General Auto Chat

Discussion in 'Cars, Motorcycles, Boats, Airplanes Talk' started by Maxvla, Sep 26, 2015.

  1. Stapsy

    Stapsy Friend

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    There is a fine line between fun driving and being a dick. I find I have a lot more fun on the low speed tight twtisty roads anyway.

    I am looking to make it to the track as well. It sounds silly, but years of grand turismo has helped me understand car dynamics, traction, and racing lines. Should be fun to try it in real life! For now I am satisfied pretending to be Ayrton Senna on some back roads.

     
  2. ohhgourami

    ohhgourami Friend

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    Yeah, I also played Gran Turismo for years and it did teach me a lot about car dynamics. I won't ever be heel toeing my M3 as it's got a DCT. I will, however, be installing a wider brake pedal for left foot braking. Somehow the DCT cars got the same skinny brake pedal the 6MT cars got. :mad:
     
  3. JeffYoung

    JeffYoung Friend

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    You'll love the track, but be warned that it can be addictive, and will absolutely eat tires on a GT car.

    If you really enjoy it, go out and pick up a 30-year-old Formula Ford. Much easier on tires, and will beat the lap times of your M3 as well. (If funds are tight, even a Formula Vee would be a hoot.)

    Cheers,
    Jeff.
     
  4. Stapsy

    Stapsy Friend

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    Do you find you miss a true manual? When I was shopping I noticed that most sports car's don't have a manual option anymore. To be fair I don't know I could handle a manual if I had to commute in traffic everyday.
     
  5. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Even on a road-spec (no mods for track days) Aston AMV8S, a day at the track was called "new tire day". Consider a couple of grand in rubber and insurance for the day each time out, and the desire to run a dedicated track car suddenly becomes a practicality call!
     
  6. Faker

    Faker New

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    Any love here for German V8? :)

    [​IMG]

    Gloss black powdercoat on rims, with plans to full blackout wrap all the chrome bits
     
  7. ohhgourami

    ohhgourami Friend

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    I don't know how to drive a manual. This isn't the car I would want to learn on. And yes LA traffic is a killer.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I do it every day. Just leave plenty of space between you and the car in front and look ahead to judge traffic flow. It's not necessary to stomp on the gas, brake hard, stomp on the gas, brake hard, especially if you aren't going anywhere fast. Why keep hitting your head on a brick wall?

    And yes, I heel-toe too. Just out of habit, even more than I did ten years ago.

    The era of manual transmissions is gone. Automatics with computer control = better emissions.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2017
  9. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Randomly dropping in. I played a decent amount of Gran Turismo when I was younger. I've always liked cars but never got into them as a hobby or what have you. Never been within reach, at least the cars I wanted. Someday. However, my coworker let me drive his GT-R (R35) recently. Now I want four of them. And that's my boring story. :)
     
  10. Stapsy

    Stapsy Friend

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    You have to try a manual some time! It really isn't that hard and it is a lot of fun.

    I think that is good advice for driving a manual or an auotomatic. I will never understand the urge to accelerate like a maniac and brake hard when you know you have to stop. For me it is more the constant use of the clutch that gets tiresome.

    Heel-toe is the best part of driving a manual and the thing that I would miss the most if I switched to an automatic. I find it surprisingly practical for everyday driving. I like to use as much engine braking as possible and smooth downshifts are a huge plus!

    Funny you mention emissions...

    I was having trouble shifting smoothly in my WRX at first. After some interwebs searching I found that Subaru is programming rev hang into the ECU, which was messing up my timing coming from a 20 year old car. Apparently this is common in new cars to lower emissions. It kind of pisses me off that you have to slow down your shifts if you want to be smooth. You just have to wait a second to shift or ride the clutch a little. Luckily I only really notice it going from 1st to 2nd so it isn't too bad for most types of driving. I am learning to live with it since I don't want to void my warranty by getting a tune.
     
  11. ohhgourami

    ohhgourami Friend

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    I'll get something in 6MT when my 2000 Camry V6 dies. It's got 233k on it. I'm sure I can squeeze out a few more years on it too.

    Modern cars have all kinds of weird shit going on to lower emissions. The FRS has a big dip in the power band from 3.5-4k.
     
  12. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    This is worth it...

     
  13. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    One of the best car shows is not on TV. This is so worth it...



    P.S. They make their own soundtracks. The intro to this episode is Vangelis-levels epic!
     
  14. PeteMullersKeyboard

    PeteMullersKeyboard New

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    Very nice, yours?

    #GermanCarMasterRace
     
  15. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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  16. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Any GTI owners? Just picked up a 2017 Sport con manuél. Mods start next week with only 1200 miles on the ticker. It's a total hoot. Turba Boooosta!
     
  17. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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  18. 93EXCivic

    93EXCivic New

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    [​IMG]

    My autocross car. 93 Honda Civic EX.
     
  19. winders

    winders boomer

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    My best qualifying lap from the last race weekend of the year:

     
  20. JeffYoung

    JeffYoung Friend

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    Nice one! Laguna Seca and Thunderhill were more my speed; I always found Sears Point too difficult to maintain concentration for more than 6 or 7 laps.
     

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