How far can I drive with a bad wheel bearing?
Main thing is - get it fixed PDQ (pretty darn quick). Driving with a bad wheel bearing can cause the axle/hub/spindle to weld itself from friction and heat causing the wheel to lock up and spin you out. More likely, the metal will wear away from the friction and the wheel/hub will become loose. If the affected wheel has a disc brake, the brake caliper and rotor might hold the wheel onto the axle for a while, but will eventually fail too.I drove a car I had just bought in a different state about 2,000 miles (3,200 Km) to get back home. The front wheel bearings were whining the whole time, but the wheels were still fairly tight (negligible play). One of the first things I ordered upon arriving home was a new set of wheel bearings.If you jack up the vehicle and there is any play (i.e.: slackness or wiggle) in the affected wheel(s), don't drive the vehicle because you might just get overtaken by your own wheel (no longer attached to & supporting the vehicle) while driving down the road. Any play in the wheel could also be caused by worn suspension and/or steering components which should also be replaced PDQ (and a wheel alignment done post repair). Again, this could cause a wheel to come out from under the vehicle and/or point in a different direction and cause you to have a wreck.Get it fixed posthaste.<><
Is it true that front-wheel drive cars are bad for snow, like if one wheel gets stuck in snow it won't come out?
Back in the dark ages when I was a kid, there was no internet, no smart phones, and no FWD cars. Well, almost no FWD cars. They we just being introduced to the US for mass consumption. In those days if you lived in an area that got regular snow fall in the winter you had to go to a junkyard and buy a couple of, (hopefully fairly straight) used wheels that would fit your car. Then you’d take your two extra wheels to a tire shop or corner full service gas station and purchase two studded snow tires and have them installed on the wheels. Then depending on what time of year it is, you’d either have your newly mounted studded snow tires installed on the rear drive axle of your car or thrown in the trunk so that you could store them in the garage until needed.I have friends who are 10 or so years older than me who tell stories of working endless hours at the corner service station in high school when the first snow storm of the season was being called for just switching the two back wheels on cars with the snow tires in the trunk.When the majority of the cars from the ‘60’s & ‘70’s (mostly tear drive) had rusted out and had been used up, they were replaced with front wheel drive cars in the ‘80’s & ‘90’s. I remember the first time I drove a FWD car on winter roads. I was amazed at how sure footed it was compared to all the rear drive vehicles I was used to driving!It is my opinion that FWD cars are one of many reasons why we don’t have the corner full service gas station anymore. FWD cars don’t need studded snow tires, so all that business went away. In fact, in most of the states where the use of studded snow tires was common back in the old days, it is now illegal to use them because they aren’t necessary for 99% of the vehicles on the road and they tear up the pavement.So in summary, no! FWD is not bad in snow. It’s the best thing to ever happen to winter driving in my opinion.Note: For everyone out there who loves to pick a part people’s answers, please don’t bother. For example: of course I know that Cords from the ‘30’s and Eldorados & Toronados from the ‘60’s & ‘70’s were FWD. It doesn’t matter. Of course 4WD is superior to FWD. It doesn’t matter. Including every minute detail in an answer is not nessasary or enjoyable to read in my humble opinion.
FR-S ideas for rims, wheels, lights, etc?
So I'm going to buy the 2014, or 2015 when it comes out, scion frs. I really want it to be unique. Originally I wanted to completely black it out, but then I came across the term "murdered out" and realized how ghetto that was. But I still am pretty set on a black frs. So I'm looking for not too drastic ideas for a black car? Right now I'm kind of thinking white tires, black rims, and some led headlights and cooler tail lights. Or black tires and some cool chrome rims? And maybe some slight changes with a body kit. Any other ideas?
What happens to the kinetic energy of the car, when it is stopped by applying brakes?
A moving car has a lot of kinetic energy. When you apply the brakes, that energy of motion is transformed into something else, and the car slows down.Most cars use friction brakes, which inhibit motion by converting kinetic energy to heat. Because cars are massive and move fast, they have a lot of energy to convert. That means brakes get very hot, 450[math]^\circ[/math]C or more during typical use.As brakes heat, they fade (become weaker) and eventually fail (that's why it's good to shift into a lower gear on a long downhill grade rather than ride the brakes). During extreme use, brakes can even catch on fire:More advanced automobiles use regenerative braking, where a portion of the kinetic energy is converted to electrical energy and stored in batteries (this is not 100% efficient and a significant fraction of the kinetic energy is still converted to heat). Regenerative braking adds cost and complexity to the design, but also adds a lot of efficiency (it's one reason a Prius gets > 50 mpg) and extends the life of the braking system.
Size tire for 2006 Scion XB with 15" rims?
There are a number of Scion enthusiast sites that will give the group experience with wider/taller tires on various size rims. That said, the difference in size you are talking about isn't much. The tire will be very slightly taller than the 195/60 you now have. 195/60 gives a tire height (" aspect ratio") of 117 mm. 195/65 gives a tire height of 126.75. This compares to the original aspect ratio of 185/60, or 111mm, or an increase of 12.4% if you use the 195/65 tire. The difference is obviously even less if you are comparing to the 195/60. The concern is whether the tire will rub on the wheel well when the tires are at maximum turn. I can't answer that one, sorry. I would GUESS, and it is only a GUESS, that if you aren't having interference problems now, you PROBABLY won't have with a 195/65. Good luck
If the size of the front tires is less than the rear tires then what will happen?
Nothing. It depends on smaller in which dimension. If they front tires are narrower, then that is referred to as a “staggered setup” and most Porsche 911s have that setup. If the diameter of the front wheels are smaller, like 18″ and the rear wheels are larger 19″ then that effects the “stance” of the car and helps the car handle better. In this picture, the front wheels are 18″ and the rears are 19″ diameter. The fronts are also 9″ wide and the rears 10″ wide.