Driving Handling Issue 87 300D Questions - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dieselmania · #16 09-26-2017, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo300Mercede

It was very obvious to me that my car needed attention. Keep in mind that I am the type of driver that is "in tune" with what the car is doing and how it is reacting. A casual driver of my car may not have noticed what I did.

However given that my car had right at 200,000 on it, lots of stuff was worn and in need of replacing.

I am that way too. This summer while on the highway in my F350 I noticed a very slight vibration, just enough to make the cups jiggle ever so slightly in the cupholders. My wife said she didn't notice anything. I pulled over and the right rear tire was in the early stages of separation, you could just see slight scuff marks and tiny fresh cuts in the tread surface. If I hadn't noticed that it could have led to a catastrophic failure at highway speed. That is not the first time I have caught a bad tire early on.

Years ago there was a book called "The Book of Expert Driving" by Edward Fales Jr. It came out when I was in high school. I read that book several times and learned things that have stayed with me throughout my life. One point he makes it to be in touch with the vehicle, be connected. Part of this is physical, a knee resting on the door panel for instance. And things like hanging to the left side of your lane so you can see what's happening ahead, not just the car in front of you. And how about giving the driving job #1 priority, 100% attention? Most today do not. My wife sometimes gives me a hard time because I seldom talk while driving.

There should be a book like that as required reading for kids today. Of course that will never happen, instead the job of driving will be given to the car so the occupants can carry on with all their distractions.