Random Car Chat

[Winger98]

went to change the oil on the van yesterday. It's not a small vehicle, the clearance isn't bad...but the lowest spot is right around the oil pan which they also moved as close to the center of the car as possible. Every other car I've had I could slide under with ease (even an old nissan 300z), reach the pan and filter, and get everything off and swapper with room for the oil tub to boot. But this van...

Maybe this is just me being ignorantly privileged with every other car I've owned, but you shouldn't have to put the car off its wheels to change the oil. Only busted one knuckle on it, and some how stabbed myself in the back of my hand, but it went okay despite how weirdly tight the space is to get into. Just me griping.

 

[TaLoN]

I'm curious: why have summer tires on the Audi if you already have the Shelby as the summer car?

The Shelby isn't just a summer car, it's a fair weather summer car. If rain is in the forecast with 15% or more chance in the hourly...I drive the Audi.

Usually get 3-7k miles on the Shelby in a season depending on the weather.

The Audi gets significant miles all year long.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

The Shelby isn't just a summer car, it's a fair weather summer car. If rain is in the forecast with 15% or more chance in the hourly...I drive the Audi.

Usually get 3-7k miles on the Shelby in a season depending on the weather.

Ah I see, makes sense. I never drive my C7 ZR1 that doesn't actually exist unless the weather is good either.

 

[TaLoN]

Ah I see, makes sense. I never drive my C7 ZR1 that doesn't actually exist unless the weather is good either.

Maybe one day it'll exist?

Btw- that's why I don't call the Audi my winter car, I call it the daily driver. (Either that, or when talking about it I'll say "it's not bad for a daily beater" )

 

[Elysian]

The Shelby isn't just a summer car, it's a fair weather summer car. If rain is in the forecast with 15% or more chance in the hourly...I drive the Audi.

Usually get 3-7k miles on the Shelby in a season depending on the weather.

The Audi gets significant miles all year long.

I get that, I love driving my Miata but it's also a bit of work to drive compared to the S3 I traded for it. S3 is a much more comfortable daily. Still wouldn't undo the trade, but I may need to get another Audi one day.

 

[TaLoN]

I get that, I love driving my Miata but it's also a bit of work to drive compared to the S3 I traded for it. S3 is a much more comfortable daily. Still wouldn't undo the trade, but I may need to get another Audi one day.

The Shelby stays cleaner longer without getting water spots. Also, the less wet it gets, the less oxidation, the less I need to worry about the cloth top needing resealing etc.

 

[rynryn]

I get that, I love driving my Miata but it's also a bit of work to drive compared to the S3 I traded for it. S3 is a much more comfortable daily. Still wouldn't undo the trade, but I may need to get another Audi one day.

Can i ask why you traded a S3 for a miata? I've driven a couple (not sure years but one 90s and one mid 2010's) and liked them both but never shopped for one as they are not kid friendly. Everyone i know likes theirs. Not as cultishly as 4runner owners love their trucks but still pretty devoted.

 

[Elysian]

Can i ask why you traded a S3 for a miata? I've driven a couple (not sure years but one 90s and one mid 2010's) and liked them both but never shopped for one as they are not kid friendly. Everyone i know likes theirs. Not as cultishly as 4runner owners love their trucks but still pretty devoted.

I liked my S3 but it wasn't competitive at all in autocross, even in its own class. It's a fun car when you're smashing the gas pedal, but that's really it. A big part of the problem with it was how Audi tuned the DSG from the factory, it will ALWAYS upshift for you in manual mode, which makes it really frustrating in autocross where you typically shift to 2nd and stay there. I test drove my Miata and knew I couldn't go home without it. Was an immediate love. It may be a lot slower than my S3 but in the twisties it's a ton faster.

 

[rynryn]

I liked my S3 but it wasn't competitive at all in autocross, even in its own class. It's a fun car when you're smashing the gas pedal, but that's really it. A big part of the problem with it was how Audi tuned the DSG from the factory, it will ALWAYS upshift for you in manual mode, which makes it really frustrating in autocross where you typically shift to 2nd and stay there. I test drove my Miata and knew I couldn't go home without it. Was an immediate love. It may be a lot slower than my S3 but in the twisties it's a ton faster.

that's kind of what i thought--miata (and a friend's mini I drove around) weren't particularly fast but they were a hoot in town whipping around. No re-maps to take care of the shifting for autocross on the s3? every once in a while on nice days i think about getting a "good weather-only" car like Talon but it's just not super practical with kids and limited garage space. Was thinking about a 10 year old Cayman but if I talked myself into it I'd still have to talk my wife into it and she might be more amenable if the car had a warranty.

 

[Elysian]

that's kind of what i thought--miata (and a friend's mini I drove around) weren't particularly fast but they were a hoot in town whipping around. No re-maps to take care of the shifting for autocross on the s3? every once in a while on nice days i think about getting a "good weather-only" car like Talon but it's just not super practical with kids and limited garage space. Was thinking about a 10 year old Cayman but if I talked myself into it I'd still have to talk my wife into it and she might be more amenable if the car had a warranty.

Tuning the transmission would put the S3 in a different class, which would also make it less competitive.

 

[rynryn]

Tuning the transmission would put the S3 in a different class, which would also make it less competitive.

ahhh. know nothing about autocross. I thought the class bumps had more to do with HP. ty.

edit: just looked up something and a s3 and rs5 are in the same class?!

 

[Elysian]

Need to put the E30 in storage temporarily so we can show the house, so today I got it on the ground. However, the VERY cheap wheels I bought were for an E38 7 series, so they are much larger than normal E30 wheels. They're only 16" rims but the tires are very large. The 17s I'll be running have a similar outer diameter, so I used the opportunity to properly fit them. That involved some minor sledge hammering on the front and cutting the rear out for the widebody over fenders.

The front drivers side tire does rub slightly at full lock to the left, but otherwise has free range of motion. I also raised the ride height as much as possible, and have basically confirmed I need different springs.

 

[HansonBro]

Need to put the E30 in storage temporarily so we can show the house, so today I got it on the ground. However, the VERY cheap wheels I bought were for an E38 7 series, so they are much larger than normal E30 wheels. They're only 16" rims but the tires are very large. The 17s I'll be running have a similar outer diameter, so I used the opportunity to properly fit them. That involved some minor sledge hammering on the front and cutting the rear out for the widebody over fenders.

The front drivers side tire does rub slightly at full lock to the left, but otherwise has free range of motion. I also raised the ride height as much as possible, and have basically confirmed I need different springs.

Sup with all the wires? That's crazy

 

[Elysian]

Sup with all the wires? That's crazy

Need to rebuild the harness for the V8 swap.

 

[Elysian]

Today was all about the front end. I probably did things backwards, but I don't care I got a ton done. Started with the Aerocatch hood latches, wow I love them.

While the primer was drying on the hood I moved to the fenders. Major interferience, was a similar story with the 17s when I had them on there.

Chopped them out for the wide body overfender, but didn't take it as far as I probably could because I'm not ready to mount the wide body kit yet, so just roughed it in with enough room to steer

After both fenders were attached I put in the headlights and the headlight trim, as well as the lower panel for the bumper.

That's where I left off, but I feel extremely accomplished today. Next steps are install the rear differential and driveshaft, install the e-brake handle, and make sure the e-brake works. I only need the car to be able to stop via e-brake to get it out of the garage so it can go in storage.

 

[HansonBro]

Today was all about the front end. I probably did things backwards, but I don't care I got a ton done. Started with the Aerocatch hood latches, wow I love them.

While the primer was drying on the hood I moved to the fenders. Major interferience, was a similar story with the 17s when I had them on there.

Chopped them out for the wide body overfender, but didn't take it as far as I probably could because I'm not ready to mount the wide body kit yet, so just roughed it in with enough room to steer

After both fenders were attached I put in the headlights and the headlight trim, as well as the lower panel for the bumper.

That's where I left off, but I feel extremely accomplished today. Next steps are install the rear differential and driveshaft, install the e-brake handle, and make sure the e-brake works. I only need the car to be able to stop via e-brake to get it out of the garage so it can go in storage.

Nice. How many beers did that cost you?

 

[Elysian]

Nice. How many beers did that cost you?

0, I don't drink at home

 

[Elysian]

My ADHD med did come in clutch though

 

[TD Charlie]

Was visiting my girlfriends parents the other day, and her father actually let my get in his Miata. I put the seat all the way back, and the wheel tilted all the way up. My knees still hit, especially my right knee. He's too funny he says "go ahead and start it...ok so make sure you hit the clutch and..." and I had to cut em off and tell him I know how to start his precious manual.

...and the keys were in his pocket outside the car the whole time anyway lol. But he actually told me to play with the clutch and run it through a few gears. I was shocked. I mean, that's his baby...and I'm the outsider boyfriend that's never gonna be good enough for his daughter no matter what. It was a cool moment though. Hopefully he lets me take it out next summer.

 

[HansonBro]

Was visiting my girlfriends parents the other day, and her father actually let my get in his Miata. I put the seat all the way back, and the wheel tilted all the way up. My knees still hit, especially my right knee. He's too funny he says "go ahead and start it...ok so make sure you hit the clutch and..." and I had to cut em off and tell him I know how to start his precious manual.

...and the keys were in his pocket outside the car the whole time anyway lol. But he actually told me to play with the clutch and run it through a few gears. I was shocked. I mean, that's his baby...and I'm the outsider boyfriend that's never gonna be good enough for his daughter no matter what. It was a cool moment though. Hopefully he lets me take it out next summer.

Meh. Get the girlfriend to steal the keys one night

...its always easier to ask for forgiveness...

 

[TD Charlie]

Meh. Get the girlfriend to steal the keys one night

...its always easier to ask for forgiveness...

HAHAHAHA I would never. It's also buried in the back corner of his 3 bay garage since it's so small it doesn't take a bay.

I wouldn't mind driving his twin turbo E class either

 

[HansonBro]

On another note...i was rummaging through old stuff today and found an old catalog for "performance improvements" from '03. My local shop...but great crapper material. The thing is 3" thick with all color n glossy pages. Also found an auto trader from from '06

 

[Elysian]

Here's a cool story about my BMW...

When I started working on the fabrication for the rear end I found an ancient laptop hard drive stuck in the trunk behind the side paneling.

So I plugged it into a USB hdd adapter and found it was dying, but I was able to pull all the files off, including this picture of my E30 on a rare Austin snow day in 2004:

Because that kind of snow is so rare in Austin I was able to date the picture easily to Valentines Day 2004. I also found a lot of other pics and documents on the drive that were tied to the previous owner, so I looked him up, found him on Facebook, and asked if he wanted his files back. Got him his files back and he was very grateful, as he had lost most of the photos in 2012 when his laptop was stolen.

 

[HansonBro]

Here's a cool story about my BMW...

When I started working on the fabrication for the rear end I found an ancient laptop hard drive stuck in the trunk behind the side paneling.

So I plugged it into a USB hdd adapter and found it was dying, but I was able to pull all the files off, including this picture of my E30 on a rare Austin snow day in 2004:

Because that kind of snow is so rare in Austin I was able to date the picture easily to Valentines Day 2004. I also found a lot of other pics and documents on the drive that were tied to the previous owner, so I looked him up, found him on Facebook, and asked if he wanted his files back. Got him his files back and he was very grateful, as he had lost most of the photos in 2012 when his laptop was stolen.

 

[Elysian]

I'm confused what you're confused about.