After some of the other ...

.... questions asked here, I should feel too bad about mine.

After a long series of financial setbacks, I had to buy the cheapest
transportation available to me (at 63 and with an amputated right foot, a
bicycle or motorcycle were not options).

I wound up with a 1990 Buick Century Limited with 156,000 miles. It seemed
to be in very good condition, excluding the sagging headliner (fabric
Cooper's droop). Little did I know that the radiator (original) had not
been properly cared for. It went last week.

With a serpentine belt and oil change, the whole thing was a little over
$400.

The car (3.3 V6 automatic) runs surprisingly well, partially because of its
relative light weight (approx. 2800 lbs). It's not much heavier than the
2000 Civic I lost during the "troubles."

The disappointment is the 14" wheels and tires. Are there any compatible
15" wheels (bolt pattern and off set) that I can put 205 65 tires to improve
the handling and maybe the gas mileage (18 city)?

Would a drop in K&N filter help anything? No, I'm not going the "tuner"
route on a 14 year old car.


--
Kent Finnell
From the Music City USA

Kent Finnell wrote in alt.autos.gm

> ... questions asked here, I should feel too bad about mine.
>
> After a long series of financial setbacks, I had to buy the cheapest
> transportation available to me (at 63 and with an amputated right foot,
> a bicycle or motorcycle were not options).
>
> I wound up with a 1990 Buick Century Limited with 156,000 miles. It
> seemed to be in very good condition, excluding the sagging headliner
> (fabric Cooper's droop). Little did I know that the radiator (original)
> had not been properly cared for. It went last week.
>
> With a serpentine belt and oil change, the whole thing was a little over
> $400.
>
> The car (3.3 V6 automatic) runs surprisingly well, partially because of
> its relative light weight (approx. 2800 lbs). It's not much heavier
> than the 2000 Civic I lost during the "troubles."
>
> The disappointment is the 14" wheels and tires. Are there any
> compatible 15" wheels (bolt pattern and off set) that I can put 205 65
> tires to improve the handling and maybe the gas mileage (18 city)?
>
> Would a drop in K&N filter help anything? No, I'm not going the "tuner"
> route on a 14 year old car.

I can't help you with the tires, that is something that can best be
answered at a tire store. However, the K & N filter will not help.
It supposedly increases air flow, but that would only help when the
engine is straining for everything it can get, such as pushing your
foot to the floor. For normal driving the computer monitors the amount
of air coming into the engine, through the MAF and the throttle position
and adjusts the fuel flow to maintain the proper ratio. Only if you open
the throttle all the way will a filter that allows more air flow help. And
then only if the original filter did not pass enough air to fill the
engine.


--
Dick #1349
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
~Benjamin Franklin

Home Page: dickcr.iwarp.com
email: dickcr@comcast.net

What's the original tire size on the car? You can get wider tires and
preserve the 14" wheels and overall diameter of the tire if you size them
correctly. Tires are sized by w/hRd where w represents the width of the
tire, h represents the sidewall height divided by the width expressed as a
percentage, and d represents the wheel diameter. So, if you keep the 14"
rims, then choose another tire size where w multiplied by h is the same.
For example, my last car had size 205/70R14 tires. To change them to a
wider, better handling tire, I decided to go with a 60 series. So, I
multiplied 205 by 70 and divided by 60 to get 239. I then chose a tire
size of 235/60R14 and was quite happy with the performance. The thing to
be careful of is whether you have enough room to install the tires without
rubbing fenders or struts or wheel wells.

When asked why I mounted the white letters on the outside on my Taurus
wagon, I replied, "to make the car go faster, of course."

>
> When asked why I mounted the white letters on the outside on my Taurus
> wagon, I replied, "to make the car go faster, of course."
>

I prefer the spinner hubcaps to up the horses on my ride...OH and one of
those big fat mufflers that make my car sound more powerful too!!!

Eightupman wrote:
>>When asked why I mounted the white letters on the outside on my Taurus
>>wagon, I replied, "to make the car go faster, of course."
>>
>
>
> I prefer the spinner hubcaps to up the horses on my ride...OH and one of
> those big fat mufflers that make my car sound more powerful too!!!
>


I chose another way. No hubcaps at all. Instead
I mounted a big alternator on each wheel. And a
12 volt starter motor.

With this arrangement as soon as I get 'er up to
60 mph it's already moving well over 100.

And I save lots of gas, too!

Ken

I suggest www.tirerack.com as a great source for tires, rims and best
of all, extensive information on those subjects.


On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 0235 GMT, Ken Weitzel <kweitzel@shaw.ca>
wrote:

>
>
>Eightupman wrote:
>>>When asked why I mounted the white letters on the outside on my Taurus
>>>wagon, I replied, "to make the car go faster, of course."
>>>
>>
>>
>> I prefer the spinner hubcaps to up the horses on my ride...OH and one of
>> those big fat mufflers that make my car sound more powerful too!!!
>>
>
>
>I chose another way. No hubcaps at all. Instead
>I mounted a big alternator on each wheel. And a
>12 volt starter motor.
>
>With this arrangement as soon as I get 'er up to
>60 mph it's already moving well over 100.
>
>And I save lots of gas, too!
>
>Ken
>



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