Chat in January 2019 - I resolve to go racing more this year

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Chat in January 2019 - I resolve to go racing more this year

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

Happy New Year!

2018 was pretty good overall. Generally healthy, figured out some lingering health issues and got monster mutt. Hope 2019 goes as well, it's going to be a pretty busy year hopefully with a few track days. Registered the locost for its first track day at Barber on 3/3 so I need to cage it and do a couple other things before then.

Start IVF Monday so January is going to suck

# ¿ Jan 1, 2019 13:16

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 14:37

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

The Prong Song posted:

What's everyone's opinion on a 4-year old Cayenne as a racecar tow vehicle (and DD) VS. buying a 4-year old top-engine'd "light" truck?

Friend tows and dailies a Cayenne diesel, loves it and recommends it to anyone who will listen. The limited time I've spent in one it was comfortable, quiet and pretty quick.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 01:15

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

A couple years ago we got 3/4-1" of ice followed by a bit of snow. Due to a project taking up lots of space the 928 was parked outside. Ended up using a butane torch held just close enough to melt along the door outline so I could get inside to start it. After idling a while we were able to scrape off the windshield and go from there. My brother used the torch on his windshield, massive crack as expected. Then a bucket of hot water on the rear glass (prelude) and cracked that one as well.

When we were driving the 320i from CA to WI after buying it from my cousin we hit a blizzard bad enough to slow us down to ~25mph which was the same speed the storm was moving. Windshield washer fluid froze and we discovered a massive hole in the firewall from where the AC had been removed. We stuffed the AC hole with socks and whatever else we had but even with that the defrost could barely keep up. Every few minutes whoever wasn't driving would have to climb out the window and knock the ice off the wiper blades.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 23:11

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

BlackMK4 posted:

I left distilled water / water wetter in a motorcycle when it froze overnight (obviously rare in Arizona), the worst damage done was that it broke a radiator clamp and pushed water out.

Did the same on my first e30 when I moved away for work. When I went to sell it Dad tried to fire it up to move to the garage so the sellers could see it and it was froze solid. Slow thaw in the heated garage and it was fine. Raced a couple years on that engine.

MomJeans420 posted:

My dog had to get tibia plateau leveling surgery because her ACL and meniscus got all hosed. Trying to keep an energetic pit bull from jumping, running, walking, or really do anything for 4 weeks is a fun job, even with doggy drugs, but at least I get pics like this:

Our pup has a partial ACL tear, will be going in for surgery once we get a second opinion. 10 months old, 103lb of stupid...going to be fun keeping him chill for 6-8 weeks.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2019 11:37

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

Spent the day car shopping for the Mrs. Carmax for a 2015 Nissan Pathfinder, pretty nice. Then Toyota dealership for a 2015 Highlander which was really nice. Mazda CX9 at a mazda dealership with stereotypical rear end in a top hat salesman was decent but we shouldn't have driven it after the Toyota. Negotiated on the Highlander but they wouldn't come down the last $500 to make the deal after they bumped the price up $1k and didn't think we'd notice. Think we're test driving another Pathfinder tomorrow, non-base package this time.

Have to say after spending what seemed like hours at the Toyota shop and the assholes at the Mazda one I can really appreciate the carmax approach. They just send you out and let you browse without pestering or trying to up sell anything.

Little car advice in here...Anything else in the Pathfinder/Highlander size range we should check out? The snapchat group recommended Lexus GX but we ran out of time today. Main thing is we need to fit a 32Lx42Wx31H dog crate in the back and want under 20" door sill height so the dog can jump in easily. Ruled out Sorento, Santa Fe, CX9 and a few others. Nothing domestic and third row seating seems like most have the space.

# ¿ Jan 5, 2019 22:16

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

everdave posted:

Honestly unless it was just such an insane deal why would anyone buy the dumb boring Pathfinder? I have no doubt it would be reliable and have cargo space but beyond that it�s old as poo poo platform and brings nothing to the table

Pathfinder was primarily attractive for price, seemed to be a Highlander for 90% or less of the price. Now I'm seeing a lot of bad reviews, terrible consumer reports and more bad news from you guys.

slidebite posted:

What's the cargo area room for an Outback or Forester?

Rear cargo room isn't enough. With the rear slope of the glass we wouldn't be able to have the rear seats up with the crate in the back. Was near the top of our list until we took measurements. Same thing for Sorento and a ton of others.

Somewhat Heroic posted:

A Lexus of some sort is probably the reasonable answer. If you’re willing to do domestic then check out the Flex. The ecoboost models are top trim, AWD and have a good bit of shove. The middle seats when equipped with captains chairs are very nice. We’ve had ours three years and 30k miles. Pretty happy overall. It’s polarizing to look at which makes it fun for me. The panoramic glass roof makes it feel less cavernous. The hvac cranks for whatever you need.

I'll start digging through the Lexus models and see what fits our needs, guess we were scared away by the Lexus name. Flex was one I recommended right away but she can't deal with the looks.

Toyota dealer called us back during dinner, exactly four hours after we walked out, and they can now make the deal they 'couldn't' make before. Glad we walked earlier because doing the math it was just too much to finance for now.

edit: Just requested a transfer on this - https://www.carmax.com/car/16416078

NitroSpazzz fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Jan 6, 2019

# ¿ Jan 6, 2019 02:37

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

blindjoe posted:

Cons:
Has had 3 transmission replacements under warranty, first one after 9k km.
- last one the day after I paid off the lease
- there was a class action lawsuit that extended the warranty which is why I bought the lease
- CVT had to be reprogrammed so now it drives rougher

Plus the real answer is minivan if you need the third row.

We did some digging trying to figure out why the Pathfinder was so much cheaper than the Highlander and the transmissions making GBS threads themselves after 15k or less was a common theme. Ultimately took them off the list of possible vehicles completely because of that. We're going to test drive a Ford Flex, even though they're ugly and Ford, and a Minivan or three when the Highlander arrives just to be sure we aren't missing anything.

Car shopping for her has made me start getting the new car itch. Just for fun I checked trade-in on my car $100-700, guess I can't count on that to help much.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2019 19:30

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

64bit_Dophins posted:

That's just so embarrassing 15k miles?

No wonder Nissan is financing anyone with a credit score >100 lol

It was either consumer reports or a forum where wife found several people who had it go out in the first 5k. So yeah, Nissan completely poo poo the bed on the trans. I didn't realize they were ALL cvt, that explains the weird acceleration I noticed. More noticeable on heavy acceleration but I found it to hang after you let off the gas for what seemed like a full 1-2 seconds. Merged onto the interstate at full throttle and thought the pedal was stuck when I lifted, not a good feeling.

Explains why you can find a 25k mile, three year old one for <$20k fairly easily. Stinks because otherwise it was a nice vehicle, pretty much on par with the Highlander.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2019 19:50

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

We'll probably be looking to add a pet insurance policy soon, too bad my company stopped offering a year ago. Our 'free' puppy has already rung up around $3k in vet bills and was recently diagnosed with a partially torn ACL. That'll be another $3k pretty easy. Not sure how I'll keep a puppy calm and not jumping around like an idiot other than benadryl like my coworker did.

Wouldn't be bad to have for the other two although they're mutts so they're healthy and will live forever.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2019 19:54

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

Geoj posted:

Good point.

She works for Hartville Pet Insurance.

Also suggests if you want to compare providers https://www.petinsurancereview.com and https://www.trustpilot.com are good resources.

Thank you for the links, we're starting to look into it. Concerned we may hit the preexisting conditions thing though...should have signed up for it earlier.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2019 01:54

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

Thanks for all the help with wife-car advice, especially Blindjoe with his Pathfinder horror stories. We picked up the 2015 Highlander XLE I linked a couple days ago. Thing is really nice, I have a little new car envy.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2019 18:59

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

meatpimp posted:

That's part of the magic. They don't stick out. They don't increase your heart rate when you see them, or when you first drive them. But then, over time, you notice that they do everything well. Not perfectly, but really, really well. And there are no compromises. And the lack of compromises is what grows on you, as you have a car that does everything you want it to, without wanting anything other than basic maintenance.

We did end up test driving a Lexus suv, can't remember what it was. In the end the hatch/trunk area wasn't big enough for the crate with the sloping rear glass and the next size up was too big. Can appreciate them as an option now though after taking one for a spin. Quiet, smooth, well laid out controls and generally a nice place to spend some time.

AnnoyBot posted:

In summary: testing cars at Carmax -> 5 stars

Yup, great place to test drive and a pretty decent place to buy/sell as well. We were in and out in just under an hour and a half the other day which included a test drive, me looking over everything, a detail and paperwork. Compared to two hours of negotiating at Toyota I'll take it.

At the table next to us for a while was a guy that had 5 cars shipped in to test drive as well as a couple that were already on the lot. Not sure if he was buying or just having a fun day driving various cars.

Car insurance chat: I realized yesterday afternoon I'm still carrying full coverage on my almost 19 year old 317k mile VW that's worth maybe 1k on a good day. Need to call and change that when they open.

NitroSpazzz fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Jan 12, 2019

# ¿ Jan 12, 2019 12:43

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

slidebite posted:

Just here to throw my .02 in for vacuum chat.
Central vac supremacy

I'd love to have a central vac, would be so nice for all the dog hair. Even when no one is shedding I do a quick vacuum every day and a full one on the weekend.

Applebees Appetizer posted:

We just got one of the new Dyson cordless stick vacs and it's amazing.

We bought one of those a few months ago, super handy for quick jobs. If yours starts pulsing the power at any point give it a good cleaning. They have a safety built in so they don't pull too much suction.

I had a robovacuum years ago but now with combined fur from three I think we'd just kill them. I do have my 2009-10 model Neato robovacuum setup to run in the basement once a week, I toss it over the garage after I blow out the big stuff once and a while as well. Made sure all my shelves are just high enough off the ground for it to fit under.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2019 13:29

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

tetrapyloctomy posted:

Our kitchen cabinets could use a rehab, but there is so much in this house that could be fixed or improved that I honestly don't even know where to start. With a little ~~idiot rear end in a top hat~~ thirteen month-old running around wanting to chew on things, I think I'm going to jump into getting the doors and frames stripped and repainted. Due to their moving parts (yup, multiple prior owners painted the hinges, including ones who lived in the era of leaded paint) and general wear and tear, the encapsulating paint has chipped.

This is, uh, not cheap to have done by professionals with lead abatement certification.

We redid the floors, bathrooms deck and I'm slowly working on the garage/unfinished basement. The kitchen got a new coat of paint but that's it. It's going to be a long, expensive process to redo everything so we're putting it off for a while and building up as much of a renovation budget as possible. Going to be scrapping everything and tearing it down to the plywood floor and blank walls then building back up.

Ferremit posted:

I built a wall!

And the neighbour paid for it!

Im officially better at this poo poo than the republican party!

To be fair that isn't hard at this point. Nice wall though

Daytona 24 red flag for rain and standing water with a bit over 7 hours left.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2019 13:30

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 14:37

NitroSpazzz: Dec 9, 2006; You don't need style when you've got strength!

MomJeans420 posted:

I currently have a tungsten wedding ring but seeing a pic of a degloving injury has me looking at silicone rings. I don't do that much work on the cars/bike, and I have an office job, so I'm not sure if I'd really get into a situation where that would be possible. Maybe crashing the bike, but I always wear good gloves. Any horror stories on how common it can be from mundane things?

My Dad's had the same gold ring for 35+ years, works with his hands at home/work and still has skin on his fingers. Wife saw someone degloved at work so she bought me a silicone.

The snowpocalypse they predicted for Knoxville area once again was next to nothing. Rained most of the night, transitioned to snow around 6am then stopped by 10. By noon the roads were dry. So much for a snow day.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2019 23:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Chat in January 2019 - I resolve to go racing more this year