Extreme Heat and Extreme Cold

[JohnBM01]

Before I begin this topic, I would like to wish the Houston Astros luch as they continue their road trip after recently beating the Chicago Cubs on the road. Good job, Roger Clemens. Keep it up!

Okay, I don't really follow baseball, but good luck to them. Now on to business. When I made my "Car Paint" topic, I think Moderator Boombexus mentioned something about cars with chipping paints in the cold. But for this topic, I just want to bring up the topic of extreme heat and extreme cold, and how to deal with it when driving.

Here in Houston, temperatures nowadays are in the upper 80s to even the low 100s later in the year. My mother dislikes leather seats because they can get too hot in the summer. And now that I think about it, I agree. She also dislikes convertibles, with the sun rays beating down on the car in the heat of the day. When it's cold here, it isn't anything like in Denver or Seattle. Temperatures here can be in the upper 60s to the low 30s sometimes. When driving, turn up that heat! Put in that antifreeze! And if you catch a cold, get ready for 3 days to 2 weeks of trying to cure it.

GTPlanet, this topic is open for discussion of extreme hot and cold and the impact of driving with such conditions. Reply at will, people.

 

[MazKid]

Wow...such a wide range of temps you got there...

In St. Louis, we go down to at times 0 to sub 0F in the winter and 100s are possible in the summer. Which do I hate more? The heat. Since I drive a power-challenged car, putting on the AC is like hitting the button to deduct 20hp. It's a noticable difference that makes any kind of acceleration-needing driving(or my spirited driving) very risky. So I have to drive with the windows down, and I have allergies(Flonase REALLY helps, great stuff!), so I'll be going 80+ with the windows down creating a condition known as "Ram-Air Allergies". Also it gets very loud to drive with the windows down going that fast(alright, so I've gone like 90 with the windows down).
When it's cold, the 323 might start slightly slower, but the heater works great. Also, the car just plows through snow, out of our 7 cars it's the one that never is a problem to drive in the white stuff. The only other issue is waiting for the transmission to get warm enough to shift into 4th, and sometimes it's so cold that if I go flat out it'll delay the shift to 2nd that I can feel the car stop accelerating and it'll just hang there for a sec or 2. I did that twice and figure it might cause a problem, and I didn't have my tach then.

Leather seats, I hate em. Actually, the new types of preforated leather(comes in the 6 and 3 I think...god I drove like a dozen of em last night at work and I can't remember) are better with heat, but still, cloth wins for me. Ofcourse I have tweed...

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by MazKid

Leather seats, I hate em. Actually, the new types of preforated leather(comes in the 6 and 3 I think...god I drove like a dozen of em last night at work and I can't remember) are better with heat, but still, cloth wins for me. Ofcourse I have tweed...

I think you people think that all leather is like leather used in mainstream cars - hard, cold in the cold and hot in the hot, uninviting, and above all, cheap. In newer, more expensive cars, leather is getting to be extremely comforting - the new Audi A8 and Porsche Cayenne are two examples, and Mercedes and Lexus have packages optional on several vehicles that make their standard leather even better. Leather upholstery is no longer what it used to be.

 

[JohnBM01]

M5, it is always nice to have you share your car knowledge. Wonderful person you are.

So leather nowadays isn't as hot as it can be around this time of year? I think some people buy covers or towels or something for hot conditions. I remember when I was younger, my mother had a St Regis, this Dodge I think (God, I hated that car). And when it was hot, the seats were pretty hot to sit in. Then I think as you get used to some of the seats, they tend to stick to you until you get out. Don't you hate that? Now we have some more comfortable seating in my mother's van. Don't know what material it is, but it doesn't get hot or stick to you or whatever.

I think I've heard some heat issues. Anyone in here want to further talk about really cold conditions?

 

[flohtingPoint]

Motor oil. Heavy in summer, lighter in winter. I run Mobil 1 15W-50 during the hot season and Mobil 1 10W-30 during winter.

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by JohnBM01

So leather nowadays isn't as hot as it can be around this time of year? I think some people buy covers or towels or something for hot conditions. I remember when I was younger, my mother had a St Regis, this Dodge I think (God, I hated that car). And when it was hot, the seats were pretty hot to sit in. Then I think as you get used to some of the seats, they tend to stick to you until you get out. Don't you hate that? Now we have some more comfortable seating in my mother's van. Don't know what material it is, but it doesn't get hot or stick to you or whatever.

Well, there's been a good share of bad leather - the 1994-1997 Honda Accord and all early Lexuses are decent examples of leather that seemingly cost no money to develop and just pissed people off. And there's still bad leather - pretty much anything in vehicles under $25000, and most Korean products are examples (Hyundai Tiburon may be today's worst offender - though the Hyundai XG350 and Kia Amanti aren't so bad). But I find that people who comment about how bad leather is usually haven't owned a newer vehicle with it equipped - even the current Toyota Corolla's leather upholstery seems pretty upscale to me.

 

[Duke]

The factory leather on my wife's '95 Neon - yup, 1 of about 450 - is decently comfortable and the seats are wearing well enough for a 10-year-old car. They are not very hot or cold, certainly not compared to the old vinyl days. I still carry the scars from leaving a convertible parked in the sun, even with white seats.

 

[phattboy]

Originally posted by M5Power


Well, there's been a good share of bad leather - the 1994-1997 Honda Accord and all early Lexuses are decent examples of leather that seemingly cost no money to develop and just pissed people off. And there's still bad leather - pretty much anything in vehicles under $25000, and most Korean products are examples (Hyundai Tiburon may be today's worst offender - though the Hyundai XG350 and Kia Amanti aren't so bad). But I find that people who comment about how bad leather is usually haven't owned a newer vehicle with it equipped - even the current Toyota Corolla's leather upholstery seems pretty upscale to me. [/B]

Things 5 blocks from Wall St. must be different than what we're used to out here in South Dakota. Almost immediately after we moved cows in, we discovered that if we raised our cows natural like (as opposed to developing them), the leather turned out better. We call 'em upscale cows for upscale leather cause you have to get 'em up on a scale to weigh them before you can sell them. Sounds like them Korean folks ought to be buying our "upscale" cows.

And of course, bad leather comes from bad cows... you know, the kind that don't obey their mamas...

phattboy

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by phattboy
And of course, bad leather comes from bad cows... you know, the kind that don't obey their mamas...

Do they wear black leather jackets made from good cows?

 

[phattboy]

Originally posted by neon_duke
Do they wear black leather jackets made from good cows?

And boots too! Ridin' Hogs! Hogs don't like it much though and not much they can do about it either.

Bad cows are kinda random don't ya know... Yup that's it... Random Rowdy Cow gangs roamin' round hell bent for leather for sure. We ain't got many of them kind out here. They'ld be ranch scurge. We're mostly Leather Bound Bible Belt Cow parishes. No gang cattle. The Cowboys make sure of that.

phattboy

 

[1X83Z]

Originally posted by phattboy
Things 5 blocks from Wall St. must be different than what we're used to out here in South Dakota.

It's sooo ironic that you bring this up, because since Wednesday I've seen ten cars from South Dakota, eight of which were from Pennington County/Rapid City (the others were from #9 and #37, but I only know that 1 = Minnehaha/Sioux Falls and 2 = Pennington/Rapid City). Anyway, it's extremely rare to see cars from South Dakota, and now I'm talking to someone from South Dakota, and really it's just a damn overload of South Dakota.

 

[phattboy]

Yep... We had some folks strike it rich. Leather futures in Korea kinda thing or something. Them cars you saw musta been headed up the street 5 blocks. SD hillbillys movin' on up to the East Side.

Next up... Cattle Trucks from SD headed to the docks I spose.

Yep... We're a damn overload alright...

BTW: I'm from Rapid City.

phattboy

 

[Boost Lee]

Hillbillys? Yeah, Rapid City is definitely hickville..

 

[phattboy]

Originally posted by Monster7
Hillbillys? Yeah, Rapid City is definitely hickville..

That snide comment of course coming from the left coast of South Dakota which I think should be annexed by Minnesota.

BTW: Bad cows come from the left coast of SD.

phattboy

 

[1X83Z]

My god, more people from South Dakota!

This is why I've only committed #1 and #2 to memory, because most of South Dakota's population is from those two counties - this is a great example of it: the only two people from South Dakota with internet access just happen to be from there! (and on GTP!)

And the South Dakota overload continues...

. Them cars you saw musta been headed up the street 5 blocks.

Down the street, actually - if I lived five blocks below Wall Street, I'd be living at the National Museum of the American Indian. And speaking of South Dakota...

 

[phattboy]

"Up... Down..."

"American... Indian..."

Same thing only different...

phattboy

 

[Boost Lee]

Snide? No, the truth is Rapid City is gorgeous. It's like looking at a painting, the problem is that painting get's old. The other problem with Rapid is how you're constantly being reminded that this land and this land is owned by the Indians.

How dare they claim the land we stole from them..

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

Hiya!

In California, the weather changes from the years isnt really that much of a big deal from where I live in Cali. With the exception of the beach in the summer, its hot to about 95-100 at least and gets crowded and packed very easily in the morning. Anyways. I can offer in this thread of what my mom have to say about the weather in Michigan, East side of the USA!

She says that during the winter season, it is the most deadly one for cars if not taken care of properly. It will snow alot according to my momma. It will snow so much that it can completly coer our car and to find it frozen in the morning.

She said you would be lucky in the morning to take out all of the snow off of the car the next morning to find it not frozen in place. There is also a bad part that can happen in extreme cold weathered stats. Just turing on your car to warm it up in the snow can take up to 30 to 1 HOUR!!! just to get the car up to good operating temperature...Such pain in extreme cold states

 

[JohnBM01]

Wow, Lady McLaren. Of course, nothing like Detroit- the Motor City. But you're right. I just wanted to discuss extreme heat and cold and their correlation with cars. Because after all, you compare someone living in Los Angeles, CA, USA to someone in Portland, Maine, USA. Or if you want to go international, a difference between a car in Rio de Janerio, Brazil and a car in Stockholm, Sweden. No matter where you are in the world, you'll likely deal with extreme heat and cold. I think it is VERY wise to use antifreeze in the cold. And I guess you use Pennzoil or something to care for your engine in the heat. It's going to be in the lower 90s this weekend here in Houston. If it rains (probably will), temperatures won't be too high, I hope. I don't care what anyone says. It's basically summer here. Meaning: clear morning, cloudy afternoon (maybe some rain), clearing evening, and do it all over again the next day. So get your Kool-Aid and your flip-flops and your pool. It's a hot one.

So McLaren, what do you have to contribute to extreme heat? Or what does your mom say, at least?

 

[phattboy]

Okay, okay... I'll get back on topic.

Where I live in South Dakota temps range from potentially -20 in Jan/Feb to potentially 100+ in August. The funny thing is Rapid City is known as a "Banana Belt" because we sit nestled in on the eastern slopes of the Black Hills and are somewhat protected from what blows in in the winter. It more often than not, just blows out and around us to gather again on the plains 50 miles east. From time to time, a really cold stretch can settle in on us if we get in an inversion situation with the hills in Jan/Feb. In those times, it can be in the -teens one day and the next it can be 60.

I generally run 5-30w oil winter and 10-40 summer except on our newer car that gets plugged in when cold. That car (Jeep Grand Cherokee) ironically has leather seats however, they are heated which there is nothing like in the Winter. Sweeeet on a really cold day.

Farther north you go, you start noticing that even at motels, they have plugs for your cars in winter. You also learn certain practices that you deal with all winter. For example, every time you stop for a period of time in winter, you tilt out your wipers so when the windshield cools down from the warmth of the defrosters, your wipers don't freeze to the window for the moisture that has melted there while the defroster was warming it. Some folks even treat their windows by cutting open raw potatos and rubbing them down cause it keeps stuff from freezing on there.

Until the advent of all season radials, it was common practice to run studded snow tires in the winter and then switch to normal for the summer. We even still have laws on the books to make it illegal to run your studs past a certain date to avoid damaging the tarmac/asphalt.

My daddy taught me a long time ago the best thing you can do for your cooling system is run Antifreeze whether it is extreme heat or extreme cold for two reasons... Boiling points/Freezing points and anti-rust/gunk internally in the system.

Back to the subject of seats... I remember something worse than leather in heat/cold. Vinyl seats Now those babies will pucker your goods in summer and take a layer or two of your hide in the summer!!! Yikes!!!

phattboy

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

Hiya!

Oops Srry John that I messed up. My mom says that having leather seats during such a big cold weather is not fun at all even when you are still warming up your car in the snow. The leather seats will be very cold and will stick to your bare skin if you let your skin make contact to the leather of course!!!But the leather isnt sticky enough to freeze a portion of your skin and make it crack when you try to get off the seat.

 

[JohnBM01]

McLaren, darling... it's okay. I just wanted to ask about that. Temperatures here in Houston were around 90 degrees. It felt pretty hot. Houston in the summer is not like Los Angeles or anything. We don't have a lot of clear-sky and mostly sunny days here. Instead, we have a lot of clouds, sometimes being overcast or slightly overcast. I don't know if the clouds actually lessen or contribute to the heat we get. Whatever it was, the order of the day was shorts and muscle shirts for guys, and almost anything for girls, granted you had flip-flops or stylish sandals of some kind. But as far as the car goes, I think it would be very nice to check on your air conditioning because you'll need it if it's hot. My stepdad worked on it this past weekend or two weekends ago. So when I sit in the back either reading a magazine or doing some drawing or looking at cars, I feel pretty comfortable.

So, anyone else want to talk about extreme heat and/or cold?

 

[1X83Z]

So, anyone else want to talk about extreme heat and/or cold?

Yeah - I think there's some extreme heat going on between you and McLaren'sAngel.

 

[JohnBM01]

Easy, buddy...

My mother isn't really fond of convertibles. She thinks that people out in the sun with the top down are endangering themseles to UV rays and likely get skin cancer. Now when I had my first experience in a convertible, I could feel the wind blow through my short hair. And my brother was driving at night with a rental car, a Chrysler Sebring convertible. I don't know if a convertible can quickly cool off the car by dropping the top. In one way, it would make sense since the sun is above the car and while driving, dropping the top while driving would make for a wonderful experience. So if you had long hair like rock stars of the 1970s and 80s, prepare to have your hair fly into the wind. Anything else toi contribute to the topic?

When it gets cold here in Houston, I normally like to bundle up from the cold. The skies should be beautiful around those times here, but as I've said, temperatures down here aren't like Minnesota or Alaska. I guess dealing with the heat and cold are different wherever you live.