"Thunder" (Thunder)
11/21/2016 at 13:33 • Filed to: None
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"Thunder" (Thunder)
11/21/2016 at 13:33 • Filed to: None | 0
| 2 |
The slide time of the year is here. I used to love it, when I lived in that winter wonderland that is upstate NY.
See, I went away for a weekend camping trip, and when I came home my wife had purchased a (new) 1999 Dodge Avenger Sport. Sport meaning basically decontented - it had the 2.5 liter V6, but not much more. Whatever - it was new.
The problem with it, and with its badge-engineered brethren, was... well, lots of things, but the turn radius is what I’m on about. It was, to my recollection, 43 feet. For comparison, that was larger than a Ford Excursion. What that caused was massive frustration every time you went to park the blasted thing. You know, in general, the rate at which a car turns - you use that every time you park. It’s how you know when to start your turn, take it to the lock, and release as you enter the spot.
In the Avenger, though, that invariably resulted in not quite turning rapidly enough, requiring you to three-point your way into the spot.
So this time of year, as the snow started to blanket everything with a nice low-friction sheen, was when I could compensate for that turn radius with a corresponding E-brake slide. Anytime there was enough room to do so safely, a little blip of the handbrake and all was well again.
To all I left behind when I escaped the Utica/Syracuse area... enjoy slip-sliding around. Just not too much - it can get expensive.
P.S. this pic is a bonus - it’s potentially the very car we had, being for sale near where we disposed of the lump of absolute crap. Same kind of hubcaps on steelies, in fact, no foglights... I’m thinking this is the one.
Reece-Current Stinger GT owner
> Thunder
11/21/2016 at 14:02 |
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Rochester Area reporting in here. I drove my 96 Tahoe and had many of the slides.
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Thunder
> Reece-Current Stinger GT owner
11/21/2016 at 16:30 |
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I’m sure. :-)
But your turn radius was probably more commensurate with a vehicle of that size. The Avenger just needed a tugboat to develop a reasonable rate of turn for its size.