Funny Images Thread!

I've been fully metric for at least 40 years and definitely never ever going back. The one that really gets me is the BTU - I run a mile.

Mike.
 
It's a long time since I bought timber, but the compromise for ordering it used to be (still is?) cross-section in Imperial and length in metric, e.g. "Two metres of 4 x 2 please".
 
Diver300 said:
My wife's brand new German car has 15 inch wheels.
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But those tires on the wheels are measured in millimeters for the width! I'm surprised too that they are only 15 inches, most modern cars start now with 16 inch wheels and go up from there.
 
Well my daughter's car has 15 inch wheels and I've already had to change one as it got bent. I changed my car newish car (not the 1953 one) from 17 inch wheels to 16 inch to get more rubber between the road and the rim. It was offered with 16, 17 or 18 inch rims when new.

The big rims and less tyres is basically just fashion.
 
Diver300 said:
The big rims and less tyres is basically just fashion.
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Not so much. The bigger rim and lower aspect ratio(height above the rim) gives better mileage, or at least that is the claim. Plus they allow bigger diameter brake disks for better stopping.
 
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shortbus= said:
Not so much. The bigger rim and lower aspect ratio(height above the rim) gives better mileage, or at least that is the claim. Plus they allow bigger diameter brake disks for better stopping.
Click to expand...
In a lot of cases, the larger diameter wheels don't come with larger brakes. For instance on my car, all the variants of that model have the same brakes, and 16, 17 and 18 inch wheels are used, so while that is a theoretical advantage, it's not often used. All modern cars have brakes that can make the ABS operate on dry roads.

I'm not sure how the lower aspect ratio affects the mileage. The lower height of the sidewall will have to be distorted to a smaller fraction of its normal height, and I thought that would increase the rolling resistance. I know that run-flats give worse mileage because the sidewalls are so hard.

Large wheels are certainly more likely to get broken on bumps and potholes. The inside edge can be very easy to bend as the spokes don't provide any stiffness to the inside edge.
 
Diver300 said:
My 1953 British car has a 1.25 litre engine, and the spark plug threads are 14 mm.
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Where as my 1951 A40 Devon had a 1200cc engine, although I forget what size the spark plugs were, but they would have been imperial as they were the only spanners and sockets I had at the time.
 
augustinetez said:
Where as my 1951 A40 Devon had a 1200cc engine, although I forget what size the spark plugs were, but they would have been imperial as they were the only spanners and sockets I had at the time.
Click to expand...
I would strongly suspect that the A40 also used M14 x 1.25 mm threads. The size of the hexagon was probably imperial. I think that spark plugs were usually 13/16".

I just used my spark plug socket, which was only used for that, so it didn't make much difference to me what size it was.

I heard somewhere that Bosch had a patent for spark plugs, and one of their licencing conditions meant that M14 x 1.25 mm was used by all manufacturers.

That reminds me, the metric sockets that I've used on all the cars I've owned that were built in the last 40 years, are all 1/4" or 1/2" square drive. 3/8" and 3/4" are also available, but I have very few of either. As far as I know, there is no such thing as a metric square drive for sockets.
 

The lower aspect ratio gives a firmer and less distorted sidewall and lowers rolling resistance. The suspension takes up what used to be done by the side walls now. Run flats are only like that when flat, other wise they are using the air pressure just like a normal tire. They, at least for cars, are a solid tire inside the normal air pressure tire. Unless they have been changed over the years, from the way they used to be.
 
Pommie said:
Not in Australia, it comes in cubic meters. Also, when I concreted my first drive about 40 years ago in the UK, it came in cubic meters too.

Mike.
Click to expand...

When we sold loose cable where I used to work you could order it as either metres or yards, but the price was the same, and if you ordered yards you got a very generous measure
 
What about 'metric' pipe sizes?

Metric to Imperial Pipe Conversion - Colglo

When the industry moved from imperial to metric sizing it was done in an uncoordinated fashion. Consequently sizes are different for plastic and steel products! The following is a quick conversion chart showing sizes of stainless steel, mild steel, plastic and copper tube or pipe.
www.colglo.co.uk

Confused about Metric and Imperial Pipe Sizes?​


When the industry moved from imperial to metric sizing it was done in an uncoordinated fashion.
Consequently sizes are different for plastic and steel product
Click to expand...

Measurement

mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk
 
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