Got my MoJo back

[JimIsbell]

I am putting this under modifications because it relates to two mods and suggests another.

Recently, 1134 miles ago, I did a couple of mods to my car.

1) I widened the rear stance by 1/4" which reduced the problem of getting "stuck" in the rain grooves on the Interstate concrete highways. The standard spacing of the rain grooves is just such that it can "capture" the rear wheels. Its not serious but when it happens you feel a slight tug at the steering when you move a bit to one side or the other in your lane. Adding a 1/8" spacer behind each of the rear wheels solves the problem. I learned this from Willie (the little red rocket).

2) the second mod was to put Civic rain visors across the top of the two windows. This will increase mileage by allowing me to open the windows a crack when its hot rather than turning on the AC which costs 5 to 7 mpg. (this is also a Willie mod)

3) Then I put all new tires (correct Bridgestone Portenzas, yes) on the car.

Immediately thereafter I lost about 10 mpg on average!!! I was devastated and very frustrated. BUT, I had remembered someone mentioning that putting on new tires could cause a loss of mileage until they "ran in". What ever that meant.

So I soldiered on waiting for the mileage to come back. I was also worried that the drop might have been caused by the rain visors disrupting the air flow. But I knew that even running with the windows OPEN I had never gotten such bad mileage. I also worried that the rear track modification might have screwed things up, but 1/4"...I dont think so. I was getting an abysmal 53 mpg around town in rain and AC 50% of the time. Usually in those conditions I expect 62 mpg. After 750 miles I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I was getting 56 mpg. Then at 1000 miles, I am back on top of the world.

MORAL:
Dont ever do three mods at the same time!!! Its too frustrating trying to figure out which one caused the improvement/degradation.

So the Myth of having to "run in" the tires may have some validity.

Now, what causes this? My thoughts are that maybe it takes 1000 miles to round off the rough edges..radial inequities? Maybe the tread needs "smoothing out"? I dont know, but I think it would be nice to buy "pre run" tires......but then I would loose 1000 miles of tread wear???

Anyway, if anyone else experiences this, its just two tanks of gas till it goes away.