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VelociBacon posted:I think you're talking yourself into a bad situation because you're excited about the possibility of the best case scenario. Someone with nothing to hide would let you test drive the vehicle, especially if you've been talking to them and you're going to be travelling 1000 miles to check out. No, I think you're misunderstanding. A pre-purchase inspection is something that didn't even occur to me until reading that thread Hadlock mentioned, and I'll be calling a couple places tomorrow to get that arranged. And, like, they're not not letting me test drive, I'm just not sure how it can happen before putting money down with how autotrader seems to handle all the payment and registration business. I've been looking and test driving ones that have shown up locally since January, and I won't actually need it until the end of July - believe me, I'm not rushing into this.
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May 10, 2023 05:46
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Bank posted:I have a Mazda 5..what year is it? Sorry I guess I missed that. I've got a lot going on. Why the hell are you buying a (googles this) Mazda 5, 1000 miles away? This is what you're spending all your free time buying  I don't have anything positive to say about this transaction
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May 10, 2023 06:07
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Elder Postsman posted:No, I think you're misunderstanding. A pre-purchase inspection is something that didn't even occur to me until reading that thread Hadlock mentioned, and I'll be calling a couple places tomorrow to get that arranged. And, like, they're not not letting me test drive, I'm just not sure how it can happen before putting money down with how autotrader seems to handle all the payment and registration business. Okay fair enough I didn't see the bit about how the system changes things I guess. I still wouldn't buy a car that I couldn't test drive or have someone else drive it with me in the car (or someone I trust).
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May 10, 2023 06:11
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Hadlock posted:Sorry I guess I missed that. I've got a lot going on. Why the hell are you buying a (googles this) Mazda 5, 1000 miles away? Yeah and you constantly ~Hadlock~ all over the place and are completely unable to read the room at all times, so it's no surprise you couldn't possibly understand why people would like different things than you. Elder Postsman posted:No, I think you're misunderstanding. A pre-purchase inspection is something that didn't even occur to me until reading that thread Hadlock mentioned, and I'll be calling a couple places tomorrow to get that arranged. And, like, they're not not letting me test drive, I'm just not sure how it can happen before putting money down with how autotrader seems to handle all the payment and registration business. Do you plan on going and picking it up or having it shipped? Besides the wisely-suggested pre-purchase inspection, the only other time to easily walk away is if you were going to pick it up yourself. If not, and it's what you want, and the inspection goes OK then I don't see the problem with blind-buying a car. I've done over 90 (jesus christ) blind buys from Japan, and while it's not exactly the same what with how much easier it is to pluck vehicles from Japan vs. other nations plus their rigid and almost-draconian shaken, I've not had an issue as long as you get the inspection done. I've always liked Mazda 5s, cool as poo poo minivans imho.
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May 10, 2023 06:22
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What are the big pros on a Mazda 5 vs, anything else in that segment? Seems like an odd choice given how large it is. Looks like it has a sliding rear door which is probably unique outside of the van/minivan segment.
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May 10, 2023 06:35
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Hadlock posted:Sorry I guess I missed that. I've got a lot going on. Why the hell are you buying a (googles this) Mazda 5, 1000 miles away? It's a great car because it's a van that's the size of a Mazda 3! How could anyone not like it? Also, my Miata is not a great car for driving around my kid and her friends. KakerMix posted:Do you plan on going and picking it up or having it shipped? Besides the wisely-suggested pre-purchase inspection, the only other time to easily walk away is if you were going to pick it up yourself. If not, and it's what you want, and the inspection goes OK then I don't see the problem with blind-buying a car. I've done over 90 (jesus christ) blind buys from Japan, and while it's not exactly the same what with how much easier it is to pluck vehicles from Japan vs. other nations plus their rigid and almost-draconian shaken, I've not had an issue as long as you get the inspection done. I've always liked Mazda 5s, cool as poo poo minivans imho. The plan is to fly out to pick it up. I'll get that inspection set up and see if the seller will do a facetime drive or sometime.
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May 10, 2023 06:54
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It's not large at all  It replaced the Mazda MPV which was essentially a microvan. It's now discontinued it has a cult following as it seats 6 (222 seat configuration), but the last row is usually always down for me and I end up with 4 seats and a trunk bigger than my CX-5. The sliding doors were amazing when our kids were in baby seats. I will say that those doors had a lot of close calls though because they are completely manual and require some force to close. It's basically a Mazda 3, just taller. It's a great car, I just personally wouldn't buy one without being able to test drive it myself. There were a number of these sold with manual transmissions too.
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May 10, 2023 07:00
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Elder Postsman posted:It's a great car because it's a van that's the size of a Mazda 3! How could anyone not like it? . Ok, fair My Aunt had a Stanza back in the day which is roughly the same concept I'd still be looking at something like a matrix but you clearly have a plan. Edit: comedy option: import a Nissan S-Cargo
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May 10, 2023 07:07
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Elder Postsman posted:It's a great car because it's a van that's the size of a Mazda 3! How could anyone not like it? Also, my Miata is not a great car for driving around my kid and her friends. Then you still get to see, touch and smell it before you agree if you are picking it up. The inspection plus you picking it up makes it a non-issue for me if I were doing the same thing. Any bad vibes and you can bounce and walk away!
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May 10, 2023 08:01
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Mazda 5's are cool and all but flying 1000 miles to get one is weird, why is this one special? You should be able to find a decent Mazda 5 locally to you without any problem.
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May 10, 2023 12:27
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Bilirubin posted:Holy poo poo am I angry. I got that poo poo on my Crown Vic. Why? It had P71 in the VIN, which meant the car COULD, with the gearing I had, hit 129 MPH (electronically limited). Walmart refused to put any tire they really sold there on the car. So I just moved to the side parking lot, jacked the car up, and brought in 1 wheel, then another, for the same lovely $55 tires (needed 2). TBH probably the wrong load rating for the car, but they were mostly absolved of any responsibility since it was a carry-in. I took it up to 100 a couple of times (on a toll road in BFE where everyone regularly does 90-100), and scared myself - the suspension and steering was just too worn out for that kind of speed. I think I had T rated tires on it, which are good up to 118, but no way in hell would I ever take it that high. I can't even see a Matrix needing H rated tires (I know my SO's Matrix struggles to hit 100 - it'll do it, given a long enough road, I've never managed to get it past that), unless you have the XR w/6 speed. Hadlock posted:My old neighbors had a Chevy avalanche with the sunroof busted and they made their own and sealed it with bathroom caulk. Or somebody did. Every time it rained more than 1/10" (at least once a week) their truck had a baby tarp strapped over the sun roof. That's only a sample size of one but does add weight to the other guy saying I'll eventually leak 9 times out of 10 the sunroof drains are clogged. Sunroofs are never completely water tight, and generally have 4 drains (1 at each corner). They usually dump into the wheel wells, and they often get clogged up - either from crap going down the drains and blocking them (GM likes to put a strainer on the end, jerks), or stuff getting blasted up there by the wheels. Usually you can blow them clear with air, until you can't and wind up popping the hose off somewhere (or splitting it).
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May 10, 2023 12:57
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I think it was this thread but someone on ai recommended using weed eater string to poke through the drains and it sounds brilliant. (Having blown a hose off with air myself)
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May 10, 2023 13:05
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Mazda 5's are cool and all but flying 1000 miles to get one is weird, why is this one special? You should be able to find a decent Mazda 5 locally to you without any problem. I flew over a thousand miles when I picked up my Mazda2. The heart knows what it wants.
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May 10, 2023 14:54
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Mazda 5's are cool and all but flying 1000 miles to get one is weird, why is this one special? You should be able to find a decent Mazda 5 locally to you without any problem. I've been looking since January - they're not super common and good ones come up for sale less frequently than you'd think. And, like, you can cross shop hatchbacks or sedans or whatever all day long, but small wagons/vans that seat 6? There's the 5 and.. I guess the Kia Rondo?
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May 10, 2023 15:42
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Mazda 5's are cool and all but flying 1000 miles to get one is weird, why is this one special? You should be able to find a decent Mazda 5 locally to you without any problem. They never made that many of them in the first place and being a minivan (even a weird one) means the vast majority were absolutely flogged from new. The newest 5s are almost a decade old at this point. It isn't the car I'd fly-and-drive to get but I can completely believe that there's a small enough selection of clean Mazda5s left that if you want one at a given time, you might be looking long distance. Mr. Wiggles posted:I flew over a thousand miles when I picked up my Mazda2. The heart knows what it wants. I don't blame you, it's such a joyful little shitbox. And yet the vast majority were ordered with that miserable four-speed auto.
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May 10, 2023 15:42
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IOwnCalculus posted:I don't blame you, it's such a joyful little shitbox. And yet the vast majority were ordered with that miserable four-speed auto. You wanted a shitbox, you get one! I had a 3 hatch and I miss it sometimes, hence looking at also-very-old-and-quirky Elements, for which I will also have to travel a silly distance unless I’m super patient (which I do not appear to be).
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May 10, 2023 16:21
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REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:And +1 for Discount Tire. They will sit and look that sort of poo poo up with you, let you read reviews, etc before you decide. Yeah, Discount is a very low pressure sales pitch and generally very low on the bullshit scale. I do have some issues with the company itself, but it's unrelated to their customer service (related to how religious the owners are and how they make most of their stores play "Christian Rock"). Outside of the ownership, I absolutely love Discount; been using them for nearly 25 years. I don't think anybody gets much in the way of commission there either - just hourly. They have little to no pressure to upsell you on anything except the road hazard (which used to be worth it, but it's so expensive now that I treat it like an extended car warranty - throw the money in savings, and I drive so little now that I can easily get 5+ years out of a set of tires). Bank posted:Welp, you're right! Wife got home and it took me several tries to see the line, but I did end up seeing it, after filling up a quart (whoops). Gonna drive it in a bit, but I also gave the cosmetic motor cover a nice wash as there was a film of fluid all over it which contributed to the smell. The smell is more likely the stuff that dripped off of the cover and onto the hot engine parts. Just give it a couple of weeks if it's not actively smoking. Otherwise, pull the cover, go to the self service wash, hit it with engine degreaser/tire cleaner (the poo poo that comes out looking neon green), rinse it. A quart low on an automatic with a dipstick really isn't much. Not great to do long term, but won't hurt anything short term unless you're doing stuff like drag racing. They generally hold 4-6 gallons total. Mr. Wiggles posted:I flew over a thousand miles when I picked up my Mazda2. The heart knows what it wants. EXACTLY what I was trying to buy the day I went to Autoshiton (Autonation) - it was a mid trim model with power stuff and an autotragic (trust me I'd prefer manual, but my hips and knees say otherwise), but basic outside of that - had AC, PW/PL/PM, RKE, and that was about it. They not only sold it out from under me, but sold 3 Civics and 4 Fits out from under me, all in less than 2 hours.  Somehow I wound up in a Lexus instead. Much, much nicer car for only $1k more than the Mazda, but a lot more miles and a bit of a basket case... (don't go to Autonation if you value your sanity; the fuckers not only misspelled my name in 3 different ways on the title, but also titled it in the wrong loving county - apparently that's on me to fix?!?) randomidiot fucked around with this message at 17:11 on May 10, 2023 |
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May 10, 2023 17:08
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I love my 2, drive it every day that I'm not riding or going to the hardware store in my Elco. It's sooooo fun to drive. The manual in it is really good, and yes I've done *things* to it but even in stock form it's just so happy and entertaining. The absolute pinnacle of slow car fast.
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May 10, 2023 17:33
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I love my 2, drive it every day that I'm not riding or going to the hardware store in my Elco. It's sooooo fun to drive. The manual in it is really good, and yes I've done *things* to it but even in stock form it's just so happy and entertaining. The absolute pinnacle of slow car fast. Pretty sure I'm gonna get one for my son's first car, manuals seem to be pretty rare tho unfortunately.
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May 10, 2023 19:58
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STR posted:
Right? It's not the XR either. And I'm a fairly safe driver who will not usually do much more than 5 over, although in the mountains the speed limit is already reduced. Except when I'm back in LA that is, there I stick with the flow of traffic Anyway it's up now should be done shortly
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May 10, 2023 23:13
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Looking at a 2023 sorento and lmao did they really put a button in the backseat that lets you attempt to murder your siblings with a warning not to Please tell me it doesn't work while you're driving holy poo poo
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May 11, 2023 02:44
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I love my 2, drive it every day that I'm not riding or going to the hardware store in my Elco. It's sooooo fun to drive. The manual in it is really good, and yes I've done *things* to it but even in stock form it's just so happy and entertaining. The absolute pinnacle of slow car fast. I test drove one when they first showed up at dealers and I swear it felt like driving a slightly quieter NA Miata, despite driving the wrong wheels. But even then it felt/was equipped like a car that would be a steal to buy at $4k, not 3x+ that amount.
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May 11, 2023 07:58
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Mazda 5 is a great, unique car. Not a great idea to buy anything sight unseen, but if you want to do that, god bless. Not much advice people can give you other than "You should really test drive the car yourself before you spend a ton of time and money on it." Good luck, at any rate.
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May 11, 2023 12:50
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REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS posted:How bad is it to remove door panels and replace them so they’re not all janky? My potential project will have a hatch and I’ve heard the roof can use it too. I’m a pretty big cheapo but these from China seem good, could be wrong though: I actually have some cheap Chinese stuff on the way over to me at the moment. I'll let you know how poo poo it is when it gets here. It was cheap as gently caress so I thought I'd try it.
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May 11, 2023 12:51
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Olympic Mathlete posted:I actually have some cheap Chinese stuff on the way over to me at the moment. I'll let you know how poo poo it is when it gets here. It was cheap as gently caress so I thought I'd try it.  I got some clear vinyl to use on door handles, sills, and edges, have to see how it is too. really need to go wash and get a really good wax on first though. Previous owner scratched the poo poo out of door handle…wells? Think my crew have killed the sills, better late than never though.
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May 11, 2023 17:09
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Ok well that 5 sold locally, but I've got a couple more on my list. One of the dealerships I talked to mentioned Lemonsquad for inspection. I'm reluctant to use one the place selling the car recommends, but, uh, any of y'all used them?
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May 11, 2023 22:07
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For a little learning/hobby project I want to 'install' a Bluetooth ODB reader, as in plug it in and leave it there. To avoid it draining the battery, I thought of cutting the reader's 12V pin and supplying the voltage from the accessory line in the car. Is there any way that could backfire?
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May 12, 2023 07:10
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Sanity Check before I ask a shop about this - When I drive, I've got on leg braces that immobilize my ankles, because they don't work. Because of that, I have to move my whole leg between the brake and acceleration pedals. Is it possible to have the pedals adjusted? In most cars, the brake pedal sits further forward than the accelerator. I assume this is so people don't get confused. But for my legs, it would work better if they were closer to being on a flat plane with each other. Please tell me this made sense before I have to draw a diagram to communicate my probably stupid words.
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May 12, 2023 11:31
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Captain Log posted:Sanity Check before I ask a shop about this - Makes sense. Moving pedals around is a very race car thing to do. A normal shop won't want to touch that but a performance shop would. Depends a bit on the car too. Something drive by wire makes it easier to move the gas pedal around since it's just a sensor.
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May 12, 2023 12:13
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Jim DiGriz posted:For a little learning/hobby project I want to 'install' a Bluetooth ODB reader, as in plug it in and leave it there. To avoid it draining the battery, I thought of cutting the reader's 12V pin and supplying the voltage from the accessory line in the car. Is there any way that could backfire? I personally wouldn't worry about it as long as you aren't super forgetful.
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May 12, 2023 16:02
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Is having enough wheel gap important for snow clearance? I'm assuming so, but that may be a fault assumption. Looking at dropping my E46 touring an inch but don't want to shoot myself in the foot come winter time.
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May 12, 2023 16:19
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honda whisperer posted:Makes sense. Moving pedals around is a very race car thing to do. A normal shop won't want to touch that but a performance shop would. Depends a bit on the car too. Something drive by wire makes it easier to move the gas pedal around since it's just a sensor. I've seen these "performance" pedal covers that just bolt over the existing ones. I've thought about trying to DIY some of those to create the maybe inch of rise I'd like in the accelerator pedal. Then I realize the pedals are what could kill me if they gently caress up, and I get nervous.
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May 12, 2023 16:20
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wolrah posted:FWIW I've had one of the cheap transparent blue no-name ELM327 clones installed for around a decade across three different cars and the only times it's ever drained my battery were when I forgot to close Torque and my phone (sitting on a desk directly above the car) spent the night constantly trying to talk to an ECU that would never respond. A few years back my ELM327 clone went missing. I looked everywhere, then finally gave up and bought a new one. A year or so later, a friend of mine asked if I could pull codes on his GTO because he had a check engine light. When I went to plug my new ELM in under his dash, I found my OLD ELM that had been plugged into his car for over a year. As far as I'm aware, he didn't have any battery drain issues.
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May 12, 2023 16:27
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Captain Log posted:I've seen these "performance" pedal covers that just bolt over the existing ones. I've thought about trying to DIY some of those to create the maybe inch of rise I'd like in the accelerator pedal. There are shops that specialize in modifying cars for disabled people - you should see if you can find one. They will do crazy stuff like ramps, hand controls, etc but they probably are well plugged in to even more simple stuff like pedal adjustments
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May 12, 2023 16:55
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wolrah posted:FWIW I've had one of the cheap transparent blue no-name ELM327 clones installed for around a decade across three different cars and the only times it's ever drained my battery were when I forgot to close Torque and my phone (sitting on a desk directly above the car) spent the night constantly trying to talk to an ECU that would never respond. JoshGuitar posted:A few years back my ELM327 clone went missing. I looked everywhere, then finally gave up and bought a new one. A year or so later, a friend of mine asked if I could pull codes on his GTO because he had a check engine light. When I went to plug my new ELM in under his dash, I found my OLD ELM that had been plugged into his car for over a year. As far as I'm aware, he didn't have any battery drain issues. Sometimes I don't start the car for a week or more, that's why I was a bit too cautious. But maybe I'll just try it then, thanks!
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May 12, 2023 19:36
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Jim DiGriz posted:Sometimes I don't start the car for a week or more, that's why I was a bit too cautious. But maybe I'll just try it then, thanks! I go over a week without driving regularly, it's fine. My radar detector used to be an issue around that point but the OBD adapter apparently pulls a negligible amount of power when it's not active.
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May 12, 2023 20:12
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I just hooked up an ELM clone to a power supply: No BT: 0.1-0.2W BT, stuck trying to connect to ECU: 0.1-0.7W So even a small 50Ah battery is ~600Wh and would last over a month, but I don't like it. I can easily be away for 20 days or more on holidays or business trip, and wouldn't want to have to think about it. It already got my (lovely, see previous post) battery discharged in a week once. I actually wanted to change it to a switched 12v but got too lazy/distracted by other projects. I don't really see why it wouldn't work ok though.
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May 12, 2023 20:37
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Elder Postsman posted:private party sale Odd. Sounds like a dealer posing as a private seller in my opinion. You register with your local DMV, a regular person doesn't do that for you. If you don't have a high quality video of the engine running smoothly, you shouldn't be skipping a test drive. You can't answer 'it shifts smoothly' via video so you really need someone to check it out in all honesty.
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May 12, 2023 20:42
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Why do so many kit cars have a trapezoid with the long end on top, instead of on the bottom, at the very front. I see some boxes occasionally but never with the long end on bottom I'm pretty sure this has to do with unequal a arms but that's where my knowledge ends  Super 7 for visual example
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May 12, 2023 21:00
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General shape of V engines is my guess. Looks like Caterhams usually have an I4 but still the sticky outy things and general need for more stuff at the top of the engine bay gets my (uneducated) guess. nitsuga fucked around with this message at 21:13 on May 12, 2023 |
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May 12, 2023 21:09
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