Sep 27, 2022
Okay, everyone, it is puzzler time. And since we have had a few fun ones, I think it's time for a genuine automotive puzzler.
I was reminded of this puzzler because the seasons are changing and it is getting colder.
So, many years ago a customer had an issue with her old station wagon, an old Volvo, or something like that. A woman comes in and says, "My husband decided to tune up the family car. Since he tuned it up, the car has been terrible in the snow. Just terrible." She said, "I want you to check my snow tires. Must be there's something wrong with the tires now. There's too little air? I don't know, but I can no longer drive my car in the snow. I can't take off in the snow. But I also cannot stop the car in the snow. What's going on here? What did he do to my car?"
So that is the puzzler. What did her husband do to her car?
Good luck!
And now, for the puzzler answer for this week.
You all remember, I hope. A woman says her husband tuned up the car. And ever since then, it drives horribly in the snow. She can't stop in the snow, so she thinks that maybe there's something wrong with the snow tires. She wants us to check it out.
So, what did he do to the car?
Here it is.
After the tune-up, the car was idling too fast. And this causes issues when you try to stop and go. I'll explain.
The reason that it happens on this kind of car, it wouldn't happen on most modern front wheel drive cars, is that on rear wheel drive cars the brakes are proportioned so that when you step on the brake, most of the braking force goes to the front wheels and the back wheels don't get any braking action until you apply considerable pressure to the brake pedal.
So in this case, when the back wheels are getting power from the engine that was idling too fast, and not getting much pressure from the master cylinder so they would continue to spin making the car difficult to stop and also making it difficult for the car to go, because as soon as you took your foot off the brake, the rear wheels would begin to spin because of the additional idle speed which is, by the way, the reason it doesn't happen with front wheel drive cars.
The front wheels are turning and there's more brake pressure applied to the front wheels.
