Car Bashing Thread
- Thread starter PermenentMarker
- Start date
manual steering & manual brakes FTW... driving a car with power stuff seems fake by comparison...
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Lol, WTH? German cars have good brake pedal/steering feel? You guys are nuts. BMW, Mercedes and VW/Audi have the most disappointing tactility to their controls of any cars I've driven.
Argh, the windows... I'm getting good at changing out the regulators (piece of crap plastic-guided cables....), which are a total PITA to swap compared to other (more reliable) designs.
Ooo, Permenent's tuning his car. Want to know what makes some of the biggest and most noticeable changes, with best bang for the buck?
A better alignment. And some good shocks/struts. I'm not very into swapping springs, most on the market are too damn low, so you're hitting the bumpstops constantly, which is bad. Lowering also does horrible things to suspension geometry, especially by moving your roll center drastically lower (bad) while hardly moving your center of gravity any lower at all. RC and CG should be at about the same level, or your car is going to handle like crap. Stock-ish ride height is a must.
A lighter flywheel with a better clutch. I'm not talking full-race, but a "sporty" clutch with a lighter flywheel. I've got 8.5 lbs of flywheel in my Miata, down from 16 (funny, a lot of lightened flywheels for other cars are about 16 lbs), and it made a HUGE difference in responsiveness (something the German automakers screw up is putting too heavy a flywheel in.) A better clutch gives you a crisper lockup, combined with the lighter flywheel, snapping through the gears is a LOT nicer feeling.
Braided steel brake hoses. They don't make your brakes work better, but they do eliminate some of the pedal creep, since they won't bulge out like balloons under the pressure. They can slightly lower stopping distances because you're not wasting pedal effort to balloon rubber hoses out. They give you better presicion and feel on the brakes.
Get some GOOD tires. I can't stand it when someone spends a grand on wheels and gets a set of all-season tires. Get performance tires! I reccomend (and ride on) the Falken Azenis RT-615. They'll wear faster than the cheapo crap all-seasons, and cost more, but they're worth it by giving near-race grip, improved feel, breakaway characteristics and resistance to heat fade (if you've never heat-faded tires, you've never REALLY driven a car hard... or have always run top-shelf tires.) If you can't afford the tires with wheels, just keep the stock wheels. Stock wheels are fine 99% of the time, if they're not too big (most carmakers now do this...)
Yes, too big wheels. We'll get into that later. Let's just say one rule is NEVER, on ANYTHING, 19" wheels - they're too heavy and too structurally compromised for high performance. Ooops, sorry 'bout that Porsche (911 runs 19's... how ghetto).
I will agree that most people around me dont know how to drive...
Just like anyone else, I will say that I am one of the best in Quebec
Anyways, about the Audi Comment...
Back then they were unreliable for whatever their reason.
In north america... up to 2005 I can say that they are still unreliable... or as reliable as a Jetta... (I dont know about the A3 A6 or A8)
But the A4 is a Jetta with its Crappy Sludge Creating 1.8l Turbo
Yes... many owners will not know that a turbo requires that the car is getting Serious Regular service (in other words Dont miss oil changes !!)
But overall... VW/Audi in Canada/Quebec should be avoided becuase they have a reputation of having Every Electronic Issue in the world... Have crappy windows that always stop working...
Also... where I live we have 6 months of Winter with salted streets and still slippery roads... in the summer we have roads with record cracks and holes in them... so... car life does not last more then 4 years if you dont take proper care.
Argh, the windows... I'm getting good at changing out the regulators (piece of crap plastic-guided cables....), which are a total PITA to swap compared to other (more reliable) designs.
Ooo, Permenent's tuning his car. Want to know what makes some of the biggest and most noticeable changes, with best bang for the buck?
A better alignment. And some good shocks/struts. I'm not very into swapping springs, most on the market are too damn low, so you're hitting the bumpstops constantly, which is bad. Lowering also does horrible things to suspension geometry, especially by moving your roll center drastically lower (bad) while hardly moving your center of gravity any lower at all. RC and CG should be at about the same level, or your car is going to handle like crap. Stock-ish ride height is a must.
A lighter flywheel with a better clutch. I'm not talking full-race, but a "sporty" clutch with a lighter flywheel. I've got 8.5 lbs of flywheel in my Miata, down from 16 (funny, a lot of lightened flywheels for other cars are about 16 lbs), and it made a HUGE difference in responsiveness (something the German automakers screw up is putting too heavy a flywheel in.) A better clutch gives you a crisper lockup, combined with the lighter flywheel, snapping through the gears is a LOT nicer feeling.
Braided steel brake hoses. They don't make your brakes work better, but they do eliminate some of the pedal creep, since they won't bulge out like balloons under the pressure. They can slightly lower stopping distances because you're not wasting pedal effort to balloon rubber hoses out. They give you better presicion and feel on the brakes.
Get some GOOD tires. I can't stand it when someone spends a grand on wheels and gets a set of all-season tires. Get performance tires! I reccomend (and ride on) the Falken Azenis RT-615. They'll wear faster than the cheapo crap all-seasons, and cost more, but they're worth it by giving near-race grip, improved feel, breakaway characteristics and resistance to heat fade (if you've never heat-faded tires, you've never REALLY driven a car hard... or have always run top-shelf tires.) If you can't afford the tires with wheels, just keep the stock wheels. Stock wheels are fine 99% of the time, if they're not too big (most carmakers now do this...)
Yes, too big wheels. We'll get into that later. Let's just say one rule is NEVER, on ANYTHING, 19" wheels - they're too heavy and too structurally compromised for high performance. Ooops, sorry 'bout that Porsche (911 runs 19's... how ghetto).
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any wheel bigger than 16" is too big in my book... some cars can get away with 17 but very few
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Most cars, especially the ones sized to be sporty (read: smallish cars) shouldn't do 17's.
Honestly, if they clear your brakes and you're not running >60 profile tires, you shouldn't get a larger diameter. WIDER is another story all together, but that can be overdone (and often is), too.
Too wide, the tire doesn't get hot enough to give you all the grip it can, meaning a narrower tire would have given more total grip.
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My Ram Off-Roader ran on 17" rims, but I also had 35" BFG All Terrains. It came stock with 3/4 ton springs, that gave it about an 1 1/2 " lift over other Ram Models.
The best size rim for an off-road vehicle is 15", they are wai less likely to peel the tire off the rim under low air-pressure. Plus more sidewall = more suspension.
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Btw ,
It's possible to drive in US a car with more than 200Km/h for longer periods without having problem with the police?
From the cars that I've drived, the german cars have far the best suspension / brakes / and feedback for driving with high speeds.
The way you drive a car with over 200kmh is completlly differend than driving a car with 150kmh. When I first drived a volvo v70 d5 with 230kmh I was having the impression that I'm in a ship. The suspesion and steering was way too soft for driving with such speeds wich gives you a verry unsafe feeling.
It's possible to drive in US a car with more than 200Km/h for longer periods without having problem with the police?
From the cars that I've drived, the german cars have far the best suspension / brakes / and feedback for driving with high speeds.
The way you drive a car with over 200kmh is completlly differend than driving a car with 150kmh. When I first drived a volvo v70 d5 with 230kmh I was having the impression that I'm in a ship. The suspesion and steering was way too soft for driving with such speeds wich gives you a verry unsafe feeling
.
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Las Vegas Nevada to South San Jose California in less than 7 hours in my truck. I stopped for lunch, and once more for gas. Speeds exceeding 115 MPH = 250+ kilometers an hour. Felt like I was going 75 mph. MOPAR!!Btw ,
It's possible to drive in US a car with more than 200Km/h for longer periods without having problem with the police?
From the cars that I've drived, the german cars have far the best suspension / brakes / and feedback for driving with high speeds.
The way you drive a car with over 200kmh is completlly differend than driving a car with 150kmh. When I first drived a volvo v70 d5 with 230kmh I was having the impression that I'm in a ship. The suspesion and steering was way too soft for driving with such speeds wich gives you a verry unsafe feeling
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115 is under 200 kph. 200 kph is 124 mph.
It's not easy to do that without getting hassled by the man, no. I've done as much as 130 (about 210 kph) a few times for longish periods, but risked a decently-sized criminal conviction to do so (that was in my Oldsmobile, may it RIP. No complaints).
My normal commute to/from work, I usually break the hell out of the speed limit on the freeway and cruise at 80 mph (130 kph) and occasionally run up to 100 (160 kph)... all on fairly crowded Bay Area freeways... in a car, not a bike. The speed limit is only 65 (104 kph.)
@ Radix: I'm not surprised. Those Volvos feel like that at "normal" speeds, too. I don't like their feel at any speed, to be honest. That and they're constantly falling apart, like they have some wierd form of automotive leprosy.
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My Bad, I got confused by the 2.2 cm - inch conversion. What is the miles to kilo ratio? 1.8
What is the miles to kilo ratio? 1.8
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My Bad, I got confused by the 2.2 cm - inch conversion.
Just type into Google:
convert xx mph to kph
or:
convert xx kph to mph
Or any other measurements, it'll pop up the conversion for ya.
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My Bad, I got confused by the 2.2 cm - inch conversion.
Man, don't ever get a job with NASA. 2.2 is the lbs to kilograms conversion. 2.5 is the cm - inch conversion. And 1 mile = 1.6 kms.
Radix: I did 200-210km/h on short stints on my trip to Portland. You can do it, but since it's twice the posted speed limit, you run a real risk of spending one night in jail. Between that and the poor highway surface, I'm not sure you would want to go that fast in the first place- it's very noisy, and bumpy at times. Been also in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and it was even worse. Let's just say I was rather disappointed with the quality of I-5, I-95/195.
On the bright side, it stopped me *****ing about Canadian highways. The A3 feels very solid and quiet at 200km/h on Trans Canada Highway.
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Maybe I could be a Custodian, or one of those Security guys with the cattle -prod thingies.
Navin Johnson, The Jerk
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Speed limits are evil, I'm trying to do away with them through Civil Disobedience.
If nobody follows the law, the law doesn't matter.
I'm starting small. Weapons banned in California are next.
If nobody follows the law, the law doesn't matter.
I'm starting small. Weapons banned in California are next.
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I'm starting small. Weapons banned in California are next.
You're going to have to make a lot of liberals dissapear before that happens.
I'm kind of curious how comprable the same model vehicle is (be it American or European) from one country to another. In other words, what modifications are made so that the vehicle can be imported to meet that countries requirements (clean air laws, octane ratings, passanger saftey, and lord knows what else 'tha man' can think of) and be appealing to the needs of that market (fuel economy, style, performance, etc). It could very well be that the same model Volve that seems to be in the shop every 6 months here in the U.S. is a damn fine automobile in Germany. I remember a few years ago reading about how PT cruisers and Dodge stratus being manufactured for exportation to Mexico were turbo charged, yet here in the U.S. that wasn't an option (though it may be now on the PT cruisers). Point being, if the same model car is not the same from country to county, then having an international group such as this argue who makes better cars is rather pointless.
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![[-project.rattus-]](/data/avatars/s/0/161.jpg?1568638684){kind=avatar}
True, different markets have different rules. For example I've never understood why automatic transmissions are standard in the US for decades, but in europe, most cars on the road still have a manual transmission (allthough I too prefer manual transmission ove automatic...)
I myself drove only a few different vehicles in my short life as a driver, and I can't really understand the VW bashing in here, allthough the two I drove were early nineties, so they didn't have much electronics in them. But now to the cars I drove:
VW Passat Variant, 1990, 75 hp turbo-diesel: My first car, got it in 2001 after I made my drivers license (driving age in austria was 18 back then...). Not really fast, but due to the turbo the accceleration was quite satisfactory regarding it's weight of 1.2 tons. Wouldn't go faster than 160 kph unless the road was sloping down. And it was quite a trusty engine with no problems until it broke down completely with well over 320.000 km on it.
Citroen BX, 1994, 80 hp, turbo-diesel: My moms car. Drove like a boat and if the power steering wasn't broken, either the power brake or the hydroactive suspension wasn't working properly. It was quite well accelerating though, allthough due to heavy vibrations I didn't ever drive it faster than 140 kph. SOld it due to the constant problems.
Opel Corsa 1.3 Eco-tech, year dunno, 30 hp, gasoline: The car of the place where I did my year as civil worker. Not really worthy of the word "car".
VW Vento, 1992, 75 hp, turbo-diesel: Bought the cheapest used car available after the Passat broke down... pitifully it had some ridiculous "improvements" that made it look like those petty pseudo sports cars: sport exhaustion (prolly 2 hp more...), aluminium rims matching the color of the car and a rear spoiler. Drove like a charm though, very responsive and even with the power steering absolutely no problems to get road feedback. Even though it basically had the same engine and drive train, it went 170 on straights, probably due to lesser weight (only 1.1 tons), a more aerodynamic shape and the exhaust ^^. It had a rust problem though which prevented it to be classified as street legal, so I sold it to a bulgarian guy a year ago with 298.000 kilometeres.
Citroen Xantia, 1998, 90 hp, turbo-diesel: My dad's car. Not as many problems as the BX, still more suitable for relaxed highway cruising than racing on mountain roads. Funnily, it has the worst acceleration from a stop of every car I drove. Still, once on the highway you can hit the 180 kph quite easily if you don't pay attention. (Austria has a maximum speed limit of 130 kph on highways). has driven about 300.000 km down the road and is still running.
Citroen C3, 2005, 65 hp, hdi: Unlike the other Citroens, that car is fun to drive! Stable, responsive, quick, still quite economical (4.9 litres/100 km average on 32.000 km). No quirks yet except one broken lightbulb which can't be replaced without dismantling the fron of the car. Our Garage did it for free though, so no harm done.
As you might notice, there isn't really a high powered car in the list. This is because the minutes (or even seconds) you get faster from a to b with a high powered car do not outweigh the money you have to pay for taxes, insurance and fuel. Never understood why someone would take a car that is more expensive initially and additionally has higher maintenance costs...
I myself drove only a few different vehicles in my short life as a driver, and I can't really understand the VW bashing in here, allthough the two I drove were early nineties, so they didn't have much electronics in them. But now to the cars I drove:
VW Passat Variant, 1990, 75 hp turbo-diesel: My first car, got it in 2001 after I made my drivers license (driving age in austria was 18 back then...). Not really fast, but due to the turbo the accceleration was quite satisfactory regarding it's weight of 1.2 tons. Wouldn't go faster than 160 kph unless the road was sloping down. And it was quite a trusty engine with no problems until it broke down completely with well over 320.000 km on it.
Citroen BX, 1994, 80 hp, turbo-diesel: My moms car. Drove like a boat and if the power steering wasn't broken, either the power brake or the hydroactive suspension wasn't working properly. It was quite well accelerating though, allthough due to heavy vibrations I didn't ever drive it faster than 140 kph. SOld it due to the constant problems.
Opel Corsa 1.3 Eco-tech, year dunno, 30 hp, gasoline: The car of the place where I did my year as civil worker. Not really worthy of the word "car".
VW Vento, 1992, 75 hp, turbo-diesel: Bought the cheapest used car available after the Passat broke down... pitifully it had some ridiculous "improvements" that made it look like those petty pseudo sports cars: sport exhaustion (prolly 2 hp more...), aluminium rims matching the color of the car and a rear spoiler. Drove like a charm though, very responsive and even with the power steering absolutely no problems to get road feedback. Even though it basically had the same engine and drive train, it went 170 on straights, probably due to lesser weight (only 1.1 tons), a more aerodynamic shape and the exhaust ^^. It had a rust problem though which prevented it to be classified as street legal, so I sold it to a bulgarian guy a year ago with 298.000 kilometeres.
Citroen Xantia, 1998, 90 hp, turbo-diesel: My dad's car. Not as many problems as the BX, still more suitable for relaxed highway cruising than racing on mountain roads. Funnily, it has the worst acceleration from a stop of every car I drove. Still, once on the highway you can hit the 180 kph quite easily if you don't pay attention. (Austria has a maximum speed limit of 130 kph on highways). has driven about 300.000 km down the road and is still running.
Citroen C3, 2005, 65 hp, hdi: Unlike the other Citroens, that car is fun to drive! Stable, responsive, quick, still quite economical (4.9 litres/100 km average on 32.000 km). No quirks yet except one broken lightbulb which can't be replaced without dismantling the fron of the car. Our Garage did it for free though, so no harm done.
As you might notice, there isn't really a high powered car in the list. This is because the minutes (or even seconds) you get faster from a to b with a high powered car do not outweigh the money you have to pay for taxes, insurance and fuel. Never understood why someone would take a car that is more expensive initially and additionally has higher maintenance costs...
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Sage said:
heheh.. yeah, I usually cruise at 80 around here too. Flyin out of the Caldecott.. Oakland bound!
Bauer said:
I knew that. >_>
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lol rattus those are sad hp numbers... I would imagine those cars must ahve been really light to have not been a real dog to drive
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That is a good point. I, personally, am starting to think that it is not the manufacturer that matters much, but rather the country of production. For example, I've heard bad things about Honda, which is generally known as a reliable car - but only for the ones manufactured in Canada. Same thing about VW. I have a number of friends with a mixture of VWs - some manufactured in Brazil/Mexico and some in Germany. While the ones of German manufacture have been without problems, the Brazilian/Mexican vehicles suffer of them like the plague.
AFAIK, the major showstopper when getting a car registered here, is emissions. Aside from that, there aren't many differences between European - North American versions. There are such things as being able to withstand a 5mph impact - which generally causes NA cars to have slightly more protruted bumper, and the ride height is about 2cm higher for safety reasons. DOT was iffy about HID equipped cars for a good period of time, but now even they have seen the "light" - pun intended. Aside from that... I think most differences are aesthetic. Oh, and the import sport cars are generally neutered (see WRX Sti) - with less horsepower - or simply not available at all.
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