Car Talk Topic

[sivispacem]

The 328iS is the non-M E36 to get.

 

I'd disregard the Barchetta and Audi Coupé off-hand; neither of them is a patch on the other cars here (the Barchetta suffers with bad scuttle shake, the Coupé is very old now). The Alfa GTV is wonderful to look at but not that great to drive and can be a nightmare to live with- they're very expensive to keep going. E36s can be run on a budget quite effectively, in contrast. Not got that much expereince with the 300CE but I like them a lot. The Celica isn't worth getting unless it's a GT4.

[Outcast]

 

Some asshole stole my rear license plate.

Man, this enoys me to hear (or read) I'm geting so tired of these people, In my neighburhood a few years ago, people were stealing gas out of the cars, it happned to my Saab to when my mom owned it! Such a shame...

 

Silver lining was after I reported the theft to the police and filling out some paperwork at the station in Taipei, I had a 200km drive back home on a late Sunday night. I got home in just over an hour as I didn't even bother slowing down for the speeding cameras.

 

EDIT: This was in my 911 btw

Edited November 19, 2013 by Outcast

[ChrissDaMan]

 

 

Some asshole stole my rear license plate.

Man, this enoys me to hear (or read) I'm geting so tired of these people, In my neighburhood a few years ago, people were stealing gas out of the cars, it happned to my Saab to when my mom owned it! Such a shame...

 

Silver lining was after I reported the theft to the police and filling out some paperwork at the station in Taipei, I had a 200km drive back home on a late Sunday night. I got home in just over an hour as I didn't even bother slowing down for the speeding cameras.

 

EDIT: This was in my 911 btw

 

Nice man,

 

 

Btw, how do you like your 911?

 

How many klicks have you put in it so far?

 

I was looking at a grey 2007 911 Carrera S, it had only driven 60,000 km.. they wanted €33,000 for it, great to drive and all

but how is it to live with Outcast?

 

 

Do you regret taking the 911 over the Gallardo?

[Outcast]

I love it, it's the perfect daily driver for me.

 

Since I got it I've put close to 10,000km on it already.

 

I think if you wanted to get a 997 I would recommend you go with the 2nd gen as 1st gen 997s have a higher chance of IMS failures up until MY09.

 

Nah I don't regret it and when time comes for me to get rid of my 997 I'll probably get a 991 to replace it with.

[ChrissDaMan]

The new volvo comercial... is wonderfull!!!

[epoxi]

That's pretty impressive, especially how the shot is taken at the perfect time of day with a perfect camera pan.

 

*insert obligatory "FAKE"/"COMPUTERS" comment here*

Edited November 21, 2013 by epoxi

[sivispacem]

O was thinking recently that Volvo would suit a nice mid-engined sports car. 50k, mid mounted T5, manual box and styling inspired by the Polestar C30 and S60 concepts.

[36Chambers]

 

Let's hope Polestar delivers...

[sivispacem]

 

Let's hope Polestar delivers...

 

My money's on a "proper" Polestar V40. ~450bhp T5, AWD and lairy bodywork, plus a limited run like the S60.

[Outcast]

So I've been looking at getting a set of HREs, just wanted to get some opinions on HRE products as this is the first time I'm going to be changing anything from stock on any of my cars. It's a scary world out there in aftermarket parts.

[sivispacem]

Well regarded but not where I'd put my money. The monoblocks are decent everyday wheels but I'd probably be looking at a set of BBSes in your position. That's more a patter of personal taste though,

[Outcast]

In terms of cost though, would HRE and BBS be in a similar range? What advantages do BBS have over HREs?

[sivispacem]

They're direct competitors so yes.

 

They both offer motorsport-inspired forced and flow-formed wheels in a variety of one and three piece designs. Many of the HRE multi-spoke and cross-spoke designs are aesthetic copies of the BBS wheels, and on the non-forged HRE wheels (and some of the forged ones) their manufacturing process has been dogged by issues. Lots of reports of bent HREs, which is something you don't really see much of with BBS wheels. Comparing like with like (forged monoblock with forged monoblock) the BBS wheels are a bit lighter all else being equal too, and the general finish quality is somewhat higher. They're also, if anything, a little cheaper.

 

BBS sit better on Porsches in my view due to the fact that BBS has been the official wheel supplier to Porsche Motorsport and their privateer teams since the late 1960s. It's a nod back to that heritage.

[Outcast]

Thanks for the info sivis, I'll start looking at some BBS wheels. From what I've seen so far I quite like the BBS FI in black.

[sivispacem]

The FIs are great. The LM-R and RS-GT forged splits are my favourite of their forged wheels, plus the RKII but they don't do that in Porsche fitment. Might be worth looking into Gram Lights and Volk wheels too- quite different from the BBS and HRE range but very good quality and come in a wide array of fitments.

 

The 997 looks amazing on the classic TE37s.

[Lurch]

Comparing like with like (forged monoblock with forged monoblock) the BBS wheels are a bit lighter all else being equal too, and the general finish quality is somewhat higher. They're also, if anything, a little cheaper.

 

Biggest factors here. I was talking to man with a Viper on HRE's and he was telling me how sh*tty the chrome finish on them is. So whatever you do, avoid having them chromed. Though really, their paintwork is sometimes equally dodgy.

 

 

The main plus on HRE's, iForgeds, 360forged, and similar (forged 3 piece wheel) companies is they'll do any size, offset, and bolt pattern you want.

 

 

If it was me personally, I'd go CCW. Though I might be a bit biased there being American. Will also do custom sizes, bolt patterns, and offsets.I also see them used and beat on much more extensively around here than BBS stuff. Though that might just be because this is US-based racing. John seems to give out plenty of local support over here.

 

 

Looks wise, I'm into multipiece wheels. So CCW/BBS>Volks. They probably give up a bit to the monoblocks in weight though.

Probably the worst thing about CCW's, BBS, and Volks will be that eventually, someones going to ask if they're reps or not. When you're dropping over 4 g's on wheels, that's a bit annoying.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Lurch

[sivispacem]

Image are like our version of CCW. All totally custom forged three piece wheels. You see a GT40 historic racer in the UK, probably on Images. Do standard and centre lock patterns-Simon Bainbridge's hillclimb TT V8 biturbo in my signature runs Image wheels in 13x16"...

[Lurch]

I kind of want to see how these would look in a 18-19x10 front/18-19x12 rear on a 997 would look. With appropriately sized meats of course.

 

Image Billit 110's. I'm sure a set is beyond expensive though, but probably not far off an HRE or anything similar.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Lurch

[epoxi]

http://www.imagewheels.co.uk/pages/wheels_cast.html

 

All these wheels look great: they have all the classics. I particularly like split piece rims with the rivets all the way around...probably all those Lamborghini pictures I had as a child.

 

Also, Image has to be the first wheel manufacturer in the history of the universe to actually put prices on their site.

 

@Lurch: Works out around $4,000, $4,750 if you include VAT (AKA Sales tax).

Edited November 28, 2013 by epoxi

[Lurch]

@Lurch: Works out around $4,000, $4,750 if you include VAT (AKA Sales tax).

Eh, Cheaper than HRE's and the like then. Maybe a little cheaper than a comparable CCW. Pretty much in line with what a new set of BBS LM's or Super RS cost.

[sivispacem]

I remember looking at Image when I was in the market for wheels for my Corrado. The 9x16 wheels (the Billet 17 series) I wanted with the right finish, offset and dish were the thick end of £2,000.

[epoxi]

I really like the look of these (this site claims they are Images), they are shaped like Diablo SV wheels (except the SV's rim overlaps the wheel face where the rivets are):



It doesn't appear to be on their website though.

 

I would love to stick them on my car, but I just couldn't justify spending more than its worth on rims. Not to mention I would stand by the window at night twitching the curtain to make sure they're still there, plus I would go into deep depression at the first sign of kerbing or corrosion.

 

My last car I didn't really sweat it because the wheels came with the car, and with its rubber band tyres only a fool would expect them to stay in good condition after 5 years.

Edited November 28, 2013 by epoxi

[sivispacem]

Those look like variants of the Billet 61

 

[Lurch]

they seem to do several classic OEM-looking styles so I wouldn't be surprised if they were styled off of Diablo wheels. They do an old Ferrari style 5 spoke in normal 4/5 lug or centerlock (like a 288 GTO/F40). Also the Fuchs style I posted earlier and a few others.

[BCspeed34]

Just test drove a 2006 Exige today. While it's not supercharged (something that can always be done later on) it was nonetheless a blast to drive. The car was incredibly low to the ground and it had a very mechanical feel to it. It was so light you could throw it around corners with ease. I could barely tell it didn't have power steering, even with the tiny wheel. I'm in the market for a new car, I think I may have found it.

 

 

[Mega]

If I was smaller... I had a Elise S2 (same basis really) for a month and a half (sale-swap) with my 191cms it was a pain to drive around. Plus getting out of the car was somewhat funky

[Lurch]

I've been in Elises and Exiges. They seem to have plenty of room once you're in them, but getting in and out if next to impossible without contorting your body in ways it wasn't meant to bend.

 

There's a guy with an Exige S in town that let me get in his car with the roof on. It was even worse because it eliminated my main strategy of attack with an Elise.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Lurch

[BCspeed34]

Yeah getting in and out will take some getting used to. Now it's not a done deal for that specific one, but an Exige will be my next car.

 

Cool thing is, like the Elise, the hardtop is removable. You can even fit a soft top from the Elise with minor mods.

[Lurch]

The Exige I was in, the guy always removes the top and has the elise multipiece soft top retrofitted. It's nice not being constrained to coupe-only.

[Mcquiz]

Well the Seat Leon I got just over a month ago has been a lot of trouble. The timing belt needs to be changed, brakes were changed 3 weeks ago, the engine makes horrible whining sounds when starting up and it loses a lot of engine coolant. I have only driven around a thousand km with it so far.