Meme Thread... no politics

Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:

Protip:  this works for digital files as well

Mr_Asa said:

Whenever people bring up switching to the metric system, I just think of the sheer logistics of it and how long it would take.
Every machine shop would need to change hardware on the machines, every bolt calculation would need to be redone, everything would need to be redone, and even then you'd still have to have left over stock for all the (now) obsolete machinery to keep it going till the end of its life cycle.

Doesn't even get into hobbyists that like old stuff.

Everything engineered by the Big Three after about 1981 is metric.

Which makes some interesting weirdnesses.  An engine's tooling may date back to the 70s, so its threads are standard, but the accessories are new, so they are metric.

Once you know your automotive history, it all makes sense.  If you don't care to learn history, it is all a confounding mystery.

ProDarwin said:

I like that tires are

metric/ratio R inches

Michelin tried metric rim diameters.

It didn't go over well.

(Something reminds me that TRX not only was metric, but the inside and outside rim lips were different diameters.  Real, or am I remembering something from the other universe?)

I want to know what genius settled on tire sizing? 225/75R15. R15, ok, I've got a 15 inch rim, 225 is the tread... in millimeters, uh, sure. 75 is the ratio of the tread to-THE BERK DECIDED THIS CRAP!?!?

I think those are the PAX wheels on Hondas and junk. TRX was the same both sides, I have an Escort 365x135 wheel for wall art

Appleseed said:

I want to know what genius settled on tire sizing? 225/75R15. R15, ok, I've got a 15 inch rim, 225 is the tread... in millimeters, uh, sure. 75 is the ratio of the tread to-THE BERK DECIDED THIS CRAP!?!?

G70-14 makes no sense either.

ShawnG said:

Appleseed said:

I want to know what genius settled on tire sizing? 225/75R15. R15, ok, I've got a 15 inch rim, 225 is the tread... in millimeters, uh, sure. 75 is the ratio of the tread to-THE BERK DECIDED THIS CRAP!?!?

G70-14 makes no sense either.

Yeah but 26x10.5x15 does. Bias-ply slicks FTW

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Mr_Asa said:

Whenever people bring up switching to the metric system, I just think of the sheer logistics of it and how long it would take.
Every machine shop would need to change hardware on the machines, every bolt calculation would need to be redone, everything would need to be redone, and even then you'd still have to have left over stock for all the (now) obsolete machinery to keep it going till the end of its life cycle.

Doesn't even get into hobbyists that like old stuff.

Everything engineered by the Big Three after about 1981 is metric.

Which makes some interesting weirdnesses.  An engine's tooling may date back to the 70s, so its threads are standard, but the accessories are new, so they are metric.

Once you know your automotive history, it all makes sense.  If you don't care to learn history, it is all a confounding mystery.

The fact that China is metric is probably going to drive the US to metric better than anything else. The switch has already happened, it's just that a lot of people (including hardware stores) haven't noticed yet.

Appleseed said:

I like metric for most things. I don't want to find common denominators when trying to figure out the next smallest drill bit or socket. But kilometers per hour doesn't do a thing for me. 1000km/hr, is that fast? Sounds fast, but I don't know. 600mi/hr? Hot damn that's fast. Same speed.

But imperial is messed, too. 

km/h is easy for travel time. In the city, 1 km is about a minute. On the highway, 100 km is about an hour. Boom, done.

Meanwhile, I've lived in the US for 20 years and I still don't understand how an ounce can be both a volume and a mass and how it can be two different values depending on what accent you have. And it still takes a conscious effort not to refer to freezing temperatures as "below 0".

My wife uses meters and yards interchangeably just because it winds me up.

Appleseed said:

I want to know what genius settled on tire sizing? 225/75R15. R15, ok, I've got a 15 inch rim, 225 is the tread... in millimeters, uh, sure. 75 is the ratio of the tread to-THE BERK DECIDED THIS CRAP!?!?

225 is not the tread width.  225 is the section width.  This is why a 225/75 generally has narrower tread than a 225/60 has narrower tread than a 225/50: as the aspect ratio gets smaller, the carcass shape gets less round.

Also why section width is defined as being whatever it is on a certain width rim, because that affects it.

Automotive tires make SENSE compared to bicycle tires.  A 26x1.75 and a 26x1 3/4 are completely incompatible with each other, the 1 3/4 is for smooth sided Schwinn rims of a certain diameter (which is different from 26x1 3/8) while the 26x1.75 is for 559mm diameter hook-lipped rims.

Mounting Schwinn smooth-lipped tires is a lot like mounting split-rim truck tires.  You work very cautiously, patiently, and deliberately, with the knowledge that the tire might blow off anyway after you put air in it.  Sometimes days later.

And then there is 700c, which is (IIRC) 622mm rims, while 27" is for 630mm rims.  27 inches is 685mm.  I don't know where the 700 in 700c comes from, maybe it is related to 700a and 700b (which were things)

Most bicycle tires have the rim diameter listed as well as the "standard" size, nowadays, but years ago you had to just Know.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

See? It's even more berkeleyed than I remember. 

I had an idea for a business years ago, which would probably work better in this digital age than it did back in the bricks and mortar stores of the 80's, when I came up with the idea.

"Metricland".  Watch pins, sewing machine needles, roll pins and so on down the line.  I used 3/8 watch pins in my Seiko watch that needed 10mm pins for a very long time...  Everything that is readily available in imperial size has a clone in metric, but they are, or used to be, very hard to find.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

You know what is really hard to find nowadays, here south of the border?

Metric tape measures and metric-marked yardsticks.

They were all over the place when I was a kid.  Dual measurement was the standard. Now, I have to hunt to find tape measures with metric on them.  I have a small pocket measure that I found for $2 at Home Depot that had metric on it.  Everything at Harbor Freight and Ace Hardware were inch-only.

OTOH, when I was a kid, the speed limit signs had dual signage.  

55

MPH

88

KM/H

Fabricating on Japanese cars and modern American cars is soooo much easier if you measure in metric, because that is the language they were designed in.

Streetwiseguy said:

I had an idea for a business years ago, which would probably work better in this digital age than it did back in the bricks and mortar stores of the 80's, when I came up with the idea.

"Metricland".  Watch pins, sewing machine needles, roll pins and so on down the line.  I used 3/8 watch pins in my Seiko watch that needed 10mm pins for a very long time...  Everything that is readily available in imperial size has a clone in metric, but they are, or used to be, very hard to find.

Open it next to the Leftorium.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

That would be PAX run flats on the Honda Odyssey.
 

Fun fact, the Buggati Veyron also runs a stepped rim tire. 

Keith Tanner said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Mr_Asa said:

Whenever people bring up switching to the metric system, I just think of the sheer logistics of it and how long it would take.
Every machine shop would need to change hardware on the machines, every bolt calculation would need to be redone, everything would need to be redone, and even then you'd still have to have left over stock for all the (now) obsolete machinery to keep it going till the end of its life cycle.

Doesn't even get into hobbyists that like old stuff.

Everything engineered by the Big Three after about 1981 is metric.

Which makes some interesting weirdnesses.  An engine's tooling may date back to the 70s, so its threads are standard, but the accessories are new, so they are metric.

Once you know your automotive history, it all makes sense.  If you don't care to learn history, it is all a confounding mystery.

The fact that China is metric is probably going to drive the US to metric better than anything else. The switch has already happened, it's just that a lot of people (including hardware stores) haven't noticed yet.

I feel like big hardware stores have noticed. Around me the big names all stock just as much metric as SAE fasteners. It's the small mom and pop shops that are super close (and unfortunately closing like crazy) that look at you funny when you ask where the 8x1.25 hardware is...

Keith Tanner said:

​​​​Km/h is easy for travel time.  Inthe city, 1 km is about a minute. On the highway, 100 km is about an hour. 

But 60mph is easier to convert to minutes when you see the sign with miles until your exit :D

Maybe it's because I'm one of those darn youths, but I think it's both important and not difficult to become fluent with both systems, especially in engineering, design, and fabrication. The rough offhand equivalent conversions aren't difficult to remember either.