angle. So a lack of clearance can be overcome by other design elements.
The old CR-V may be a better offroader than the new version. The old model has better clearance (even though they have the same 8.1" to the diff) and better slightly approach/departure angles. However, the '02 design has more low end torque.
-juice
Will share my exprience here when I get home Sunday. Wish me luck!
As far as road noise goes, the CR-V can't possibly be noisier than a totally non-tricked out Cherokee Sport. So whatever it is, it'll be better.
Nine more days, but who's counting?
csj
Also....
Has anyone installed the side steps on the 2002 crv?
I saw a green one with the side step in the showroom and it looked awesome! I cannot remember how low it goes though, does it decrease the clearence of the vehicle much???
Anyone have any pictures? I have seen the ones at collegehills.com and handa-accessores.com and I would like to see a different angle.
bike racks: can't you just take the spare tire off completely and use a regular old bike rack? (assuming you are going some place where you know you can get help easily). I really don't want to spend $150 on a good spare-tire rack.
accessories: how much of that stuff is really useful? Like a cargo net - does stuff fall out if you don't have one?
csj
Please check it out...
Have fun!!!
Trilliumsteve, as others have already said the 1st and 2nd gen 'Vs both come with size 205/70-15 tires, so I'm guessing all the various covers will interchange from one gen to the other. There is a silver 2nd gen 'V in my area running around with a 1st gen silver SE hard spare tire cover and it looks VERY nice IMO. I suppose the owners may have gotten the plain 1st gen hard cover, painted it satin silver and added the stickers, but it looked like an actual SE cover to me.
odds009: Thanks for that picture, it looks awesome, I really think the black looks really sharp especially with the side step. I have a silver lx with an in dash 6 disc player, tinted windows, foglights and soon to be thule rack once it comes out next week. Your picture didn't work when I loaded up the page, but I got it to work by right clicking on it, copying it (the X around the box icon, which is supposed to be your picture), then I pasted it into word.
http://members.cox.net/jquant/Side%20of%20SideStep.JPG
How do I post a small pic on this site?
img src="URL"
Then surround the whole thing with angle brackets like these < >