Basic (stupid) questions about gas and diesel engines.

[SmallChange]

I have seen old cars with a vacuum gauge [...]

Remember following a slow line of traffic downhill in the rain, with the engine holding you back and the windshield wipers furiously whipping back and forth? Then you get the chance to pass, so you floor it and pull into the oncoming lane -- and the wipers nearly come to a stop just when you need them most?

Let's just say many cars did have a vacuum gage, but whenever it happened to be raining, you didn't need one.

Sorry... a tangent I just had to share...

 

[Tinhack]

I have seen old cars with a vacuum gauge as an indicator of how economically you are driving. A smaller throttle opening means less air and more vacuum, which means less fuel is needed.

I had one on my first car--A 1952 Chevy Coupe I drove to high school in 1965. There was indeed a correlation of high vacuum and gas mileage. Regular gas was 19 cents a gallon back then but a high school wage was only about 90 cents an hour. I had to stretch every mile out that gas back then.

 

[MossRoad]

...

I have seen old cars with a vacuum gauge as an indicator of how economically you are driving. ....

Our kid's less than 10 year old Subaru has one. Look at the lower left corner.

 

[MossRoad]

Remember following a slow line of traffic downhill in the rain, with the engine holding you back and the windshield wipers furiously whipping back and forth? Then you get the chance to pass, so you floor it and pull into the oncoming lane -- and the wipers nearly come to a stop just when you need them most?

Let's just say many cars did have a vacuum gage, but whenever it happened to be raining, you didn't need one.

Sorry... a tangent I just had to share...

I remember riding with a friend in high school and his wipers kept varying in speed. I got pretty annoyed and asked him why he didn't fix it? He had to explain to me what vacuum operated wipers were. I told him to get a different car.

 

[dodge man]

You let your 10 year old kid drive? Sorry somehow that’s how I read it the first time.

 

[MossRoad]

You let your 10 year old kid drive? Sorry somehow that’s how I read it the first time.

No. We let her drive when she was 2. She'd stand in my lap and steer the G20 van conversation around the state park. I'd work the pedals. Due to airbags, seatbelt laws, and an influx of common sense, we stopped letting her drive when she turned 3.