Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[81MC]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If they replace the back missing window area with a monitor instead, they could have the monitor show what the camera sees and you look in a mirror at it, resulting in more "distance" and less focus issues. This is the perfect solution.

The perfect solution is a ####ing mirror and glass like has been working fine since the inception of enclosed automobiles.

[Wormius]

The only acceptable solution is an Enterprise-style viewing screen that replaces the windshield and switches between forward and rear viewing, maybe randomly for an exciting new driving mode.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I consider myself pretty objective when it comes to vehicles as I've owned most of the brands over the years, never sticking with one so I'm not going to say Tesla's are great because I own one as there's good and bad with these vehicles. I suspect after a test drive you will probably find it better than you expected while noticing the inherent flaws in that it's noisy (to keep weight down there's less noise insulation than typical vehicles) and dealing with a screen for the majority of functions is never going to be optimal. Some issues you may not notice during a test drive is that the auto-wiper and auto-high beam functions are highly unreliable and are best left off. A lot of the build quality problems are day one issues like misaligned panels, paint issues, misaligned glass, etc. If you get a good one off the assembly line it's likely to turn out reasonably reliable. I can't speak for the other models but the Performance is extremely quick in all situations but over time you adjust to it and the novelty wears a little. Overall it doesn't grab my attention or excite me like some of my previous ICE vehicles but it's been cheap to operate for me and I really don't have a lot of complaints as it's been a solid commuter car.

Yeah, I've been in them as well. They're different and not a hands down upgrade like some try to tout, especially at those price ranges.

I badly want an EV for performance and lower running costs, but the premiums on them is basically the additional costs to an ICE, and often times, the "equivalent price range" ICE has better trim and noise isolation.

I honestly think the best way to think of an EV (hybrids, PHEV etc. not included in this evaluation) is to think of them as tech vs a vehicle. It does similar stuff, but the way I personally and many other people evaluate vehicles as enthusiasts, it's easier to compartmentalize them.

I honestly want an EV with autopilot equivalent for my wife. She hates driving and long term, I'd rather she get super high level driver assistance vs me having to deal with "whatever else got dinged" + "fine, I'll drive you to your thing instead" situations.

Kinda like thinking of them as smart watches/activity monitors vs an "old school" quartz or automatic watch. For most people, vehicles are no longer tools to help you do things, and not a skill where you can derive satisfaction. It's a gadget for convenience and that's it. I'm cool with that. For my wife and I, I'll continue to enjoy my vehicle experience and I'd like to move forward with getting tech to automate the #### out of her not having to put in as much effort so that I can reduce the amount of situations where I have to be directly involved to "help".

I'm on the fence with Tesla. I don't like the price and I don't like the fanboyism. I hope another decent auto drive assistance EV option that isn't insanely expensive pops up or I can pick up an autopilot Tesla for inexpensive in the next 3-5 years. TBH, money is kind of the issue. I am willing to go to $40-50K for something like this (not possible right now) or I'll stick with some great ICE options for sub $25K.

It'll be great not to get phone calls about, "Where'd I put my key? Where's yours?" app key + use your smart watch to find your phone will be awesome.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Wormius

The only acceptable solution is an Enterprise-style viewing screen that replaces the windshield and switches between forward and rear viewing, maybe randomly for an exciting new driving mode.

Nah... 5x bigger console screen that shows multiple camera displays mounted on different spots on the car security camera style.

I think Tesla already does this, but not simultaneous displays of the different cameras on the console?

[brocoli]

I am just needing to vent. For the 3rd time in 3 years it's time for a new condensor in my 2018 Civic Hatch. Just driving me insane with the amount of issues that i've had with the AC and this car. First one was under recall, second one was cracked from the beginning and under warranty and now I pay. I love the car for the most part, except for the AC never working!

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I can't speak for the other models but the Performance is extremely quick in all situations but over time you adjust to it and the novelty wears a little. Overall it doesn't grab my attention or excite me like some of my previous ICE vehicles but it's been cheap to operate for me and I really don't have a lot of complaints as it's been a solid commuter car.

This is why I think Sliver will be disappointed going from a slower bi-turbo V8 to a faster EV, and it's the same reason I went from a faster bi-turbo V8 to a slower but higher-revving NA V8. It's just not as exciting or engaging when it's a quiet "whoosh" from 0-to-Prison Time speeds. There's a lot of theatre missing from the experience.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

This is why I think Sliver will be disappointed going from a slower bi-turbo V8 to a faster EV, and it's the same reason I went from a faster bi-turbo V8 to a slower but higher-revving NA V8. It's just not as exciting or engaging when it's a quiet "whoosh" from 0-to-Prison Time speeds. There's a lot of theatre missing from the experience.

Agreed. The base specs and performance are all there and it's exciting at first. But then you realize it's missing something raw that is part of the theatre as you say.

I and my buddy weren't the only ones to feel this way.

Honestly, it's like the sounds the car makes are parallel to a primal sound of satisfaction you get when you drive the vehicle that way. Like it's a sound parallel to the effort when you push the vehicle to those limits. Same way your exertion isn't the same or as satisfying without that roar at the gym or sports. You score a goal, "#### YEAH!!!!!" not *thumbs up* I used a little extra energy to reach that accomplishment and then casually saunter away.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I honestly want an EV with autopilot equivalent for my wife. She hates driving and long term, I'd rather she get super high level driver assistance vs me having to deal with "whatever else got dinged" + "fine, I'll drive you to your thing instead" situations.

Spoiler!

[timun]

Hahaha, I love the line "[...] 'hers' has the familiar automatic setup," and the picture clearly shows a shift range for the older Hydra-Matic transmission that categorically has not been the "familiar automatic setup" (P-N-D-S-L-R instead of P-R-N-D-S-L) for ~60 years.

(The ad looks like it's from 1964; the very next year Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs would start using the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400, which had a P-R-N-D-2-L shift gate.)

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by timun

Hahaha, I love the line "[...] 'hers' has the familiar automatic setup," and the picture clearly shows a shift range for the older Hydra-Matic transmission that categorically has not been the "familiar automatic setup" (P-N-D-S-L-R instead of P-R-N-D-S-L) for ~60 years.

(The ad looks like it's from 1964; the very next year Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs would start using the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400, which had a P-R-N-D-2-L shift gate.)

What the hell is “S”?


- manual elitist.

[timun]

"Super" What exactly that was in a 1964 Pontiac, I don't know.

In earlier Hydra-Matics—which were a true four-speed—"Super" was basically just third gear. In early-'60s Pontiacs they used a variant of the Hydra-Matic transmission called the Roto Hydra-Matic, which was a three-speed with four ranges: "first" and "second" were differentiated solely by the torque multiplication changing as the fluid coupling between engine and transmission drained. Then the transmission would apply and release clutches like a "normal" automatic would to actually shift into "third" and "fourth". It was a weird transmission and only on sale for four years.

[speede5]

I was going to say second, but google says sport.

[Table 5]

Put it in H!

[TorqueDog]

I was out in the AM today, driving through Mission to get some dinner and I saw the greatest thing ever turn south from 17 Avenue onto 4 Street.


It was an E36 BMW 3-Series...

That's it?

... with 5.0 badges on the side.

That's lame.

It had the full 5.0L V8 powertrain and T5 manual drivetrain out of a Foxbody Mustang GT in it. And it was turbocharged. Also, the hood wasn't fitted so you could pull up beside it and see the whole thing. So. F--king. Rad. That would have been the sort of project that we would have gathered around at parking lot meets back in the day.

[photon]

Seems like my all season tires are cracked from aging (I've had the car almost 5 years and I haven't changed them since I got the car so I guess it's possible), the tire place didn't want to swap them.

I was thinking of going from 18 to 19" rims then I could leave my winters on the 18's and swap on the rims instead of constantly swapping tires on the same rims.

This is supposedly what I have and what my 19" options are:



I don't want to go too low profile otherwise I'll then want to lower the car, and it's low enough already in terms of trying not to scrape the front end.

I know UrbanX gets recommended a lot so I'll probably give them a visit. Anywhere else in Calgary that would be good for wheels?

[Manhattanboy]

Thinking of having my 2021 glossy black Jeep Wrangler wrapped in a matte black finish. I am the original owner.

I scratched the roof on a pipe in a parkade so need to get that touched up in any event.

Quote is about $4k.

Dumbest thing ever?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by photon

I know UrbanX gets recommended a lot so I'll probably give them a visit. Anywhere else in Calgary that would be good for wheels?

TireWorx is great.

Some of those sizes you posted are decently far apart in overall diameter, and thus height. You can compare here:

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

However, I think 3% off of stock diameter is generally considered "fine".

Offsets and wheel widths are important too, but I assume whatever site you got that from already covered that.

[photon]

Yeah there seems to be a whole class of sites that have basically the same info (i.e. i think I got that screen shot from https://www.wheel-size.com/)

But on that tiresize.com site it seems to give a different 19" stock tire size, which seems pretty close in the size calculator:



I'll check out TireWorx too, thanks!

[photon]

Not really finding any wheels that jump out at me, at least not silver ones. Dark ones (anthracite?) I see some, but there's a decent amount of chrome on my car. Is the chrome tinting / deletion something that looks good for a decent amount of time? Who would do it, just a tint shop?

If I did that I could go for this look:

[TorqueDog]

Ehhhhhh. I feel like the "black out everything" look is getting a bit played out, and I say that as someone whose car has all the standard-issue chrome bits replaced with black and carbon fiber from the factory.

Blacking out your own chrome bits with some vinyl is a relatively simple task, you could do it in an afternoon with a steady hand, an Xacto knife, and a plastic spudger tool to tuck the vinyl under the trim. For the wheels though, I would go with a machined face and gunmetal finish over anthracite alone.