My 99 GT idles awfully low when in gear at a stop...about 600 rpms. Seems just slightly rough. When not in gear, it's fine. Is this idle speed high enough?
How long do "average" performance tires last? I know this is dependent upon lots of variables, but I'd like folks to weigh in with regard to their tire life and type of tire.
Also, how about brake pad life?
I've always had my Galaxies set to idle lower than that in idle, 550-600 at most. So you can imagine they idle quite low in gear. Don't worry about it, all it means is that you are burning less gas vs a higher idle speed. Good for sitting in traffic. I also noticed with my Galaxies that they seem more peppy with a lower idle speed. Maybe it's just my imagination though.
I guess I'm just being anal...be just getting the car and all. It seems like there is power steering lag(?) when trying to turn the wheel at these low idle speeds liek when backing out of a parking spot.
There should not be lag from when you turn the wheel to when the wheels move. If that is the case something is wrong and it should be looked at. There should not be slop in the steering system of a car that new unless it's got miles out the wazoo on it. I don't believe rack and pinion steering can be adjusted like the recirculating ball type I'm used to, but maybe I'm wrong. Someone else may be able to tell you. It could be as simple as an adjustment on the rack.
If by lag you mean it's harder to turn the wheel (i.e. you feel a little resistance), or when you turn the wheel the engine RPMs dip a little that is normal. The power steering pump puts a fairly small load on the engine while the wheel is straight, but when you turn the wheel the pump has to assist and force the wheels to move (kinda like you turning the wheel tells the power steering pump to turn the wheels for you, but it's all solidly connected... not 'fly by wire'). I don't know if that even happens in modern cars anymore as there are idle speed motors which may give it a little more gas when it senses the RPM dip from turning the wheel.
In any case, in every car with pump+fluid power steering (there are very few electric assist cars out there) you will have significantly less power assist at idle than the amount of assist available at even 1,000 RPM... You can usually feel the difference. Some modern cars will vary the amount of assist over a certain speed, so your light steering in the parking lot is more firm on the highway (one reason I prefer manual steering, better road feel). So, if you feel as though there is slop in the steering (i.e. you can turn the wheel a bit before the front wheels turn) you may need a new rack. I've never worked on rack and pinion steering so I'm not really sure about how the rest of the system works, but the whole thing should be checked out if there is slop in it.
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