Anybody here actually have an emotional tie to a car/car company, or am I one of the few weird motherfuckers who develop such a thing? I fell in love with the MkV GTI's a few years ago. Couldn't afford a used one, got a new '08 Tiburon instead. Hated every minute of it, was secretly hoping to lose control and kiss a guardrail with the front end. Never happened. Traded that hunk of junk in in 2010 for a used MkV VW R32. Its the Golf platform with a 250hp V6 and AWD, plus leather, heated seats, nav, etc when all that was still just expensive options and not expected in cars. Only 5000 made- so to up the ante, they printed the production number on the steering wheel (which was actually just bullshit, they just printed random numbers on the steering wheels). Either way, as soon as I got in the car to take it for a test drive, I fell in love with everything about it. Loved it more than any previous girlfriend (or family member, for that matter). A year goes by and I loved it so much I killed the 25k CPO warranty miles in less than 11 months. As with all tragic love stories, that's when the problems starting happening. Belts, fuel pumps, etc. Before I had to put her down and put myself through misery, I traded it in for a shiny new toy that didn't have the emotional attachment, but had a more powerful motor, looked like the Batmobile, and was my chance to show all my friends that Hyundai wasn't as shitty as we all thought (2013 Genesis Coupe). Well...it sucked. Not the engine, at least. It went plenty fast for a twin scroll 4cyl and having RWD was a ton of fun. But, it just wasn't the same. The emotional attachment wasn't there. It was, clearly, just a rebound car. There were a lot of cheap plastic where there should have been real parts and a lot of glam dressing to make it appear better than it was. It was more empty shell with a great look and speed. So I started searching again, frantically, for a new VW to propose my undying love to. If there was a Craigslist "Man Seeking Car" section that wasn't inundated with assholes spamming used car dealership deals, I would have been posting on there. My desperate search for auto-love came to an end on Saturday, when I signed the death certificate on the distant relationship with my hot but emotionally unavailable Genesis Coupe (she was probably a whore anyway) and said hello to a blue 2013 GTI. The moment I got inside her and felt the heat coming from the seats, I knew it was love once again. She's been mine for a day now, and I'm happier than I ever was over these past 7 months of Hyundai ownership. Summary- I have an unnatural dedication to a manufacturer of automobiles which, out of context can be made to sound slightly erotic, and even within context can be slightly disturbing. Also, fuck Hyundai.
This is my first winter in the salt belt and with a new car to boot. I'd like to protect it as much as I can from the effects of road salt. Does underbody protection actually do anything? I've seen the sprays at the auto parts store, and there's a shop down the road that I think would let me put my car up on their lift. Does anyone have any experience or insight? Thanks.
Re: Re: The Automotive Thread It won't hurt, but your further ahead to wash it a few times a week, go through an automated wash that has the undercarriage high pressure spray. Salt sucks man, glad I no longer have to deal with it.
Brakes are going out on the girlfriend's '08 F150 4.6L RWD. She needs new rotors and pads, and the shop by us quoted us a ridiculous amount of money. I'm pretty confident in my ability to do the work myself (= with a buddy who's an actual mechanic), but I don't know prices/brands to look for. Online sources? Local Parts shop? Does it even matter if it's gonna go out in another 60k miles anyway?? Thanks in advance.
Yea, only thing you can do is keep washing it off. That or buy a beater. Well i am completely biased, but i would say talk to your local parts store. But in reality you have to go with what is cheapest. This will be the only time you hear me say this, but the Chinese made brake rotors are fine. Be it the Raybestos(professional grade, they have a R at the end of the part number, or just the straight Chinese boxed one like Dura) On pads you don't need to spend alot of money to get good ones. With your truck you need to know if it is 6 or 7 bolt. Probably 6 bolt, you dont see many of the 7700lb gvw packages out there. And being RWD, the hub is part of the rotor, so don't be surprised at the cost(i would hazard a guess your front rotors are 250 a piece from the shop). Any more questions, private message me, and i will see what i can do to help you out.
Picked this up awhile back after my old Mister 2 was slightly damaged by a Santa Fe. Draws a lot less attention even though it's much faster and louder.
Question for the auto-mechanically inclined: I have read that it is recommended that shocks/struts be replaced every 50k miles. Do you agree? I replaced the tires on my 2010 Titan this weekend and was told that the front driverside strut was leaking. He showed it to me, ran his finger along it and it came away with oil on his fingertips, but I also read that it's normal to have a film of oil on the strut. Total cost to replace front and rear with Monroe Reflex struts is $600. The truck has just over 40k miles and I really haven't noticed any problems with its ride. Also, because I'm totally clueless about such things, what if any, is the difference between a shock and a strut?
After getting a quote of $1000 to fix my transmission problems, I figure I'm better off putting that money towards another car instead of into my current 370+kms car. I'm looking for any recommendations anyone has, while trying to keep the budget under $5k. The stipulations: -must seat 5 -must NOT be a minivan PM me with your suggestions.
I don't change them until there is a need to change them. I have 120k km(75k miles) on my civic and they are still fine.
I am not auto-mechanically inclined, so I'll just give you my anecdotal info. I have a 2004 Chevy Silverado with 255,000 miles and I've never changed the shocks / struts. It rides today like it did when I bought it. It depends on the vehicle, but I think the difference is that struts are really part of the vehicle / part of the frame and usually include a spring, that also controls movement; shocks are add-on helpers and work up and down to smooth the ride. So, shocks are easy / cheaper to replace and struts more costly.
How do you use your truck? Unless you've put 40k miles of pure hell on those things, they shouldn't need replacing. My current truck is new, but I put nearly 160k on my last one, and I never replaced shocks or struts on it.
The only way I know to test if shocks need replacement is to push down hard on the bonnet and let go - if it returns to stationary in one movement, the shocks are fine; if it bounces more than once before returning to its original position, then the shocks need replacement. Our roads here in S.A. are largely shit so shocks tend to die after about 5-7 years of driving, but I can't recall my parents having to change struts on either car (and we've had both cars for 10+ years, and no, neither are SUVs).
I took it in to another mechanic to check that front strut and sure enough, the seal was blown, so I had them all replaced (NTB had a deal where you buy two, get two, so I just replaced them all). I hadn't noticed anything with the originals on, so maybe they OEMs were just shit, but a big difference when I drove off with the new ones. Much tighter ride. I don't put my truck through hell at all. 95% is highway driving and 5% is around town and the largest payload I've hauled was all my daughter's stuff taking her to college. I had a Toyota 4Runner years ago that I did a lot of off-roading in when I bird hunted and fly fished, and never had to change the shocks on it. Hell, I got 60k miles on the original Bridgestones. I think it's safe to say this is my last Nissan.
Re: Re: The Automotive Thread It's a patch, nothing more, you might get some extra miles out of it but it needs to be repaired. Mechanic in a bottle seldom works, at best it gets you a few more miles, at worst your still stuck with blown heads.
That's what I was thinking... nothing permanent, but hoping to get more out a vehicle where replacing the gasket would cost over half the total value of the car.
Glad you got that taken care of. Most changes like that in ride are so gradual it would take a savant to notice them. Definitely best to do as pairs but with B2G2 why not. Struts/Shocks are just wear items that can take abuse and will eventually wear out - but once you start getting dirt/water behind that boot they will start to fail. You will most likely not notice it until ride is very bad but your tires and stopping distance do take a hit.
Meh. May temporarily work or could plug something that can make it worse. Have mechanic friend that you can barter with? Will finish guns for _______. This may work with even a good local shop owner, you may be surprised.
Dixie inspired me to post a pic of what's happening in my garage. The hot rod is getting a partial heart transplant.