tachometer mystery?

The reason it follows the music is because those bass notes draw a lot of current, causing the alternator to draw more power from the engine. If you can see an effect from 63 watts of brake lights, 500 watts of bass will do it, too. Note that many A/C compressors draw up to 5 HP off the engine. Modern electronic engine controls should compensate for the load, but not all cars are the same. As for the bounce, what you are seeing is the control system feedback loop frequency response, which is either in need of repair (see below) or wasn’t designed right in the first place (which I highly doubt).

For the poor idle regulation at a certain temperature, there is obviously something wrong with the warm-up system. Given enough money, the car will run fine at any temperature, but now it becomes a question of how much you want to spend to make it right. A decent mechanic can tell you which part needs replacement, but I would hazard a guess it is the mass air flow sensor that is fouled a little.

Don

This is more along the line of your question and not so much along the original thread, but I think it fits in here.

Talk about odd behavior! When I have my truck in neutral and rev the engine to about 3500-4000 RPM, if I then slide the transmission into gear, the tires let out an awful howling sound and sometimes smoke! The part I really can’t explain is that almost every time, my head bounces off the head rest. It’s all very curious!

Ive seen this before. There is a nut with a screw loose behind the steering wheel! :^)

OK, I got it. That explains the rattling sound I hear right after my head bounces off the head rest. :smiley:

lol for those of you who have never heard a transmission ripping apart and a rear end cracking, try this, its the kind of sound that is about equal to the smell of a burnt victor right by your nose. the things you see and hear in a highschool parking lot… shudders

My best friend did this with his moms Gremlin in '77. It was a 6 cylinder auto, way underpowered, but he was determined to spin the tires.

They chirped for a second, then the engine broke free from all its mounts, and the fan went through the radiator.

He had some ‘splaining’ to do when he got home!

Knowing all the things me and my friends did when we were young, Im now thankfull everytime I see my son pull his car in the driveway in one piece.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! ]

…or so you think… :rolleyes:

lol yup. friend’s 02 4.3 zr2. never a good idea

Yeah my trans am not even running to well at the moment(way too rich) can spin tires in reverse without me trying hard(granted thats on gravely dirtlike stuff) Also if you do as above and you get lucky you will only explode U-Joints or a driveshaft(on rear wheel drive vehicals only unless your really trying)

funny, its all a matter of perspective

if you have a car that will spin its wheels from the power of the engine alone, everyone thinks “WOW what a powerfull car you have”

unless its winter up here in the great white north, then everyone spins their wheels all the time, and the only thought that comes to mind is “WOW these tires are terrible! I gotta get me some studded snow tires!”

or…
“he needs more weight in tha back…”
which is what im having trouble with right now…
im driving a 2wd pickup and stuck 250lbs of sand right over the rear axle… mostly on the passenger side since i have an open diff. oh what i would give for a quick swap to a lsd… and a/t tires. not good. should i get more weight in the back over the axle or should i move the bags farther back… to like the tailgate? its a longbed so i can get a lot of leverage with that. :smiley: BUT. thatll mean ill be taking some weight off the front tires. do i really wanna do that? i have a big v6 in there so itll be more than what i had over my front axle in my neon… i think? or do driveshafts and such weigh a lot? well anywho. my question is should i get more weight or slide the 250 lbs i have farther back to get more leverage for the weight and say i still have enough weight in the fromt to not worry about the seesaw affect

personally I would not put anything in the bed back there for weight unless you can bolt it down somehow

God forbid you have an accident someday and have 250 lbs of sandbags, or whatever ballast you chose… coming through your rear window at 60mph!

hm… what do you suggest i do then? i can ducttape them together and tie them down but bolting down sand is a bit harder to do… or are there better weights than sand?(cheap)