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I'm in the market for new tyres, mainly for city driving in a 1.2 Fiat Punto. I've been looking at shelling out for a full set of Michelin Energy Saver Plus, but I'm not sure if paying for premium brands is basically me throwing money away, or if they'll actually have any benefits beyond just buying some cheapo no-brand things. I know they claim better MPG and everlasting durability etc. but I never know whether that's all just ad-speak. Also, we don't get much snow in the UK (where I am we get maybe 1-3 days per year), am I actually safe just sticking with summer tyres or is it worth springing for all-weather?
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Dec 29, 2016 15:55
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Surprise T Rex posted:I'm in the market for new tyres, mainly for city driving in a 1.2 Fiat Punto. I've been looking at shelling out for a full set of Michelin Energy Saver Plus, but I'm not sure if paying for premium brands is basically me throwing money away, or if they'll actually have any benefits beyond just buying some cheapo no-brand things. I know they claim better MPG and everlasting durability etc. but I never know whether that's all just ad-speak. Michelin makes tyres just like all the other manufacturers do, I very much doubt that they have some proprietary magic. If you want longer lasting/easier rolling tyres, you need a harder rubber compound, meaning you sacrifice grip. It's all compromises. Just watch out for the chinese ones, any known non-chinese brand will make good tyres according to whatever compromise that particular model demands. Whenever I shop for tyres I go with ze Germans, they are aways the cheapest with freight included: http://www.mytyres.co.uk/ . Things might be different where you live though of course. They also show ratings for grip in bad weather and rolling resistance as well as customer reviews, whatever those are worth. There are tests done by auto journalists that give indications of performance in real-life conditions if you want to be a more informed consumer. If I were to own just one set of tyres I'd make sure they were all-weather, but I don't live in the UK so what do I know? What kind of tyres do most people put on their cars where you live?
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Dec 29, 2016 16:53
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Yeah it's not that they have any kind of specific Michelin-only magic or anything, I just don't really know whether the difference in manufacturing quality would be big enough to care about or pay for. I'm pretty sure most new cars come with summer tyres in the UK, so maybe that answers that. Surprise T Rex fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Dec 29, 2016 |
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Dec 29, 2016 17:04
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Mercury_Storm posted:I test drove a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE today (about 90k miles on it) and noticed a few odd things.  Any reason why their asking price is so much higher than this?
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Dec 29, 2016 17:31
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Because Edmunds TMV is about as useful as throwing a dart at a board.
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Dec 29, 2016 17:36
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KBB rates that car (presuming standard options for the model trim and excellent body condition) at ~$2500 for private party. NADA gives "clean retail" value of $4450, which is probably where the seller is getting the price from.
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Dec 29, 2016 17:56
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Motronic posted:You can get a not-a-pile-of-poo poo used car for $3,000. Is there a thread or post somewhere that discusses "best cars to look for on craigslist for under $3k" or "for under $5k"? I haven't been keeping up with reliability ratings and whatnot, but I would like to be able to give people some advice when they are thinking they are going to a used car lot or something to buy a used car. I'm thinking these could be "appliance" level vehicles, not necessarily someone's dream car. I guess I'll start with the Ask/Tell thread. BossTweed fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Dec 29, 2016 |
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Dec 29, 2016 22:55
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Tire chat: My 2015 focus has OEM tires (contiprocontacts) that turn out to be loving terrifying in the snow. Tried to go skiing the other day and wsdot said traction tires recommended, as I got to the top of the pass (in fairly clear conditions with some slush on the road) it was pretty hard to control and would start skidding under even mild acceleration, and I couldn't make it into the parking lot at all. I'm thinking about replacing with either better all-seasons or actual winter tires, I have plenty of storage space so I'm not worried about owning 2 sets. I live in seattle, so it's generally not super cold during the winter. I'll probably be going skiing about once a week for the rest of the winter. Should I get winter tires, or all-seasons, and how does this craigslist ad for wheels+tires look if I get winters? 
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Dec 30, 2016 05:59
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Surprise T Rex posted:I'm in the market for new tyres, mainly for city driving in a 1.2 Fiat Punto. I've been looking at shelling out for a full set of Michelin Energy Saver Plus, but I'm not sure if paying for premium brands is basically me throwing money away, or if they'll actually have any benefits beyond just buying some cheapo no-brand things. I know they claim better MPG and everlasting durability etc. but I never know whether that's all just ad-speak. These are one of the top rated tires for a Punto (185-65-R15) at TireRack. At $79 each they're a steal.
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Dec 30, 2016 06:50
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Deteriorata posted:These are one of the top rated tires for a Punto (185-65-R15) at TireRack. At $79 each they're a steal. Thanks for the recommendation, but it seems like I can't these around here in 175-65-R15.  I probably should have specified the size in my post.
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Dec 30, 2016 07:54
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185 will almost certainly fit on your existing wheels. They'll be slightly wider and a gnat's rear end hair taller, but they'll fit on your existing wheels, assuming they're factory. e: how the hell did I mix up 2 posts that badly randomidiot fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Dec 30, 2016 |
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Dec 30, 2016 08:57
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A fiat punto is not a focus. But it does make me giggle every time I see its name.
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Dec 30, 2016 09:58
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Surprise T Rex posted:Thanks for the recommendation, but it seems like I can't these around here in 175-65-R15. According to this, anything from 175-215 tread width will fit a Punto. That's specifically for a 2012 and you didn't say what year yours was, but anything in the model run will be the same. You can look up your specific year on the site.
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Dec 30, 2016 14:25
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Needed to get a coil replaced on my 2006 Subaru Forester XT. MSRP on a genuine Subaru coil is $200. I'm finding 3rd party coils anywhere between $10 and $169 depending on brand and I assume quality. I've never seen such a huge range on an aftermarket OEM replacement part. I'm wondering what makes coils so expensive, and why you have this ridiculously large range in prices? I found a couple of other threads asking this exact question on other forums, but noone seems to really answer the question.
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Dec 30, 2016 22:13
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puberty worked me over fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Jan 4, 2020 |
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Dec 31, 2016 00:28
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OEM coils cost money because, well, OEM prices. As long as you buy a good aftermarket brand it will be fine. List the brands you can find? I'm usually fine with BWD, Standard Motor Products, Motorcraft, ACDelco, and a few others. Booley posted:Tire chat: If those will fit your car (wheels and tires, preferably TPMS modules as well, etc) that is a steal and I would jump on it.
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Dec 31, 2016 00:46
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Check the date codes on used tires before you buy.
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Dec 31, 2016 01:09
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I bought my wife a new car (Prius) and now I have her 96 2wd explorer v8 to sell if she can be bothered to clean it out well enough for me to be willing to sit in it and find the title (both of these are doubtful). While a shitbox inside I have impeccably maintained it for the past 8 years mechanical wise. It is the 5.0 with gt40 heads (factory) has a new radiator and AC and heat work perfect. 120k miles. Would it be worth me keeping it somewhere for a classic mustang restomod swap or sell for maybe 12-1500 if she finds the title. What can I use from Explorer in a classic mustang? I know the intake probably have to be changed for good clearance. Runs excellent.
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Dec 31, 2016 02:39
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You can make any engine work in that Mustang if you put the money into it.
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Dec 31, 2016 04:30
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puberty worked me over posted:05+ Corolla, Civic, Focus, Neon, Elantra, Impreza, Mazda3, Cobalt, Lancer, Sentra, Jetta My only addendum to the list (besides to keep an eye on the cooling system) would be that Mazda3/Focuses have cheap plastic intake parts that can do real damage when they fail, and that the 8th gen Civics had a lot of problems with the 6-speed MT until 2009 or so E: also, add the Yaris and all of the other cars built out of it E2: I want to hop onto tire chat right quick. How much should I expect to pay to mount my tires? Our local shop is asking $112 to mount and balance 4 175/70/R13 tires, which feels way too expensive, but I don't know for sure how much it should cost The Door Frame fucked around with this message at 09:02 on Dec 31, 2016 |
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Dec 31, 2016 06:19
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puberty worked me over fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Jan 4, 2020 |
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Dec 31, 2016 15:50
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The Door Frame posted:My only addendum to the list (besides to keep an eye on the cooling system) would be that Mazda3/Focuses have cheap plastic intake parts that can do real damage when they fail, and that the 8th gen Civics had a lot of problems with the 6-speed MT until 2009 or so Depends on the car/wheel/tire. For low profile run flats, most places charge $50 per corner to mount and balance, at least around here. My local (old school) guy did four low profile non runflats for $80 total, I think. So, $112 might be a bit high, but from my perspective, it's also not awful. 
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Dec 31, 2016 16:16
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So the headlight switch on my '85 Nissan 200SX broke. I've had problems with it since I first bought it, but I could always jiggle it a little bit and get things right, but now the thing is straight up broken. As such, I wasn't able to switch off the lights tonight when I got home. I pulled the fuses for the headlights, but the lights are stuck open. Will this cause a problem when I get the switch replaced? Is leaving them up a problem? Is there a way to put them down, or should I just leave them for now and let my mechanic deal with them when the new switch comes in? Edit: And are there any other fuses I should pull? There are no other lights on, the switch broke in such a way that only the headlights were on, but I don't know if something else is still on even though I can't see it. Detective Thompson fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Jan 1, 2017 |
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Jan 1, 2017 05:11
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Stuck up will only add a little drag at speed. If they were stuck down, that would obviously be a bigger problem. Leave it til you get the new switch. There's probably a module or something that controls the popup mechanism, unless you continue having problems after the new switch is in it's probably fine and working as intended.
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Jan 1, 2017 05:14
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puberty worked me over posted:That's about normal if they're dismounting old tires and/or deinstalling/reinstalling the wheel/tire combo on the vehicle. Ok, TireRack advertised $20 per tire and the tires are so tiny that ~33 per tire sounded like a bit of a rip off. And they would have to take off the old tires too, so that will explain the extra cost. Thank you
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Jan 1, 2017 05:35
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The Door Frame posted:Ok, TireRack advertised $20 per tire and the tires are so tiny that ~33 per tire sounded like a bit of a rip off. And they would have to take off the old tires too, so that will explain the extra cost. Thank you FWIW a lot of places will charge a flat "tire mount/dismount" fee that covers everything from little civic rims up to HD pickups with six wheels that weigh >100lb to high-end sports cars with ultra low profile tires that are a bitch to do. Fee has to cover all that.
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Jan 1, 2017 05:49
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The Door Frame posted:Ok, TireRack advertised $20 per tire and the tires are so tiny that ~33 per tire sounded like a bit of a rip off. And they would have to take off the old tires too, so that will explain the extra cost. Thank you Do you not have a bad part of town with used tire shops? Find a popular Mexican one and do t pay over $15 a tire with new valve stems. Pay cash. Watch them do it.
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Jan 1, 2017 06:27
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And not pay disposal fees!
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Jan 1, 2017 06:31
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The Door Frame posted:My only addendum to the list (besides to keep an eye on the cooling system) would be that Mazda3/Focuses have cheap plastic intake parts This goes for a ton of modern cars - it seems like nearly everything has moved to a plastic intake manifold. Mopar was a pretty early adopter with all-plastic on the Neon (I think it was one of the first economy cars with a plastic valve cover too, possibly?), I think they started in the 90s (which caused a huge uproar). But Cadillac used a part plastic, part metal intake manifold on the early Northstars way back in 1993, and went entirely plastic on later models. Makes it a lot easier to get to the starter when it goes, since it's buried in there just like on the Toyota 4.7 V8. I think GM has gone to a plastic intake manifold on all current 4 and 8 cylinder engines; I think some V6s may still get a metal upper? Ford's 5.4 is one of the more well known ones with issues; the first symptom is usually a coolant leak from the thermostat housing, then a lean code for the passenger side bank. Stepdad's had the leak, then threw a lean code for one bank, then for both banks. Didn't have any drivability issues yet, but was leaking pretty good and the fuel trims were pretty horrific (25+). Dorman makes a revised intake manifold that fixes the factory flaws, and that's the one he opted for. Which issues are you speaking of specifically though? As for your tire mounting question, it REALLY depends where you go, and if you bought the tires from them. Walmart charges $12 per tire, which is one of the cheapest I've seen for a place that actually includes rotations. Discount Tire/America's Tire charges $16, but I think that's only if you bought the tire from them. Both include lifetime rotating and balancing. I know Discount quoted me a rate that was anything but a discount when I asked about just getting tires rebalanced that hadn't been purchased there, but it was a car with zero service history with them. If you don't care about them being perfectly balanced and not trying to get out the door in a hurry (and given the size you mentioned, I get the feeling this is something like an 80s Civic anyway), Walmart would be the cheapest option. Just expect to wait quite awhile and the balancing to not be the greatest. Or go to a part part of town (the ones with all the tire shops and questionable businesses - the more bars on the doors and windows, the better) and ask how much to mount/balance the tires for cash. If you're in a part of the country where winter tires are a thing, you should easily be able to find someone to do this cheap if you ask around. Local Facebook groups, local reddits, and Nextdoor would be my first places to ask. Detective Thompson posted:So the headlight switch on my '85 Nissan 200SX broke. I've had problems with it since I first bought it, but I could always jiggle it a little bit and get things right, but now the thing is straight up broken. As such, I wasn't able to switch off the lights tonight when I got home. I pulled the fuses for the headlights, but the lights are stuck open. Will this cause a problem when I get the switch replaced? Is leaving them up a problem? Is there a way to put them down, or should I just leave them for now and let my mechanic deal with them when the new switch comes in? You're fine. The pop-up motors aren't using any power when the lights are fully open or fully closed; if they get stuck halfway, then they'll bunch a ton of power and (a) leave you with a dead battery in a couple of hours and/or (b) burn out the motor. If the switch inside them that tells them when they're fully open/fully closed goes bad, that winds up just being hilarious as it pops up/down nonstop until it runs down your battery. If you're paranoid, there's probably a fuse, circuit breaker, and/or relay dedicated to the headlight motors. Remove it. It'll probably be in the underhood fuse box. Or you could disconnect the motors - they're likely easily accessible and have plugs attached. But the smart option is to replace the switch.
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Jan 1, 2017 13:02
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Cosmetic headlight question. My 09 gti front fender got crumpled by a clueless suburban and the body shop replaced the headlight on that side. Now it's bugging me that I have one scratched 7 year old headlight and one shiny brand new one. Will some of the headlight polish junk do a good enough job to make the old one match the new? It's still in good shape, but definitely looks and feels a bit dusty compared to the new one.
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Jan 1, 2017 15:07
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I bought a used 2014 Fiesta a while back that has a white sort of cover on top. I've never seen it before but it seems like car wrapping is a thing. Anyway, this means my roof is white as seen in these pictures: https://imgur.com/a/Wu6Kn Can anyone tell me what the material is? And if I take it off, how will the roof look underneath? Do I have to get it repainted?
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Jan 1, 2017 16:56
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It's likely some kind of vinyl wrap, looks DIY to be honest. A heat gun and a lot of patience will be your friend. So will guitar picks or soft plastic scrapers (but FFS don't put any pressure down on the metal). Don't use anything metal, don't yank too hard. They may have applied it to cover up damaged paint, but it wouldn't cover up hail damage. Expect to spend a lot of time on the roof with goo gone or a similar solvent to remove the adhesive afterwards, and make sure you give it a good wash and (hand applied on the roof anyway) wax after, since the solvents to remove adhesive will remove any wax. It'll be a lot easier to remove if you can find a heated space or a very nice day in the sun. But it's basically heat gun and soft plastic scraper/pick of some kind... usually adding a lot of booze and swearing as the day goes on. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Jan 1, 2017 |
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Jan 1, 2017 17:11
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The Door Frame posted:Ok, TireRack advertised $20 per tire and the tires are so tiny that ~33 per tire sounded like a bit of a rip off. And they would have to take off the old tires too, so that will explain the extra cost. Thank you For what it's worth, the amount of work needed to mount a tire is mostly relative to the sidewall height and stiffness. Mounting a tall-sidewall tire is relatively easy, mounting something with a thin stiff sidewall is a good deal trickier.
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Jan 1, 2017 17:21
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I need assistance in identifying another vehicle. The ceiling vent seems to be key here but I haven't seen anything quite like it outside of a Honda Odyssey. Please don't include the image link if you quote me. astrollinthepork fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Jan 2, 2017 |
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Jan 1, 2017 18:47
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Looks like a recentish caravan or town and country? Not sure about those head rests.
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Jan 1, 2017 19:10
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Ford Freestyle? It seems to have *things* on the ceiling that might match, but I can't find a good picture of the ceiling. Seats could be a match too.PabloBOOM posted:Cosmetic headlight question. My 09 gti front fender got crumpled by a clueless suburban and the body shop replaced the headlight on that side. Now it's bugging me that I have one scratched 7 year old headlight and one shiny brand new one. Will some of the headlight polish junk do a good enough job to make the old one match the new? It's still in good shape, but definitely looks and feels a bit dusty compared to the new one. It depends how deep the scratch is. If it's enough to bug you, my guess is that it's too deep to polish out.
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Jan 1, 2017 19:13
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I don't think it's a van or freestyle as it appears to me that there are only two rows of seats. That back glass looks like it leaves enough room for a small cargo area behind the rear seats. The ceiling vents for the Ford freestyle look very similar to the one in the picture however, so it may just be another type of Ford.
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Jan 1, 2017 19:24
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I'm considering buying a "toy" car. Requisites are European market, four or five seats, basic amenities (AC at a minimum), power under 180 kW (for tax reasons), 20+ years old and of historical significance (for insurance reasons), and under 10000€. Two cars that look perfect are the Nissan Sunny GTI-R and the Ford Escort RS Cosworth: they're just old enough to be considered historical, they're WRC homologation specials so I could easily register them as collector's cars (flat insurance rate, no emission controls), just under 180 kW and they're both 4WD and so I guess not as immediately deadly as, say, a Renault 5 Turbo (not that you can find any at a sane price) How bad an idea is this? Which of the two is the least bad deal? Should I just keep the money?
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Jan 1, 2017 19:37
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Are there any decent tools for removing a car stereo, specifically the Audi Symphony 6-disc changer in my '02 A6? I was going to buy a set off of Amazon but they all have reports of them bending, breaking, getting stuck in the dash, cracking the fascia, etc.
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Jan 1, 2017 19:56
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Godholio posted:
I didn't phrase my question well. By scratched, I mean just general sand and debris blasted, no actual gouges. But your answer makes me think it's worth a shot to see, so thanks!
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Jan 1, 2017 20:10
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