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The Chronicles Of Area 34, formerly 55


Johann

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The SC I have here isn't suitable for the character of the car. The way I have driven it now with and without load shows that the engine is being used in the ~1800-4000 RPM range. Did 5000 RPM in 2nd gear a couple of times but there isn't that much use for that when loaded because then then car is driven mostly in it's torque range. Engine pulls well above 4000 RPM though. The SC only starts near 3000-3500. When driven without load and with raised lift axle the car behaves like a normal 850.

Received 2 17x7.5j Comets and 4 16x6.5j Meteor wheels Yesterday. Searched for a matching set of tires and only Michelin offered 215/45-17 and 205/55-16 with a high load index (94V) with their Primacy HP range of tires. Couldn't find another brand offering both sizes in the same range. Currently the car is on winter tires which normally roll less in higher temp weather. Hope the Michelins will make a small difference.

At a meeting last weekend,

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I must say, this was the most enjoyable read I've coma across since joining here! Your projects are all excellent as well as your speed working on them!

I really love the Sam hauler thing! It is great! I can only find limited info on them. Do you know if anything like that was ever offered in america? I would love to get my hands on one!

Great cars, great thread, Definitely keep it up!

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Oh ok, so does it lower when you put it in park or turn it off.

In the grass it seems to be level, but the pic above its raised.

Now when you turn the car off the air runs out and it lowers. There are three height settings and a switch to raise the lift axle. When active the front rear axle goes to the higher setting and the rear axle goes to the lowest setting. Air ride is all new to me and IMO the air runs out to fast at the moment. There are two pneumatic mechanical levelers at the front rear axle. Already found the type used on the internet but I didn't figure out how the system is operated yet. The system uses 5 spring return two way valves, a compressor of course and two strengthening bars between the rear axle have a double function as air tanks roughly 1.5 Gallon each. For the axle lift it looks as if vacuum is applied.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, this thing has had me thinking ever since I first saw it. You mentioned that it pulled your other 850 around just fine and had reasonable power. Now I'm not sure how much this whole setup of yours weighs, but (since I'll never actually be able to fine one of these) could I reasonably assume that a n/a 850 with a manual transmission might possibly be able to pull a car on a flat 2 axle trailer reasonably well? (Obviously with brake control and other assorted safety features). If that is true, then a turbo model should do even better? How about an XC70? I'm really just playing with ideas at this point, but theoretically if this thing can do what it does, shouldn't a standard 850 be able to pull a similar sized car on a trailer? Lately I have been looking to buy a larger truck to pull stuff around, but if I could get the job done with an 850 then that would be awesome.

Thoughts?

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We have different laws about trailer use. Can't say what is allowed in the US.

In my country the towing capacity differs from car to car. As an example my former V70NN had a weight on paper of 1560 kg and was allowed to tow 1800 kg. The trailer's weight needs to be included in that number.

Our current XC60 has a weight of 1624 kg but is only allowed to tow 1600 kg.

Looking at my first 850, a T5, it had a weight of 1379 kg but it was allowed to tow 1600 kg as well. Thing is, most 850's are listed with a higher weight on paper so if you use an 850 with a trailer with the same 850 on top you are already over the towing capacity listed for the car. For the police it is easy because a car trailer always weighs more than 400 kg, often 500 kg or more, and added with the pulling car's own weight it shows that the capacity is exceeded. With the race car there was a chance to get away with it "because race car". It was possible to fool the police enough about the weight of the racer to leave them in doubt and 9 out of 10 times they do not want to spoil the fun. If the race car is strapped to the trailer properly they will let you drive.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Said goodbye to the IS-F..

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Tires were shot.

Traded it for this,

isf2-1.jpg

1.5 years younger. 9K Km less. New tires. Newer Nav and Audio system with BT audio streaming and better support for my iPhone. Nicer black bezel headlights with LED's. New style dash with shift light.. B)

Sport button in a better place. And last but most important this model comes standard with a limited slip differential.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Some guys just replace the tires.

Johann replaces the whole car.

I'm sure there's a meme in here somewhere.

BTW: I love your taste in cars Johann.

Sorry, it has been a bit of a busy month..

Thanks for the compliment. Don't know exactly what you mean with the meme remark but I guess it is related to the tire remark.

Main reason for me to trade the IS-F which I didn't want to trade to begin with was that the newer IS-F came with a limited slip differential.

In my country the price of an LSD retrofit is near 10K Dollars... The old car was MY2009, the new one MY2011. Difference one and a half year and the trade figure was close to the depreciation. Difference was roughly 4 new tires. Dealer was willing to trade the car with the near worn tires while the new one came with new tires. Needing an excuse to trade I this was what set the deal for me. Not a bad trade IMO. New car runs great btw. The newer audio/NAV system is a nice welcome.

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