Car Enthusiast Thread

[Nakoruru]

Still doing research as to what my next ride might be (warranty on the GTI will be up in a few months and I'm not sure how long I'll want to hold on to it after that). The newer GTI's are nice, but really aren't that much different than what I drive now.

Has anyone driven a 135i? The new 2011's offer BMWs new 7 speed DCT, and I love the one in my GTI. I can get over the purposefully fuglified looks since it has three things going for it I look for in a car....small, quick, and euro. Might be a bit of a stretch financially but I'm trying to make that work. Then again anything that could be considered a "step up" from the GTI really seems to require significantly more money.

For example, was looking at others but

Challenger, too much pork and crap interior, not to mention rediculous pricing

Mustang - The nicest seemingly on paper, but spec'd the way I'd like it I'd be looking at 135i type money, and I'd rather have the 1'er. Plus not to mention they are a dime a dozen.

Camaro - Can't see a damn thing out of it, not to mention I don't think it looks as good as the chally and its still friggin huge

370z - Always wanted a Z, but interior is still a bit of a mess, and absolutely ZERO practicality

Genesis Coupe - Nice, but not nice enough. Interior still seems "cheap", resale will probably be junk.

STI/EVO - Again you are looking at 135i type money to get into one of these, and I can't see myself plunking down 40K for a mitsu. Would rather buy a WRX than an STI considering it isn't worth the 10K more you wind up paying.

Volvo C30 - Best looking euro hatch out there IMO, but limited hatch usefulness (I think I read that with the seats down you have like 22 cubic feet compared to 40 plus in my GTI, wtf is the point of a hatchback without the utility)...Plus I dont think it is a step up enough fromt the GTI.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Force]

Not a fan of the one series. Hate the interior, the exterior, the fact that a 38k car does not have real LSD, and see above about the n54 fuel pump failure. Buddy of mine is on his third pump on his 08 and it's failing. BMW is giving him shit about getting a new one. No thanks.

The challenger is porky, and I have to say for a 425 hp pushrod v8 car it feels slower than it should, and the car feels unstable as fuck at high speed. But there something magic about it. I just instantly start smiling the moment I get in to drive it.

 

[Mushiki]

Not a fan of the one series. Hate the interior, the exterior, the fact that a 38k car does not have real LSD

Neither does the Boxster... terrible

Go for the Z

 

[Nakoruru]

Not a fan of the one series. Hate the interior, the exterior, the fact that a 38k car does not have real LSD, and see above about the n54 fuel pump failure. Buddy of mine is on his third pump on his 08 and it's failing. BMW is giving him shit about getting a new one. No thanks.

The challenger is porky, and I have to say for a 425 hp pushrod v8 car it feels slower than it should, and the car feels unstable as fuck at high speed. But there something magic about it. I just instantly start smiling the moment I get in to drive it.

Well the 2011 135i has moved to BMW's new N55 setup, no longer twin-turbo, only single, same performance figures. I've heard about the notorious fuel pump failures, but based on my research that appears to really only effect the 08 models. All things considered I'd love a 335i coupe, but price does come into play with a similarly equiped 3 running at least 4-5k more. Plus again there is something about the fact of having an uncommon car that I like. I see at least 5 335i coupes every day.

Not having a rear LSD really isn't thaaat big of an issue to me, since I don't plan on tracking the car. Again this is where the Z is probably a no-go, just too impractical. The Z would have to be a second car, and I've done the math on the beater/summer queen, and I'd really just prefer to have one.

At least the 1 series has a somewhat decent trunk and a back seat that can act as a parcel shelf. Plus I believe the insurance is lower on the 1 than it is on the Z.

The unstable at high speed thing is what steers me towards euro cars. My GTI is the only car I've owned so far where I can do 120 and not feel like I'm about to kill myself. For some that is thrill, for me I prefer a "buttoned down" feel.

 

[Mushiki]

"Stability at high speeds" isn't a synonym of "euro car"... there are many american and japanese cars that are stable at high speeds, and many european cars that aren't. It really depends on how the suspension is set up.

 

[Nakoruru]

"Stability at high speeds" isn't a synonym of "euro car"... there are many american and japanese cars that are stable at high speeds, and many european cars that aren't. It really depends on how the suspension is set up.

Very true....however this is purely based on my own anecdotal experience. What also comes into play is chassis rigidity as well as steering weight. Nearly every bmw, merc, and new vw that I've driven has felt stable in a straight line at high speeds. The same cannot be said for every new toyota, honda, gm, chrysler, etc that I have. I know its a generalization, but one that seems to hold true in my personal experience as well as many others I know.

 

[smokehouse]

"Stability at high speeds" isn't a synonym of "euro car"... there are many american and japanese cars that are stable at high speeds, and many european cars that aren't. It really depends on how the suspension is set up.

I can say from experience that my SHO, Cobra and GTO were all very stable and steady at high speeds. I had all three up to around 145 and never once felt like they were out of control or unstable.

Then again...all had quality, well balanced, full tread tires. MY GTO had BFG KDW2's, the Cobra had Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's and bringing up the rear was the SHO with Goodyear Eagle RSA's.

Out of all three, the RSA's were the most questionable but they were fine compared to the shit most people drive on.

I'm bringing this up because I feel many people overlook wheat they are driving on and blame the car for certain problems switching tires would simply fix.

 

[not sonic]

my camaro is fine at 100. stock it wasnt but with good tires and a good suspension set up, its totally different. to make a blanket statement about american car quality is so 90s at this point.

id also argue that an lsd is a must have. something about how the feel of taking a turn changes with one makes it way more fun.

the fiero, totally stock from 88, feels hella squirley at high speeds though. i kinda like it.

you seem to be set on a 1 series though.

 

[Force]

I wouldn't argue that an LSD is a must have on a street car, but it's definately a want if the car is performance oriented. The 1 series handles fairly well without one, but there are times you still sort of feel the open diff when doing a series of turns agressively.

Car dealership accepted my on the gt500. Now I need to actually drive it. Will report how I feel about it. The car in black with No stripes is downright menacing to look at.

I actually had planned to get a challener rt and just mod the shit out of it. I still might go this route. I'd do it to the srt I have now, but I can't help feel the car is semi collectable. I'd hate to start chopping it up.

 

[not sonic]

im about to throw away my fiero's 2.8.

it still wants to stall at red lights or under rapid deceleration, and one of the accessories is making noise and it better not be the water pump because thats going to suck to replace and it better not be the alternator because its brand new. also the alt just barely manages to put out enough juice to run the radio, lights, wipers, etc. forget using the ac on a rainy night stopped at a light making a turn with the radio on. voltmeter just barely reads over 12 in that situation.

damn you early 80s technology.

 

[Clessy]

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents about high end luxury. I think the tarus sho is very nice and almost always over looked right now. The interior is very good but not bmw amazing. The new ecotech twin turbo v6 is fucking awesome. Tons of power when you want it and whats more bad ass than twin turbo? I think my favorite thing about the car however the new new gauge cluster. Its just so bad ass.

I guess my opinons are rather biased though because I rather buy like this. Japanese > American > European. Euro cars are just way to much not enough bang for the buck imho. Right now I think America is making the cars that im most interested in. I like the tech they're bring. I really cant wait to try out and see the new Aveo RS.

 

[Mushiki]

I like how you talk about how you like American cars and then mention the Aveo... which is nothing more than a rebadged Daewoo Kalos.

 

[khyron]

Hey Mushiki, I once had my turboII over 160mph. Was racing a Ferrari on the interstate. My car was shaking and making all sorts of scary noises, then out of nowhere it went silent. Looked at my speedo and was at the 160 mark.

To be honest it wasnt a race, I was just trying to keep up with him, when I realized I was waaayyy over the limit a slowed down, I just kind of got caught up in the moment. Anyway I got off at my exit and there was the Ferrari at the stop light, he told me to pull into the gas station with him. He wanted to look at my car cause he was amazed at how fast it was and wanted to peek under the hood.

 

[Nakoruru]

my camaro is fine at 100. stock it wasnt but with good tires and a good suspension set up, its totally different. to make a blanket statement about american car quality is so 90s at this point.

id also argue that an lsd is a must have. something about how the feel of taking a turn changes with one makes it way more fun.

the fiero, totally stock from 88, feels hella squirley at high speeds though. i kinda like it.

you seem to be set on a 1 series though.

Well I wasn't trying to make a blanket statement about american cars, rather I was referring to my personal experience. I certainly wasn't in any way trying to say that european cars are better than american, japanese, etc...just that their driving dynamics in my experience seemed better suited for what I prefer.

I must admit that I haven't driven that many american cars from 2006 or so on, so yeah, I may be a bit biased in that regard. My comment was mostly in response to Force's comment that his chally felt unstable at high speed (as did the R/T I drove a little while back).

Still not 100% set on the 1'er, as this just happens to be the flavor of the week, and that flavor constantly changes. I'm all over the place on a monthly basis, part of me wants the same but better, another part of me wants to try a different direction completely A small part of me still wants a v8, since I know this will probably be one of the last opportunities I'll have in my lifetime to own one (I see them going the way of the dodo bird fairly soon save for high end luxury and exotics).

For example I've considered going completely against my current pattern of cars (2 door compact hatches with 4 cyl engines).

I've even considered the following...now that the northstar is officially dead it I can imagine these becoming collectible (if I recall they have the most stock power output of any northstar v8)

 

[not sonic]

the cts coupe is pretty awesome, and the v version is going to be even more ridiculous. dont know if thats in your price range though.

just test drive a bunch of shit. no harm done there.

 

[TonK]

Picked this up on Saturday.

Automatic.

 

[NeoSneth]

who'd you pick it up for?

 

[TonK]

who'd you pick it up for?

Myself - Had to actually "buy it" on Monday hence the dealer tags.

 

[aria]

Congratulations! Looks nice.

 

[Heath]

Is it a Skyline???

 

[TonK]

Is it a Skyline???

Well, its a GT-R, but technically its a Skyline.

I got a really good deal on it.

Plus my trade in of a 2008 CTS...

The salesman said my warranty is voided if I turn off traction contol?

The guy in the shop said there is a GPS thats can track if the car goes to a drasgstrip or some shit?

I cant find anything on it.

 

[Heath]

Well, its a GT-R, but technically its a Skyline.

I got a really good deal on it.

Plus my trade in of a 2008 CTS...

The salesman said my warranty is voided if I turn off traction contol?

The guy in the shop said there is a GPS thats can track if the car goes to a drasgstrip or some shit?

I cant find anything on it.

Very nice Tonk, just read about the GPS. it can track and then disable its speed limiter.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/22/nissan-gt-r-disables-speed-limiter-on-race-tracks-via-gps/

EDIT - Does that only apply for Jap circuits???

 

[Clessy]

Very nice Tonk, just read about the GPS. it can track and then disable its speed limiter.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/22/nissan-gt-r-disables-speed-limiter-on-race-tracks-via-gps/

EDIT - Does that only apply for Jap circuits???

Well the new r35 is still kinda new to america. I dont know if they have it setup for all our tracks to remove the rev limitor yet.

And yeah tonk there are 2 things that void your warrenty saved into the ecu. There is some launching thing that cant be used without voiding warrently and cant turn off traction control.

Btw love the car.

 

[OrochiEddie]

Picked this up on Saturday.

Automatic.

Very nice

 

[Nakoruru]

Picked this up on Saturday.

Automatic.

Beautiful ride. New or Used?? What are your opinions on the transmission?

Nm...maybe an 09?? Curious as to how good of a deal they gave you on it, would absolutely love a GT-R if I could afford one.

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/ctd/1842106299.html