Not sure if there was a better suited car thread that is not obsolete, but here goes.
Right i guess im gonna make a long ass post about me and everything car related, hope it wont come off as weird. Just want to share with someone i guess.
Ever since i was young and dad got me a PS 1 in 1996 i have been hooked on cars, Gran Turismo i guess played somewhat of a large role in this.
That, as well as dad being in Off-Road racing and the fact that we have had a automotive repair shop and dealership for 18 years now so i guess this was something that would not escape me anyway.
I have had my license since 2007, (i did my fair share of driving before that anyway. on dirt roads in countryside what seemed like forever) just as i turned 18, the first car i had was a 2003 Mercedes Benz V220 2.2 Diesel,
i just entered University and it was just before the Recession, so money was good, and the car was for me to commute to and back, and to move stuff whenever necessary.
The car was alright for a van, the automatic gearbox was quite good IMO, soon i could downkick the gears when necessary just like driving a manual. And uphill driving was no issue because of it.(have read strange opinions about automatics and uphill driving on GAF)
The acceleration was also quite fine for the cars weight and paltry 110 or so HP it had. But by no means was it a FUN or a FAST car. So In the 6 years that i had it, i turned it in to a fine RAPCAR.
Well here it is, the video is just a joke, and i was bored xD Nothing much to see anyway. But it gas a GAF sunset and all. So watch it !
Minivan/rap car haters ;( 720 or 1080p obiously.
That together with the Rap car thread was a good thread for lighthearted jokes.
Basically if i had to drive a van, i might just as well have some decent audio in it, and that is what i did, had a high end Pioneer for the time BT8000 i think it was, together with Focals front and Back, a Lanzar Vibe 1800 D Class amp and a kicker Solo baric, 10 inch one.
The sound was nice, everything was leveled, the base was not too much, not overpowering.
This car did not need to be sound proofed as there was nothing that rattled, and the interior made for a good hall. And had enough power when the trunk was open to easily have enough sound for a garden party or whatever.
Early 2012 i was in an accident with it.
After it was fixed with insurance money, half a year more i drove it, and then gave it to my parents as a car to haul cargo for the workshop, as theirs was quite old and rickety already. I off course took out the Focals and the sub with amp, left the head unit in.
That was that for the van, it is still in the service today.
The next car i had was a 2002 Ford Focus MK1 1.8 TDCI with 115 HP
Could not find a better picture.
I loved the handling for this car, it was soft on bumps, but without monstrous amounts of sway in the corners, and being with more HP and lighter than the last car it was alright.... for a month or so. So i started again, this time i did it by the book.
All 5 doors were sound and vibration proofed, trunk bed and rear sides as well.
A new sealed enclosure was made for the sub. In the front went in the Focals, and the rear got new DLS speakers, with a Alpine 137bti unit. Sound was great, really great. I loved playing Dire straits - Money for nothing, in there, just turn it up and listen in bliss.
The quality was great, everything was leveled again, not too much base, and without any trunk rattle . I did all the work except for the Base enclosure myself. The same goes for the van.
But within half a year i was fed up with it, the only redeeming factor was the music, and that it was nice in the corners. I had no technical issues while i had it for the year or so.
But i needed more, after 8 years of driving Diesels i wanted something more explosive.
So i started to look around. Money was tight. I did not want to get a Subaru or a BMW as they are very popular around here, and i would have been one of the many, and to get a decent one i would have to pay atleast 12 K EUR + ,
as i didnt want to buy a older car than 2007.
So i started to look around in Germany, mobile.de, put in 200 HP at least, year 2007 and up, and started looking, after many Alfas, the first ST showed up. After my pleasant experience with the Chassis on the MK1, a ST MK2 could only be better i thought.
So i started looking around. A decent one started at 8000 ~ EUR up to 10 k. In the end i checked locally and there was one on sale in the whole country at that time.
So i went to the used car dealer selling it.
At first i tested a 530 bmw 3.0 Diesel automatic 2006 i think. The car was slow as balls, had to wait what feels like forever to get it accelerating.
After that i got in to the ST, before driving out of the lot, i was already in love, but once i hit the highway it was a revelation. The acceleration, the burble of the Straight five pot engine, the handling, the BMW seemed like a piece of shit in comparison, but that might be just that BMW, but still, i knew that i was done with diesels at that moment.
A few months passed after that test drive, i finally managed to sell my MK1, and it was time to buy, after a talk with dad, we decided to go for the local ST, it was on sale for 7k EUR for a couple years in the same lot. We talked to the woman owning it, and in the end she gave it up for 5 k EUR as no one will buy such a car here that uses so much petrol and aint a Subaru. I did not buy a new car, because i dont make that much, for it to be feasible, we simply dont take out loans, we save up and buy straight for the most part.
Ford Focus ST MK2 2.5 L Turbo 2007 225HP
I have had the car for little more than a year now. it has been very reliable and just a joy to drive. Many things have been done with it already.
It has been repainted, the most of it anyway, as lacquer was peeling off everywhere, the last two owners really did not love it much from the outside, although the inside of it was, and still is pristine.
Within the next two weeks i am finishing with the repainting after the winter.
The things that have been done:
Made charging and audio completely wireless, a iottie qi charger coupled with a Kinivo BTC450 adapter. + tasker for auto Bluetooth and play upon phone insertion. The Sony sound system is decent enough, i got Bluetooth audio and voice calls, and the quality is more than adequate. Finally a car that is not boring, and any further audio stuff is in the last place for me.
Rallyflapz mudflaps to safeguard the car from rocks and excess asphalt stains.
A Full Cobrasport exhaust system with sports cat and downpipe.(Cost one third of the car lol, imported from UK) My comparison video is even featured in the Cobrasport homepage.
ST Exhaust sound youtube video
A Pipercross air filter, non oiled one.
I had the original rims, but they were too damaged so i sold them, and acquired newer original ford rims as seen in the pictures.
That is the stuff that is done so far.
In the future a larger inter cooler is planned. A Dreamscience mapping unit, and maybe a Quaife LSD for the gearbox, and if i am unlucky a RS Clutch.
That is it really, i dream of the new RS but that is just that a dream as i wont be able to drop 40 K on a car anytime soon.
More pics, sorry for the long and convoluted post. But i like cars.
Just to add, if you love cars and follow up on them at the time that something happens, and do regular maintenance, then for the most part they are fine. The thread yesterday really soured me. i dont know what people expect from their cars if they just treat them as they do, basically admitting that they dont care about them and then they wonder that they break down. Although not caring about your car is too much of a foreign concept to me anyway.
