[V8] re: tires et al

[Roger M. Woodbury]

The reason that allignment and balance are indicated when changing tires,
especially on a high performance car, is that the roads in eastern Maine,
especially east of Ellsworth, get progressively rougher and crowned, and
driving on them wears everything about a car much faster than you would
believe possible.  Much the same can be said for other places with rural
roads and inclement weather.  The upper peninsular of Michigan comes to
mind.  By the time a set of tires has worn to replacement, the allignment is
in need of resetting, and quite possibly, more work to the suspension needs
to be done as well.

I'm not going to even touch a discussion about "speed limits" being
interpreted by the Fundamental Speed Law.  It is a pointless argument.  Here
in this state, if you are going 50 miles per hour in a zone posted at 45
miles per hour, and get issued a citation you will pay a fine equal to at
least $50 plus $1 for every mile per hour over the posted speed limit.  WILL
you be stopped?  I dunno.  I do know that a radar citation is unimpeachable
in this state, and local traffic judges have NO sense of humor.

I tried an experiment with my old 5000CS Avant Quattro, and bought "V" rated
tires as replacements.  Those were the Yokohama's I think, and at that time
if memory serves, the AVS-S4 was a brand new tire.  While the sidewalls
might have been stiffer, and the response through curves and so forth, might
have been better at "normal" speeds, the simple fact was that the tires
melted, and the added cost of the higher alphabetization of the tire was
simply not worth it in a real world sense.

As far as your comments concerning the dark nights in Maine, if you haven't
experienced it, then I suggest you take a chance and drive up.  If you go,
say about ten miles east of Ellsworth, and head east on a moonless winter
night, there are places where there are no street or house lights within
fifteen miles or more to provide ambient light.  There are very few places
in the eastern portion of the country where this total lack of other than
star or moonlight exists.

Roger