My Enthusiast Frustration

[Rupert]

That's what I meant.

Good job saying what you mean.

[sportyaccordy]

Wow... I drove my dad's M45 and have come to the realization that anything resembling a sports car is a waste here in NYC. I'm almost considering picking up a car w/an automatic transmission now. G35 sedans are dirt cheap...

[Eye of the Tiger]

Wow... I drove my dad's M45 and have come to the realization that anything resembling a sports car is a waste here in NYC. I'm almost considering picking up a car w/an automatic transmission now. G35 sedans are dirt cheap...

volvoe?


or

smooooooooth ride

[dazzleman]

NYC driving generally sucks.  There are a few places that are good to drive, generally late at night, but for the most part, driving there sucks.  I avoid it whenever possible.

[Speed_Racer]

What sort of car do you have, Speed?

I'm still with the 86 MR2. It's my summer project, as it's been sitting for two years and needs a little love.

[dazzleman]

I'm still with the 86 MR2. It's my summer project, as it's been sitting for two years and needs a little love.

That's the car you were talking about when we got together in Boston right before you went to Argentina.  You drained all the fluids from it and put it into storage, IIRC.  I guess you'll need to get it running again now.  Lots of work.  I loved that car when they came out back in the '80s.

[Speed_Racer]

That's the car you were talking about when we got together in Boston right before you went to Argentina.  You drained all the fluids from it and put it into storage, IIRC.  I guess you'll need to get it running again now.  Lots of work.  I loved that car when they came out back in the '80s.

Yeah - it's my enthusiast frustration as well. It started right up after changing the oil and checking all the vital signs, now it needs to be register-able. But that's what summer breaks are for, I guess.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah - it's my enthusiast frustration as well. It started right up after changing the oil and checking all the vital signs, now it needs to be register-able. But that's what summer breaks are for, I guess.

Piece of cake.

Como estas en el mundo 'mundial'??   :-)

[sportyaccordy]

I just replaced the rear springs on my car... rides a lot better but looks like ass. My hate for this car grows daily

[Rupert]

I'm still with the 86 MR2. It's my summer project, as it's been sitting for two years and needs a little love.

[Speed_Racer]

Piece of cake.

Como estas en el mundo 'mundial'??   :-)

Me estoy acostumbrando bastante bien hasta ahora. Ya tengo 5 meses en casa. Luckily there's an Argentine restaurant about 3 blocks from here, so I can get my milanesa sandwiches when I get the craving.

[AutobahnSHO]

Me estoy acostumbrando bastante bien hasta ahora. Ya tengo 5 meses en casa. Luckily there's an Argentine restaurant about 3 blocks from here, so I can get my milanesa sandwiches when I get the craving.

OH MAN do I miss those. They put eggs on them and called them "Lomos" in Mendoza.
I DID see mayo w/ lemon juice the other day- I need to get some...

[L. ed foote]

volvoe?

Sure, as long as it's an R or a T-5

[NomisR]

I think what would cure your woes is this

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS312US312&sourceid=chrome&q=Tuna%20Canyon%20Road&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

A good drive down Tuna Canyon would let you forget all your rattles.  But of course, be prepared to have smoking brakes when you're done.

[r0tor]

is that albacore tuna?

[NomisR]

is that albacore tuna?

Ahi.. That road's awesome though, providing no bikers coming up the wrong way.   It's great to see how much a difference weight makes.

[CALL_911]

Good job saying what you mean.

[Nethead]

FBCdude!  Rattles 'n' squeaks never bothered me much--my family seldom did new cars.  TMK, my late father only had one during his 79 years.  I've had about half-'n'-half. 

My daily '66 Bronco 289 rattles 'n' squeaks, but I couldn't really hear 'em until I got new mufflers after an arrest for improper equipment (sort of an aside to the speeding conviction so they could jack up the fine--but then again it  did  have improper equipment at the time so no hard feelings there...). 

The brakes are spooky on pavement, as are the O/R tires (maybe the four-wheel drums are excellent and it's just the O/R tires that are the culprits).  I've never had honest-to-God street tires on it so I dunno how it might brake with said items. 

The steering doesn't self-center after a turn, either, so you havta turn into a turn and turn out of it afterwards or else...This is fine off-road, where you really gotta do that anyway on anything gnarlier than your lawn. 

The adrenalin never drops at traffic speeds in a serious ORV.  My recent work-out regimen that's lost me fifty pounds since June is partially the need to (a) further reduce HBP, (b) soothe the inner beast that's gotten me into compulsory anger management classes after one of my other arrests , (c) regain a semblance of the 1996 waistline that once fit loosely in 30" waist pants, and (d) get me back to where I have no trouble manhandling 31"-ers off-road on manual steering .  Rattles 'n' squeaks be damned--there's too much stuff that beats on vehicle and driver to give much thought to sounds that aren't universals poppin' or axles snappin'.  That's why you carry spares 'n' tools, after all...

Eventually, you realize that noises are your friends .  It's the Bronco telling you that calamity has happened (if it's loud) or that it's imminent (less loud), and that you screwed up a landing or a stuck pretty damned well for an amateur .  One day I will invest in full-floating rear axle mods to the 9" in the Bronco, as well as 35-splines and an air locker .  The clank the Detroit makes upon release has changed tone lately , so that air locker may be an early Christmas present in 2009.  The welds are still good, so the left front groan may mean the spindles are being overtaxed on hard uphill lefties.  Or else the left front wheel stuffs too far into the wheelwell when the same situation causes the right front tire to bite air.  Or even that the left front hub is flexin' on that uphill leftie.  I've pulled the hub and no damage is apparent , but I didn't magnaflux anything to see if there are cracks that will allow flexin' under stress.  The spindle looks OK, too , so the source of the groan may be patently obscure.  The Bronco's tryin' to tell me somethin' in Broncnamese, but I'm not fluent enough for the light to go on inside the head yet.  A long walk outta the woods kickin' beer cans may solve that problem if I don't figure it out pretty soon...

And the Bronco will say:  "I  told  you it was about to break, asshole."

[GoCougs]

WOW that is an awesome post there Nethead.

[Nethead]

WOW that is an awesome post there Nethead.

GoCougs:  Why thank you, CougsDude!  I still got it--although I disguise it well with my usual drivel so no one suspects what a clever (and modest) dude I really am.  It pays to stay under the radar.

Don't be first.  Don't be last.  And never volunteer...

[S204STi]

FBCdude!  Rattles 'n' squeaks never bothered me much--my family seldom did new cars.  TMK, my late father only had one during his 79 years.  I've had about half-'n'-half. 

My daily '66 Bronco 289 rattles 'n' squeaks, but I couldn't really hear 'em until I got new mufflers after an arrest for improper equipment (sort of an aside to the speeding conviction so they could jack up the fine--but then again it  did  have improper equipment at the time so no hard feelings there...). 

The brakes are spooky on pavement, as are the O/R tires (maybe the four-wheel drums are excellent and it's just the O/R tires that are the culprits--I've never had honest-to-God street tires on it so I dunno how it might brake with said items. 

The steering doesn't self-center after a turn, either, so you havta turn into a turn and turn out of it afterwards or else...This is fine off-road, where you really gotta do that anyway on anything gnarlier than your lawn. 

The adrenalin never drops at traffic speeds in a serious ORV.  My recent work-out regimen that's lost me fifty pounds since June is partially the need to (a) further reduce HBP, (b) soothe the inner beast that's gotten me into compulsory anger management classes after one of my other arrests , (c) regain a semblance of the 1996 waistline that once fit loosely in 30" waist pants, and (d) get me back to where I have no trouble manhandling 31"-ers off-road on manual steering .  Rattles 'n' squeaks be damned--there's too much stuff that beats on vehicle and driver to give much thought to sounds that aren't universals poppin' or axles snappin'.  That's why you carry spares 'n' tools, after all...

Eventually, you realize that noises are your friends .  It's the Bronco telling you that calamity has happened (if it's loud) or that it's imminent (less loud), and that you screwed up a landing or a stuck pretty damned well for an amateur .  One day I will invest in full-floating rear axle mods to the 9" in the Bronco, as well as 35-splines and an air locker .  The clank the Detroit makes upon release has changed tone lately , so that air locker may be an early Christmas present in 2009.  The welds are still good, so the left front groan may mean the spindles are being overtaxed on hard uphill lefties.  Or else the left front wheel stuffs too far into the wheelwell when the same situation causes the right front tire to bite air.  Or even that the left front hub is flexin' on that uphill leftie.  I've pulled the hub and no damage is apparent , but I didn't magnaflux anything to see if there are cracks that will allow flexin' under stress.  The spindle looks OK, too , so the source of the groan may be patently obscure.  The Bronco's tryin' to tell me somethin' in Broncnamese, but I'm not fluent enough for the light to go on inside the head yet.  A long walk outta the woods kickin' beer cans may solve that problem if I don't figure it out pretty soon...

And the Bronco will say:  "I  told  you it was about to break, asshole."

   


 

[BimmerM3]

You all should just consider yourselves lucky to be able to drive. I've been in France for 3 and a half months and the only thing I've driven over here was a go kart for about 30 minutes. I can't wait to get back to the states and plant myself in the driver's seat again.

[dazzleman]

At least the inability to drive is keeping you out of trouble, Charlie...

[BimmerM3]

At least the inability to drive is keeping you out of trouble, Charlie...

Even before I left, I hadn't gotten a ticket it over a year!

[Northlands]

I know how you feel.  For the longest time, I felt this ennui when it came to driving.  After my road trip to South Carolina and the mountain runs I did down there, I felt rejuvenated.  I finally feel like I have my teeth back.  Sure, I'm still driving the same mostly boring roads (one or two good corners, but usually stuck behind someone doing 40mph, without regard to conditions, congestion, or speed limit), but now I feel that enthusiasm and aggression I had as a teenager.  I'm driving smarter now, instead of just putting my foot down until I have to brake, and I've slowed down on the highways, but I'm really enjoying driving again.

What you need is a road trip to the unfamiliar.

I agree with this also.

In respect to driving, I get like this just before the spring almost annually after driving through a long cold winter where it forces you to be a complete unthusiast due to conditions, and early spring around here the roads look like the mid war period of Sarajevo. Plan a road trip to somewhere new.

[nickdrinkwater]

You all should just consider yourselves lucky to be able to drive. I've been in France for 3 and a half months and the only thing I've driven over here was a go kart for about 30 minutes. I can't wait to get back to the states and plant myself in the driver's seat again.

Hire a car!

[BimmerM3]

Hire a car!

Heh - at this point I'm nearly out of money so I can't really afford it.

[rohan]

That's very annoying when you spend a lot of time working on what you think is a fix for a problem, and it turns out that it didn't do much to help.  I understand your frustration.  But it's sort of like golf -- that one perfect shot makes all the bad ones worth it.  Hopefully, you'll get that perfect shot and get it fixed the way you want.

It's like the line in Bagger Vance  "Golf isn't a game that can be won- only played."
I think car enthusiasts feel the same frustration.  I always found something about the GTO that I didn't like or that bothered me and sometimes it took the fun out of driving it- until I mashed the go-go pedal.  Then the world was right- for about 4.3 seconds at a time. 

[nickdrinkwater]

I feel you on the enthusiast frustration.  I have it too, but a different kind.  I'm in university (college to you guys) so I can't afford to insure and run a car.  Plus I live in a city so need for one except for occasional convenience.  But it's still annoying, because my Ibiza is locked up in my parents' garage just sitting there.  It's not been used for about 9 months now.

I see people, inc my friends, with cars I consider pretty nice.  Nothing that special, but for example my best friend just got an E36 323i coupe which I wouldn't mind having either!  The only time I get to drive is when I borrow my dad's Passat.  So I get a taste but long for the days of getting my job when I graduate (in a few months if I can get some work) and finally getting my car back on the road!  Then, work hard for at least a couple of years until I can afford something that actually has some power - because to ensure anything fast is a rip off here until you pass the age of 25...

[hotrodalex]

It's like the line in Bagger Vance  "Golf isn't a game that can be won- only played."
I think car enthusiasts feel the same frustration.  I always found something about the GTO that I didn't like or that bothered me and sometimes it took the fun out of driving it- until I mashed the go-go pedal.  Then the world was right- for about 4.3 seconds at a time. 

I always have the biggest grin on my face the first time I take my Camaro out for a joy ride after a long winter.