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#1506: The Suburban and the Moose

Feb 06, 2015
This week The Best of Car Talk kicks off with a tale that could only happen in Alaska. It starts with Mom spotting a moose near the driveway, and ends with the family’s Suburban driving through their basement— and taking the oil furnace with it. Then, in preparation for Valentine’s Day, we have two auto-marital disputes. Kit’s husband is trying to convince her that her car’s noise isn’t the brakes, just its mudflaps; and Angelina’s husband wants to put bigger tires on their Civic to improve its gas mileage. Also, why does Marcia’s Maxima smell like flatulence, even when her husband isn’t in the car? All this, plus a Puzzler from the Ceiling Light series, and lots more, this week on The Best of Car Talk.

Show Open Topic

Greetings from Our Fair Snow-Buried City.

This Week's Puzzler

The Hall of 20,000 Lights: Which lights are on in this unusual corridor?

Last Week's Puzzler

Pump Down the Mileage: Why did the Volvo lose mileage after getting a new fuel pump?

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2 Comments

Not such a good plan

Rated four stars, cause that's the only option for this program. But, I have to agree that answer was ridiculous. In addition to the aforementioned rolling resistance, there are serious concerns about changing tire size: Inaccurate speedometer and car geometry. Unless you are versed in tuning suspension, changing ride hight will do unsuspected things to the car's handling, and if you want to save money, paying tickets because you can't see your actual speed won't help. And oh yeah, clearance regarding bumps and steering, etc.
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Every time I listen
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This answer made me cringe!

I have never actually been angry with a response before. But the response to the caller who was asking the question about wheel diameter and mileage was absurd. Although you could upgrade to 14" wheels on a car with 13" wheels, you can't have a significantly greater overall diameter, so the tires on the taller wheels would have a shorter sidewall, but the same overall diameter, and likely be wider. Thus more rubber on the road, more rolling friction, and worse mileage. The fact remains that the car has a certain weight and drag coefficient, and to move the same vehicle through the same space at the same speed is going to require almost the exact same amount of energy, therefore require nearly the exact same amount of fuel.
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