The Car Thread ... !

[0388631]

It was a week rental to drive up in snowy roads. It did have sufficient grunt. I stopped over examining car interiors and features a long time ago. I can't say I like the old ATM style of buttons on either side. I think we're still in the discovery phase of what's alright to put as a touchscreen or cap control and what's not.

But I do feel you on why you like tactile buttons. When driving, especially in LA traffic, you have to keep your eye on the road and lurching forward while also hunched over to select something quickly and keep your eyes on the road. It's not easy.

There's also voice control, which is common in luxury cars now. It's akin to putting on a headset and playing a game, with a total stranger riding by and yelling out "Over and out, Major ****."

 

[D.T.]

I'm getting ready to pull the 'sound tube', and yes, even with the glorious note of the 32v 5.0L V8, they still felt the need to add some artificial "sound enhancement" (been doing it since '11 I believe). So it's this HUGE mess of tubing, with a diaphragm and some kind of resonator box. This comes off the intake hose between the TB and the airbox/intake - I picked up a plug/grommet from Amazon to seal up the firewall side after this monstrosity is removed,

I may pick up a temp cap for the air hose side - my intent was an aftermarket hose/intake that in addition to providing better airflow also "deletes" the sound tube connector, but I'm not 100% sure which way I want to go yet.

I actually wound up doing a pre-order on new product from Mishimoto right after I originally posted the above, about 30 days in advance of it being released, finally shipped! It's a huge intake tube that greatly improves airflow, through volume, shape and turbulence reduction. It also (per my comment above) does _not_ have a sound tube connection, so it improves two things at once.

This uses the factory airbox vs. the CAI style intakes which are mostly open, and in Florida, idling around town at 45 or less, your AITs are constantly spiked, not to mention the factory box has a nice intake snorkel to the front grill - I'll be picking up an aftermarket panel filter (AFe mostly likely) to complement this.

Waiting on a deal for a tuner, CB/intake and a tune on 93 should put me around 480-485HP.

 

[2298754]

There's also voice control, which is common in luxury cars now. It's akin to putting on a headset and playing a game, with a total stranger riding by and yelling out "Over and out, Major ****."

I can't think of a single car where voice commands work well. Makes no sense because Apple and Google figured this out years ago.

 

[0388631]

I can't think of a single car where voice commands work well. Makes no sense because Apple and Google figured this out years ago.

It works with some. Siri is a huge bust. But Google's AI is rather good. 85% of my texts are through voice and it's correct or mostly correct. Though I believe the AI is tuned to your voice over time because you're logged into your Google account. I began using it 2 or 3 years ago around this time. It wasn't as good then but it was also awkward because I'd be holding my phone and speaking to it. And sometimes people near me or a cashier would think I was talking to them. It was reminiscent of when bluetooth earpieces first came out. Speaking of those, do people still use those?

I use a Plantronics headset at home when I'm at the computer and need to dictate material. That I know adapts to your voice. I think my config file alone is a few hundred MB. It picks up about 200-250 words a minute.

 

[Suture]

For some items Siri seems to work really well. I do use it pretty often, but what annoys me more than the limitations of capabilities are the "Siri is not available" incidents.

CarPlay is super basic from the two times I've used it (in a Camaro rental and a new GTI) but I appreciate the simplicity and overall ease of use. Would be nice if Apple opened it up for 3rd party apps such as Waze.

 

[2298754]

CarPlay is super basic from the two times I've used it (in a Camaro rental and a new GTI) but I appreciate the simplicity and overall ease of use. Would be nice if Apple opened it up for 3rd party apps such as Waze.

It is open. Google just hasn't added support for GMaps or Waze.

Pandora and Spotify are on there, even though it competes directly with Apple Music.

 

[0388631]

Not much of a competition. I tried Apple Music when it came out and once again a while back. It simply isn't good enough, IMO. I think native Waze or the ability to project the phone's screen onto a car's navi system would be cool. I think we use our voice prediction differently. I rarely use Google's AI to go through my phone, but it makes composing long texts while I'm busy with something else a breeze. Also works when writing or rather dictating a document using voice to text.
You still have to speak out punctuation, but it gets easier within a couple weeks.

There's this new streaming service from Canada that came to the US some time ago. Deezer, I think is the name. I haven't tried it yet. I signed up with Spotify premium the day it came out in the US. Prior to that, I'd been waiting maybe 3-4 years for Spotify to hit US shores. My iTunes added on library goes back to about 2006 and my added to dropped off sharply around July 2011 when Coca Cola ran their Spotify campaign.

 

[D.T.]

Installed! Throttle response feels better, engine bay is cleaner, the exhaust has a slightly different pitch, "cleaner" sounding too (someone had suggested the sound tube + aftermarket exhaust creates some unexpected noise).

Jeebus, look at the sound tube junk (removed) and the air flow disruptions in the OEM intake tube:

 

[AustinIllini]

I can't think of a single car where voice commands work well. Makes no sense because Apple and Google figured this out years ago.

Me neither. The exception is the modern hands free options (my wife's CR-V has this) where you can press and hold a button and you get Siri interaction. Siri has its issues, but compared to the voice systems in most cars, she's IBM Watson.

 

[bunnspecial]

In playing around with SYNC, one of the things that I've noticed is that commands have to be phrased in a very specific and somewhat unnatural way. The best way I know to describe it is that you have to speak to SYNC as if you're navigating through a series of menus, which I guess is what you're doing.

I guess I've gotten so use to how good Siri is that it seems like a regression to navigate like this.

 

[0388631]

Stick with basic phrases. It's more about annunciation than anything else. It isn't a learning system. I spotted a thread a while back of how you can unlock certain voice packs by hooking into the computer. Voices and chimes meant for other markets.

If any of you have seen The Out of Towners with Steve Martin, you'll see how bad the early navigation and voice systems were.

 

[PowerMac G4 MDD]

Got to drive thE new Suburban LTZ that my parents got. First brand-new car they've purchased since 2006. Here are my observations and opinions:

Amazing improvement over the previous generation - and the previous generation was already great. Only thing is that the assists and warnings are a bit too much. There's this vibrator underneath the seat that tickles your tush for every little thing. You can disable it, but it re-enables itself every time you start the car.

The magnetic suspension feels nice and boat-like compared to that of the 2013 RR, which is a good thing. I don't have to brace myself when hitting potholes. Only things that feel under-designed are the brakes. Could be a comfort feature, since they do have a last-second catch, but I sort feel like I have to stand on them. I understand that it's a heavy truck, but they kinda feel like how the brakes did on our Crown Vic. (i.e. I feel like I am pushing down on a block of rubber.) Otherwise, the driving style is greatly improved and the cabin is immensely isolated from the road. My parents say that 3+ hour road trip didn't tire them out. The power steering makes the handling feel very light for the mass that's being driven. However, it's still big and heavy enough to feel like a cruising train. It makes the ride so much more subtle. Big difference from the cars we've had since leasing our first Suburban back in 2007.

One thing to note about this truck is that it seems even lower to the ground than the previous generation. It is a 'Suburban' after all, but it is quite low for an SUV. The 4WD is useful and helps with handling, but it seems as though, if you're gonna be driving somewhere where you need that 4WD, the terrain will likely be too much for the truck to clear anyway.

Oh, and it seems that it has lesser cubic feet than the previous generation does, although its apparently wider... not sure if externally or internally. Door panels and pillars don't look as thick, so maybe that's it. Even if it has more of a stance to it, the mechanical improvements out-weigh any cons. One thing, however, that's surprisingly larger is the center console. It's practically a medium-sized ice chest.

In any case, it's a really nice truck so far. Cool to be in a Chevy again and compare it to the previous generation. (Now, of course, my observations - which aren't meant to prove factual information - will, in some way, be criticized... so, I guess bring it on. Sorry if this somehow offends SOMEONE here.)

 

[bunnspecial]

Alright, it's time for me to feel like an idiot.

My MG has been in the shop for three weeks. I may have mentioned this, but when we pulled the engine we butchered the exhaust manifold and more or less pieced it back together. "Butchering" is probably a bit harsh, but 5 out of 6 studs snapped(hard to avoid considering where it is and the type of stress it gets). I also had an oil leak that I THOUGHT I knew where it was coming from, but was in the most inconvenient possible location.

I needed new rubber in my driver quarter vent window, so I decided to let my mechanic(the same one who is going to do the MGA) tackle both it and the manifold. I COULD have done the manifold myself, but looked at what was involved in the window rubber and said forget it.

In any case, my mechanic put helicoils and studs in the manifold. Somehow or another(I'm kicking myself for this one) we'd forgotten to clean the old exhaust gasket off the manifold, and that was causing an exhaust leak. The old gasket was hard enough that my mechanic ended up machining it off.

I'd installed fancy rubber side cover gaskets, which I later found out are universally hated. That's where my oil leak was coming from. My mechanic put on cork-something that he likes better and several other MG mechanics I've talked to prefer(When I asked John Twist about my oil leak, he asked if I was using those "G-D red rubber gaskets that always leak"). They can only be directly accessed with the exhaust manifold out of the way, so that sort of went with the manifold work.

My mechanic called me this afternoon and said that it was sitting in front of his shop, so I went and got it. The exhaust leak was gone, but I was treated to a terrible sounding engine that had no power. I had made plans to go look at another MG this afternoon(1980LE) that was out in the country, so I hopped in my car and proceeded to drive out there.

I stopped a couple of times to tweak the timing and even swapped distributors, but the car was still running terribly. I needed to drop down into 2nd at times to get it to climb hills(it would normally pull away without trouble in 4th). Not only that, but it was LOUD. It was obnoxious enough to give me a headache.

I went out and test drove the LE. While I was cursing the wallowy rubber bumper handling, I was also reminded of how a good running MG drives...and it's sad when you have that revelation while you're driving a last year of production model with a terrible intake manifold behind a single ZS-carb, a choked exhaust with a poorly designed manifold and catalytic converter in the way, a low compression engine, and a bunch of other power robbing emissions related crap. BTW, the LE was really nice, there's no way the seller and I can come together on the price now...perhaps we will if he still has it in a few months.

In any case, I got MY car home and proceeded to tune it. After I set the timing with the light, I still wasn't happy. I wasn't going to mess with the valves since "I just did them" but figured I might as well do it right. I pulled the valve cover and found THREE rockers that were missing the locknuts on the adjustment screws. Needless to say, the rockers were tapping very badly also. All said and done, it's amazing the engine was running, but then these engines can seemingly run with things very far off. I got the clearance set and made sure the lock nuts were snug. Once I started it up, I was rewarded with the nice, rhythmic "sewing machine" valve train clatter of a well-tuned B series engine.

And, finally, my car is back to driving like the MG I remember.

 

[A.Goldberg]

@bunnspecial this is exactly why my father has rebuilt all the engines right off the bat in his classic British cars over the years . Exception being his first Land Rover, a Series IIa. I forget the problem but during the Great Blizzard of 1978 he lost 2 cylinders (of the 4cyl engine) and was still able to trudge through the snow to rescue his Mother who was stranded at work. (They predicted a morning snowstorm but in the morning there was no snow so everyone went about there day until 27" of snow fell out of the sky).

 

[bunnspecial]

@A.Goldberg These little engines are surprisingly robust.

The B engine and its little brother the A engine are often described as tractor engines. In truth, that's not too far off-they're pretty primitive in being a pushrod I-4 with the siamesed intake and exhaust. Still, BMC and later BL got their mileage out of the engine-the B series came in with the MGA in 1955(I think) and lasted to 1980. Although in America it's pretty tightly linked to the MGA and MGB, BMC and later BL used it in a LOT of cars. The A-series came along at the same time, and made it to 2000 in the original Mini.

Granted, take a peak at a Triumph engine and the B engine looks like a high end piece of engineering . The old Triumph I-4s actually WERE used in tractors, and most of the later ones weren't that much more refined.

At the same time, on the MOWOG/BMC side of things, the '52 Morris Minor my mechanic has up on a shelf has 918cc side valve engine. To be fair, though, in the 1950s teenagers were hotrodding Ford Flathead V8s, and did some pretty impressive things with them. I don't think the Morris flatheads ever got that kind of interest, though.

 

[A.Goldberg]

Double Post
[doublepost=1479096799][/doublepost]

@A.Goldberg These little engines are surprisingly robust.

The B engine and its little brother the A engine are often described as tractor engines. In truth, that's not too far off-they're pretty primitive in being a pushrod I-4 with the siamesed intake and exhaust. Still, BMC and later BL got their mileage out of the engine-the B series came in with the MGA in 1955(I think) and lasted to 1980. Although in America it's pretty tightly linked to the MGA and MGB, BMC and later BL used it in a LOT of cars. The A-series came along at the same time, and made it to 2000 in the original Mini.

Granted, take a peak at a Triumph engine and the B engine looks like a high end piece of engineering . The old Triumph I-4s actually WERE used in tractors, and most of the later ones weren't that much more refined.

At the same time, on the MOWOG/BMC side of things, the '52 Morris Minor my mechanic has up on a shelf has 918cc side valve engine. To be fair, though, in the 1950s teenagers were hotrodding Ford Flathead V8s, and did some pretty impressive things with them. I don't think the Morris flatheads ever got that kind of interest, though.

I don't deny these engines are rock solid. The Series LR's I think have more in common with tractors than they do automobiles, as that was somewhat of their intended purpose... especially when you could get a PTO/power take off to run your farming implements .
Having cast iron blocks isn't a bad thing either, way less prone to warping and cracking and damage caused by overheating.

That being said, if you're going to remove and old engine you might as well rebuild it if you have the ambition and finances considering things do need to be replaced with time. Of course there will be that question in the back of your head of "this part has lasted the past 40 years... will replacing it &$@! up the engine?" In general, they don't make things like they used too .

Believe it or not the Rover V8 (last seen in the V8 petrol Defender and 2004 LR Discovery (and previously the Range Rover Classic + P38 models) is derived from the 1950/60's Buick 215 V8 (I believe the same engine in the MGB GT V8?). Over the 3.5L V8 years of course its displacement was increased to 3.9 to 4.0 to 4.2 to 4.6, and eventually adding in different electronics and such. It was an awful engine, at least in the later iterations, I have no idea why they kept it.

Knowing a bit about how British car companies operate, I only imagine they got a VERY good deal on it at the time

 

[bunnspecial]

Indeed the Rover V8 started life as the Buick 215. It had a long run, too. I think Buick developed it in about 1960, sold it to Rover in '63 or so, and Rover kept it going until 2006.

Amazingly enough, Rover did a lot to improve the quality of it, and I'm told that in England the Rover V8 is analogous to the Small Block Chevy here in terms of how common they are, how many different applications they find themselves in, and aftermarket support.

I'm not sure what displacement offhand was used in the MGB GT V8, but the aluminum Rover engine was actually 40lbs lighter than the 1800 B engine. BL managed to cram a lot more power in the B without much modification by doing this. That's as opposed to the earlier attempt in the MGC. An MGB "B" engine weighs 360lbs, while the C engine weighed 700lbs-that was a lot of extra weight to hang off the front of the car, and the MGC is effectively a different car forward of the bulkhead with few parts shared with the MGB. The GT V8 is similar enough that it's not too difficult to drop one in a post-73 MGB. As I understand it, the biggest obstacle is the steering column in LHD cars, while it's a drop-in fit in RHD cars.

The 93-94 MG RV8 also used the Rover V8. These cars actually use a substantial number of MGB body parts. Since they will be 25 years old in 2018, it wouldn't surprise me if a bunch of these make their way to the US then. I saw one at MG2016-it was tagged from Ontario, and in Canada the import law is 15 years. I know of a decent number in Canada.

As far as rebuilding when they're out-I can say that two non-mechanics working in a home garage can have an MGB engine out in under 3 hours. It's actually not a huge deal to pull one. Mine has good compression and good oil pressure, so it likely won't get a good full rebuild for a little while. I'm getting a decent amount of blow-by, and MIGHT do the piston rings this winter. They can be done in place by pulling the head and sump. Since you don't have to worry about a timing belt or chain, the head can come off in an hour or so. I've had the sump off my engine, although I forget whether or not the engine has to be lifted to get at all the bolts with it in the car. In any case, with the sump and head off, just undo the connecting rod bearing, push the piston up and out, change the rings, and drop it back in. I'm sure it's a little more involved than that, but access is good.

 

[0388631]

Amazing improvement over the previous generation - and the previous generation was already great. Only thing is that the assists and warnings are a bit too much. There's this vibrator underneath the seat that tickles your tush for every little thing. You can disable it, but it re-enables itself every time you start the car.

This got a heart chuckle out of me. Is it a lane change/lane assist vibration? Those are usually on the wheel but it makes sense to put it somewhere that isn't easily affected by road vibration, seeing as the Suburban is still using traditional PS and not EPS?

Chevy's an awful brand, but they make their SUVs very well. They'll last a few hundred thousand miles if taken care of.

 

[quagmire]

This got a heart chuckle out of me. Is it a lane change/lane assist vibration? Those are usually on the wheel but it makes sense to put it somewhere that isn't easily affected by road vibration, seeing as the Suburban is still using traditional PS and not EPS?

Chevy's an awful brand, but they make their SUVs very well. They'll last a few hundred thousand miles if taken care of.

The latest Suburban uses EPS. Yeah what he is experiencing is lane assist feature( and it is also the collision alert).

Maybe if he could stay in his lane he wouldn't get a vibration on the seat or maybe used the turning signal when changing lanes it wouldn't turn on....

 

[0388631]

The latest Suburban uses EPS. Yeah what he is experiencing is lane assist feature( and it is also the collision alert).

Maybe if he could stay in his lane he wouldn't get a vibration on the seat or maybe used the turning signal when changing lanes it wouldn't turn on....

Or he enjoys the vibration and frequently swerves over lanes.

 

[Alphazoid]

Took the opportunity of a rare clear day to give the ol gal a quick bath/wax

 

[kryten42]

I'm still undecided on a car! It will take me over a year, I swear!

Now on the list are:

Audi A7
Audi A8
BMW 335 (saloon / GC), 340 (saloon), 535, 640 GC, 740
Jaguar XF 3.0 Supercharged (R-Sport / S - 2016 model year or newer)
Infiniti G50 Sport (low chance of this)
Porsche Macan S / Panamera 4
Volvo XC90 (2016 Model Year or newer)

I need an intervention! All have their pros and cons, most are in similar price range (other than the Infiniti that is cheaper and the 335 is a little cheaper). All are used, year range is 2013 - 2016. Want manufacturers warranty which is why.

I would say keep tuned here, but it could be another 6+ months before I make a decision

Anyone driven the XF or A7? Those two are the ones I am least familiar with.

I used to be indecisive, but now I am not quite sure

 

[D.T.]

You're kind of all over the place with that list, big cars, mid-sized, SUVs ... motorcycles, hang gliders, bullet trains, it's madness

I always look for a few superlative qualities in a vehicle, then start considering the less objective attributes, even getting into the really esoteric like the car "speaks to me".

When we were considering a family SUV, that had solid offroad and towing capabilities, historical reliability, classic styling, it was no contest, bought a 4Runner.

 

[kryten42]

You're kind of all over the place with that list, big cars, mid-sized, SUVs ... motorcycles, hang gliders, bullet trains, it's madness

I always look for a few superlative qualities in a vehicle, then start considering the less objective attributes, even getting into the really esoteric like the car "speaks to me".

When we were considering a family SUV, that had solid offroad and towing capabilities, historical reliability, classic styling, it was no contest, bought a 4Runner.

I know, total madness! Mostly around gadgets etc. We have a Lexus RX350 so SUV not really needed, but loved the XC90 when I had one as a rental.

Mostly looking at sedans (or the 4 door coupe), the XC90 and the Macan are outliers.

 

[D.T.]

I know, total madness! Mostly around gadgets etc. We have a Lexus RX350 so SUV not really needed, but loved the XC90 when I had one as a rental.

Mostly looking at sedans (or the 4 door coupe), the XC90 and the Macan are outliers.

Excellent, I think we need to make some kind of visual aid

Personally, I wouldn't own a Jag, not a knock against the technical or aesthetic merits of the car, it's just kind of a "non-choice" for my personality, lifestyle, etc., and if we tossed the SUV-ish vehicles, that would leave Audi and BMW, then it would come down to size/cost/"sportiness", a 3-series vs. a 7-series is a pretty wide range of those. If it was a 4-door, I'd probably choose a sport packaged 3-series, or an S3/S4, or move up to a 5-series if I wanted more room, a little more luxury.