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The Car Thread ... !
- Thread starter D.T.
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Installed on Dec 10th, about 25 days, my mileage is a little higher than normal (some additional trips into "town") though I honestly don't know the actual mileage, but I don't DD my car (my 14 months of ownership I average about 640 mi/mo).
Anyway ...
This is the oil in my catch can, that could've been sucked back into the motor/intake:
Anyway ...
This is the oil in my catch can, that could've been sucked back into the motor/intake:
Someone on YouTube made a video where he showed himself also painting the walls of the tires, in order to give them an Armor-all look that could last 3+ months. I thought it was an interesting technique to use, so I tried it myself. Sure enough, it gives the same tire-shine look, and it should last a while. Very nice how much this transformed the look of the car. A 'before' shot shows one wheel that was simply scrubbed down with soapy water; and an 'after' shots show the painted wheels, painted tire walls, and inserted (cleaned) hub caps!
(The orange color you see on one of the wheels is the reflection from a traffic cone that sat four feet from the car. Amazing shine.)
I thought about putting in one of those when I bought my car, but opted against it since I figured the Ford engineers know what they are doing and mainly because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of having to keep remembering to periodically empty it (I drive 50 miles a day just for my work commute) and/or remove it every time I brought the car in for warranty work (which I barely have had to do luckily) just in case they get stupid and decide to void the powertrain warranty or whatever since it's a "mod"
37k problem free miles without one.
Just going to say that I'd be VERY careful about rattle canning tires. I can't imagine that the solvents in spray paint would be good for the rubber.
In addition, I'd be suspicious of a 3 month claim. Tires sidewalls are constantly flexing as that's what they're designed to do. It's even more prominent on taller 60 and 70 series sidewalls-in fact the taller sidewall gives a softer ride since it has more "give" to absorb bumps. I'd think that paint would start cracking and flaking pretty quickly in service.
With that said, I've never exactly been one for high gloss tires. I tend to just use Bleche-White to get the brown oxidation off, and if I put on any kind of tire dressing I put on something that gives a milder shine. To each their own, though. I'd just guess that spray paint is not the way to do it.
In addition, I'd be suspicious of a 3 month claim. Tires sidewalls are constantly flexing as that's what they're designed to do. It's even more prominent on taller 60 and 70 series sidewalls-in fact the taller sidewall gives a softer ride since it has more "give" to absorb bumps. I'd think that paint would start cracking and flaking pretty quickly in service.
With that said, I've never exactly been one for high gloss tires. I tend to just use Bleche-White to get the brown oxidation off, and if I put on any kind of tire dressing I put on something that gives a milder shine. To each their own, though. I'd just guess that spray paint is not the way to do it.
A friend has had a manual '17 sport hatchback on order for a few months. Special order only and in tiny quantities for US.
Yup, the 6-speeds are hard to come by. I got an EX-L which only comes with the CVT but that's quick enough for me
In about 3 years, I'm going to be replacing my 2006 Nissan Xterra. I've loved my X, and and it has served me well, but it's time for something new. The problem is, I'm not sure what I'll be replacing it with. Part of me wants to stick with the practicality of another SUV or possibly a 4-door pickup. On the other hand, I'm getting to that age where a "mid-life-crisis-mobile" is almost an expectation. I've decided on 2020 as a possible model year since I want to see if Nissan does something interesting with the 370Z, and the possibility of the resurrection of the Ford Bronco has piqued my curiosity as well.
http://jalopnik.com/the-kia-stinger-gt-is-kias-fantastic-365-hp-rear-wheel-1790949403
Thoughts
-This thing looks better than anything coming out of Acura/Infiniti/Lincoln/Cadillac/Buick
-It is DOA in the US, unless there will be an AWD version
-Is it sharing a platform with the upcoming Genesis 3 series "killer?"
-Kia needs a new name
Thoughts
-This thing looks better than anything coming out of Acura/Infiniti/Lincoln/Cadillac/Buick
-It is DOA in the US, unless there will be an AWD version
-Is it sharing a platform with the upcoming Genesis 3 series "killer?"
-Kia needs a new name
Yeah, the Kia brand is toast. At the very least, they need to reinvent their brand. A real logo would be nice, too. Maybe an upscale line?http://jalopnik.com/the-kia-stinger-gt-is-kias-fantastic-365-hp-rear-wheel-1790949403
Thoughts
-This thing looks better than anything coming out of Acura/Infiniti/Lincoln/Cadillac/Buick
-It is DOA in the US, unless there will be an AWD version
-Is it sharing a platform with the upcoming Genesis 3 series "killer?"
-Kia needs a new name
Exactly. There are way too many cheap Kia's out on the road right now. That brand is trash.
It looks good, but when I think of Hyundai or Kia, or even the new Genesis brand, I don't think of pedigreee. When I think of BMW, Audi or Merc, I think of pedigree and racing heritage. Market leaders in innovation. When I think of pure performance, luxury and uniformity, I think of Porsche. Every 911 generation at the base level performs better and looks better than the last.
Anyway, I see Audi, Jaguar F-Type and XFR, and maybe a few hints of Merc or Bentley thrown in. It looks good, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend $35-40K on a Korean car. If these were $26,000-29,000, I can see them being popular.
Also, if I saw this in my rear view mirror from a distance, I would presume it to be some type of Ford Fusion SVT works car. From the side, it vaguely resemble a poor man's A7/S7.
Anyway, I see Audi, Jaguar F-Type and XFR, and maybe a few hints of Merc or Bentley thrown in. It looks good, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend $35-40K on a Korean car. If these were $26,000-29,000, I can see them being popular.
Also, if I saw this in my rear view mirror from a distance, I would presume it to be some type of Ford Fusion SVT works car. From the side, it vaguely resemble a poor man's A7/S7.
Neat. WOTS is the '18 5.0L Coyote will have _both_ Direct and Port injection. Why? DI is more effective but has some potentially bad side effects like intake valves getting fouled, but combine that with PI, and you can eradicate the carbon build up.
So Port resolves the Direct issue, while the latter allows for higher compression, more power!
So Port resolves the Direct issue, while the latter allows for higher compression, more power!
Yes kia is toast. This is laughable, just another sedan to add to the h/k roster.
Their dealers suck, they are a cheap budget brand and always will be.
Genesis = fail too.
The Genesis asks for a high MSRP in its segment for what they are and still fail at a lot of basic creature comforts. I highlighted a few of those issues months ago. The biggest and most glaring issue would be the use of hard plastics where other manufacturers have used leather or leather like textiles to cover and reduce plastic creak. I can't understand why someone would willingly buy one. I can understand a lease, but even then, I imagine the car beginning to show faults a few years later. I wouldn't be surprised if there were any post-production problems with their cars if you examined them at the lot during delivery.
Anyway, I saw a B9 S4 or what I believed to be one this morning. I just got done reading up on it and found one thing rather perplexing. It doesn't use a DCT, meanwhile the regular B9 A4 does. I had a brief conversation with AutoUnion some months ago because neither of us really understood Audi's logic in using DCTs in some versions of their cars and not using them in others, claiming that the torque was too much for the DCT. It uses the ZF8 which is a very good tranny, but Audi has the means and the funds to build a transmission to handle this supposed "high torque."
Meanwhile, the TTS and TT RS use the same 7 speed DCT, the latter car pushing out far more power than the S4. Commence head scratching. The TT RS does a nought to sixty and a quarter mile near Carrera times if not slightly faster. The "sensibly" priced RS is a good bargain. Though unlike its 911 cousin, its resale value will plummet in 2-3 years whereas a well customized 911 from the dealer or made to order will hold value, even if driven 40K miles.
Though it seems more financially sound to buy a gently used 911 of any flavor so you don't take the initial hit in depreciation. There was a fantastic 911 GTS in Panda scheme a while back on Rennlist. Optioned to the gills and it was going for about $98k with decent sub 10K miles on it. A bargain when you think about the original MSRP + cost of the options.
Anyway, I saw a B9 S4 or what I believed to be one this morning. I just got done reading up on it and found one thing rather perplexing. It doesn't use a DCT, meanwhile the regular B9 A4 does. I had a brief conversation with AutoUnion some months ago because neither of us really understood Audi's logic in using DCTs in some versions of their cars and not using them in others, claiming that the torque was too much for the DCT. It uses the ZF8 which is a very good tranny, but Audi has the means and the funds to build a transmission to handle this supposed "high torque."
Meanwhile, the TTS and TT RS use the same 7 speed DCT, the latter car pushing out far more power than the S4. Commence head scratching. The TT RS does a nought to sixty and a quarter mile near Carrera times if not slightly faster. The "sensibly" priced RS is a good bargain. Though unlike its 911 cousin, its resale value will plummet in 2-3 years whereas a well customized 911 from the dealer or made to order will hold value, even if driven 40K miles.
Though it seems more financially sound to buy a gently used 911 of any flavor so you don't take the initial hit in depreciation. There was a fantastic 911 GTS in Panda scheme a while back on Rennlist. Optioned to the gills and it was going for about $98k with decent sub 10K miles on it. A bargain when you think about the original MSRP + cost of the options.
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All the German stuff taks a massive hit on depreciation. Buy Japanese, lease or don't even bother with German stuff.
Bimmer is fixin to be in a real pickle very soon, tons of lease returns coming in, sales droping, hopefully nobody actually buys a bmw. If not keep it forever if it will "last" or get ready to take a bath.
All cars take a hit. Yet an 8 year old 911C4S still sells for a lot, even if it's got 50K on the clock. Meanwhile, a 100K 7 series will lose 40% of its value within 2-3 years. Contrary to listings, you'd be lucky to get $18,000 for a used nearly 10 year old Lexus. But if you know such a shmuck, send them my way and I'll sell our 350 to them for 20 grand, it's got less than 50K miles on it.
Regardless, you missed the point I was making. Buying a used mass scale German car is silly unless there's time on the warranty due to the original buyer purchasing the extended maintenance and warranty periods or if they sell during the factory warranty period. Buying a 911 Turbo S now vs buying a 991 Turbo S in 2-3 years when it's got 10-15K miles on the clock for 40K less is smart. Or in the case I saw today, 140K vs the sticker price of 207K. The cars take a hit because of the low demand in the used market and the initial high sticker. But they bottom out in the mid 90s or low 100s and stay there. Even a '02 996 Turbo is climbing in price. If you can get over the headlights and general design, you can get a sweet ride with $37,000 and with 10-15K of tasteful performance modification, put out more power than a current gen 996. 996 Turbos were about 5-8K cheaper a year ago, and much cheaper each year prior before they began tanking in price. P-car enthusiasts and newcomers are discovering just how great this car is on the track or a showpiece.
GT3s and the associated RSs of current and yesteryear maintain their value or raise in value due to their scarcity.
Of the best regular P-cars worth the money to buy now, I'd say the 996 Turbo, 997.2 Turbo, 997 Targa and variants of it, 997.2 C4 or C4S. The majority of base 911s in each generation are owned by professionals who wanted a Porsche but didn't want to get the options or pay for extras. This causes a small rift in used prices because they don't commend a high price. Optioned out cars sell for significantly more because if you've ever seen the Porsche options list, you can customize your car to your heart's content.
Anyway, driving a Lexus F variant car isn't anything like driving a German sedan with a performance engine. Even driving the $80,000 GS F hardly excited me. It's a great car, don't get me wrong, but it's 15K more than it should be.
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Toyota already has the same setup. Surprised it hasn't caught on sooner, but probably cheaper and dealers loved to walnut blast the valves for some nice profits....
Aren't BMW's first generation of turbo offerings notorious for accumulating a thick layer of deposit every 20K miles? Anyway, picking up the Lexus later this week after it gets its airbags replaced.
Was going over the A6 earlier and couldn't help but notice the dated or last generation look of the dash and general cockpit portion of the front interior. I wonder if the all digital dash or 90/10 digital dashes are going to become a norm in the car industry save for the very budget conscious cars like Civics. I was genuinely surprised to read in an article a week ago that some people find the A4/TT's digital dash to lag a bit, despite it being the same system setup from the Huracan with a different software setup. I'm doubting their observation skills. The worst digital lag I've seen was the Lexus F sport cars when they first began debuting the digital portions of the dash, but I believe a later software update addressed that problem.
The biggest cost factor down the road is if the unit dies out and needs replacing or if it dies during the vehicle's active warranty period or right outside of it. There's an inherent safety risk if the unit dies during normal driving conditions. Though from what I've read in years past, the majority of car makers test their head units for 4-5 years before releasing it on the market or was that a lie too?
Was going over the A6 earlier and couldn't help but notice the dated or last generation look of the dash and general cockpit portion of the front interior. I wonder if the all digital dash or 90/10 digital dashes are going to become a norm in the car industry save for the very budget conscious cars like Civics. I was genuinely surprised to read in an article a week ago that some people find the A4/TT's digital dash to lag a bit, despite it being the same system setup from the Huracan with a different software setup. I'm doubting their observation skills. The worst digital lag I've seen was the Lexus F sport cars when they first began debuting the digital portions of the dash, but I believe a later software update addressed that problem.
The biggest cost factor down the road is if the unit dies out and needs replacing or if it dies during the vehicle's active warranty period or right outside of it. There's an inherent safety risk if the unit dies during normal driving conditions. Though from what I've read in years past, the majority of car makers test their head units for 4-5 years before releasing it on the market or was that a lie too?
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Not sure on BMW's, but know they had issues with the HPFP with the N54. I know VW's early DI engines were notorious for carbon build up.
My A4 consumed oil like nobody's business. VW engines are more often than not garbage.