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[Mattlikewhoa]

So it's a long weekend in Canada (Thanksgiving) so I decided to do some work in my garage. I want some florescent lighting in there, as well as some additional ac outlets. I guess it's time to roll up the sleeves.

The end game is to have a space that I can install whatever I want, while watching TV/listening to music. I'm doing it in stages. Right now, it's lighting and power. Then it's the garage floor and paint in the spring.

Finally it's installing all of the fun bits like powered speakers, LED set on the wall, air tools, work bench, etc...

 

[whatsinaname]

Saw this posted somewhere on Reddit. Pretty interesting. The Hilux is top seller in a lot of countries.

Also, Subaru is doing pretty well this year in the US. 28% spike as compared to last year at this point and they typically see a surge in sales October. Most other companies are at around a 10% spike. (Except Porsche. They are at a 26% spike as well).

 

[TCRS]

Now that Land Rover and Toyota have ruined their flagship SUVs with offensive body styles, that leaves M-B with the only attractive SUV left on the market (the Geländewagen).

Well, the LR flagship is ruined but you also have the Disco 4. That one still looks quite rugged. And how has Toyota ruined the Land Cruiser? I think it still looks pretty good:

My favourite SUV is the Subaru Forester though (or are those smaller ones called CUVs now?). No-nonsense styling and ruggedness and proper 4x4 capability (but lower ground celarance than those big SUVs).
Also, BMW 4 convertible:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/12/014-bmw-4-series-convertible-priced-48750/

 

[No Love]

Anyone here have an N54 or N55 equipped 135i/335i? How have your experiences been? I found a really nice '09 135i 6 speed with warranty etc that I am thinking about getting as a cheap daily driver to go along with the Z06. I know they have HPFp issues which BMW has warrantied for 10k years or 120k miles, and the turbos go out etc... but other than that, any real true issues? I would replace the lpfp/hpfp with superior aftermarket Walbros and then run the car on e85 all the time. I am just trying to figure out if there are any other deal breakers or if ita pretty in line with most BMWs. N54/n55 seem to be about as solid as m5x series engines.

 

[ameratsu]

I can't convince my brother to do a boost leak test on his MS3, even though he's having trouble with fuel economy and fuel trims. They are part of owning a turbo car and should be performed somewhat regularly.

 

[chickdigger802]

was hanging out with a friend who got the g37 convertible. Wow does that thing have near zero trunk space with the top down

 

[No Love]

I can't convince my brother to do a boost leak test on his MS3, even though he's having trouble with fuel economy and fuel trims. They are part of owning a turbo car and should be performed somewhat regularly.

Plus you can make a boost leak tester for $10. Tell him to pull his head outta his butt.

 

[ClassyPenguin]

was hanging out with a friend who got the g37 convertible. Wow does that thing have near zero trunk space with the top down

I make it a rule to never buy a convertible that is not designed from the ground up to be a convertible.

 

[coldfoot]

Are there any decent entry-luxury cars designed to run on regular? Where I am it's 3.09 for regular but 3.65 for premium, ridiculous. I'm never buying a car that runs best with premium ever again.

 

[AlphaSnake]

Anyone here have an N54 or N55 equipped 135i/335i? How have your experiences been? I found a really nice '09 135i 6 speed with warranty etc that I am thinking about getting as a cheap daily driver to go along with the Z06. I know they have HPFp issues which BMW has warrantied for 10k years or 120k miles, and the turbos go out etc... but other than that, any real true issues? I would replace the lpfp/hpfp with superior aftermarket Walbros and then run the car on e85 all the time. I am just trying to figure out if there are any other deal breakers or if ita pretty in line with most BMWs. N54/n55 seem to be about as solid as m5x series engines.

I had an E92 335xi N54.

Fuel pump, injectors, no reverse (if auto), coil packs, carbon buildup that causes misfires, waste gate rattles, water pump (massively expensive and difficult job), battery (beyond being "maintenance" it is very hard to swap out, and can only be done by a BMW tech who has to code a new battery to the ECU LAWL), thermostat, and other little gremlins were veeeeeery common. I sold the car when I felt the issues were going to start kicking in...and sure enough, they did. The guy who got it from me has kept in touch, and I've heard about all the things he's been taking care of. The water pump left him stranded.

I'll never buy a BMW ever again. The newer they are, the worse they're built.

 

[No Love]

I had an E92 335xi N54.

Fuel pump, injectors, no reverse (if auto), coil packs, carbon buildup that causes misfires, waste gate rattles, water pump (massively expensive and difficult job), battery (beyond being "maintenance" it is very hard to swap out, and can only be done by a BMW tech who has to code a new battery to the ECU LAWL), thermostat, and other little gremlins were veeeeeery common. I sold the car when I felt the issues were going to start kicking in...and sure enough, they did. The guy who got it from me has kept in touch, and I've heard about all the things he's been taking care of. The water pump left him stranded.

I'll never buy a BMW ever again. The newer they are, the worse they're built.

So even under warranty, you think the issues could potentially be a complete hassle? I would replace the fuel pumps for E85, wastegates are fixed by BMW, along with turbos... I would upgrade to better aftermarket injectors...

but the battery? What the fuck? And I've heard about the water pump. Are there no better aftermarket replacements, ala E36 cooling system that can be replaced with quality metal shit? I have heard the N54 motor is extremely robust but it's all these little things that worry me. :\ I love the design of the cars, the look, the potential of the motors...

But damn those things sound like a complete headache. And it really seems hit or miss. Some people are plagued with issues, some people drive them 100k miles with just the HPFP needing a replacement. Ugh.

 

[AlphaSnake]

It is not worth the headache in my opinion. The dubiousness of it all is the other scary part...having to always wonder amd worry if or when some shit will break. Fuck that. If anyyhing aim for a 2011+ car to avoid as many issues as possible

 

[No Love]

[Q,UalonAlphaSnake;85921909]It is not worth the headache in my opinion. The dubiousness of it all is the other scary part...having to always wonder amd worry if or when some shit will break. Fuck that. If anyyhing aim for a 2011+ car to avoid as many issues as possible[/QUOTE]

I was just going to use it as a classy, comfortable beater that I could sell in a year or two and only lose a couple thousand in resale due to the depreciation bottoming out.

Butttt I dont want to waste any time or get stranded on the road and sure as hell not pay a premium on fixing bullshit. So I guess I'll skip it and go with the Evo 9 or a CTS V. Ugh. I figured people would have good solutions for the OEM issues by now.

Fuckin BMW. Such great motors and potential... all squandered by their refusal to assemble a car that works all the time. If Toyota and Honda can do It along the others, why cant the Germans follow suit?

 

[Luigiv]

The Chevy SS is kind of big and chunky looking. Doesn't exactly give off a sport vibe. Plus it's also meant to be a super sporty GT cruiser. The G8/Holden was a sport-sedan first.

Nah, you have to see the SS in person before jumping to conclusions. It's a lot sleeker looking when seen in all three dimensions.* I'm still not a huge fan of the new grill but it's better than I originally expected going by photos.

Anyway, what the SS looses in exterior style over it's predecessor, it more than makes up for with it's vastly improved interior. It's night and day, you'll never want to step back into a VE ever again after sitting in a VF.

*Edit: Mind you I should disclaim that I'm only talking about the front end, I'm yet to see the new rear given that I've only seen the ute so far not the sedan.

 

[YuriLowell]

Anyone here have an N54 or N55 equipped 135i/335i? How have your experiences been? I found a really nice '09 135i 6 speed with warranty etc that I am thinking about getting as a cheap daily driver to go along with the Z06. I know they have HPFp issues which BMW has warrantied for 10k years or 120k miles, and the turbos go out etc... but other than that, any real true issues? I would replace the lpfp/hpfp with superior aftermarket Walbros and then run the car on e85 all the time. I am just trying to figure out if there are any other deal breakers or if ita pretty in line with most BMWs. N54/n55 seem to be about as solid as m5x series engines.

Carbon buildup on the valves is a huge deal right now. Gotta take off the intake manifold and walnut blast them to clean it out.

They also tend to overheat on a track.

 

[Ty4on]

I live in Michigan. This winter commute should be more bearable, compared to driving a car with no seat heaters and an HVAC system that took about 10 minutes to get going.

It's not like it's expensive tech either. I think Honda had a heat pump system on a diesel CRV. Diesels take forever to heat up because of the thick engine block and heat pumps are basically ACs run in reverse so they move heat from the outside and unless it isn't super cold they are way more efficient than electrical heaters.

Technically any single or dual clutch transmission is an automated manual. And Lexus, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin have some great shifting single clutch units. Essentially, the only difference we'd have here would be instead of up and down, you'd have an H-gated shifter.

I've not driven any of those with a single clutch (bit too expensive ) , but they still seem either jerky, slow or both.

Carbon buildup on the valves is a huge deal right now. Gotta take off the intake manifold and walnut blast them to clean it out.

Does it have EGR?

 

[No Love]

Carbon buildup on the valves is a huge deal right now. Gotta take off the intake manifold and walnut blast them to clean it out.

They also tend to overheat on a track.

Lol fuck that. It just gets worse and worse. I heard about the walnut blasting but damn. Taking off intake manifold isn't a big deal but why should this even have to be done? SMH.

 

[AlphaSnake]

Carbon buildup on the valves is a huge deal right now. Gotta take off the intake manifold and walnut blast them to clean it out.

They also tend to overheat on a track.

Lol fuck that. It just gets worse and worse. I heard about the walnut blasting but damn. Taking off intake manifold isn't a big deal but why should this even have to be done? SMH.

Walnut blasting isn't even the foolproof solution. There are bits and chunks that the blasting can not reach, such as gunk stuck on the injectors themselves, and not just the walls of the ports - which causes bucking under hard loads or WOT. My friend has been driving himself NUTS spending hundreds of dollars on all sorts of random shit with his E92 335i, the BMW dealer kept giving him a different fix and story. The bucking would not go away. At one point they thought it was the transmission (chipped gear teeth).

Nothing fixed it. They even did the walnut blast. The correct fix for carbon buildup is to actually burn it away by yourself (insert Simpsons flamethrower gif here).

Injector cleaner + 3rd gear + 80MPH driving for 30 minutes cures this demon. It breaks down all of the shit inside the manifold, including anything that's collected near the tips of the injectors. So yeah. Fuck BMW and their forced induction garbage.

 

[coldfoot]

Is the 3.0T Audi engine a much better choice than the BMW 3-liter turbo engines? A supercharger should inherently be a simpler design with less parts?

 

[Zoolader]

Is the 3.0T Audi engine a much better choice than the BMW 3-liter turbo engines? A supercharger should inherently be a simpler design with less parts?

Not sure but this Chris Harris video is pretty interesting, just a simple flash tune can do quite a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KfMY96v_Gc

 

[AlphaSnake]

Is the 3.0T Audi engine a much better choice than the BMW 3-liter turbo engines? A supercharger should inherently be a simpler design with less parts?

Audis still have the same shit load of issues. I had a 2012 A6 3.0 Supercharged before it hit 12K miles the thermostat crapped out (common issue on all VW/Audi cars), and the car burns oil like a bitch every 2K miles.

Plus, even with a tune they aren't that fast. My 2012 Jaguar XF with its 5.0 had no problem putting a car length on my friend's tuned 2011 S4 (ECU upgrade, DCT flash, intake, exhaust). Yeah. Stock I would've decimated him.

They have a nice low-end torque punch, my Audi used to leap off the line, so it felt deceivingly quick. But the rest is nothing that cars with larger displacement motors can't do much, much better...and more reliably.

 

[Zoolader]

Audis still have the same shit load of issues. I had a 2012 A6 3.0 Supercharged before it hit 12K miles the thermostat crapped out (common issue on all VW/Audi cars), and the car burns oil like a bitch every 2K miles.

Plus, even with a tune they aren't that fast. My 2012 Jaguar XF with its 5.0 had no problem putting a car length on my friend's tuned 2011 S4 (ECU upgrade, DCT flash, intake, exhaust). Yeah. Stock I would've decimated him.

They have a nice low-end torque punch, my Audi used to leap off the line, so it felt deceivingly quick. But the rest is nothing that cars with larger displacement motors can't do much, much better...and more reliably.

I would think so. Unless I'm wrong the 5.0 supercharged Jaguar XF is in another pricing category at $20,000 more than a new S4.

 

[coldfoot]

I would think so. Unless I'm wrong the 5.0 supercharged Jaguar XF is in another pricing category at $20,000 more than a new S4.

The XF mentioned in that post is not supercharged.

 

[reilo]

I would think so. Unless I'm wrong the 5.0 supercharged Jaguar XF is in another pricing category at $20,000 more than a new S4.

The XF mentioned in that post is not supercharged.

Yep, Alpha's is the 5.0 V8 N/A.

He also fails to mention that it was from a roll

 

[Pterion]

Renders for the 2016 next gen GTR are out. Looks hot!

 

[No Love]

Renders for the 2016 next gen GTR are out. Looks hot!

Not an official render, unfortunately. And I'm really thinking about getting a GTR next year... they are such sweet cars with so much potential ready to be unleashed.

Plus, it's nice that it has 4 seats so you can scare the shit out of 3 of your favorite friends.

 

[reilo]

Not an official render, unfortunately. And I'm really thinking about getting a GTR next year... they are such sweet cars with so much potential ready to be unleashed.

Plus, it's nice that it has 4 seats so you can scare the shit out of 3 of your favorite friends.

Why waste money on a Z06 if you're planning on buying a GTR?

 

[Pterion]

Not an official render, unfortunately. And I'm really thinking about getting a GTR next year... they are such sweet cars with so much potential ready to be unleashed.

Plus, it's nice that it has 4 seats so you can scare the shit out of 3 of your favorite friends.

2 of your friends better be midgets. I hear you about the GTR though. So many choices coming up soon : 991s, GTRs, Z07s, NSXs, etc. Just lovely.

 

[chickdigger802]

manual mode in auto cars... I am i crazy, or does it feel backwards? I feel like shift up should be 'down' tilt on the stick, not up. At least I click with the paddles.

 

[jongkookie]

manual mode in auto cars... I am i crazy, or does it feel backwards? I feel like shift up should be 'down' tilt on the stick, not up. At least I click with the paddles.

No you ain't crazy.

That's the only reason why I wouldn't mind driving a BMW or Mazda automatic. Theirs is setup correctly. Pull to upshift, and push to downshift.

 

[No Love]

Why waste money on a Z06 if you're planning on buying a GTR?

I'm buying both.

2 of your friends better be midgets. I hear you about the GTR though. So many choices coming up soon : 991s, GTRs, Z07s, NSXs, etc. Just lovely.

Yep... I'm really looking forward to the M4, as well. Probably going to be a kick ass daily driver.

 

[reilo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzIhaByHmY

 

[jongkookie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzIhaByHmY

Here's a better one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8suas0ttlI&t=6m9s

Skip to 6:09 if the time skip doesn't work.

 

[Bad_Boy]

Would you guys pay 200 bucks to drive a lambo gallardo lp560-4 for 3 laps? There is a track day coming up and I'm thinking about it.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

Would you guys pay 200 bucks to drive a lambo gallardo lp560-4 for 3 laps? There is a track day coming up and I'm thinking about it.

I've spent $200 on much stupider things. Where's this event?

Important: Are you familiar with the track? If you aren't it's going to dilute the fun you have since your focus will shift away from enjoying the car and towards learning the course.

 

[Vitten]

Would you guys pay 200 bucks to drive a lambo gallardo lp560-4 for 3 laps? There is a track day coming up and I'm thinking about it.

For 200 bucks that's an absolute steal of a deal so YES ! Normally there should be another zero to that price.

 

[Ty4on]

Would you guys pay 200 bucks to drive a lambo gallardo lp560-4 for 3 laps? There is a track day coming up and I'm thinking about it.

I've seen that price for some laps in a Lotus Elise

I'd totally go for it. Should be an experience of a lifetime when it's a proper Lamborghini. I tried to find some I could attend this holiday in Germany, but the age limit was 21 or much higher for cars similar(ish) to that Lamborghini.

 

[AlphaSnake]

Yep, Alpha's is the 5.0 V8 N/A.

He also fails to mention that it was from a roll

Yep NA 5.0.

I did specify the roll in the previous post a few pages back I believe.

 

[YuriLowell]

ugh fuck the crackshaft seal on an m20.

Bolt is tightened to 350lbs of torque.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

ugh fuck the crackshaft seal on an m20.

Bolt is tightened to 350lbs of torque.

Cry me a river. I'm probably going to break a motor mount getting the crank pulley bolt out of my 944's engine. I hit it with an impact wrench when I had the motor out of the car and that bolt didn't budge.

The wrench was good for 650lb-ft of torque. I tried to use a breaker bar with it on the stand but it just lifted the stand off the ground and bent the bolts I was using to lock the crank in place. It's going to take a 6' pipe and me hanging off of it to break this bolt loose.

Edit: I should note that this is pretty typical for these bolts, so you see lots of threads on 944 forums with people asking if the bolt is reverse threaded or something. It's just bonkers.

 

[Watevaman]

Depending on how the engine rotates, you can just use a breaker bar and support it against a side of the engine bay and use a quick jolt of the starter to break it loose. That's what we did with my cousin's F150.

 

[reilo]

NoLoveForFailWheelDrive:

http://www.dealer5.com/c/used-1991-bmw-8-series-850i-49453

You should buy that and swap a working engine into it.

 

[chickdigger802]

huh, saw a brand new with dealer tags r8 manual in office parking area. Didn't even know they still made these in manual

 

[No Love]

NoLoveForFailWheelDrive:

http://www.dealer5.com/c/used-1991-bmw-8-series-850i-49453

You should buy that and swap a working engine into it.

OMG I love those. One of those with an S52 turbo in it would be so sick. 8 series is so god damn beautiful!

 

[TylerD]

The side profile reminds me of the Ford Probe.

 

[No Love]

The side profile reminds me of the Ford Probe.

I don't know what you're implying, sir. Is that a good or a bad thing?

Also, the 8 series still looks like a modern car. Go look at the E90/E92 tail lights and then look at the 8 series. Very very similar.

 

[reilo]

OMG I love those. One of those with an S52 turbo in it would be so sick. 8 series is so god damn beautiful!

Yesss. Do it. I bet it would be cheaper than a C6 Z06? You might have to figure out how to drop some weight off of that sucker, but if you could get some good 400WHP to the rears that would be glorious.

And that interior is gorgeous. It's a better interior than anything Chevy could even dream of. Put in a M-Tech 2 wheel, and you got a winner.

Or, you know, drop a supercharger onto this and call it a day:

 

[TylerD]

I don't know what you're implying, sir. Is that a good or a bad thing?

Also, the 8 series still looks like a modern car. Go look at the E90/E92 tail lights and then look at the 8 series. Very very similar.

It's just an observation. It is definitely still modern looking.

 

[chickdigger802]

new renders of mustang...

looks ok... but not really digging it trying to get all... fusiony and... a bit old honday?

 

[TylerD]

Well, there is no denying that is a Mustang from the rear.