Car Talk Topic

[Zyo]

 

But was he even speeding though? What would be the expected speed on a road like that? I'm not too knowledgeable of British traffic laws. But from the brief second we have in the video (probably after breaking for a little bit) it doesn't seem like he was going unacceptably fast. It would be an interesting argument in court if this got to that.

 

I am inclined to agree with this. Yes we have all seen the video, and all would probably agree the lambo "might" be going fast. The trick would be to prove it and, also by how much.

 

By the way, the speed imit there would almost certainly be 30mph.

Edited April 7, 2014 by zyonig

[gtamann123]

What are your guy's opinions on the future of the new car market? My dad works in a factory that makes a variety of parts for several major automakers (largest being Toyota) and he says they have been told to not expect any increases in orders for the foreseeable future as the new car market has become over saturated and will flat-line this coming fall.

 

Do you think this is true? Are we headed to a market where people hold on to their cars even longer than they already do and when they do want to change a car they purchase a used one more often than not?

Edited April 10, 2014 by gtamann123

[Carlover325]

I tend to hold on to my vehicles for a long time. So far the only one I've gotten rid of is my S10 which was stolen and the transmission trashed in the process. My dad had that truck since '94 and left it to me when he died in 2011. The truck was stolen in 2012. I had it scrapped as it wasn't worth fixing. I've had my Jeep going on 7 years this year. I will have it for probably another 2 years before I plan on selling it and buying a new truck. The new truck I hope to have for at least 10 years.

[sivispacem]

New car sales in the UK are increasing faster than ever before. I think we're helped by a comparatively weak Euro and Yen at the moment. We aren't going to see people holding onto cars for longer mainly because car life cycles are getting shorter and shorter. With inflation factored in the costs of cars are decreasing quite significantly and the constant march of green technology has been enough to convince many in Europe that trading up regularly actually saves them money. It's largely bunk but the European car market is super strong. US looks fairly flaky though and Japan is very hit and miss.

[epoxi]

People in the UK always have such new cars and I can't understand why. I mean, we all benefit because it drives down the cost of used cars and parts, but aside from some MP3/Bluetooth toys I don't see what today's mid-range cars offer that their 10 year old counterparts don't.

 

One could argue it's a status symbol but I honestly don't form any different impression whether someone is driving a brand new Vauxhall (for instance) or one that's 6 years old, I mean they are so unremarkable the incentive is questionable.

[sivispacem]

Aside from nav, which I'm intending to retrofit to my car, there's nothing I actually miss from downgrading from the A4 to the Leon. Still got climate control, still got a CD player with iPod input, still got bluetooth, still got cruise, still got heated seats.

[Greenline]

I'm getting my permit on monday, hopefully. I'll be cruisin around in a 2003 Ford Explorer V8.

[Outcast]

Was on Jalopnik and saw they released the official pictures of the Mercedes AMG GT interior. I'm pretty excited about a Porsche killer and I would definitely consider replacing my 911 with one if it looks anything like a smaller, sportier S-Class coupe on the outside.

 

[El Dildo]

just gonna' leave this here...

 

http://jalopnik.com/5979300/i-drove-an-ariel-atom-killer-built-from-spare-parts

 

 

[sivispacem]

Just back from two day's driving in rural Wales with a couple of mates. Did a fair bit of swapping around, which meant I got to cane the Evo Triangle, Snowdonia National Park and part of the Brecon Beacons in a borrowed Porsche Cayman.

 

A453 across Denbigh Moors:

 

Snowdonia National Park

 

Black Mountain Pass

 

Dead Sheep Mountain

 

B4520 Brecon Pass

 

From the actual trip, rather than Google Image:

 

Seat and Pork at one of our rest-stops. No MX-5 as he'd missed the turning and got stuck in traffic coming back

 

Another rest stop, all three cars in it this time. Comedy pork parking, they're wider than you think...

 

View from the pilot's seat of a Cayman on some of the best driving roads in the UK. Stationary when the image was taken, for those of you (like me) who shake their heads at taking pictures whilst driving.

 

Panorama of our lunch spot. These single-track unlisted country roads were murderously uncomfortable for the ~2 hours we were stuck on them, but they did cut out most of the really dull motorway stuff.

 

Atop the moorlands in Snowdonia National Park, off the Evo Triangle.

 

All in all a pretty good weekend.

[Outcast]

Those look like some damn fine roads to drive on.

[sivispacem]

They were. A453 was best of the bunch, all 1/4 mile sight lines so you could use both sides of the road and straight-line corners. Pork really shone on those tighter, winding roads. Black Mountain was very busy with bikers and car clubs doing their runs (the Type R forums were there with some interesting stuff including an NSX) and my mate got an utter bollocking from some random woman for drifting some of the corners but we were acting as look-outs so we knew there were no bikers there. SEAT wasn't great on the tighter stuff- I ended up having to do a lot of trail braking to pull the back end in on tight corners and there's a marked dead zone between the car feeling like it's losing mechanical grip and actually losing it which made anticipating understeer hard. Also absolutely cooked the brakes- Pagid Golf GTI RS19s on part worn disks were noisy as hell after an hour or so of hard driving. That said it had no trouble keeping pace through the fast, flowing shallow corners.

 

Started making inquiries for some upgraded parts now. Going to leave power for a bit and spend some money on upgrading the suspension. I drove a Cupra fitted with a Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit and that increased steering feel massively and helped place the front end and grip limits much better so that's going to be the first thing to be fitted, along with my Revo PCV delete kit and some Goodridge braided hoses.

 

Now I've had the car for a year I'm starting to plan changes over the long terms but I'm going to keep it on a lower budget. I'm looking at:

 

Engine

Badger 5 custom map

Custom S/S exhaust

APR Carbonio intake

Revo PCV delete

Revision D diverter valve (fitted)

 

Drivetrain

Loba single mass flywheel

Sachs stage II clutch

 

Chassis

Whiteline Anti Lift Kit

Koni FSD shocks

VW Racing springs

ECS Dogbone mount

FK spacers 10mm rear only

Aluminium alloy TT wishbones

Forge short-shift kit

Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 17x8 ET45

 

Brakes

Brembo disks

Ferodo DS2500 pads

Goodridge hoses

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

My mom and I were in our car yesterday on Pontraco Rd. near Ellison Dr., and the SUV in front of us stops short so my mom hit the brakes instantly. This Directv van behind us clearly wouldn't stop so my mom attempts to move up little bit more. A second and a half later, the van rams the back of us and our car hits the SUV in front of us. Then when he's talking to the police he said, "Oh when I looked up, she had stopped" and I'm thinking to myself, "Looking up from what, your phone?" The front end of our car is slightly smooshed in and the rear fascia is all f*cked up, I don't even know if the car is totaled or not.

 

 

 

Who is at fault here though? Should we get a lawyer? I had slight neck pain last night and mom had to be taken to the hospital.

Edited April 24, 2014 by StingrayX

[sivispacem]

Get a lawyer on it. Guy in the van is at fault 100%. Any incident where someone hits the rear of another car it's usually automatically assumed that they're at fault.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

So the car is not totaled but my mom does have a lawyer on the case. The man who drove the van has a bit of beef with my mom and so does his insurance company.

[sivispacem]

So the car is not totaled but my mom does have a lawyer on the case. The man who drove the van has a bit of beef with my mom and so does his insurance company.

That's probably because they've been got bang to rights and without an overwhelming mountain of evidence in their favour they're probably going to have to make a fairly substantial pay-out. I assume you've got witnesses and can get things like video from traffic cams if necessary?

[GN 92]

Just back from two day's driving in rural Wales with a couple of mates. Did a fair bit of swapping around, which meant I got to cane the Evo Triangle, Snowdonia National Park and part of the Brecon Beacons in a borrowed Porsche Cayman.

 

 

Another rest stop, all three cars in it this time. Comedy pork parking, they're wider than you think...

 

 

 

 

Nice pics man, when I saw the R8 GT in person, I couldn't believe how wide it really is, compared to pictures.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

So USAA totaled out our car. I wonder if we can get an Infiniti Q50 or something.

 

Edit: She ended up buying a '14 Maxima just like our previous one but it's java metallic.

Edited May 2, 2014 by StingrayX

[*MURDOC*]

http://www.engineswapdepot.com/

 

I love this website, not just for the crazy (and not so crazy, but still awesome) engine swaps, but the amount and quality of work that goes into so many of these vehicles is phenomenal.

 

Very interesting reading and quite a few articles have links to the build threads which are simply incredible.

Edited May 2, 2014 by *MURDOC*

[GN 92]

I'd love to do this if I had the $$ to buy a M5 engine..

 

 

[El Dildo]

http://www.engineswapdepot.com/

 

I love this website, not just for the crazy (and not so crazy, but still awesome) engine swaps, but the amount and quality of work that goes into so many of these vehicles is phenomenal.

 

Very interesting reading and quite a few articles have links to the build threads which are simply incredible.

 

my grandpa and I have been dropping LS1's into V6 engine bays for years.

my dad's side of the family are big car people; specifically GM F-body.

 

most T/A's and Maro's respond so well to bolt-ons that swapping the motor is almost as easy as just installing forced induction.

[gtamann123]

I'd love to do this if I had the $$ to buy a M5 engine..

 

 

That's awesome. I love large engine into small car swaps like that. My dad is obsessed with wanting to put a V8 Chevy into a late 70s Datsun 280Z. He said that its a common swap and he sees it all the time and wants to do one himself sometime.

[hvcciookay]

I've been going through some fourms that are non bmw related to get a idea of the smg-II tranny in a e46. As far as i know, the only difference from the m3 model and 330ci is the sport mode on the m3 and of course gear ratios (speaking of the tranny alone).

 

Amyone have experiences with either of the 2 cars? I test drove the m3 i'm looking to grab and my god 1st to 2nd is like a bucking bronco. I drpve stick shift with my G25/7 wheel for years on rfactor and lfs, so shifting wasn't an issue except the 1st to 2nd.

 

It has 130k miles and a well behaved past. The salesman told me it's nothing to worry about, but seriously a salesman would be the last soul i trust.

[sivispacem]

SMG II is sh*t. It only works at 10/10ths and even then it isn't great. Slightly better in the CSL but not much. It's terrible around town, sluggish in fast road driving and jerky on the track. I've spent a fair bit of time peddling manual E46 M3s and Z4M and driven a CSL a few times on the track, the manual box shouldn't be jerky at all- the sign of a worn synchro usually which is often evidence of them being hammered in an urban environment.

[hvcciookay]

Spent the last hour researching more into it. Sheesh i'm not in a complete rush and wait for a 6MT to come around.

 

Didn't see the "Coyote" posted above. That car is pretty crazy. It crashed last year really badly unfortunately, but the guy was unhurt and for the most part, the cage barely damaged. Didn't see it at MDU Rd 1 though so they're still working on it.

[Lurch]

Avoid SMG cars like the plague. Even the normal manual manual G420 isn't the best transmission out there (synchro problems like damn near every getrag). . A lot of people I know that are swapping S54's into their E30's are using ZF 6 speeds from the 330ci.

 

But that's besides the point. For an E43 M3, manual g420>SMG G420. For a 330ci, ZF 6 speed>whatever the f*ck the SMG trans is.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Lurch

[hvcciookay]

Thanks, that's great to know. Sucks because i've always wanted one, but i'll keep saving. With the money ive saved i can join the toyobaru bandwagon and afford some modifications or buy a Sw20 mr2 to tinker with over the summer.

 

Hell if a nice e92 328 comes up, i may snag that, but a mess of 850's pppped up as of lately and jimmies are most definitely rustled.

 

A car guy with a fair sum of money and options sucks big time. Almost miss the days where it was 3 grand and your best option was a miata.

Edited May 8, 2014 by hvcciookay

[sivispacem]

E90 M3 is where it's at. Always thought M saloons were better looking than the equivalent coupé. Works for E36, E90, F80, 6 versus 6GC, et cetera.

[Gnocchi Flip Flops]

When does the 2015 Audi S3 Sportback Sedan come to the United States of America. I've been trying to find the answer but I can't, all I see is "It's coming to the US" but I wanna' know when?

[gtamann123]

When does the 2015 Audi S3 Sportback Sedan come to the United States of America. I've been trying to find the answer but I can't, all I see is "It's coming to the US" but I wanna' know when?

Early 2015 apparently according to This Article but for all I know that's unreliable.