Derek's 1988 Town Car

[Salty Dog]

Oh yeah, I think you told that story before. On the way to work right? These tires had lots of tread left too, no cracks/rot on the sidewalls but inbetween the tread was another story and that's where it let go. Tire didn't blow out which is cool as it saved the wheel but the tread is what ended up slapping stuff silly. Glad it didn't bust the fender liner or worse. I'll get a pic of that rascal later Still has shiny tire jizz on it lol. Certainly forcing my hand and made me go even slower but ya know, I think whenever we plan to drive long distance like that again, we're going to go slow like that. So much easier to just set the cruise and let the hurried folks go around us without having to constantly modulate brake & gas, plus enjoy the extended range benefits. Engine seemed so happy at that point.

Ashley was the one who wanted to stop lol, she did not want to be on the side of the road again so I stopped. We were amongst civilization again so gas stations were everywhere, I really wanted to push it lol. Should note it was Chevron gas, and that it looked much clearer in the filler neck than the yellowish Shell we got the whole way down and up. Maybe it had less or no Ethanol in it but the pump said it could contain up to 10% like all the other stations. I also ran BG44 fuel infector cleaner & Restore engine treatment. Last year I consumed almost 5qts of 5W-30 to get there and back and this year I consumed maybe half a quart! I also had the oil changed down in Florida as it was due so if I hadn't done that I might've consumed a bit more oil. But still, I think that stuff does work! Certainly worth the $8-10 I spent on it.

X2 last road trip we made it a point to not be in a hurry. It takes alot of the stress out of driving. Plus you can set back and watch the dumbasses identify themselves and stay clear of them. Car rides better, better gas milage, can't beat that.

[DerekTheGreat]

It certainly does take a lot of stress away. Special emphasis on the dumbass part lol, good god, they'd nearly wreck into other people trying to pass us only to eat the next guy's bumper. Even funnier when you end up catching up to them in the long run, like they stopped and got back on the highway but we didn't and we see them again. Going through Virginia some 1.5 years ago we saw a dude get pulled over after he screamed around us, good times.

[DerekTheGreat]

Here's the upset tire, you'd swear it was a retread.. Anyone know how old Michelin XH4's are? That's what those were. I know I promised a burnout before I got new meats but due to the catastrophic nature of this tire I didn't want to chance stoving in any of the quarter panels.

Sent with my phonic while eating biscuits & mustard with French-fried taters mm-hmm.

[sly]

looks like it was discontinued somewhere between 1998 and 2000.

[gadget73]

I find cruising speed on the highway to be more relaxing around 70 when its open, but I'll slow down and let people go by when it starts getting clogged up. My car is very happy in the 70-80 range. It eats gas, but if I was concerned about fuel economy I wouldn't be driving an 80s Lincoln anywhere.

[DerekTheGreat]

looks like it was discontinued somewhere between 1998 and 2000.

So I was rolling on tires that were at least 17 years old, probably even older. Nice. Thanks for the info, sly one.

I find cruising speed on the highway to be more relaxing around 70 when its open, but I'll slow down and let people go by when it starts getting clogged up. My car is very happy in the 70-80 range. It eats gas, but if I was concerned about fuel economy I wouldn't be driving an 80s Lincoln anywhere.

That car was certainly very happy at 65. MPG was 24.5ish IIRC which was the best it ever pulled. I'm not concerned with MPG either but if it means stretching more miles out of a tank on long trips, why not? For what these cars provide, 24.5 MPG is great in my book. I mostly use the MPG number to help determine how good it is running. That car is happy at 75-80 too, also eats gas. More like 18.5-21 at those speeds. Drinks more oil too. Although from what I'm learning that's most likely due to bad valve seals. The Restore stuff I added certainly helped with the Florida trip but my findings are somewhat tainted as I didn't go 75-80 the whole trip like I did last year and I'm running 10W-30 instead of 5W-30.

[TecNickal]

Valve seals can cause oil consumption and out the pipe it goes-it can lead to fowled spark plugs too. But oil control rings on the pistons could shoot oil out the pipe. Since rings are shot on my 89, even though it has new valve seals, it still blows oil out the exhaust. Barely any on dipstick after 250 miles. Gulp gulp.

[DerekTheGreat]

I think that's what's going on with Ashley's '89. Gulp Gulp indeed haha. Neither car is that bad, I'd imagine that in cases like that you'd have some purty good blow-by right? We still feel suction on the tube going from the oil filler neck to the TB at idle. Not much, but enough to pull your finger to it. I remember VCV's Ice Car was just chooching oil vapor all over the place from that tube haha.

[BigMerc96]

I just don't like Michellin tires period. They sure ride good and can wear a lot of miles, but they seem to be especially prone to weather cracking. My '96 still had its original Michelin tires when I bought it in 2009, they still had a fair bit of tread, but they too shed a chunk of it off a front tire. Yeah, they were old, don't really prove my point. However, the set on my Mom's '03 Accord (whatever the original michelins were) were severely cracked by 2007 and a tread block chunked off on the freeway, the car had less than 25k miles. The Coopers that replaced them had no cracking by 2012 when they were replaced after she somehow got a nail in 2 of them (they wore badly so weren't worth patching). She went with Michelins again in '12 and they were cracking so badly in 2015 that I was going to take it in and make a warranty claim on them had the car not been totaled. She doesn't drive much, but her cars are parked outside.

My own cars I like BFGoodrich tires. They too are made by Michelin, but I wear them out before the cracking becomes a problem. Still, my '96 got BFG Touring in 2009, they had significant cracking when the car was totaled in 2012, but they were nearing the wear-bars so I didn't care. My Town Car got General Altimax in early 2013, they didn't crack at all, but a belt shift in 2 tires they refused to warranty meant I replaced them in late 2014. It then got the BFG Touring it wears now which are also starting to crack after a bit over 2 years.

My '98 is wearing a set of Goodyears dated 2009. So they are 7 years old. They are cracking, but are cracked less than the 3 year old Michelins on that Accord. I'm really not sure what I'm replacing them with. I like the value-for money on the BFGs because they are all around good tires with decent performance and wear characteristics for the price, but I don't want to have to deal with them cracking again in a few years. I generally don't like Goodyears because I've never had a set that wore well, and the lack of QC on the Generals left a bad taste in my mouth while I otherwise really liked those tires. I hate tire shopping, its a lot of cash for something that isn't guaranteed to be what you want and can make or break the driving characteristics of a car.

[VicCrownVic]

I think that's what's going on with Ashley's '89. Gulp Gulp indeed haha. Neither car is that bad, I'd imagine that in cases like that you'd have some purty good blow-by right? We still feel suction on the tube going from the oil filler neck to the TB at idle. Not much, but enough to pull your finger to it. I remember VCV's Ice Car was just chooching oil vapor all over the place from that tube haha.

That was fun, it breathed 5 quarts out that tube and the PCV in a couple days with less than a couple hundred miles put on. I'll get that engine apart eventually, but probably not any time this year, and see what it looks like (junk, but rebuildable I expect). The poor TB and IAC were being drowned in oil, but with the new engine I had the IAC and air intake at the TB off recently and not a drop in there.

[DerekTheGreat]

I just don't like Michellin tires period. They sure ride good and can wear a lot of miles, but they seem to be especially prone to weather cracking. My '96 still had its original Michelin tires when I bought it in 2009, they still had a fair bit of tread, but they too shed a chunk of it off a front tire. Yeah, they were old, don't really prove my point. However, the set on my Mom's '03 Accord (whatever the original michelins were) were severely cracked by 2007 and a tread block chunked off on the freeway, the car had less than 25k miles. The Coopers that replaced them had no cracking by 2012 when they were replaced after she somehow got a nail in 2 of them (they wore badly so weren't worth patching). She went with Michelins again in '12 and they were cracking so badly in 2015 that I was going to take it in and make a warranty claim on them had the car not been totaled. She doesn't drive much, but her cars are parked outside.

My own cars I like BFGoodrich tires. They too are made by Michelin, but I wear them out before the cracking becomes a problem. Still, my '96 got BFG Touring in 2009, they had significant cracking when the car was totaled in 2012, but they were nearing the wear-bars so I didn't care. My Town Car got General Altimax in early 2013, they didn't crack at all, but a belt shift in 2 tires they refused to warranty meant I replaced them in late 2014. It then got the BFG Touring it wears now which are also starting to crack after a bit over 2 years.

My '98 is wearing a set of Goodyears dated 2009. So they are 7 years old. They are cracking, but are cracked less than the 3 year old Michelins on that Accord. I'm really not sure what I'm replacing them with. I like the value-for money on the BFGs because they are all around good tires with decent performance and wear characteristics for the price, but I don't want to have to deal with them cracking again in a few years. I generally don't like Goodyears because I've never had a set that wore well, and the lack of QC on the Generals left a bad taste in my mouth while I otherwise really liked those tires. I hate tire shopping, its a lot of cash for something that isn't guaranteed to be what you want and can make or break the driving characteristics of a car.

I like the name. And my dad always said Michelins belong on a Lincoln and well, these were factory equipped with them. So part of me feels bad about putting Firestones on it and losing the white walls but now I don't have to keep them clean and the Fstones were the best looking tire I could get aside from BF Goodrich touring T/A's or whatever. Ashley has those on her '89 and those are good tires, very comfortable & quiet.

That was fun, it breathed 5 quarts out that tube and the PCV in a couple days with less than a couple hundred miles put on. I'll get that engine apart eventually, but probably not any time this year, and see what it looks like (junk, but rebuildable I expect). The poor TB and IAC were being drowned in oil, but with the new engine I had the IAC and air intake at the TB off recently and not a drop in there.

Jeez, so this here is essentially what it was like for you to add oil to it in those days:

I had my TB & spacer off just before the trip to redo the gaskets as coolant was peeing on my rocker cover. Just a little carbon build around the very opening of the TB, no oil. Sure was black and nasty in the manifold though, damn EGR. Could see where coolant was also making it's way into the intake. Wonder if my cylinders are nice and clean now.

[knucklehead0202]

I love your townie, but I just never find the right one around here. Really like that '80 with the 351 that Vic put on the shoutbox. Really like the Mk VI body style, and that 351 could simply become a 408, ideally fuel-injected too. I dunno, love my big, luxurious cars, but these ones just don't quite have enough oomph to get me off. May get by to see the car this weekend and if I do, will grab that EGR spacer for you Derek.

[Tiggie]

I think all tires crack in 3ish years now. They have changed something in the compound. I know usage, storage, and weather all play a role but still it's much worse than it used to be in my opinion.
I've got 10 year old Dayton's on the 88 and they look just as good (or bad) as the three year old Uniroyals on the wife's Escape. Both all cracked to pieces. The 90 is wearing 1994 Michelins and lets just say they scare me but hold air.

[jaywish]

I have become a Cooper fan of late.

[sly]

None of my tires have cracks in them. Even the old spare from the 93 (Falken - POS old worn tire). The Shadow tire (OLD POS spare from the beater) doesn't have cracks, but it's only been used about 3 times for a probable total of about 30 miles.