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The Car Enthusiast Thread.
This thread is for the car enthusiasts of the forum, because it seems like we occasionally take over other threads. Not that theres anything wrong with that, but I though we should have our own thread for talking about our car stuff.
First Car:
1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra International Edition (4 door sedan)
3.3L 204 Cu.Inch V6, producing 160bhp *grunt*
This was the International Edition, so it had all the bells: stereo with 6 channel, graphic equalizer, Driver information system, and power sunroof.
This guy would burn some serious rubber, even though with was a FF. It had a middle shifter for the automatic transmission, and it was so spacious inside!
I loved that car; You know that scene in Initial D where Takumi washes his '86? That was me and that car.
But it started having a lot of trouble all of the sudden. At one point my breaks burst a line and when we took it to the mechanic, he told us the front right bearing was shot to hell. That car was mine, bought and paid for, but I only paid $5000 for it, and repairs were going to be almost that much. So we got it towed home and eventually someone bought it for $500. I didn't want to sell it, but not selling it would have been silly.
Photos.
My current car:
1992 Honda Civic LX (4 door sedan)
Engine is perfect (less than 50k on it), it's the rest of it that's having issues. Speedo bounces up and down occasionally, gas gauge is a quarter tank too low, transmission is lazy...
Also it's underpowered (16 valve SOHC, 109BHP at best) and, being a FF, it under-steers.
Still, it's my first small car, and I can definitely appreciate the qualities of a small car: Maneuverability, fuel efficiency, faster cornering, etc. It's also my first car with a handbrake, so it's the first car that I could go sideways in.
It's our only car right now, so sonsidering the trouble it's having, we're thinking of getting new cars. My dad will get what ever he will get for the family, but I'm really trying to steer him towards something small and sporty for us. Maybe a '05 Honda Civic or a Golf GTI.
First Car:
1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra International Edition (4 door sedan)
3.3L 204 Cu.Inch V6, producing 160bhp *grunt*
This was the International Edition, so it had all the bells: stereo with 6 channel, graphic equalizer, Driver information system, and power sunroof.
This guy would burn some serious rubber, even though with was a FF. It had a middle shifter for the automatic transmission, and it was so spacious inside!
I loved that car; You know that scene in Initial D where Takumi washes his '86? That was me and that car.
But it started having a lot of trouble all of the sudden. At one point my breaks burst a line and when we took it to the mechanic, he told us the front right bearing was shot to hell. That car was mine, bought and paid for, but I only paid $5000 for it, and repairs were going to be almost that much. So we got it towed home and eventually someone bought it for $500. I didn't want to sell it, but not selling it would have been silly.
Photos.
My current car:
1992 Honda Civic LX (4 door sedan)
Engine is perfect (less than 50k on it), it's the rest of it that's having issues. Speedo bounces up and down occasionally, gas gauge is a quarter tank too low, transmission is lazy...
Also it's underpowered (16 valve SOHC, 109BHP at best) and, being a FF, it under-steers.
Still, it's my first small car, and I can definitely appreciate the qualities of a small car: Maneuverability, fuel efficiency, faster cornering, etc. It's also my first car with a handbrake, so it's the first car that I could go sideways in.
It's our only car right now, so sonsidering the trouble it's having, we're thinking of getting new cars. My dad will get what ever he will get for the family, but I'm really trying to steer him towards something small and sporty for us. Maybe a '05 Honda Civic or a Golf GTI.
Comments
My father in the photo, by the way.
That little fucker was an absolute rocket - It'd take cars twice it's size, and eat 'em up like snacks.
I've had various cars and bikes since then, including a Nissan long-wheelbase rear-wheel drive van(that I tuned, and dropped a nice big turbo on - but you can't drive it in the wet), a Mitsubishi Magna(a bit of a sleeper, it's been slowly fixed up and tuned up over time, now it's quicker than you'd expect, and handles a lot better - but it's still a pig), A 1986 Toyota Corolla, a Suzuki Hyabusa, a KTM super duke, a beatiful datsun pulsar that I worked on for an age, would blow modern cars out of the water, and which my sister wrecked driving like a retard, a ZZR-600 Custom, done up into a streetfighter. That's about it.
Haven't owned a car meself yet. One reason. First one was always gonna be a Mini. Prolly gonna be a 90s Cooper.
Fast forward several years, and I know have a 2001 SAAB 9-5 Aero. I've had this car 5 or 6 years, I'm not really sure anymore. It's an absolute rocket and nukes things it shouldn't be able to (like a Subaru WRX STi). Which reminds me, I need to make an offering to the saab gods so my car will keep running well. A set of virgin NGK platinum plugs. Where this car falls down is the corners, it's sway bars just aren't big enough and it rolls over like a boat. That said it has an unquantifiable fun factor. The sound of the engine, the feel of the steering and the seat. It pulls a very difficult trick in that is very fun to drive at ordinary speeds. It's become the bar by which I measure all other cars.
Do not buy a car until I have enough money to buy a Nissan Skyline GT-R (the new one) and a place to park it.
Like a friend last night told me she was thinking of buying an Elise. I told her a Mazda Miata will do most of what the Elise does for half the price. It's also more reliable, a full convertible rather than a targa, and has a trunk you can actually use.
Though, I gotta admit, I'd buy a GT-R in New York, and then I'd go out and find some places to let her loose, simply because that's what I'm like. I'm the type of person, who if you gave a million dollars to buy a car, I wouldn't buy a top of the line luxury car, I'd buy something like the Holden Monaro Bathurst special, or a tasty little Ariel Atom. I don't care if it's a hotted up Civic, or a top of the line Maserati - Speaking of which, I'm going to see if I can get my hands on My mate's Maserati Bora, and see if I can tear-arse around in it a bit, I really can't help myself - it's gotta be a car that can be driven hard, and feels damn good when you do. When I have that, I'm going to do so whenever I can. I'm just addicted to cars and driving, it's the way I am.
Edit - Yes, I know, I've had or driven a hell of a lot of cars - I can't help it, I've had my head in an engine bay and hands on the wheel ever since I was old enough to see over a grille and reach the pedals, respectively.
You must understand that in my country you can't import an older car, because when you register the car they expect it to preform as a vehicle from the same year you registered it, so emissions have to be up to par with vehicles bought new the same year. So I had to go dumpster diving for my car, that was registered in 1985, so it breezes through the yearly inspections.
I've had to rebuild the transmission, swap the rear calipers, rebuild the mainfold, the exhaust system, I've been working out all the electrical bugs, new alternator, new air filter, general overhaul.
Next month I'll install a set of KYB shocks, I still have to rectify the chassis as the front left tire is 1 degree off to the front and my car doesn't have a way of adjusting it mechanically. After that is an engine swap for the turbo version, a bigger torque converter and a paint job.
However, I would, personally, choose the Lancer Evo as well, due to its shorter wheelbase and wide availability of after-market parts.
So I'm thinking that since I didn't like the STi and I'm going to keep my SAAB (which is big and has 4 doors) I'll be able to get a 2 seater car. I'm thinking a Mazda Miata Touring. Anyone has any thoughts on this?
If I were to buy an extra car, it would be a small pickup.
The touring, though - Isn't that the STO model from 97? I thought they were pretty rare, wasn't there only 1500 or so of them produced? I'll admit, I'm a little out of date, I've not paid attention to the Miatas for a long time, and you're probably speaking of a model I'm not familiar with, or it's a slang issue. I'm not sure you're serious, or if you're just playing, but I'll bite, and lead with "You've not actually looked at any comparable cars to the GT-R lately, have you?"
Seriously, cars with dash mounted Screens, touch or not, are dime a dozen. Performance cars like the GTR with high information displays are damn near standard, these days. As for Programming it, I raise two points - 1)If you actually wanted to program it, you're shit outta luck. It's mainly, if not entirely an informational and entertainment display. 2)I would suggest raising your knowledge about how a car actually works before you attempt to program any in-car computer that has the ability to change anything about how the car drives. Scott, You can't even change your own battery, I hope you're not thinking that doing adjustments to the car set-up - from the dash computer or not - is a good idea.
There, it's a bit dirty since its rainy season and the neighbors are doing some construction work. It's not in perfect condition, but I like it.