Car Enthusiast Thread

3rdStrikeMike

Dodgeball Yakuza
10 Year Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Posts
638
Finally got my ITR backed out of storage for a bit. Not too much longer and it will actually be nice enough to drive it here. It's supposed to snow again this weeked . . . seems like it's never going to quit.

20180414_091847.jpg
 

jsiucho

Sakura's Bank Manager
15 Year Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Posts
741
Finally got my ITR backed out of storage for a bit. Not too much longer and it will actually be nice enough to drive it here. It's supposed to snow again this weeked . . . seems like it's never going to quit.

View attachment 49746

Nice!!,, I had the 1995 Special Ed,, forest green back in High School, hey still look good.
 

Lets Gekiga In

Neon Night Rider
20 Year Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2003
Posts
11,914
Finally got my ITR backed out of storage for a bit. Not too much longer and it will actually be nice enough to drive it here. It's supposed to snow again this weeked . . . seems like it's never going to quit.

View attachment 49746

Yep, we’re supposed to get snow again in Cleveland this weekend. This winter has been mighty long. Very sweet ride though! I love to see it in white. When I used to live in Florida I saw a yellow one frequently.
 

3rdStrikeMike

Dodgeball Yakuza
10 Year Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Posts
638
Yep, we’re supposed to get snow again in Cleveland this weekend. This winter has been mighty long. Very sweet ride though! I love to see it in white. When I used to live in Florida I saw a yellow one frequently.

Nice car. Brings back good memories of my buddies car back in high school.

Thanks for the compliments guys :) It's in pretty pristine shape. I actually bought it from someone in Texas about 8 years ago. It has a little over 30,000 miles on it. It's a blast to drive, but it certainly isn't nice enough here to drive it for a good chunk of the year. It's a real straightforward car to drive. It's such a departure from electronic assist everything. Hopefully I can go on a few road trips once I burn up my PTO this summer.
 

sr20det510

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Posts
1,731
Lincoln can't make enough $120,000 Navigators to fill demand, yet middle class cars are on a sharp decline.
This is exactly what we saw in 2007.

Ford's is only updating two cars this model year.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/26/for...us-car-business-and-gm-is-not-far-behind.html

Is the car industry indicating this bullish market is getting ready to correct???

Ford and GM make too many damn cars, and most are weak!
They need to figure this thing out, because if they go all out truck and SUV and the market corrects they'll be fucked.

I don't think they have to worry too much about the price of a gallon of gas going up anytime soon. So trucks and SUVs make sense.
 

Lets Gekiga In

Neon Night Rider
20 Year Member
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Posts
11,914
Not quite sure about the sales figures, but it seems the masses who buy new vehicles will buy ones like the Ford EcoSport (starts at sub $20k) and still gets 23/29 mpg which is not too bad.
 

sr20det510

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Posts
1,731
I want a Subaru Crosstrek with a factory installed turbo.
I went to a concert and Subaru was a sponsor. They had a few crosstreks modded, and I asked when is the turbo is coming.

Dude, said he gets that asked often, has brought it up to management, but no real solid response. He then informed me I can get an aftermarket kit for it. I told him I'm aware of that, but then the dealer would figure out a way to void my warranty.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
I want a Subaru Crosstrek with a factory installed turbo.
I went to a concert and Subaru was a sponsor. They had a few crosstreks modded, and I asked when is the turbo is coming.

Dude, said he gets that asked often, has brought it up to management, but no real solid response. He then informed me I can get an aftermarket kit for it. I told him I'm aware of that, but then the dealer would figure out a way to void my warranty.

I looked at these as well, but they have less room than a standard 4 door Sedan. They are tiny.
 

lithy

Most Prominent Member of Chat
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2002
Posts
22,031
Just ticked my daily (2003 Ford Taurus) over 260,000 miles yesterday. I just put new oil in it last week and spent about an hour swapping out the gauge cluster illumination lights (4 of 5 had burned out, did all 5 and replaced the parking brake lightbulb which had also died.) It was annoying that I had to remove the radio and 3 trim pieces to get at it, but all in all wasn't too bad. Actually the first work I have done on it in about 18 months when I put new struts and redid most of the rubber suspension stuff on the corners.

Still kinda waiting for it to just die, I did have to jump it a few weeks back, the battery is kinda old but shouldn't be borked, it jumped fine and hasn't given me trouble since. The low oil pressure light likes to flicker at idle once it gets fully warmed and driven on the highway for 20 miles, which is supposedly either just a bad sender or enough wear on the rod bearings that it actually is getting somewhat low pressure when sitting at 800rpm idle. My ABS Module has been bad for a while, you can get them rebuilt for about $100, I'm considering it, but not sure it is really worth doing, unless I think I'm making it to 300,000. Other than that, a few interior bits of trim are broken, recently a DIY Pick a Part yard opened, I should get over and see if they have any cars to snag parts from.

I'm behind on getting my Miata ready for the open autocross days, the weather has been shit though, so far either way too hot, way too cold, or raining so I've only taken it out a couple times.

Wife's car (2005 Suzuki Aerio SX) has something electronic going on and I don't really know her car well enough to know where to start, but I'm thinking it might be an ECM issue, it likes to turn on the Air Bag, Brake, and ABS lights on in various combinations, but otherwise seems to be normal.

I love cars, I hate cars.
 

sr20det510

Guerilla Warrior
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Posts
1,731
I looked at these as well, but they have less room than a standard 4 door Sedan. They are tiny.

I sat in a Crosstrek at the concert/show and it did feel a little tight. I would imagine the backseat area would be even tighter. I didn't like the fact that the 5speed version only came in the lower end model. I like the look though and if it was turbocharged I'd already be driving one.
 

GohanX

Horrible Goose
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Posts
12,490
Hay guys, I'm wanting some opinions on car cleaning products. Back in my younger days I used to have a cherry red RX7 that I kept in showroom condition. As time marched on, I had other cars that got old so they never got the same care. Now I have a new car, and I'd like to keep it in great shape like my old car was, but most of the car cleaning products I used back in the day don't even exist anymore. What are you guys using these days?

On the outside the paint is in pretty good shape, but it's a 12 year old car so it has some minor scratches and swirls in the paint (mostly light clearcoat scratches from washing,) so it needs some TLC. The inside I got covered already, I had to clean up all the quick detail mess that the seller sprayed everywhere and put some real protectant on the vinyl and clean the random dirty spots out of the light gray headliner.

Speed 6.jpg
 

bubba966

Cinema Ninja!,
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Sep 24, 2013
Posts
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Gohung, check out https://www.detailersdomain.com/

They carry good shit, have forums, and the owner is great at giving advice/replying to product questions if asked. They do a lot of instructional vids too, i just forget if they post em to their fb page, yt, or?...

Personally I've used a bunch of the Sonax stuff they sell and some of the Adam's products as well and they've both worked great. The Sonax wheel cleaner is fuckin amazing. If the wheel is super dirty then the Full Effect Plus wheel cleaner is the way to go but it's kinda $$$. The regular full effect cleaner is great for moderately dirty wheels and upkeep once clean though it will clean nasty wheels too like the Plus version does. It just might take an application or too more using the regular than the Plus.
 
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madman

Blame madman, You Know You Want To.,
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Posts
7,518
Word, the DD shiz is good for regular maintenance. I use the Sonax wheel cleaner too, I use the Stoner products for windows and tires.
 
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Ive found a few great products in the last few years. Funny both of you guys mentioned sonax, their gummiphluger (did I spell that right) is one thing Ive started using in the last year I love which is a rubber seal cleaner and treatment. Now I’ll have to try some of their other products. Curious what products of theirs I should try specifically?

I had a chance to try a slew of chemical guys products for free after hearing about them for years and by far the most impressive thing I tried was their quick wax. Super easy on and off like no other product Ive tried. A pretty big noticeable visual difference in swirls and shine, many weeks later with wide ranging weather I can still see water reacting to it. Most of their other stuff I found average except it all smelled amazing, lol.

Lastly for black leather interiors I highly recommend Doc Bailey’s Leather Black. It takes some technique and practice to use without streaking but now I find myself using it on old plastic dashboards and black trim. The 20 year old interior in one of my cars now gets constantly complimented and feels and looks like it has no type of chemical used on it, it looks and feels like it just left the dealership.
 
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bubba966

Cinema Ninja!,
Joined
Sep 24, 2013
Posts
1,542
Curious what products of theirs I should try specifically?

Since it sounds like you've not tried it yet, try the Sonax wheel cleaner.

And I forgot about being specific about leather care. But the Leather Master line is most excellent and it's very, very easy to use. Used to have a buddy that was a high-end detailer and he'd shown me a few things and the Leather Master & Sonax stuff were a few of the things he'd use. He's also the one that turned me to Detailers Domain for pickin stuff up.

As I recall DD had standing coupon codes for 10% off orders. Not sure if they still do as last big sale from them I bought more than enough Sonax wheel cleaner to last me a while (25L) as well as stock up on other shite pretty well. But coupon code BMW was one of em. Another was Audi.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
I'll do an update from a write-up I did last year. I'm mostly following the same routine with some minor changes. New items include the Eagle 1 Clay mitt instead of a clay bar and some Honda Grease.
http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showt...siast-Thread&p=4172541&viewfull=1#post4172541

Interior
  • Meguiar's G16216 Ultimate Interior Detailer - for satin finish with a little shine. I only use this for things that need shine.
  • 303 (30308) Aerospace Protectant - Satin finish. Excellent protection. Use this on everything plastic. inside and out.
  • Invisible Glass Cleaner - I hate interior glass haze. This is cheap and effective.
  • Sonax leather foam - for cleaning the leather. Most auto leather is sealed with plastic, so i don't bother with expensive leather conditioners.
  • Honda Genuine Shin-Etsu Grease - This stuff for all your rubber weather seals. window trim. wiper trim. Testing on some exposed black plastic pieces as well.


Wheels
  • Sonax Wheel Cleaner - This stuff is expensive, but it's amazing and safe on pricey rims.
  • Mothers Wheel Brush - Soft plastic head prevents damage when you are really scrubbing.
  • Maxima SC1 Silicone Spray - Satin finish protection on the tires. I also use this on the wheel wells. I use this heavily on my motorcycles for most engine, suspension and wheel parts. It's like a protective layer where you can just hose off the dirt. Yes it's silicone. No, Silicone does not damage rubber.


Exterior
  • Aquapel Glass Treatment - Say good bye to Rain-X. This is a serious exothermic glass treatment. Expensive. Use sealant/wax rather than rain-x if you can't afford aquapel. I will also just use Sealant and Wax on glass for side windows and mirror. It's almost as good as Aquapel.
  • Grio's Garage Car Wash - I use this throughout the year to clean the car without removing my sealant and wax. It's a foam wash soap, that doesnt dissolve waxes. I wash my car with Dawn dish soap once a year to remove the old wax only.
  • Eagle One 850789 Surface Prep Mitt - use after Dish soap stripping of old wax. I use this in place of a claybar now.
  • Jescar/Menzerna Sealant - This is the first layer i add after deep cleaning paint with dawn soap and Clay mitt. Sealant is like a wax that bonds to the clearcoat. It's slightly less shiny, but you only need to use this once or twice a year. I let it sit overnight to cure. Then I buff it out by hand or with random orbital. This was $30 a bottle, but I'm still on the same one after applying it about 12 times.
  • Grio's Garage Wax - This is the top layer of carnuba wax over the Sealant. This creates that bright shine that you only get with carnuba bases waxes. Wax over sealant, remember that. This is not as resilient as the sealant, but you can apply more throughout the year. Any carnuba wax will work for this step.
  • Grio's Garage Spray Wax - I use this throughout the year after a quick wash. There's no need to a deep clean with good wax, as the dirt just falls off the car. Spray down the car, then spray on this wax. Buff with Microfiber towel.
 
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miisalo

Astra Superstar
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Posts
669
I blew right turbo on Thursday. Left turbo axle seems to be bit loose too, so both must be replaced. Car is only driven 89kkm, but there is manufacturing fault with the pre 2016 models. Not so nice thing is that in Europe Audi denies the whole problem even the Audi 'murica has has Technical Service Bulletin about it and provides extended warranty for the fault. Even with 50% discount on the blown turbo, replacing 2 + work is going to cost me 7k€.

I might be time to either buy Tesla or tune the car now that is has new turbos :D
 
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