Post your own RIDE - Get it [bubble] wrapped

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Post your own RIDE - Get it [bubble] wrapped

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

2008 Mini Cooper S Clubman

1997 BMW M3/4

# ¿ Dec 14, 2008 16:45

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 02:44

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Schatten posted:

Suspension - The MCS has the sport suspension, LSD, and all of that

I highly recommend a larger rear sway bar. It's kind of a pain in the rear end to put in but it makes a pretty big difference for something that seems so minor. I've got the Alta 22 mm on the softest setting on my Clubman S.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2009 03:50

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Calamari posted:

I hear some quality high temp brake fluid helped a lot when Car and Driver tested it after VIR.

Here's the article about it: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q2/z_meets_wall_we_investigate_why_the_nismo_z_s_brakes_failed_at_lightning_lap-feature

# ¿ Jun 27, 2010 19:20

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Bought a new commuter car, Mazda 2 Sport manual.

Very pleased with it so far. It's slow, but not frustratingly so. The lack of weight (it's 50 pounds less than a Fiat 500) certainly helps. The gearbox is Miata-like, although there is a big gap between first and second gears (shifting from first to second at 4,000 RPM drops you down to 2k). There is some steering feel, much more than my MINI Clubman S has. It's a fun car to drive overall. It's also very simple, as evidenced by the mechanical lever to switch between fresh and recirc modes for ventilation. Yes, it makes the same suction sound as a 1980s Toyota when you switch it to recirc mode.

Also, I paid below invoice and got 0% financing. :woop:

# ¿ Aug 2, 2011 05:10

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

The Locator posted:

Nice looking little car. I can't quite figure out why Mazda can't get the fuel economy numbers out of their little cars that some other mfg's are getting (like say Ford with the Focus, which is larger).

Mazda is using old tech for now. The engine doesn't have direct injection and the transmission is only a 5-speed. I also test drove a 2012 Hyundai Accent, which gets 40 mpg and has 138 hp. It has direct injection and a 6-speed manual. It also has an upshift indicator. I think that the EPA follows those things in their test procedure if a car has them. In the Hyundai's case, it asked me to shift into 4th at 20 mph. I could get 40+ mpg out of the Mazda if I did that too.

kimbo305 posted:

That grey looks great, but the green ones look incredible.

I too am a fan of small cars in loud colors (although my MINI is traditional English white). Blue and Green were my top choices but there isn't a base manual car anywhere in Southern California in either of those colors. Unfortunately, most people like their cars in grayscale so my choices were gray or black. At least the gray should be easy to keep clean.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2011 05:53

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

azerdude32 posted:

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Post your ride's interior

MINI Clubman

Mazda 2

I'm sure you've seen a black E36 interior before, so I won't bother with those photos.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2012 03:47

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Super Aggro Crag posted:

What the hell is the giant circular thing in the center dash?

Speedometer around the outside; screen for navigation, stereo, and phone on the inside.

CharlesM posted:

What's the little computer screen for?

It's an UltraGauge.

Ineptus Mechanicus posted:

The Mazda 2 is right at the top of my eventual new car shortlist and if you don't mind me dumping a load of questions, how do you like it?

It's a great car. I love it even more after 7500 miles than I did when I bought it.

Ineptus Mechanicus posted:

I know the engine is a bit underpowered but how does the manual transmission feel?

You'll manage with the power. I got four people plus luggage up to Lake Tahoe (6000+ feet elevation) at normal highway speeds with no complaints about comfort. We drove about 1500 miles over 4 days and I averaged 37 mpg.

The gearbox is excellent, probably the best front-drive one I've tried. I like it better than modern Hondas; the engagement has a nice mechanical heft to it. There's a large spread between first and second gears which is kind of a downer. The solution is to wind it out off the line before shifting to second. The clutch is a bit odd; I'm just now able to be consistently smooth with it.

Ineptus Mechanicus posted:

How's the handling and visibility?

The handling is very good. Steering feel is surprisingly good for an electric system and understeer is minimal. It doesn't feel like a nose-heavy car at all. I wish it had a little less body roll, but on the other hand, it rides really well for a small car.

Visibility is fine. It has a big windshield and relatively small pillars. The rear headrests go all the way down onto the seatback so they don't block the rear view at all.

Ineptus Mechanicus posted:

Does the car have that penalty box feel or is it just a bit spartan?

It's a bit loud inside and I wish it had Bluetooth and USB input for the stereo. Other than that, it doesn't feel lacking in features. I'd say it's more lightweight than cheap (although it is cheap). But there's a sense that there's some solidness underneath all the plastic.

Ineptus Mechanicus posted:

Also how many licks does it take too get to the center of etc etc.

Three.

Ineptus Mechanicus posted:

I should really just go and test drive a bunch of B-segment hatches at some point, preferably ones in lime green.

That gives you the choice of the 2, Fiesta, and Accent. All good cars. Honda started offering the Fit in 90's Nostalgia Teal this year, so there's that option too.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2012 07:23

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

kimbo305 posted:

I've always wondered about that -- in a low power car where 1st gear is like a granny gear to get you going, what do you do when you are still warming the car up? Short shifting would lead to lugging, wouldn't it?

It's not that bad. If you drive it like a normal person it will be a bit slow but it won't lug. The cold engine light is usually out by the time I leave the parking lot anyway.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2012 17:16

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

CharlesM posted:

Is it a 4 seater there too? I figure the Euro models might allow 5 seats since you guys probably aren't as fat as us average Americans... :P

You can get it as a 5-seater in the US now.

# ¿ May 5, 2013 17:19

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Ludicro posted:

Currently has run flat tyres, so when I end up wearing the current set out I'm likely to replace them with regular tyres, as the large rims, sports suspension and runflats make for quite a firm ride. Absolute joy to drive, although as I'm an inexperienced driver I haven't taken the car to its full potential just yet.

Regular tires will improve a lot- ride, handling, noise, weight. I highly recommend ditching the run flats.

If you're looking for suspension upgrades after that, check out a larger rear sway bar and Koni FSD shocks. I just put FSDs on my Clubman and it is a worthwhile upgrade. The ride is much more comfortable and the car is much more settled in aggressive driving.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2014 20:37

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Picked this up last week to share with my dad. Mazda 3S Touring.

Mazda did an incredible job with this car and I hope they sell a billion of them. It drives really well, is economical, and there are little details they put in that are really neat.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2014 05:11

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

ehnus posted:

Speaking of the CX-5, I got a CX-5 today!

All wheel drive, 2.5L motor. I like it a lot!

Blue Reflex Buddies

An AWD Mazdaspeed 3 would be nice. The 3 and the CX-5 share a lot of common components, so it's probably possible for Mazda to put AWD in the 3 without too much effort. The frame looks like it can acommodate a drive shaft:

Taken from this video, which is excellent if you have a half hour to kill.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2014 04:33

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

# ¿ Nov 29, 2015 20:31

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Powershift posted:

That's pretty boss. What are you going to do for the front plate?

You can order black plates in California now, so it'll blend in. I'm going to do that if I put a plate on the front (I probably will).

# ¿ Nov 29, 2015 20:50

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

I put my front plate on. Hail Satan.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2016 02:54

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

savesthedayrocks posted:

Glad I'm not the only one that picked my license plate based on the color.

Sucks that I can't get the back one in normal white and the front in black.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2016 06:45

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

FCKGW posted:

sup IVC buddy

Sup. My car isn't nice/low/loud enough for me to go there. But I live nearby.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2016 04:20

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

the spyder posted:

Ours started falling apart at 80k. Even after throwing ~$5k in parts at it, I'm still happy it was totaled by an old lady.

80k? Congrats on making it that far.

I had an 08 and had to replace the water pump and thermostat at 47k. Per several shops I called, they either last 50k or forever. But 50k is considered normal. Oh, these two parts on on opposite sides of the engine, so it's not a single labor charge.

The turbo oil lines were replaced at 55k. Again, not an outlier.

Good thing my timing chain tensioner failure was detected early and under warranty. I know at least two people who had it fail out of warranty, necessitating engine replacement (one guy sold his to a salvager for 2k). There was a class action lawsuit about it, resulting in anyone with a failure being reimbursed for repairs, even if they were out of warranty and had the work done by an independent shop.

My high pressure fuel pump didn't fail, but enough of them did that the warranty was extended to 10 years/100k.

All that being said, I know plenty of people who bought another one despite having one or more of the issues above. Hell, I know a couple people who lemon lawed them, then got another.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2016 06:02

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

I posted this car here about 10 years ago, but I cleaned it up and did ceramic coating last week so I'm posting it again.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2018 05:06

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

thechalkoutline posted:

How much did the coating run you if you don't mind me asking?

My cars a bit smaller than yours and I just started looking into it, but mine's so swirled up I'd need a serious detail; still temping though cause I put a ton of miles on it

I did it myself using this. It took about 9 hours to wash, clay, polish (one pass with Meguiar's 105 and an orange pad), and apply two coats of ceramic. In total I used maybe $130 worth of supplies, not including the polisher.

There's a bunch more info in the detailing thread; I went into detail about coating my other car here:
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3474488&userid=29684#post474020997
https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3474488&userid=29684#post479176308

# ¿ Jul 19, 2018 02:02

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

thetechnoloser posted:

2019 Veloster N w/perf pack.

Please check in later, I'd like to see what this is like to live with in a few months.

Those aren't the perf pack wheels, though. Hope the dealer didn't try to screw you.

# ¿ May 20, 2019 15:53

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

IOwnCalculus posted:

I keep saying I never understand why GM still sells both GMC and Chevy.

GMC exists so that Buick dealers have trucks to sell.

# ¿ May 22, 2020 15:38

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

"Mom, can we have a Boxster?"

"We have a Boxster at home."

The Boxster at home:

I already have a Miata, but the opportunity came up and I couldn't not take it. Already cleaned it up a bit and replaced the struts and a couple other suspension components. Putting stuff in it is a pain (the only storage is behind the seats) and it is as slow as all the reviews say, but otherwise I'm having a great time.

# ¿ Jun 30, 2022 05:14

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Enjoying this a lot. There are a couple of minor things I don't like but overall I'm a huge fan.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2023 23:27

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Sab669 posted:

One of the coolest looking new cars on the market. How long have you had it?

Two months; 3,300 miles. It's quiet and comfortable. Everything feels well put together. My local fast chargers have been decent. My wife is getting 4.6 mi/kWh on her commute, which gives it a range of 350+ miles. I get closer to 4 with a mix of driving on stroads and 75+ on the highway. That still gets the actual advertised range.

Biggest complaints are the purchase experience (I saved enough to make it worth it though) and how the door handles and lock/unlock work.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2023 16:16

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Sab669 posted:

Is it just some byproduct of them being flush with the rest of the door handle? I'm sure I've watched Doug's review of the thing but I can't recall how they work. Push on one end to pop up the other end then grab it?

They pop out automatically when the car is unlocked. I'm used to closing a door by pushing by the handle- a byproduct of having cars with frameless doors. You can't do that here because of the handle's hinge.

The actual infuriating part of the door handles is how they lock and unlock. The car has auto unlock, which pops the door handles out when you approach the car. Once you step out of range, they lock again. So if you pass by the side of the car on the way to put something in the trunk, they will relock. But then they won't unlock again and you have to push a tiny touch-sensitive square on the handle.

And that is the only situation where the doors will automatically lock. There's no walk away lock like there is on most cars now. That seems really dumb because the logic to do it is already present- it knows to auto lock the car after auto unlocking! To lock the car after you get out of it, you push on the tiny square on the door handle, which is popped out so the square is at an awkward angle.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2023 17:18

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Frozen Pizza Party posted:

This is great info, if you don't mind my asking, what's the trim level and what did you pay? I'm in the market for one currently as I just took a job in LA with a 48 mile commute, gently caress me, right? The WRX is too silly for that kind of stop and go 405 mileage. I've been looking for deals and/or incentives, I know that one of the OC dealerships is offering a flat 5k off which is nice.

Coincidentally, I live in Irvine and my wife's commute is 30 miles of 405 stop and go to Long Beach. For the first month or so, I only used the local fast chargers, primarily the 350 kW ones at Irvine Spectrum. That one has been generally reliable, and it's not too crowded if you go before noon or after 8 PM. I usually charge from 20-30% up to 80%, and that takes under 20 minutes. 20-80%, which is a general safe range for everyday use, works out to about 46 kW of battery. That is about 210 miles for my wife (4.6 mi/kWh * 46 kW). We use the car a lot on the weekends too, so I end up charging 3x per week usually.

I did get a home charger, which is the Tesla mobile charger. It gives a lot of flexibility since it can automatically adjust for different amperage depending on what outlet you plug it into. It has tons of outlet adapters available and is UL listed. I had to get a TeslaTap to be able to use it with the Ioniq, but that's a useful thing to have anyway if you travel. TBH, I don't use the home charger that often. It costs me about $16 to do the 20-80% charge at home. Electrify America is free, and my wife's office has 10 cents/kW charging, so that costs $4.60.

The car is an SE RWD. The MSRP is $47,530. The dealer gave me a $2,500 discount (actually $4k, minus the $1480 in add on crap they refused to take off the car). That's the amount I paid tax and license on. But I leased it, so add in $950 in lease acquisition and termination fees. Hyundai then kicks in $7500 for your lease down payment. I bought the lease out as soon as I got the paperwork and still got the $7500 lol. So after all of that, I am at ~$42K. My state rebate of $2k is still pending, so when that goes through, I'll be at $40k OTD.

That flat $5k off is a Hyundai rebate. You have to finance it through them (although you can refinance it at a better rate after). You end up with a bit better discount by using the lease pass through (~$6500 after accounting for the lease start and termination fees). But the real takeaway is that since the $5k finance or $7500 lease cash are manufacturer programs, you can get the dealer to discount on top of that.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2023 05:18

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Frozen Pizza Party posted:

drat, what a great writeup. I really appreciate all the charging insight. I have a standard 110 socket on my balcony, so I could just hang a cord over into my parking spot in a pinch, but there's a few of those 150/350 Electrify America chargers nearby to the tune of .36 cents for Pass+ and .48 for guest, as well as a bunch of free 6-7kw baby chargers.

For reference, the standard 110 socket charger that comes with the car gets you about 30 miles overnight. If you plugged it in every night, you could save yourself one trip per week to a fast charger. Hyundais come with 2 years of free DC fast charging at Electrify America, though. In theory fast charging is worse for the battery, but all of the real world data I've seen shows the difference is negligible.

To buyout the lease, you first wait for the lease to be funded and for Hyundai Finance to create your account. Then, go online and get a buyout statement which gives you the total buyout amount and an expiration date (usually the date your next payment is due). Take that statement to your bank and get a loan for the exact amount. I have heard that if you do this within a certain amount of time, some banks will treat it as a new car and give you the new car interest rate. Best to ask your specific lender what their policy is. There's a ton more detail on the lease buyout steps here.

And I'm down for lunch. :hfive:

# ¿ Jun 29, 2023 06:06

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

Frozen Pizza Party posted:

Heck yeah, thanks again. The 2yrs of EA is awesome, that solves my problem right there. I'll shoot you a PM once I get settled in at the new gig! Mini Ioniq meet coming to a parking lot near you.

Cool. One thing I forgot to mention. You might want to look at PlugShare to see how fast/reliable your local EA stations are. There is a lot of variability.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2023 07:00

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 02:44

TheGoatTrick: Aug 1, 2002; Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery

MetaJew posted:

Has Hyundai fixed the issue where, when single pedal driving, the brake light doesn't come on when you let off the throttle? That seemed bad.

Yes; there is a service campaign for it.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2023 16:26

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Post your own RIDE - Get it [bubble] wrapped