my new car

[ManifestedISO]

I love it, great choice! 

[Leferd]

Something about Steam ... or, Bioware ... not sure ... all I see is six-speed turbo all-wheel drive when I read your posts now. 

 

 

Not my .:R but still...

[Amentep]

Well, to be fair...I had always wanted to post on this thread, but my ride back then was a hand-me-down 11 year old 1993 Camry station wagon.

 

I suppose I could have then called it the '93 Leferdmobile Avant...

 

I was driving a 1990 Toyota Corolla when this thread was started...

 

...which I was still driving into 2013...

 

I'm probably the least likely person to ever post to this thread...

[Leferd]

 

 

Well, to be fair...I had always wanted to post on this thread, but my ride back then was a hand-me-down 11 year old 1993 Camry station wagon.

 

I suppose I could have then called it the '93 Leferdmobile Avant...

I was driving a 1990 Toyota Corolla when this thread was started...

 

...which I was still driving into 2013...

 

I'm probably the least likely person to ever post to this thread...

Ha! I drove that too. My mom retired it to charity in 2011.

[ShadySands]

A better picture

Too bad I'll likely have to wait until sometime 2018 to drive it

[Leferd]

Golf. AWD. Station wagon. DSG and maybe manual transmission? That's like the perfect car.

 

[Zoraptor]

Oh come on, VW and no Your Mileage May Vary disclaimer?

[teknoman2]

 

I can't stand automatics anymore.

automatics suck ass.

 

i never had an automatic and never will, i completely dislike the sense of not having control over the car it gives. i know it has its uses, like not having to keep changing gears when stuck in traffic, but they are not convincing enough

Edited April 3, 2016 by teknoman2

[ManifestedISO]

I would agree, but, since the time that post was made, true automatic transmissions seem to have disappeared. Euphemisms such as continuous paddle-shifting, handle-bumping, and knob-thwacking have replaced the one-time action of pulling a button grip into Drive and forgetting about it until you get where you're going.

 

I'll never not prefer a gated manual, but there are a lot surrogates that don't make you feel like you've gone crazy and bought a cherry Buick Grand National.   

[Gromnir]

I would agree, but, since the time that post was made, true automatic transmissions seem to have disappeared. Euphemisms such as continuous paddle-shifting, handle-bumping, and knob-thwacking have replaced the one-time action of pulling a button grip into Drive and forgetting about it until you get where you're going.

 

I'll never not prefer a gated manual, but there are a lot surrogates that don't make you feel like you've gone crazy and bought a cherry Buick Grand National.   

 

a police pursuit spec'd 1974 dodge monaco were an alternative choice during our moment o' crazy.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[teknoman2]

wow, now i noticed that this topic is 12 years old... where did you dig it up?

[Valsuelm]

wow, now i noticed that this topic is 12 years old... where did you dig it up?

 

It's been necro'd a few times in the last couple of years.

[Gorth]

Got myself a car. Didn't buy one, just leasing it. A nice little compact Audi A1 sports model with a built in SatNav (which was really it's main selling point for me). First time I've had a car in 15 years. I miss having a motorcycle, but the weather just isn't that pleasant during the winters here in Europe.

[Gfted1]

So, how do you charge a Tesla at home? Will it just plug into a wall outlet or do you have to get some kind of charging station installed in your garage?

[ShadySands]

I think both are options

 

https://www.teslamotors.com/models-charging#/basics

[Leferd]

On 3/22/2015 at 4:50 PM, Leferd said:

 

I like cars. I did not really like my Element that much. It was okay, but not that much fun to drive. It had a bit more utility than I really needed, and my friends kept asking me to help them haul stuff enough that I had to make a frowny face. 3 years ago, I traded in my Element and bought this blue beauty: a MkVI Volkswagen R. I got the only options available: Navigation, Keyless Entry, upgraded Soundsystem, and Sunroof.

 

 

 

I love it. It has a 256 horsepower 2.0 Turbo engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. It uses a Haldex (front-biased) all-wheel drive system, but absolutely no torque steer is felt even under heavy driving. The brakes are from a MkV R32, with massive 4-piston calipers. Of course, it has a sport suspension and, as the pictures show, LED taillights.

I am quite pleased.

I like cars. After 112,000 miles, my Mk VI Golf R was starting to add up in upkeep costs, giving me a frowny face. I felt it was time to change, and since I already have a 160K+ mile J150 GX for Japanese-Amerikan practicality, I felt like it was time to get in front of my pending near mid-life crisis and get a USDM J-Vin'd front engine, RWD sports car. Hence, I got a ZN8 GR86. 

I love it. It has a six-speed manual transmission with a LSD. It's relatively low-powered with a 2.4 liter boxer engine producing 228HP and 184 lb/ft torque. But it is by far the best handling car I've ever driven - especially after some tastefully modest modifications: CSG-Spec Tein FLA coilovers, Cusco braces (strut towers, front and rear side members, steering rack + bushings), Ikeya Formula lower control arms, TRD door stabilizers, Spoon rigid collars, and Essex/AP Racing brakes (last one is, admittedly overkill). 

I am quite pleased.

[Hurlshort]

I'm still in love with my hydrogen car, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a year and a half into owning it. Hydrogen prices have risen, which is an issue, but I'm still using the free fuel card (I think it has another $5k on it.) It drives like a dream. I just hit 30k miles on it and maintenance has been a breeze. I've driven it to Southern California a handful of times with no issues. 

[Azdeus]

1 hour ago, Leferd said:

I like cars. After 112,000 miles, my Mk VI Golf R was starting to add up in upkeep costs, giving me a frowny face. I felt it was time to change, and since I already have a 160K+ mile J150 GX for Japanese-Amerikan practicality, I felt like it was time to get in front of my pending near mid-life crisis and get a USDM J-Vin'd front engine, RWD sports car. Hence, I got a ZN8 GR86. 

I love it. It has a six-speed manual transmission with a LSD. It's relatively low-powered with a 2.4 liter boxer engine producing 228HP and 184 lb/ft torque. But it is by far the best handling car I've ever driven - especially after some tastefully modest modifications: CSG-Spec Tein FLA coilovers, Cusco braces (strut towers, front and rear side members, steering rack + bushings), Ikeya Formula lower control arms, TRD door stabilizers, Spoon rigid collars, and Essex/AP Racing brakes (last one is, admittedly overkill). 

I am quite pleased.

The GR86 is one of those very few cars made after 1998 that I wouldn't mind having. It's a shame it's a boxer engine though.

I'll stick with my ~450000km Volvo 940 though. I've got my Volvo 240 for some variation

[Lexx]

Damn that's quite the grave that got digged up here.

[Leferd]

7 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

I'm still in love with my hydrogen car, a 2021 Toyota Mirai, a year and a half into owning it. Hydrogen prices have risen, which is an issue, but I'm still using the free fuel card (I think it has another $5k on it.) It drives like a dream. I just hit 30k miles on it and maintenance has been a breeze. I've driven it to Southern California a handful of times with no issues. 

A Mirai? NICE! Now that is exclusive. At this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, Akio Toyoda showed off a prototype classic Levin AE86 with a hyrogen fuel cell. They gave its twin, Trueno AE86 a battery electric engine. Toyota was exploring the feasibility of essentially converting gas-powered vehicles with carbon neutral powerplants.

 

5 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

The GR86 is one of those very few cars made after 1998 that I wouldn't mind having. It's a shame it's a boxer engine though.

I'll stick with my ~450000km Volvo 940 though. I've got my Volvo 240 for some variation

Yeah, I will admit that the weak point of this GR86/BRZ is the boxer. It's not very refined and doesn't sound good. But it does lower the car's center of gravity.

450K! Impressive. How many of those are Azdeus kilometers? 

[Azdeus]

1 hour ago, Leferd said:

Yeah, I will admit that the weak point of this GR86/BRZ is the boxer. It's not very refined and doesn't sound good. But it does lower the car's center of gravity.

450K! Impressive. How many of those are Azdeus kilometers? 

I wonder how much difference there'd be in the centre of gravity if it had an inline 4 instead I'm a DIYer, so working on a boxer sounds feels like a headache, I get annoyed that they canted my engine over something like 20 degrees, so a boxer would be at least 350% more annoying

Only about 150k are mine, if I hadn't been cut off and smashed it between the railings on the highway, it'd be about 75k more since I had to buy another 940 to drive while fixing up the first. I'm currently trying to get my hands on a dutch or italian Volvo 940 Turbo (They're 2 litres only, but they have a 16V head, and I need the papers from the car to put a 16V head on my 2.3L without having to change head each time I take the car in for an inspection) engine to put into my Volvo 240, but I think I'm going to have to find some other way. I had a T6 engine from an S80 that I was going to put into it until a friend of mine tried to start the engine without putting the bloody camshaft belts on...

I was inspired by this

[Leferd]

Tuners have been known to "K-Swap" the Subaru boxer with a Honda V-TEC K20 or K24.  Ken Gushi's GR86 Formula Drift race car uses a 4.0L FJ Cruiser motor tuned to push 1000HP. 

I am comfortable enough with socket/torque wrenches and impact drivers, but I am too much of a coward to even consider touching the powertrain (due to lack of competency, potential warranty issues, and eventually passing inspections). How strict are the inspections in Sweden? What sort of modifications are allowable?

[Azdeus]

31 minutes ago, Leferd said:

Tuners have been known to "K-Swap" the Subaru boxer with a Honda V-TEC K20 or K24.  Ken Gushi's GR86 Formula Drift race car uses a 4.0L FJ Cruiser motor tuned to push 1000HP. 

I am comfortable enough with socket/torque wrenches and impact drivers, but I am too much of a coward to even consider touching the powertrain (due to lack of competency, potential warranty issues, and eventually passing inspections). How strict are the inspections in Sweden? What sort of modifications are allowable?

That sounds more up to my speed

It's not so bad when you're working on older cars, but I can definetly understand the hesitancy of doing it on something brand new. Before year 2000 you could get away with using a tuner chip, but nowadays the ECU's are complex enough and integrated enough that you basically have to use a custom ECU, and as such many things stop working.

Inspections? Depends on your car and who is doing the inspecting. If you've got a new car with computers, they hook up the car, put a probe up the tailpipe and measure and read away. It's thorough. If you've got an old car like mine that doesn't even have a proper OBDII jack (It has the jack but was made to blink a diode for fault codes. Don't want to hook a computer up to that ) they do the typical shakeboard, visual inspection, prodding, physical braketest and smog. They check the odometer and record it each inspection, and they also check for dashboard warning lights and that your headlights and taillights work properly, and that the horn works. And they make sure that you have a warning triangle. If you were to roll in with a V8 swap under the hood, they'd require me to do a certification smog test. This is basically a write off for the car, since we're talking about the same test that manufacturers have to do for their new cars. That's a few million bucks. If you roll in with a tuned original engine and the inspector is a gearhead (They typically are) they don't really care aslong as you pass the smog, which is easier on an older car.

TL/DWR version, pre 1987 cars are easy to mod, not so much after that.

As for what is allowed to be modified, that depends on the age of the car actually. We've had a couple of different car registration "eras" so to speak. Before, iirc, 1971, the only thing that was recorded was power, weight, length, width of the vehicle. So my 1968 Volvo Amazon I could swap a V8 into and they can't say anything about it aslong as it doesn't produce wildly different amount of horsepower compared to the Volvo Amazon maximum, the only thing I'd have to do was register an affix for the papers that said I'd done an engine swap. After that they added some more things to the papers, I can't recall all what it was though but I think tyre dimensions was added, and in 1987 catalytic converters were mandated on all cars, so if you want to do an engine swap on a newer model than that you have to include a catalytic converter. In 1993 they tightened up the registry with more details again, environment classes, gearbox type, noise level, rims and such, and this is the last year that you can register an engine swap on a car. That's why I got myself a 1991 Volvo 240. After '99 or something like that they recorded almost every single little detail about the car, and you're not allowed, technically, to deviate anything from it.

There is one way around it though, you can register the car as a total conversion. Then you can do whatever you want basically, but you have to pass a special registration inspection where they absolutely make sure that you have done a total conversion and not just an engine swap or similar. You have to modify the engine, the brakes, the drivetrain, the suspension and so on in a meaningful way. The only thing you don't have to change is the bodywork.

And I've only touched lightly on the subject of modifying here

My fathers Volvo 740 passed the inspection with his 400+hp race engine in it without issues, the inspector just looked at the turbo and chuckled "That's a big ****in' 'un, heh".

[Gorth]

Meh, I'm more likely to buy a motorcycle again than a car. Too many wheels and too much space required to get around

[Leferd]

2 hours ago, Azdeus said:

There is one way around it though, you can register the car as a total conversion. Then you can do whatever you want basically, but you have to pass a special registration inspection where they absolutely make sure that you have done a total conversion and not just an engine swap or similar. You have to modify the engine, the brakes, the drivetrain, the suspension and so on in a meaningful way. The only thing you don't have to change is the bodywork.

And I've only touched lightly on the subject of modifying here

My fathers Volvo 740 passed the inspection with his 400+hp race engine in it without issues, the inspector just looked at the turbo and chuckled "That's a big ****in' 'un, heh".

Yikes. Haha I guess all-in or nothing.

8 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Meh, I'm more likely to buy a motorcycle again than a car. Too many wheels and too much space required to get around

I actually haven't been on two wheels since I was still in my teens. Once I got my license, the only wheeled death trap for me is with a wheel on each corner and an enclosed roof over my head.