ASK THE EXPERTS
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday April 1, 2011
I have for many years been mystified by the practice of giving the size of a vehicle's wheels in inches, while the remainder of a vehicle's vital statistics power, torque, dimensions, consumption, CO2 emissions etc, are correctly given in metric. It's ridiculous that after so many years of decimalisation and metrification that publications persist with this. Do you have any explanation of why that situation should be allowed to persist in the motor trade and its press? Toby Hagon, in his road test of the Mercedes-Benz CL63, writes in the same sentence of "massive 20-inch wheels and tyres as wide as 275 millimetres at the rear". How crazy is that?MikeWe sympathise with your frustration but it will be a long time before anyone refers to the size of a tyre in centimetres rather than inches. It would be a brave tyre manufacturer who broke with tradition and ran the risk of alienating or confusing buyers. Rightly or wrongly, some things have simply slipped through the metric net and are so established in the automotive vernacular that they are unlikely to change. Mechanics still use imperial measurements for spanners, wrenches and master cylinders, while satellite-navigation screens are measured in inches and most enthusiasts still talk about the size of an engine block in cubic inches. It's not only the car industry, either, as the airlines continue to mix metric and imperial, while McDonald's still sells quarter pounders.The brakes on my Suzuki Swift grab. It makes it very hard to brake smoothly and progressively. This fault has existed since new. The car is still under warranty. The dealer said that it isn't covered under warranty. Can you advise?GregWe've driven quite a few Swifts recently and haven't come across the problem you describe. The issue could be connected to the adjustable rear drum brakes on some models. If they aren't properly adjusted, they could grab too early and be too sensitive to pedal inputs. We would recommend trying a different dealership and road testing the vehicle with a senior technician. Drive the car yourself first, with the technician in the passenger seat, then swap sides. If the pedal feels different to other Swifts, they will pick it up straight away. Failing that, it may be worth replacing the front brake pads with a different compound. That could improve the pedal feel but unfortunately it won't be covered under warranty.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald
