I have been impressed with the taut steering of the Camry and had that impression reinforced today. Almost 400 miles interstate highway driving at sustained high speed, steering and suspension making the task less tiring than I anticipated.
The seat still isn’t as comfy for me as the previous split bench or the true bench seat before that but still better than other current cars I test drove when buying this one. But the beauty of power seats is being able to tweak seating adjustment on the go.
Speaking of … ahem… speed, the engine purred along fine at 75 - 80 mph. The four cylinders lag a mite on uphills unless kicked a bit, but such is the nature of 4s versus a 6 or 8.
In a passing situation where a jerk tried to race me I discovered my buggy securely handles at somewhere around 92 - 95 mph. Impressive.
And, yes, I drove much of the way at speeds 5 - 10 mph over the posted limit. I was pacing the prevailing speed of other traffic on good roads in clear weather conditions. I’m one of the first to slow down if conditions warrant such.
I’ll check the oil in the morning, curious to see if prolonged high speeds used any.
So far it’s been happy motoring. Now where is that Silver Cloud that needs a fast spin?
Glad you’re having a good trip. I forgot where you were going but somewhere up there north of Peoria on 55 is supposed to be the Pontiac Museum in Pontiac, Il. A private collection I guess according to Hemmings.
@Marnet-I am going to assume your last post was a creative writing exercise. Driving 5 to 10 over the speed limit with a burst to 90 + in a vehicle with 3 patched tires.
“Driving 5 to 10 over the speed limit with a burst to 90 + in a vehicle with 3 patched tires.”
Tires are generally repaired with a patch/plug, not a patch. No tire repair facility with any assets to protect would use them if the integrity of the tire was at risk. Most of these shops follow guidelines on proper use for repairs. Most (all?) will not patch/plug a hole a hole in the tread larger than a nail or screw hole and will not repair within an inch or so of the tire sidewall.
That Cloud II is back in St Louis. Rent it for a weekend lark when you return. Don’t drive it fast, though. It won’t handle nearly as well as your Camry and it has drum brakes.
@“VOLVO V70” No, that was not creative writing. Interstate speed limit in IL is 70 mph. On the drive up prevailing speed of traffic was well over 80. I settled for 80 as a compromise between not getting run over and not driving stupidly fast. The good road, clear weather, and the car handled it quite smoothly. As to a short burst of between 90 to 95, when some jerk is playing dangerous games and my slowing down to let him go on ahead doesn’t work, then I have no scruples about flooring it and leaving the danger far behind. Had I been pulled over and ticketed for such a speed burst I would have accepted the ticket without argument. I would have explained why I drove that fast but not argued it as an excuse. By the way, in 41 years of driving I have received only one speeding ticket which I freely confess I earned. My temper was doing my driving. Early, expensive lesson learned.
The return drive averaged 5 to 10 mph slower as prevailing traffic had toned down due to weekend heavy speed enforcement by state troopers. That was fine by me, it made for more relaxed driving.
As to the tires, I do have a practical question. And I am not being a smart aleck in asking. I am genuinely curious. Since the properly plugged tires were vetted as totally road worthy for long distance highway speeds driving with the shop knowing I would be driving about 800 miles round trip on roads with prevailing speeds of 70 to 80 mph, why should actually driving such on the tires be any more problematic than had I puttered along at say 60 to 65 while having every car and big rig dangerously running up my tail pipe?
I really don’t think it makes any difference. The danger in additional speed would likely be increased heat of the tires which could put more strain on them and the additional handling problem in the event a tire went south. A properly repaired tire though to me wouldn’t be a blow out risk, but rather could at some point develop a slow leak. That wouldn’t be a danger, just an inconvenience. Sounds like your tires though are good as new but like I said personally, it would drive me nuts until it was time to get new ones.
So long as these hold up I will put up with them awhile longer. The house next door is undergoing a gut rehab. And after several months delay, final finishing work on mine is due. No point buying new tires yet, if I can safely avoid it, until the risk of picking up more nails is past. The tires have only 20k wear, about 6k of that since three were plugged.
Yeah, people think I’m looking for money but I’m really looking for nails and screws and actually find quite a few. I think cars should have those magnets on the front.
Our roofer had a large magnet to pick up nails, if you are concerned about getting more nail you can get one and sweep for nails. I am on board with tires have been repaired to the point they ar ok. But would theorize the more repairs the worse.
22bucks, something like this
At work, I spend a few minutes every week walking the area looking for nails, screws, rivets, etc. on the pavement
I grab that stuff and dump it in the metal bin, so that some poor slob doesn’t get a flat tire
On the premises, we have carpenters, roofers, painters, welders, plumbers, etc. It’s actually very much like a base. We even have gate guards at both entrances to the facilities
So plenty of stuff literally falls of the backs of trucks
I’ve worked there for several years, and I haven’t picked up a nail in my personal car yet. I’d like to think I’m partially responsible for that
My contractor has run a magnet like that several times. But a few sneaky nails keep randomly surfacing in the yard and some maliciously crawl out onto the driveway or street.