Backstage - OOC Forums
General Discussion => The Speakeasy: OOG/Off-topic Discussion => Topic started by: Mizhara on 22 Oct 2011, 17:24
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Personally, I'm driving a Ye Olde '91 4Runner. Pic to follow:
[spoiler](http://i52.tinypic.com/30lnw9w.gif)[/spoiler]
It's old, it's cantankerous, it's not all that fast or maneuverable and it's the best bloody car I've ever owned.
Currently doing some normal maintenance on it. Changed oil and oil filter and I'm also taking apart the front wheelhubs and brakes for cleaning, brushin', repairing and replacing. Greased a few nipples from back to front, ensuring that the driveshafts are well lubed. From what I can tell from casual inspection is that I should probably get out the shocks as well, stuffing in some Procomp ES9000s instead. Might replace the headlights too. They're notoriously bad on that model of 4Runner and will benefit from getting brand new shiney ones instead, with new H4 bulbs. Will probably draw new 2.5mm2 cable for them as well.
What do you drive and what's gotten your hands greasy and oily lately?
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(http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/09/20/143447.4-lg.jpg)
2006 Volvo S40 T5 AWD. Love it to death. Mine is identical to the above save the rims, which are slightly different. Quoting some reviews of it that say it better than I can:
powered by a 218-horsepower low-pressure turbocharged and intercooled 2.5-liter variant of the Volvo five. That's the same engine used in the larger S60, and it makes the S40 T5s the sportiest Volvo sedans except for the much pricier high-pressure turbo S60R.
Engine Type dual overhead cam turbocharged inline 5-cylinder
Engine Size 2.5 liters / 154 cu. in.
Horsepower 218 @ 5000 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) 236 @ 1500-4800 rpm
Transmission 5-speed electronically-controlled automatic with Geartronic manual-shift mode
Wheelbase / Length 103.9 in. / 175.9 in.
Curb Weight 3,278 lbs.
Pounds Per Horsepower 15.0
Turbo kicks in at shockingly low RPM, and it's as fast off the line as the same year's Mustang apparently. I've never raced it off the line like that, but I can say that getting onto the highway is a helluva lot of fun so long as there's no one in front of me.
If you can't tell, I love my car. Leather interior, winter package (yay two levels of ass warming heat), sunroof, automatic everything. I love it love it love it. I'm not a big car guy in general, but this thing is just fun as hell to drive, and handles beautifully in the snow even on windy mountain roads. Have driven it in just about every condition imaginable and really the only time I feel remotely uncomfortable is when I'm surrounded by other cars in bad weather. I don't trust other people to not be terrible drivers (and more than once have had to make some crazy swerves/accelerations/brake slams to avoid idiots trying to kill me by not paying attention to what the fuck was going on around them/local wildlife by way of 700 lbs of bull elk jumping out in front of me at night).
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Ah yeah, one of the nicer sedans I was considering for a second car. Volvo's always been one of my favorites when it comes to driving comfort and performance in its price-class, especially when you take road safety into account. How is it when it comes to working on it though? Some of the 2k and onwards models of various cars can't even have their freakin' oil changed by the owner. Hell, the Volkswagen ambulance we have needs to be taken into the shop when you need to change the lightbulbs in one of the headlights.
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Nothing atm :D
But my dream would be to own a Civic because i fucking love the design of this car (though no clue if its really good).
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I use my feet ;)
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Nothing atm (would be a bike but that still needs to move from the old house), but when I still had a car it was a Volkswagen Polo. I've had a Citroen C1 through work and absolutely hated that piece of plastic junk. They let me drive a Toyota Aygo first, which was marginally better, but also felt rather meh.
I'm not a fancy car person at all. I have standards to the point where I get annoyed by the extremely cheap and non-solid feel of small budget cars, but other than that I'm happy when the thing just drives. I admit I do like a fast acceleration speed, which neither of the work cars had, because it is fun and also makes me feel slightly safer when on the highway. Oh and I may enjoy being able to pull up faster once the light hits green than the person next to me :lol:
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Let's see. My current car is a Ford Fiesta. Before that one I had a Ford Fiesta, and before that one, I drew my mom's Ford Fiesta. You may be able to spot a trend here. Current one is with a 1.4 litre engine, so while it isn't exactly a rocket, it moves when the pedal is pressed, and can do 100 klicks mixed highway and city with six litres (during summer - cold weather, electic heating etc. take their toll at winter).
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1998 Ford Escort, 2.0L 4-cylinder 5-speed sedan. Had it for the last 6 years, driven it between VA and MD and MI dozens of times (fucking ohio turnpike), put about 65k on it, it's got 150k and still rocks and rolls up and down the road wonderfully. Mazda engines don't die, so I'm happy. Just wish it had cruise control, the 10-hour drives without it can get tedious.
I'm going to miss it when it finally dies, that car has gotten me around in everything from hurricane rains to west-michigan lake-effect snow. however, I long for something with just a little more power and cruise control so that the hundreds of highway miles go by a little easier.
Looks like this, only black and with a few dents:
(http://trialx.com/curetalk/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2011/06/cars/1998_Ford_Escort-2.jpg)
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This is what I use to get around!
Primary vehicle:
[spoiler](http://www.besportier.com/archives/original-penguin-jingle-shoes.jpg)[/spoiler]
Secondary vehicle:
[spoiler](http://cdn.woldcnews.com/files//2009/07/metro-bus.jpg)[/spoiler]
^^
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I have one of these:
[spoiler](http://www.muamat.com/adpics/4c22f2b747ebbb6182b76ebc3.jpg)[/spoiler]
1998 vauxhall corsa breeze 1.4 hi-torq. 59 hp, can get 50 mile to the uk gallon average.
had to get a new back axle recently after teh old one bent due to corrosion. this corrosion was not spotted at the MoT inspection, which i was not happy about.
Got a nearly new one from an accident-damaged wreck at the local scrapyard, which was alright.
has a few dents and scratches, cos we have a bit of a vandalism problem here, but still running strong at 115k miles.
bought for £2500, in 2004, with 55k miles, so we've had plenty of use out of it. \o/
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[spoiler](http://www.auto-types.com/images/mitsubishi/Mitsubishi_Space_Wagon_1_78c.jpg)[/spoiler]
I love my japanese plastic car and I am amazed that it is still running. It looks like that in the picture just with different hub caps, one missing, small dents and some suspicious scratches.
'93 and 145k kilometres on it. It's an awesome car with as much space as it has plastic. 112 BHP is enough to move it reasonably fast and it does even an insanely economic 8 to 10 l/100km.
Also it does not have an airbag, so you'll still be able to die like a man.
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Electric blue 2010 Honda Insight. It doesn't go very fast, but it does get 45+ mpg in the city, and 50+ on the highway.
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Hyundai i30, bought it new earlier this year. First New new car I've ever owned. I give it 10/10.
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1997 Nissan Altima. Possibly the most inconspicuous car ever: I've walked right past her in parking-lots and the only way I can tell it's mine are the Connecticut dealer's sticker on the back and my vanity plate (https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/61626_446817332459_511172459_5138519_7331897_n.jpg) on the front. Despite that, she's solid, handles really well and hasn't let me down once in the year+ since I bought her, even on the thousand-mile move South.
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Would drive but don't have a car... i use those things that are attached to my ass :P
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This:
[spoiler](http://autodigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Toyota-Prius-X-2011-White-Pearl-front-side-picture.jpg)[/spoiler]
2011 Prius
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Ah yeah, one of the nicer sedans I was considering for a second car. Volvo's always been one of my favorites when it comes to driving comfort and performance in its price-class, especially when you take road safety into account. How is it when it comes to working on it though? Some of the 2k and onwards models of various cars can't even have their freakin' oil changed by the owner. Hell, the Volkswagen ambulance we have needs to be taken into the shop when you need to change the lightbulbs in one of the headlights.
It's expensive, but frankly I don't know fuck-all about cars anyway. I grew up in a city where I, too, used my feet/public transportation, and didn't get a car until college. That one belonged to my parents, so they helped pay for the maintenance (ie, they didn't trust me not to fuck it up), and since then I just take good care of mine and try not to give it any reason to need to be taken in other than for basic check-ups. I change my tires out for winter, so generally speaking I'm in every 6 months for that, and can get my oil changes taken care of then. As long as I don't take it to the Volvo dealership, it doesn't cost a whole lot more than a month's worth of gas anyway.
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I've changed the headlights on my current car. It taught me one thing: The next time, I'll take it to the repairshop. Rear lights, though, are still remotely user-serviceable. In the previous Fiesta, no tools were necessary, in the current one, you need a screwdriver, though. Except the extra brake light on top. No idea how that can even be accessed without a sledgehammer. (And I admit, destructive testing is not ideal if you need the car.)
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I have had one of these for the past five years:
(http://www.mazdapits.com/images/mazda-mx5-black/mazda-mx5-black-picture-140900.jpg)
Bought it new (against my better judgement: ohgoddepreciation!) after years of owning boring practical cars and I've loved every minute of it. It's a basic, no-frills rear wheel drive sports car that's tremendous fun to drive.
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Ah yeah, one of the nicer sedans I was considering for a second car. Volvo's always been one of my favorites when it comes to driving comfort and performance in its price-class, especially when you take road safety into account. How is it when it comes to working on it though? Some of the 2k and onwards models of various cars can't even have their freakin' oil changed by the owner. Hell, the Volkswagen ambulance we have needs to be taken into the shop when you need to change the lightbulbs in one of the headlights.
It's expensive, but frankly I don't know fuck-all about cars anyway. I grew up in a city where I, too, used my feet/public transportation, and didn't get a car until college. That one belonged to my parents, so they helped pay for the maintenance (ie, they didn't trust me not to fuck it up), and since then I just take good care of mine and try not to give it any reason to need to be taken in other than for basic check-ups. I change my tires out for winter, so generally speaking I'm in every 6 months for that, and can get my oil changes taken care of then. As long as I don't take it to the Volvo dealership, it doesn't cost a whole lot more than a month's worth of gas anyway.
Think you misunderstood. Any car can be taken in to a shop for all these things. I was more concerned with whether or not it was easy to work with yourself. I don't take mine into a garage unless I'm 100% certain I can't do it myself with my current collection of tools and that I can't create the tool in question. (Hell, I've made the tools needed more than once. Two small bolts, one large bolt, a piece of steel and a welding apparatus? Voila, you got a ters.)
You take it in to change the tires?
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Two old ladies got splattered on my main intersection two days ago. I'm never driving a fucking car. Goddamn exploding coffins.
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Gnnrgh. Fucking Hollywood.
The following is not a joke or a myth. There was a study done about the usage of seat belts throughout generations, comparing the US and Europe. There was a marked drop in using the lifesaving seat belts in the US at one point and when the cause was finally discerned it was a facepalm moment across the world. Apparently following the Hollywood action-movie spam, seat belt usage dropped severely because 'cars exploded when they crashed and strapping yourself in was a death sentence.'
Cars don't explode. Seriously. For a car to ever explode you'd need such an elaborate and insanely unlikely chain of events to occur that it makes winning the lottery look like a sure fucking thing. Yes, it -may- catch fire if there's sufficient damage done to a few key points and there's ignition sources, but even then you will be far more severely fucked if you don't wear the seat belt. In fact, if the car is that damaged in those areas that it catches on fire, the seat belt will have saved your damn life for long enough that you can get out and away from the burning vehicle.
Srsly, fuck Hollywood and fuck the people who perpetuate that bloody myth.
Seat belts saves lives and if you're not wearing one in a crash, you just might find that the emergency personnel that shows up just might focus on the people who did wear one instead of being utterly fucking retarded.
(Yes, derail, but the 'exploding coffins' bit triggered it.)
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Thought Pintos used to explode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFFTa3JzIOA
Anyway, yeah, I take my car in to change the tires. I don't know enough about rotating/tread/tire condition to a) know if mine are in good shape, b) need rotation, and I don't have access to a lot of the fun toys they do at the dealership. So I happily pay a bit of money for someone to do it for me while I am at work, thus not only preventing the possibility that I fuck up a very nice car because I'm an idiot and wind up paying 20x what it costs me to have them do it to unfuck what I did to it, but also freeing up my free time to do things that I find more engaging like attending soccer matches, getting pissed with friends, or playing EVE.
Kinda simple equation for me. My free time+peace of mind>a bit of money.
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The tl;dr of changing tyres on your car.
The local laws may vary about the groove depth. Most tyres have some places marked where there will indicators within the groove (if the indicators are surface level, switch asap). Locally, if you insert a two euro coin in the groove and the different-colour edge doesn't completely fit in the groove, time to get new tires.
Assuming you are not having tyres that fit on both sides, you will need to place tyres so that the grooves move the water out from beneath the tire, i.e. the V-shape points to the direction the wheel is turning. Which practically means that when looking from above, the smaller grooves point forward.
The tyres usually have more stress on the powered wheels, so put the tyres in a better condition on those wheels. (They're supposed to be somewhat even, though, so if for some reason one tyre is not looking the same as the other, go safe and get a new one/new pair.)
Additionally, you're supposed to fasten the bolts so that you don't fasten them clockwise/counter-clockwise, but rather pick alternate sides, but these days it's not that important, since the wheels usually fit quite well and there's little risk on then not aligning properly (in older cars, if you fasten one side first, the wheel might be twisted on that side).
Tyre pressure is found on the car's manual, and must be checked with the tyres loaded (i.e. with the car's weight resting on them), preferably just after change and then after some distance (week or two) has been driven.
And when lifting the car, get a good jack. The one that comes with the car will do, but it isn't a big investment to get a better one. The lifting locations are marked under the car, usually by some kind of a notch. (This information can also be found at your car's manual.)
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Welp, gotten all the wheelbolts replaced. Damn that was a lot of work on this car. Had to basically take apart both front hubs on the damn thing. Kissed the right asscheeks and got room at a fully stocked service garage nearby with the right tools. Tools required: A variety of cups and wrenches, the right kind of tongs, screwdrivers of various sizes, one huge (55mm) cup and wrench, a chisel and two massive hammers. One rubber hammer. The process:
Had to take off the brake caliper, the breakpads and so on. Remove a bunch of nuts and locking discs. This is where the hammer comes in, as you beat the everloving shit out of the outer hub to loosen the coned locking rings. Once all this is done, you've barely scratched the surface as it turns out you can only now remove the outer part of the hub. Then there's another locking ring, another nut, a locking tin, another nut and another locking tin. (And to do this, you need that one giant 55mm cup which is expensive as fuck.) After all this you can finally get out the hub and brake disc. Then there's another six bolts to remove, so you can split the hub using a chisel, a hammer and a lot of RAEG!
Only after all this you can start hammering out the wheel bolts and insert the new ones, once more using a hammer and a fuckton of RAEG to pull it off. After that, cleaning everything, then dirtying it all up again with bearing grease, assemble in reverse order. A crapton of work and raeg all for six little wheelbolts. Not to mention all the adjusting you'll have to do to make sure the wheel still spins as it should without being too loose or too tight.
EDIT: Adding a split blueprint to illustrate the sheer amount of fiddlybits that needs fiddling: Split Blueprint (http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/p_E_199101_TOYOTA_HILUX_LN130L-GKMSXW_4303.html).
On the rear wheels it's easier. Shit will still stick like hell and need copious amounts of RAEG and HAMMER, but there's much less in the 'bits that need to come off' department. If you do this thing, always remember to bleed the brakes afterwards, or you're fucked.
Oh, and discovered I'm going to have to buy new brake pads. Never taken apart a brake caliper before, so that'll be interesting.
Anyone else done any mechanic work lately?