88 replies to this topic

[Spectre2689]

Hopefully two summers from now I'm going to have enough cash to buy a 1993-1995 (Gen 3) Mazda RX-7.  It has a rotary that I'll probably swap out for a Toyota Supra engine (I forget the engine designation) that will definitely get reworked.

I'm...not too sure why you would do that. The reason RX-7s perform so well is because the car's light. The Supra engine is heavier than the RX-7's rotary, and would probably weigh the front down a lot more than it was designed to perform with. Why not just put an enormous turbo and intercooler on the existing engine?

[EDIT] And for the record, my ride is a pair of Firefly Zeal 2s. Nice comfortable shoes, like...

Edited by Spectre2689, 24 April 2005 - 03:04 PM.

[Half Newb Half Nerfer]

...Notice something about this thread. Everyone's quick to comment on their own cars, but not on anyone elses. Why? Because no one fucking cares!...

Actualy, I do care. Thats why I've read every post in this thread with great interest. So I geuss your wrong.
~Halfling

[GeneralPrimevil]

I'll usually make the upgrades for any motorized vehicle. Purchasing is to expensive; a few pounds doesn't seem to make a difference on something that weighs over 3000 of them. The only "improvements" I'll buy is for my bike, as a few pounds off of a 26 pound object (or 14 in the case of my 1989 Schwinn SX2000) is a big difference.

I'm wondering why a bunch of you younger kids seem to be mentioning your fucking parent's cars as your own; they aren't. Unless you can actually drive and you own the car, why bother mentioning it?

I take offense to that. In my family, we have to get our first car somehow. Be that buying it, convincing a simbling to give us one, or whatever.

[cxwq]

I don't think it's all that bad for people to put so much value into what they drive. Hopefully it's for the right reasons rather than the wrong.

I spend no less than 1.5 hours per day - about 8% of my non-sleep time - in my car so I'd like it to be something that I enjoy driving on one level or another. My current vehicle is a 2000 Odyssey, my next will be a Mini Cooper S. I like my minivan because it's comfortable and I don't feel quite so unprotected against the SUV madness that has infested SoCal. Plenty of room for the kids or a stack of full sheets of plywood/drywall depending on the seat configuration. The Mini will be a little scary given the traffic situation around here but I don't care because it looks like it's just a blast to drive.

Julie drives an '05 Prius completely loaded with bluetooth, satelite nav, 7 speaker audio, in dash CD changer, HID lamps, dynamic stability control, and a million other features I'm sure I've forgotten about. It's black and it feels like Darth Vader's personal escape shuttle in there. The 50 mpg is just icing - but really sweet icing.

Now back to the second sentence up there. There are an awful lot of people around here who drive a car for the name only. They don't have any particular attachment to the vehicle other than it's what the guys/gals at work think is a cool car. The number of Mercedes in particular just astounds me. The number of H2s is likewise rediculous. Car as status symbol is definitely the penis-waving event of choice for the living-beyond-their-means-middle-class-suburban drones.

[Uncle Hammer]

Drive me a 1985 honda dirtbike. 80cc of raw power. I was doing 55 on a straightaway. 1 up 4 down, this thing sounds badass and the tank has a rather nice paintjob on it.

[Pineapple]

  I don't think it's all that bad for people to put so much value into what they drive. Hopefully it's for the right reasons rather than the wrong.

Unfortunately, buddy, you live in California, where the unofficial word is...

"You are what you drive."

I remembered that line from an old paperback book called "How to Speak L.A.". It even said that Porsche drivers say, "it's not pronounced 'porsh', it's 'porsh-shah'.

What a joke. Thanks for breaking the stereotype, cx. Drive what makes you happy while getting from point A to point B.

Because of my job, I have three subsidized vehicles, each suited to their purpose. A 15 passenger van, an F-150 extracab longbed truck, and a nice, peppy V6 powered Toyota pickup. All purpose-driven (forgive the pun). I have my (own) Honda Civic back in Honolulu at my parent's house, but I bought it brand new when a lot of you were still in diapers (1990). Still runs and looks excellent. Thank God for dad's covered garage. Hondas are good cars, if you don't put all kinds of bodykit crap and loud mufflers on them.


Oh, and I think BlackWrath meant that since this is supposed to be a thread for what the users drive (for those who can drive/ own a car), that's supposed to be the point. What you drive, not what mommy or daddy drives and takes you around in. Kind of a penis-wave to those who cannot drive/ own a car yet.



-Piney-

[merlinski]

Hopefully two summers from now I'm going to have enough cash to buy a 1993-1995 (Gen 3) Mazda RX-7.  It has a rotary that I'll probably swap out for a Toyota Supra engine (I forget the engine designation) that will definitely get reworked.

I'm...not too sure why you would do that. The reason RX-7s perform so well is because the car's light. The Supra engine is heavier than the RX-7's rotary, and would probably weigh the front down a lot more than it was designed to perform with. Why not just put an enormous turbo and intercooler on the existing engine?

I've done quite a bit of research into this.

The Supra swap is not that popular, I'm looking at that engine because there's more options for tuning cylinder engines than rotary engines, and because a 3.0 liter V-6 can deal with a lot more boost than the rotary. It's counterintuitive, but the RX-7's rotary is notorious for having bad apex seals, and a single instance of detonation can wreck the seals. As a result, running a lot of boost is dangerous unless you run a very lean mixture which kills horsepower, or use extremely high octane fuel which is expensive and hard to get. Additionally, the engines very rarely make it more than 30 or 40 thousand miles under somewhat hard driving, and if I have a fast car I like to make the most out of it. And finally, the supra engine is much easier to boost to 800 horsepower than the rotary.

In terms of the weight distribution, it actually doesn't hurt that much. A more popular swap is a Chevy 5.7 Liter V8 in place of the rotary, and people have done this swap and maintained the perfect 50/50 weight distribution, only adding about 50 pounds. It's possible for two reasons. First, the rotary has a lot of rotary-specific parts that add weight to the engine - a 1.3 liter rotary definitely doesn't weigh the same as a 1.3 liter four-cylinder. Second, the mounting of the engine makes a large difference, so a little tweaking (putting parts farther back, etc.) can really help distribution. I figure that if its possible to maintain distribution with a LS1 (GM V8) then a Toyota 3.0 liter should be fine.

CX - I wouldn't worry about the Mini Cooper in traffic. Its designed by BMW, and they've always been very good with safety. I'm pretty sure the Mini has standard full-length side curtain airbags, and has performed exceedingly well in all its crash tests.

And I agree about the whole car-as-a-status-symbol thing. It's the fault of people who don't know shit about cars and think that a BMW is automatically a symbol of expensive luxury. Used BMWs, especially the low displacement cars like the 318s and the 525s, are incredibly cheap yet everyone always thinks "wow, a BMW". Same thing with the new Mercedes C230 - under $30,000 so people can buy it to wow their friends, ignoring the fact that for the same price there are some absolutely amazing cars (like the Nissan 350Z) that are just as nice and a helluva lot more fun.

[Spaztic 75]

I've got nothing against cars, in fact I find them very usefull. But when you live with a bunch of braindead rednecks cars, or rather trucks are all you hear about. I just think too many people are giving them way too much credit, it's just a ride, you don't need to go 200 miles an hour, and you don't need a TV on the brake pedal, sure it's nice to have something to be proud of but when I see a pimped-out SUV with gold spinners, 18 TV's, and hydrolics in front of a dump of a house it just makes me sick, So with I mean no offence to car buffs around the world but I'd like it if we could find a better hobby for such a large following.

[PissBacon]

What does the president have to do with high gas prices.

Yeah but you can't drive until we get a new president.

More importantly, how do high gas prices stop you from driving an efficient car?

edit: Sorry, I hadn't refreshed the page, and didn't see all the people who posted in between those first page posts. PS - Merlinski, why are you using an RX7's body if you're taking out the main engine system so you can do a bunch of stuff to it? Can't you just use the car with the good engine that comes with (like a Supra)?

Edited by PissBacon, 24 April 2005 - 05:31 PM.

[MattPaintballer]

I have a ghetto car for now.

A red 88'  Ford Crown Victoria LX edition.

Aren't Crown Victorias used for police cruisers sometimes? I didn't think they were available to the public .

Edit: Oh, and Jakethesnake, Bushy is "hooked up." He knows some people in the oil business and they are helping each other (and lying to our country) and that's why the gas prices are so high. It's extremely deceitful, and I'm EXTREMELY ashamed that guy was elected in the first place, and even more ashamed he was re-elected.

Edit2:

Julie drives an '05 Prius completely loaded with bluetooth

Pardon the stupidity, but what's bluetooth?

Edited by MattPaintballer, 24 April 2005 - 05:46 PM.

[doctorsparkles]

I guess I was doing a little bit of dickwagging with the zero to sixty comment... What can I say? Buick owners love their cars. Non-Buick owners think Buick owners are crazy.
For the record, women tend to laugh at or run away from my car. They just don't understand him...
notorious_oxide, what colors are your VW Beetles? My dad has 1970 Beetle in green, which he's rebuilding from the ground up. It's a beautiful car, but it's hilarious to see such a tall man driving such a small car.
Bad_Karma, what condition is your Crown Victoria in? Ever since riding in my dad's old Impala and the Caddillac Fleetwood (and to a lesser extent, my Buick, which isn't quite as large as the other cars I mentioned), I've had a particular fondness for those big ol' boats.
Does anybody else here name their cars?

Edit: To Mattpaintballer - Crown Victorias are used by many police departments (which makes them appeal to me even more), but they are also available to the public.

Edited by doctorsparkles, 24 April 2005 - 05:54 PM.

[FIDO]

Oh, and Jakethesnake, Bushy is "hooked up." He knows some people in the oil business and they are helping each other (and lying to our country) and that's why the gas prices are so high.

I want to see something backing that up.

[merlinski]

Merlinski, why are you using an RX7's body if you're taking out the main engine system so you can do a bunch of stuff to it? Can't you just use the car with the good engine that comes with (like a Supra)?

I'm doing it for 2 reasons. Number one, I love the way the RX-7 looks. Nothing against the supra, but I prefer the RX-7. Number two and more importantly, the body is much better for performance. The RX-7 weighs several hundred pounds less than the Supra and has a perfect weight distribution (50/50) so it handles a lot better. Ask anyone who knows their stuff, even Supra fans, and they'll tell you its a car that's great for straight-line drag racing, but the handling can't come close to that of an RX-7.

EDIT: If you want to talk about Bush's effect on gas prices, make a new topic and keep it out of this one.

Edited by merlinski, 24 April 2005 - 06:04 PM.

[Black Wrath]

Pardon the stupidity, but what's bluetooth?

Blue Tooth is a company that makes business accessories.

My dad has a Black Berry, and it is Blue Tooth enabled, which lets him use his wireless ear piece to answer calls and talk with.

I think Blue Tooth itself is a program that enables wireless accessories to work. I can be totally wrong though.

[JSkater]

1989 Ford Escort. No, it's not mine. No, I'm not going to be paying for it's insurance. Hell, it doesn't even have speakers, let alone a head unit. But hey, it's what I'm gonna be driving. I think the only thing I'm gonna spend money on is a set of speakers and a head unit. No ricerization here (besides the CCFLs that I wired into a ciggarette lighter jack thing. I made them so I think they're neat, but it's more of a novelty than anything. I may use them on occasion, but that's about it.).

[Ash]

I really don't want to get started in here...

I have this odd love/hate relationship with cars.

Let me make is short and simple. I agree with Talio's comments. I agree with CX's comments.

I just want to state this: Notice to all who argue that expressing yourself through what you've done/built in terms of motor vehicles: Save the very few people in this thread that drive older/classic/"different" cars, most of the posts in here reflect a trend... most of the cars on the road reflect the same trend. If all of you take the same handful of cars and try and modify it differently from the next guy, where's the real individuality in that?

A car is something that gets you around. Someone else made the same point. All the other things about it are just silly. It's not a fashion statement. It's not a reflection of engineering prowess (trust me, most of the vehicles people own certainly are not any measure of prowess at all). And most and foremost, it is not an expression of your inner desires and deep personality traits.

[bkdrivethru]

Accord Coupe 2004, with just under 10,000 miles on it.
Not only does it look good, its milage isn't too bad either... 19 city, 23 highway? (not great, but not bad). I absolutely love my car. Something about how it looks and how the response and feedback to me driving it is just gives me chills. Seeing as it is the single most important item to a 16 year old, you just have to love a car, no matter what it is. Before you go off and rant about how I am a materialistic pig who is the embodiment of "American Greed," it is just natural and definate that someone would show deep affection for something that costs so much. I don't know about you guys, but if someone took my car and replaced it with, say a 1990 Ford Probe with 115,000 miles on it, I would be pretty god-damned pissed off.

[Cadmond]

I enjoy that people added in bicycles, which, makes sense considering the spread of age. I will be one of those people, not caring about driving.

I ride a trek street bike (like an 870?) which is in desperate need of an overhaul. It shifts when I don't want to shift, the seatpost is too short (perhaps I just need another bike) and things make clicking noises when I decide to go real fast (pedals, mostly)

I have 2 nishiki olympics, one is just a frameset right now, the other is waiting for some paint, and then I'll be rebuilding it as a fixed gear 42:16 (nishiki olympics are great for such a thing)

I've a 5 speed bridgestone of all things in the garage (yes, just like the tire company) that I found in a dumpster. It's horrendously yellow, which part of me loves.

And I've recently run into the shit luck to fix up huffies for a now impatient, immigrant family. God I hate these bikes.

[ItalionStallion]

And the dickwagging commences. I drive a car. It has four wheels and an engine. It shifts when I push the clutch in, stops when I hit the breaks, and moves forward when I hit the gas. And you know what? Past not having to get a new one and it continueing to do those very same things for the smallest ammount of money I can possibly put into it, I don't give a fuck what else it has. In fact, it's purple. Crossbow purple. It's the gayest thing I've ever owned, and I don't give a fuck. You want to know why? People who gauge their value and worth on the automobile they drive really need to give base jumping a try. Only fuck the parachute.

Really guys, who the fuck cares what car you drive? They fuck up the enviroment, ruin the economy, and are gerenally doing more then pushing the self centered bullshit that this country and everyone trying to be like it into the pit of fucking despair.

Drop it, just because you drive a nice car doesn't mean you're fucking Lord Vader. You're not cooler because you drive a Honda! You're not a better person because you're car happens to be 10 years newer then mine. Notice something about this thread. Everyone's quick to comment on their own cars, but not on anyone elses. Why? Because no one fucking cares!

You want to know what model my car is? No, you don't! You don't really fucking care, because all you care about is what car you drive and how nice it is.

And one mroe thing about cars. Guys, and you know who you are, if a woman will sleep with you because you have a nice car, she's not worth the time of day.

Jesus H. Chirst,

Talio.

Please..freak out.

I was just trying to start up a conversation..

Damn.

[Suave]

I drive a 1988 Honda Civic, sedan.

My parents bought it two months before they knew they were pregnant with me. There's a blue crayon melted into the handgrip of the back righthand door. I remember putting that crayon there, leaving it in the hot car(middle of summer, Alabama). I also remember crayons not being allowed in the car anymore.

The car, unfortunately, sat in a garage for two years, so it's all gunked up. We got it running again, and I love the thing. It has some fuel delivery problems, and I'm still getting used to the Manual transmission with all the hills around here, but it's fun, gets me around, and I enjoy driving it.

[xedice]

Ahh, a chance to wave my dick around for the day!
Fortunately, I just washed it not too long ago.

its a 1995 Mustang convertible. Slow as hell but very fun to drive, pulls donuts super easy thanks to shitty tires and rear wheel drive. No power adders so far.

Sounds like merlinski knows his stuff. Personally I have saved enough money up to buy a Nissan 300ZX, still looking for a good engine swap for it. Its gonna be my project car this summer. I was thinking of an RX7 or Fiero as well, but we'll see what i can get my hands on this summer.

Oh btw: merlinski what kind of infinity audio equipment do you have? I have their tweeters, 6x9s, 5x8s, and a 8"sub, all infinity. They make some quality stuff, im pretty impressed with them.

Edited by xedice, 24 April 2005 - 11:03 PM.

[notorious oxide]

doctor sparkles,
the 67 and 58 beetles are white and the 61 was resprayed a really nice pale blue and then the battery short curcuited under the seat and the car burnt down.
my dad is also hotting up a 74 beetle into a cal-look completely custom.

Talio,
with your comment before people can say the same about nerf and abuse you for it, and im sure you wouldnt like it.

Edited by notorious_oxide, 25 April 2005 - 12:33 AM.

[Talio]

IS, that really wasn't shot toward you, I'm sorry if you took it that way, this just happens to be a specific vice I have.

Black Wrath, if I were to have the option of getting a brand new car tommorow free of charge, it would be a Honda Civic Hybrid. You know why? It's efficient and gets me where I'm going. Am I jealous? I have a reliable, fuel efficient car and also am perfectly happy with the size of my member. No, I'm not jealous, I think it's glutunous and gratuitous. I think people who drive SUV's to work everyday or to pick up groceries should go to hell. They're dangerous, use up too much gas and cost entirely too much for what they are.

Guys who drive sports cars are just as bad. Congrats, you have a sports car. Something the size of a peanut that uses twice as much gas as a suburban after a year without an oil change. Congrats, I hope you like the herpes.

No, I don't buy this bullshit of expressing yourself. Why? Because if you want to express yourself, learn how to play the fucking harmonica and save a couple barrels.

And the guys who pimp out Hondas. Don't even get me started. Maddox put it best. If you're going to buy a shitty car, and put alot of money into it, why didn't you just buy a better car?

And for the record, I will be blatantly ignoring everything Merlinski says in this thread because he does nothing but talk in off topic. Seriously, look at his post history. Anyone who only comes onto a Nerf board to wax intellectual about a vehicle doesn't count.

I'm sorry for those of you who disagree, but it really is gratuitous. I don't see the purpose in dumping a shitload of money into a car that sucks. I still won't say what kind of car I drive, because it doesn't matter. Point is, it work, is fairly fuel efficient and doesn't break down too often, and that's all I care about. It could look like a pile of puke with Martha Stewart on top, but if it was an excellent car, sure I'll drive it.

If you disagree, I don't care,

Talio.

[merlinski]

A car is something that gets you around. Someone else made the same point. All the other things about it are just silly. It's not a fashion statement. It's not a reflection of engineering prowess (trust me, most of the vehicles people own certainly are not any measure of prowess at all). And most and foremost, it is not an expression of your inner desires and deep personality traits.

I'd say that anything you want can be an expression of your personality. If you want to use a harmonica, as Talio said, to express yourself then good for you. If I choose to use my vehicle, which I spend as much as 2 hours a day in when I'm home, how is it any less valid? And if I can spend $10,000 and have something as luxurious, fast, and all around enjoyable as a $120,000 Mercedes, it certainly is a measure of my engineering prowess.

And it seems to be a trend that whenever Talio realizes I'm right, he falls back on the fact that I don't post anywhere but in off topic. Since last time we got into this conversation we wasted a perfectly good topic, I'll keep it short. I admit I don't use the board for anything but off-topic anymore, which is why I post in the forum www.offtopic.com more than I post here. The reason I'm here was originally nerf, but I've sorta gotten out of it. So does that make my opinion on non-nerf topics any less valid?

Bottom line - if you want to reply to the fact that I choose to use my car to express myself, and that this topic is not just dick-wagging because I've already found several people interested in the same thing as I am, then go ahead. If not, don't dismiss my reply by bringing up irrelevant points. And don't bother replying if its not about cars, because I'm not having this discussion about my use of the forum again.

Xedice - I'm looking towards the Kappa 60.5CS components for my front speakers. Infinity's strength is definitely their crystal clear mid-to-high range. By the time I make this purchase they may have a new model out, but I'll probably still look at their middle-of-the-line 6.5" component set. As for rear fillers I'll probably use my current Rockford 6.5" coaxials, because rear speakers tend to take on mostly low ranges and the rockfords are great for that. My head unit is currently and will always be made by Alpine, I really like their stuff. My amps for speakers and subwoofers are also Rockford Fosgate, because they tend to be underrated in terms of power and the sound quality is not affected much by the amp. My subs are Image Dynamics IDQ series, which I highly recommend - they beat out $700 subs and only set me back $250 for 2.

[Ash]

I'd say that anything you want can be an expression of your personality.  If you want to use a harmonica, as Talio said, to express yourself then good for you.  If I choose to use my vehicle, which I spend as much as 2 hours a day in when I'm home, how is it any less valid?  And if I can spend $10,000 and have something as luxurious, fast, and all around enjoyable as a $120,000 Mercedes, it certainly is a measure of my engineering prowess.

I'd love to see you spend that much money and get a car as luxurious, fast, and all around as enjoyable as a 120k mercedes. In fact, I'd put money on the fact that that is bullshit. I see enough cars and "project" cars everyday to know that there is only so much you can do to a car to make it better. If you go out and buy a honda civic and drop $50k into it, it is still a honda at the end of the day.

Xedice - I'm looking towards the Kappa 60.5CS components for my front speakers.  Infinity's strength is definitely their crystal clear mid-to-high range.  By the time I make this purchase they may have a new model out, but I'll probably still look at their middle-of-the-line 6.5" component set.  As for rear fillers  I'll probably use my current Rockford 6.5" coaxials, because rear speakers tend to take on mostly low ranges and the rockfords are great for that.  My head unit is currently and will always be made by Alpine, I really like their stuff.  My amps for speakers and subwoofers are also Rockford Fosgate, because they tend to be underrated in terms of power and the sound quality is not affected much by the amp.  My subs are Image Dynamics IDQ series, which I highly recommend - they beat out $700 subs and only set me back $250 for 2.

The only thing I'd say here about the Infinity Kappa series is becareful. I have hooked up a few systems that were all Infinity (my GFs car, for example, is all Infinity Kappa Perfect with Infinity amps and an Alpine head unit), and let me tell you those damn speakers are quite sensitive. If the proper air space and a certain level of air seal isn't present they can be a real bitch. That whole thing about rear speakers taking on low frequencies is some wierd thing that a lot of people think is true... I don't understand it. If you put the same speakers in your front and rear, they both do the same thing... and your rear speakers really don't matter at all anyway. More than 60% of what you hear comes from your front speakers and if you have subwoofers why do you need speakers to handle low ranges? The guys who win the nationwide sound quality comps every year have two speakers and a subwoofer in their car, that's it. Alpine is the shit, agreed. Also, your amps make all the difference in sound quality. They are just as important as the rest of the equipment in the system. Your whole system is only as good as the weakest link... if you bought $20 RCA interconnect cables, then your entire system is only as good as your $20 RCA interconnects. Rockford, btw, generally rates ther numbers a bit higher then they are capable of performing.

Edited by Ash, 25 April 2005 - 09:32 AM.