Anything related to automobiles

[jasc15]

My buddy works for his town's vehicle maintenance garage (fixes snow plows and stuff), and has his own tools at home, including impact sockets and pneumatic impact wrench.  I figure that's what a garage would use, so I should be good there.

I am worried that an impact hard enough to make this damage has also damaged other stuff, including linkage.  I figure since my alignment is fine that this might somehow not be the case.

[jasc15]

Success.  No hangups at all.  I expected all sorts of small problems, but regular hand tools did the job.

I now think there was a preexisting condition with the brakes which was made worse by the pothole impact.  My gas mileage is noticeably better, even better than before the impact, and the car seems to coast and accelerate better.    Ball joints, axles and steering and suspension linkage all seemed OK, but I do have an intermittent vibration when idling in gear.  This is new since the impact, but I will keep an eye on it before giving a blank check to a mechanic to "see what's wrong".  My friend mentioned a possible worn motor mount.

In other vehicle news, I also had a check engine light for many months which was identified by the code as a "lean mixture" (P0171), so a few weeks ago I got around to replacing the intake manifold gasket, and the light has stayed off since.  This may also be a contributor to the improved gas mileage.

Cars can be a real pain in the ass, but I learn more and more about them with each problem.

[Chino]

I want it! New 5-door Mini.

https://jalopnik.com/2015-mini-cooper-5-door-this-is-it-1586260430

[Phoenix87x]

This is what I want:

2015 Subaru STI

[El Barto]

I want it! New 5-door Mini.

https://jalopnik.com/2015-mini-cooper-5-door-this-is-it-1586260430

You already own a Mini and think it's a POS. 

Besides which, the modern Minis are actually far too big to really be comparable to their namesake. At this point there's not reason not to buy a normal car if you want extra seating. Seems to me like the people who would buy this are just doing so for status, which makes them no different than the people who drive H2's and Escalades.

[Chino]

I want it! New 5-door Mini.

https://jalopnik.com/2015-mini-cooper-5-door-this-is-it-1586260430

You already own a Mini and think it's a POS. 

Besides which, the modern Minis are actually far too big to really be comparable to their namesake. At this point there's not reason not to buy a normal car if you want extra seating. Seems to me like the people who would buy this are just doing so for status, which makes them no different than the people who drive H2's and Escalades.

True, but I haven't had a problem in 10k miles, so maybe I'm coming around  Status is exactly the reason I'd prefer the mini. Not because I think it makes me look rich or anything like that, but because it has a certain cool factor to it. When you build a car, you get to pick from a ridiculous amount of combinations and make a truly unique car. It's all part of the experience. When I need service, hanging out at the Mini dealership is actually pretty fun. Plus, I like being able to get 40+mpg during my 110 mile commute every day.

[JayOctavarium]

So my friend reserved one of these:

https://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/the-new-us-automaker-s--6800--84-mpg-elio--142815228.html

https://www.eliomotors.com/


Supposed to get a 80+ MPG, and cost $6,800.

Thoughts?

[ddtonfire]

[JayOctavarium]

[Phoenix87x]

Reminds me of the cousin it mobile 



Not that there's anything wrong with that. I actually think its a pretty cool idea.

[Chino]

It's kind of like the T-Rex, but 1/10 the price.

[JayOctavarium]

@Chino


https://wot.motortrend.com/1406_new_mini_cooper_lego_set_contains_over_1000_pieces_picnic_set.html

[ddtonfire]

One of my hobbies is autocross. Here's an A/B of two runs from this past weekend:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GTlGvOE1qI

[El Barto]

One of my hobbies is autocross. Here's an A/B of two runs from this past weekend:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GTlGvOE1qI

Probably just me but I'd prefer to hear the car rather than the music (unless you were actually listening to it whilst driving). Anyway, looks like a helluva lot of fun. I really miss driving a car that offers up that much fun in second gear.

[ddtonfire]

Thanks. I need to mic my exhaust or intake, otherwise there is just too much wind noise (which I used the music to kind of cover up). That car is a lot of fun and you can still get it sideways in 2nd!

[ddtonfire]

Had a friend with a modded 335i come out for our monthly autocross and we had goPro's on both cars, so I synchronized the videos at time start. Granted, it would be a more fair driver comparison if the cars were in the same class and more fair car comparison if it were the same driver, but it's still interesting to see the differences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8SG7xEVy3I

More videos from my runs that same day. Second part is me getting sideways on the last turn, third part is front tire at 50% speed since I was having issues with tire flex and roll last month and wanted to better understand what's going on up there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfObBAzY9g

[El Barto]

Had a friend with a modded 335i come out for our monthly autocross and we had goPro's on both cars, so I synchronized the videos at time start. Granted, it would be a more fair driver comparison if the cars were in the same class and more fair car comparison if it were the same driver, but it's still interesting to see the differences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8SG7xEVy3I

More videos from my runs that same day. Second part is me getting sideways on the last turn, third part is front tire at 50% speed since I was having issues with tire flex and roll last month and wanted to better understand what's going on up there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfObBAzY9g

Huh. I'd have expected his turbo'd I6 to be quicker than your NA V8 out of the turns. Out of curiosity, is he as familiar with that course as you are? While I'd certainly expect your car to handle quite a bit better, it seemed you were more aggressive in those turns.

[ddtonfire]

Actually I have an I6 in mine, the S54. This is only his second time coming out, whereas I've been at it for almost a year (my fifth time on this particular course), so I have that advantage over him. He's making great progress and has dropped several seconds from his first time.

Three big differences between the two is he is on runflat all-seasons and I'm on summer tires; my launches are a lot better and I can hook up right away while he's still trying to find the sweet spot; and he has an open diff, while I have an LSD, so I can get on the power a lot more aggressively and earlier in the turns.

[El Barto]

Make's sense. I miss the LSD in my E30.

And damn, they really tune the hell out of those S motors. Conversely, I suspect they detune the hell out of the M motors. I'd expect a BMW I6 with twin screws to be a helluva lot beefier than what they're getting.

[ddtonfire]

You can make a ton of HP out of those turbos. Just a chip and bam! 400 HP, which the 335i driver had done. It was deliciously torquey.

[ReaperKK]

You can make a ton of HP out of those turbos. Just a chip and bam! 400 HP, which the 335i driver had done. It was deliciously torquey.

I was sitting in a chipped 335 recently and the power gain is nuts whereas the V8 M3 (which is my favorite M3 looks wise) was pretty much at it's limits.

I recently took my buddies 2014 RS5 out for a spin, jesus christ what a car, if I only had the money . . . .

[ddtonfire]

Yup, BMW pretty much got as much as they could out of the S54 and S65.

[El Barto]

Yeah, it honestly kind of saddened me that BMW had to resort to turbocharging. I certainly understand it; there wasn't anywhere else to go. But at the same time BMW essentially perfected the inline six. Doing so was largely a function of not throwing in the towel on natural aspiration, as their competitors had, and still being competitive. There's a certain traditionalist appeal in that for me. 

[ddtonfire]

As long as they give it 3 pedals.

[El Barto]

I thought clutches were a thing of the past in this country. Anytime I walk past a sports car in a parking lot I look inside to see if it's a stick and haven't seen one in many years.

[ReaperKK]

I thought clutches were a thing of the past in this country. Anytime I walk past a sports car in a parking lot I look inside to see if it's a stick and haven't seen one in many years.

I wouldn't say a thing of the past quite yet. My buddy who works for a local BMW dealership says that a large number of the new m4 orders have been for true manuals.

[Chino]

I'm shitting myself in excitement.



I'm guessing the D is going to be the $40k range sedan model, and the something else will be an electric motorcycle or a pickup truck.

[JayOctavarium]

Or.... you know... Musk is going to "leak" nudes of himself.

[El Barto]

I've never gotten everybody's fascination with Tesla Motors.

[Chino]

 

[Chino]

This photo has been floating around in light of yesterday's post.



Many are believing the "D" refers to a beefed up Model S, possibly indicating dual motors/4wd. Tesla's next vehicle, the Model X has a 4wd drivetrain, and since its platform is similar to the Model S', it's not too far fetched of an idea. The "85" portion of the badge probably means the battery is going to remain the same size. I don't think a 4wd Model S would be a terrible idea. The extra traction will knock down the 0-60 time (already a respectable 4.2) as well as maybe be more appealing to people in areas with winter.

[Dublagent66]

Good time to bump the thread.  Picking this up from the dealership on Monday.  Oh yeah! 

2015 Camaro ZL1

[ddtonfire]

Sick, enjoy the torque addiction!

[rumborak]

I've never gotten everybody's fascination with Tesla Motors.

Tesla/Musk are the Apple/Jobs of cars really.

[Dublagent66]

Good time to bump the thread.  Picking this up from the dealership on Monday.  Oh yeah! 

2015 Camaro ZL1

Today, I've officially entered BEAST MODE!  6.2 Liter Supercharged V8 580hp.  If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.   



-AAgent66