Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[Table 5]

If it's purely a fun car, and/or you have an alternative for the crappy days, summers are great. But I think for a daily driver, all-seasons still probably make the most sense. Our weather here is pretty sporadic even in the non-winter months (especially if you take it to the mountains), so it's good to have that capability cushion. I drove my car on summer tires across the country once in October, and we hit a cold snap/snowstorm and the tires basically turned into plastic. That's just not something you want on a car you rely on.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by photon

My car came with Pilot Sport 4S tires and I've never had a purely summer tire before.

The rear has 7/32 left but the fronts are at 4/32 (it's staggered so I can't rotate), I think 2/32 is when they legally need to be replaced but I've never had a summer tire before so I don't know how lower than 4/32 impacts them.

Is hydroplaning / wet stopping distance going to fall off a lot? I.e. do people switch summers out at that point or is running summers down to 2/32 fine?

Just wondering if I can run them for the summer or if I should replace them now.

Thinking of Pilot Sport AS 4 or Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus as replacements, I don't think I want pure summer tires as this is my daily driver, I think the first owner this was a summer fun car.

Another vote for a pivot to the Pilot Sport AS’s. Used to have the 4S’s and I don’t notice any difference other than the fact the all seasons are quieter.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by DFO

Another vote for a pivot to the Pilot Sport AS’s. Used to have the 4S’s and I don’t notice any difference other than the fact the all seasons are quieter.

I really like my Pilot Sport AS's. And something else to keep in mind is that Calgary doesn't really get enough hot days to get "summer" tires into their performance window, unless you're at a track.

[photon]

Good enough for me, just now to decide if I want to get AS 4's now or run the 4S's until I get a set of winters.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Well, it's originally a US car that was imported into Canada. Importing it back is not a problem (already confirmed that before), but are you saying that if it was already a US car once it wouldn't qualify for the tariff? That would be nice.



Perhaps, but I'm also not looking to be ruthless here. If I was on the other side, I'd be pretty choked to have to pay an extra $10K.

When the time comes to ship the car south the buyer should be very proactive in finding out what is required, the historic normal rules don't apply right now. With tariff's on and off, border and customs agents are scrambling to figure out exactly what needs to be done, on both sides of the border. Our logistics department has been pulling their hair out for a few weeks as tons of stuff is getting held up going either way, and most of it is parts we own, and are just going back and forth for repair. US customs was literally asking us to declare where the raw materials in our parts (owned for over 20 years) was smelted, it is all sorts of crazy. And these are military parts which should be exempt in the first place.

Then there's stuff like this.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg/arti...dian%20tariffs.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by photon

My car came with Pilot Sport 4S tires and I've never had a purely summer tire before.

The rear has 7/32 left but the fronts are at 4/32 (it's staggered so I can't rotate), I think 2/32 is when they legally need to be replaced but I've never had a summer tire before so I don't know how lower than 4/32 impacts them.

Is hydroplaning / wet stopping distance going to fall off a lot? I.e. do people switch summers out at that point or is running summers down to 2/32 fine?

Just wondering if I can run them for the summer or if I should replace them now.

Thinking of Pilot Sport AS 4 or Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus as replacements, I don't think I want pure summer tires as this is my daily driver, I think the first owner this was a summer fun car.

I'll advocate for the DWS06+. I have them on my X3 M40i and they're awesome! I use them all year round in YYC and they have been excellent.

[photon]

Costco said a few months for the Pilot Sport AS 4 though I do see them available in my size elsewhere.. but the Contis are a bit cheaper too.

I'm leaning towards running the summers until the fall and swap to winters and then get the all seasons next spring, we'll see how that goes.

Today though sucks I have to drive the old car.

[TorqueDog]

On the subject of pure summer rubber versus all-season, I was previously running UHP summer rubber on the Vantage, but when it came time to change the tires, I opted for the all-season ExtremeContacts DWS+. In Calgary, there are days in the spring, fall -- hell, even summer months -- when it is cold enough outside that a dedicated summer compound tire is going to be a hockey puck. I would happily run a dedicated summer tire in a place like Winnipeg where summers are typically scalding. The car is a driver once the snow is gone, so more often than not I'm likely taking it where ever I'm going unless I have a need for the RR. You also get the benefit of longer tread life since a dedicated summer compound will be around a 220 treadwear versus 500+ treadwear for all-season compounds. If you go to the track, get a dedicated track set like Cup 2s or similar that can still be driven on public roads to get you there and back.

Regarding Michelins, I was a diehard Michelin Pilot Sport and Pilot Sport A/S guy for years, but Continental's recent showing with the Sport Contact and ExtremeContact DWS+ lines have really changed my tune. To get >95% the overall performance of the Michelin for anywhere between $75-$100 less per corner (sometimes more) is a complete no-brainer. AM runs the DWS+, RR is still on the Pirellis Scorpion Verde PNCS it came with, but I'll look at Continental's options for noise-cancelling tires when those are ready to be replaced. Pirelli has to be the most overpriced tire manufacturer relative to their performance in comparison tests.

[GioforPM]

Any views on glass insurance (I'm looking at AMI)?

[photon]

Oh good question, when I was adding my car to my policy when we talked about glass coverage he mentioned that there's specific glass insurance you can get, he mentioned a site but I don't recall what it was.

Edit: From AMI's site:

AMI or a Preferred Service Centre will assess damage and determine the appropriate course of action. If the damaged glass is beyond repair, AMI or a Preferred Service Centre will determine the appropriate piece of replacement glass. Replacement glass may not be identical to the damaged glass but will be of like kind and quality. If an after-market part of the same “like kind and quality” is available, that part will be used for installation. If no equivalent part meets all the features of the damaged glass part, the Preferred Service Centre will purchase the part from other sources (dealerships, competitive allies) to complete the installation.

and

AMI does NOT cover recalibration.

So for newer techier cars is it even worth it to get that insurance?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by photon

Oh good question, when I was adding my car to my policy when we talked about glass coverage he mentioned that there's specific glass insurance you can get, he mentioned a site but I don't recall what it was.

Edit: From AMI's site:



and



So for newer techier cars is it even worth it to get that insurance?

I read all that, and found out form the shop they use that the recalibration is $175 or so, so with the $50 deductible a windshield on a car with tech is like $225 (plus the premium you paid up until that time). So if I pay $190/y, get a new windshield in year three, I've in essence paid $795.

The type of glass is a worry but I think it's still supposed to be whatever is needed for the car, just not OEM.

[Ryan Coke]

I have always done the high performance all seasons then performance winter tires as well. Really like the Michelins, then got the DWS’ with this car and they were just…..fine. But not fine enough to want them again, so actually tried some Pirellis…..mainly because they were a really good price, but I actually quite like them as well.

Big fan of the Alpins in winter though, and replaced my previous set with the same for this winter.

And if it were me, I’d run the summers you have for this year, then put the Alpins on this winter, then you’ve got a year before you need to buy new UHP all seasons.

[Ironhorse]

It has been a long time since I’ve bought a used car. How much leeway does a dealer normally have on an 8K car?

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

It has been a long time since I’ve bought a used car. How much leeway does a dealer normally have on an 8K car?

A dealer could have paid $3k for the car on trade in or even less potentially. Unless you found something that you really really want, have a look at the used market if your paying cash or have access to financing.

Throw in GST and some document/dealer fee's you might be paying a lot of money for a used car. You may be able to find something very similar for much cheaper and use the savings to get it properly inspected by an independent shop.

Good luck

[photon]

Someone is coming to look at my Cadillac tomorrow and of course when I went to go take a picture of the engine bay today for him it's completely dead, no power.

Aaand my battery booster is also dead, haven't charged it probably since I replaced the battery a few years ago.

Charge the booster some and boost the car.. maybe didn't charge the booster unit enough as it baaarely starts, but does. Let it idle for a bit, then go to drive it and it barely moves like the transmission is having none of it. Turn it off, leave it for a few minutes, start it, starts fine. Go for a drive, drives fine.

Except now the check engine light is on.

I'll call my regular shop and see if they can check it out in the morning, had to let the guy know and maybe reschedule him seeing it... I wouldn't blame him if he just decided it's probably not a good car to buy.

Can boosting it cause an error code that isn't indicative of an actual problem that once cleared everything is fine? Hopefully the booster didn't fry some electronics part... I haven't driven it much for the past few weeks, so maybe that caused the battery to go low (I did drive it for a bit on the weekend and it seemed fine).

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

It has been a long time since I’ve bought a used car. How much leeway does a dealer normally have on an 8K car?

$8k all in and out the door is where you’ll likely end up. start at $7k all in and go from there.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by photon

Someone is coming to look at my Cadillac tomorrow and of course when I went to go take a picture of the engine bay today for him it's completely dead, no power.

Aaand my battery booster is also dead, haven't charged it probably since I replaced the battery a few years ago.

Charge the booster some and boost the car.. maybe didn't charge the booster unit enough as it baaarely starts, but does. Let it idle for a bit, then go to drive it and it barely moves like the transmission is having none of it. Turn it off, leave it for a few minutes, start it, starts fine. Go for a drive, drives fine.

Except now the check engine light is on.

I'll call my regular shop and see if they can check it out in the morning, had to let the guy know and maybe reschedule him seeing it... I wouldn't blame him if he just decided it's probably not a good car to buy.

Can boosting it cause an error code that isn't indicative of an actual problem that once cleared everything is fine? Hopefully the booster didn't fry some electronics part... I haven't driven it much for the past few weeks, so maybe that caused the battery to go low (I did drive it for a bit on the weekend and it seemed fine).

100% the SEL is from low voltage. Will likely clear itself after 10 or so ignition cycles with a fully charged battery. What model Caddy? Most of them are terrible for draining batteries when sitting for any period of time.

[photon]

2011 CTS Coupe. The guy who's looking at it said he looked online and said the same thing that it's probably a result of the boost.

I'll probably still try to get it into a shop tomorrow morning, worth the effort if it ends up in a good sale.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by curves2000

Unless you found something that you really really want, have a look at the used market if you’re paying cash or have access to financing.

We’ve been looking at the private used private market, and it’s a frustrating sh1t show for us. Curbers everywhere you look, I wouldn’t trust most of them further than I can throw them. Any inquiries I’ve sent to what appears to be a decent listing goes unanswered.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

Will likely clear itself after 10 or so ignition cycles with a fully charged battery.

Yeah I did that this morning and it cleared itself. Thanks!