Archive for December, 2017
Goldilocks Goodyear* And The Three Tyre Pressure Bears
Getting the tyre pressure right is a bit of a Goldilocks process – it can’t be too hard or too soft, but has to be just right. If you don’t get it right, it could result in an accident that leaves you looking like you have indeed had an encounter with three grouchy, hungry grizzly bears. Or it could turn your vehicle into a beast with one heck of an appetite for fuel. (On a complete sidetrack, wouldn’t Ursus or the word for Bear in some other language make a great name for a 4×4?)
The most common scenario is that you end up with Mama Bear’s tyres: too soft. This is because valves aren’t perfect and slow leaks happen over time, what with little air molecules being sneaky. Ideally, we ought to check our tyre pressure monthly but not many of us actually do this (and that’s me at the front of the queue for the confessional!).
The problem with too-soft Mama Bear tyres is that they bulge out. This leads to two problems. Firstly, because the walls of the tyre weren’t designed to balloon out like that, you’re increasing the chance of the tyre going boom on you. Yes – underinflation and being too soft is what increases the chance of getting a blowout, not being too hard.
The second problem of having too-soft Mama Bear tyres that bulge out is because this increases the area of tyre contacting the road. A moment’s thought will tell you that this has to be better for grip, right? Well, yes. It does increase the amount of grip between the tyre and the road surface, and that’s just the problem. This means increased friction, and this means that your car has to work harder to get up to the speed you want to. Remember what it was like when you were a kid and your bike tyre started getting a leak so you had to pedal that much harder when the tyre was flat? Well, the same thing happens when your car tyres are flat (or your trailer tyres for that matter). What this adds up to is terrible, terrible fuel economy. If you’ve wondered why you don’t get the same fuel economy as the stats in the car ads say you should, this is one of the reasons why (the other reasons are because the vehicles are tested minus any load at all and in the lab where there’s no crosswinds or headwinds).
OK, so having the tyres too soft is a bad thing. However, is there such a thing as being too hard?
As Goldilocks would tell us, yes, tyres can be too hard. Papa Bear tyres might not increase your chance of a blowout the same way that Mama Bear tyres do, in spite of what the cartoons tell us. Papa Bear tyres are dangerous in another way. Because they make the bottom of the tyre narrower and more convex, there’s less of the tyre touching the road. This means less friction.
Less friction, of course, means less grip around corners and greatly increased braking time. If it’s wet, then proportionally less water can be channelled out of the way, so the friction decreases even further. Let’s stop and think about the implications of that for a moment, but not for too long. The results certainly won’t be pretty, especially if speed is involved. It’s a wonder that the cops don’t have random tyre pressure checks the same way they do random breath testing and random speed checks. Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have written that – I might give them new ideas and new ways to milk our wallets.
So how do you get those nice Baby Bear tyres that aren’t too hard or too soft but just right, where you’ve got enough friction to make the car handle well but not so much that your car guzzles petrol?
The answer, of course, is to check your tyre pressure regularly. Some say that you should even check the pressure every time you fill up with fuel, but this may be going a bit too far. Maybe. Most modern vehicles are very, very nice to us and have tyre pressure monitors installed and provide us with an alert when the pressure strays out of the Goldilocks Zone.
OK, so how do you know what pressure you should inflate your tyres to? The answer to that is usually provided very kindly by the car manufacturers, either in the owner’s manual or on the door pillars (either on the driver’s or the passenger’s side). In my Volvo S70, the info is in the manual. In my Nissan Terrano, the information is on a sticker on the door pillar on the driver’s side… unfortunately in Japanese where it hasn’t totally faded away. Curses and naught words! Fortunately in situations like this, you can use online tools and good old Google to help you out (here’s one possibility: http://www.tyre-pressures.com/).
Tyre pressure, like porridge, can’t be taken too hot. However, there is no such thing as too cold when it comes to measuring tyre pressure. This is because heat makes the rubber a bit softer and the air inside take up a wee bit more space.
When you check the tyre pressure, you need to be sure that you use the right units. Car tyre pressure is one of the few things that we still like to think about in Imperial units rather than metric (the others are height and the birth weight of babies). The Imperial unit is pounds per square inch (psi) but the metric equivalent is kiloPascals (kPA). The conversion formula is 1 psi = 6.8947 kPA, so if you use the wrong unit, you’ll either be underinflated or overinflated by sixfold.
Of course, getting Baby Bear tyres isn’t as simple as that. If you’ve got a heavier than normal load in your vehicle, this will press down on the tyres so they bulge out and get a Mama Bear tyre profile and will therefore act like a Mama Bear tyre. This really adds up to a beast with a big appetite, as the engine doesn’t just have to cope with the extra load, it also has to cope with the extra friction if you don’t increase the tyre pressure. And don’t forget to make like Johnny Farnham and take the pressure down once you’ve dropped off the load! Oh yes – and make sure that your tyres aren’t too worn or getting the pressure right won’t do diddly-squat.
To make things even more interesting, if you’re into off-roading, you need to adjust the tyre pressure according to the surface you’re driving on. In sand, for example, you need the extra friction, so Mama Bear might be able to help you out if you get stuck.
Catch you later – I’m off to check the tyre pressure in both cars.
* This is not the name of a blonde model in the Goodyear equivalent of the Pirelli calendar.
Car Review: 2018 Mitsubishi ASX XLS Diesel AWD
Mitsubishi has a long and proud history with off road capable vehicles and continues that with the ASX range. Private Fleet spends time with the top of the range 2018 Mitsubishi ASX XLS, complete with the same 2.2L diesel as found in the Outlander, and seven speed CVT plus a six speed manual lower in the range.
The range itself also offers a petrol 2.0-litre engine, and will power down via the front wheels or come with an all wheel drive system. It’s a mid-sized five seater, in the same bracket as theToyota RAV4. Mitsubishi is offering driveaway pricing deals at the time of writing, with the range starting at an easy on the wallet $24,990 for the LS 2WD petrol. Our test car is priced from $39,990.
The engine is good for 110kW, and 360Nm between 1500 to 2750 rpm, making normal driving as easy as blinking. The CVT is well sorted, taking the right foor command and turning it into forward motion easily. The torque allows quick acceleration however doesn’t seem to be as comfortable with overtaking as Suzuki’s Vitara. Economy is good too, with a final figure of 5.9 litres of diesel consumed per 100 kilometres.
Inside, the ASX clearly shows its family oriented design, with leather accented cloth seats, digital radio, a sliding cloth screen for the full length glass roof, plenty of bottle and cup holders, USB charging ports BUT dips out on rear seat air vents and ventilation for the from seats, an almost unforgivable oversight for the Australian market. The plastics are hard to the touch, needing a more modern feel with padding and a softer feel where padding isn’t required. 
Also, the ovoid design of the console is now showing its age, needing a move to a more human encompassing design. However, cargo room is also looking good, with room for shopping, bags for the weekend way and suchlike, with 393L available with the rear seats up and increasing to to 1143L with the seats folded. Being a compact car in overall length, rear leg room is slightly compromised, with anyone from 180 cm and up maybe feeling a little cramped, but there’s plenty of head and shoulder room, front and rear.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, as are DAB/AM/FM (no CD) as is Bluetooth streaming via the 7.0-inch touchscreen. But the reliance on the two smartphone apps means no built in sat nav, even though GPS, showing the coordinates but no navigation, is there. And currently the apps have to be accessed via the phones being connected with cables, a somewhat clunky method and untidy as well.
Being the top of the range means loading up with plenty of safety features and the ASX XLS gets the supreme pizza, with Forward Collision Mitigation, Lane Departure Warning, and Euro style flashing brake lights for the Emergency Stop System. Autonomous Emergency Braking is not yet fitted to the range however. A reverse camera is standard across the range, as are the ISOFIX child seat mounts and pretensioning seatbelts, Hill Start Assist, and seven airbags including driver’s kneebag.
Back to the driving habits and it’s a typical diesel; floor it and it’ll hesitate as the turbo spools up before kicking the tyres into action. Breathe the right foot over the throttle and you can watch the numbers change quickly and quietly. Economy is rated as 6.0L/100km on a combined cycle from a 60-litre tank and with the ASX being a middleweight, at 1540kg before fuel and passengers, there’s a useable torque to weight ratio. As a result it’ll get off the line, even with the CVT, with a solid rush.
When it comes to dimensions, there’s a 2670mm wheelbase hiding inside that compact body, meaning you’ll get a sure footed handling and composed ride in combination with the struts and multi-link suspension. Rubber is from Bridgestone, and they’re 225/55/18s. Exterior styling owes much, like the original Outlander, to the Lancer sedan, with the ASX sporting the same sharp edged, bluff prow. At each corner up front are almost vertical LED driving lights and there’s splashes of chrome. It’s assertive and appealing.
The ASX is easy to live with on road, with the steering being light, but attached enough so you don’t find you’re missing out on contact with what’s happening up front. Point and shoot style is how the ASX XLS works and the flexibility of the peak torque makes city driving an absolute doddle. The CVT has no manual mode available via the gear selector, so if you use the paddle shifters you’ll need to quickly slide into Neutral and back out (NOT recommended) to bring it back to Drive, or, when stopped, pulling both paddles back until it re-engages Drive. 
Although the AWD system is front wheel drive biased, the AWD button mounted in the centre console will direct drive to the rear on demand. If you wish to utilise all of that torque for towing, the ASX XLS will do so up to 1400 kilograms.
At The End Of The Drive.
The ASX has received a nip and a tuck here and there over its life however it’s now, like its “doner” car, showing signs of age. Yes, it’s still comfortable and roomy enough for a family of four however the dash design and plastics now lag behind competitors. It’s a fantastic city oriented car with a frugal, punchy, diesel but the value of the Mitsubishi ASX XLS is also beginning to be questionable. In no way is it a bad car, it’s just now not as good as other choices.
Here is where you can get more information: 2018 Mitsubishi ASX range
Private Fleet Car Review: 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander LS AWD Diesel With Safety Pack
Revelations 2.2, Reading from the Book Of Diesel, Chapter: Mitsubishi Outlander LS AWD
I had an epiphany whilst piloting Mitsubishi’s Outlander LS diesel seven seater (with safety pack) early on a Sunday morning to Kurrajong, a pretty area of the lower Blue Mountains and home to the start of the famous Bell’s Line of Road, the northern western bound access to Lithgow. The epiphany courtesy of the fact the reason we were on the way there was for day two of the little athletics carnival that our two kids were participating in.
The epiphany itself? That little athletics can be a metaphor for a car and this car in particular. Truly. The Outlander diesel has a 2.2L capacity, offering a maximum power of 110 kilowatts and a very handy 360 torques. They’re available between 1500 to 2750 and ideal for the easy run from home to Kurrajong, via the sometimes curvy, sometimes twisty, but mostly straightish Hawkesbury Road into the southern reaches of Richmond, a few kilometres from the RAAF base, before the westbound journey into the lower reaches of the Blue Mountains.
This means that it’s like a long distance runner, cruising along in a ten thousand metre race. There’s the get off the line grunt before settling into economy mode, barely breaking a mechanical sweat as you ease towards the finish line. Economy figures back that up with just 7.8 litres of dino juice imbibed after a predominantly urban 440 kilometres.
Whilst you’re inside the seven seater, there’s plenty of room to enjoy, both for legs and heads. That means that you’re leading the race and by a good margin. There’s even space to stretch the legs up front, the same as being in that final twenty metres of a sprint and needing that extra pace. Those seven seats could be likened to an athlete that excels is more than just one discipline, with flexibility the key.
One thing that stands out about the LS is just how comfortable it is. There’s cloth, not leather covered, seats, making getting back into the curvaceously bodied machine a lot easier to deal with on a hot day with hot and sweaty children. The rear row of seats fold up and down at the simple pull of a strap, with 128 litres of cargo (plus a 12V socket) with the rear seats up, enough for some esky bags and camp chairs, and when flat along with the middle row, allow 1608 litres of room.
The steering is well weighted, and quite precise, just like a well practiced discus thrower. Think of the spin and throw and landing the disc in the same spot every time, precisely. Or a javelin, as you pick up the spear, judge its heft, the same as you would the steering into the tight turns of the Hawkesbury Road, and hurl it ensuring it buries itself nose first, just as you’d have the steering tell the nose of the Outlander exactly where to go. And it does.
Then there’s that engine. It’ll purr along like a long distance runner, as mentioned, but it also has the sheer outright oomph that a hammer thrower, or shot putter, needs to launch the weight of the thing far and away. Wind it up into the torque zone, select 4WD lock from the three mode 4WD system, and it’ll happily pull itself up hill, over rocks, through puddles up to around 20 cm in depth nicely on the 18 inch diameter 225/55 tyres.
This particular Mitsubishi Outlander LS AWD is fitted with Mitsubishi’s “Safety Pack”. Parking sensors front and rear complement the reverse park camera and airbags, then there’s the Lane Departure Warning system, Forward Collision Alert and Adaptive Cruise Control, which measures the distance ahead of the car whilst in cruise control and adapts speed to suit. Think of doing a long jump and adjusting your run up to the jump knowing you have centimetres more to achieve.
Lob in Autonomous Emergency Braking, or pulling up if your run up is misjudged and before you cross the jump line, and it’s a well featured package. For extra additional enjoyment there’s the seven inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and DAB radio, just like a pair of lightweight running shoes that aid performance without being intrusive.
As an everyday transport, the Mitsubishi Outlander LS (priced at the time of writing at $41990 driveaway without safety pack), with seven seats, diesel with oomph, the safety extras, and comfortable ride, is a revelation and as adaptable as a good athlete. With a five year warranty, 12 months roadside assistance, and three years capped priced servicing, it’s as good value as seeing your kids make their way through to the next level of little athletics.
Level 2, 9 Help Street