Car Enthusiast Club [Now Motorcycle friendly!] - First thread to 150k! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[IPD]

3 hours ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

Proud Big Money Waster here.

Well there's no accounting for lack of taste, I guess.  But sure, bash away at MB.

[IPD]

3 hours ago, Neroon said:

I've looked a lot at the R171 models, and they look awesome, and bet they are really nice. Now the AMG is definitely above budget, being about twice the price of the Volvo. I've of course looked at the regular versions, but while I used to consider it, when we heard we had a baby on the way, any 2 seater was an automatic no. Don't get me wrong, my gf has a Kia Ceed so we got the family car going, but I don't want to change car again in a while because she is old enough to be in a convertible.

I've heard good things about the C70 in terms or reliability. Obviously there is always "what if the roof mechanism breaks" but I haven't seen anything to worry about yet, unlike for example the VW Eos, which has a really cool roof mechanism (has a roof window in the hardtop), but they break often, and costs thousands to repair. I haven't checked prices on the Volvo and BMW, but I've seen Peugeot complete roofs + mechanism for like 250-500. (Reliable roof, less reliable car = loads of spare roofs)

 

I'm looking to test drive both, have been looking for the 330 a long time, but they are so hard to find, and figured I'd wait for a dealer close to test drive it, but no luck so far. To give you an idea, there are currently 4 on offer in my country, and it can take up to 2 months before a new one is offered.

 

Volvo's are much less rare, so I've been looking at that for about a month now, and there are some in decent driving distances, so gonna check that out soon.

I see advantages in both engines, quicker at lower RPM sounds good, but I don't mind hitting 5k RPM, hell I already do it with my Peugeot, and that bastard is very slow (about half of what they will do). Afaik 5 cilinders will provide constant power, so in that regard it does what I wanted, because I wanted a 6 cilinder for that reason.

 

I think for me the main difference is, is that the BMW has a lot more mods, and while I have no interest in making a ricer out of it, I did want to give it some upgrades. I'm sure there are some options with the Volvo, but not as many. I do have ideas for the console though, since that would be perfect for a custom big screen as the car radio.

 

The 280 is definitely in my range, but yeah got a 2 month old baby, so not the most practical car for that. This is also a big plus for the BMW and especially the Volvo, because those are 2 of the biggest hard top convertibles.

It really sounds like the issue here is wanting:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-Family friendly (sedan or at least 4 seats)

 

That puts you in rarefied air with few options that will fit the bill.  That's just how it is.  In the history of the automobile, the number of cars that were offered as hardtop convertible with rear seats that were more than an afterthought....can probably be counted on 1 hand--and that dates back as far as the Ford Skyliner.

[PandaCopyRight]

1 hour ago, Neroon said:

I've looked a lot at the R171 models, and they look awesome, and bet they are really nice. Now the AMG is definitely above budget, being about twice the price of the Volvo. I've of course looked at the regular versions, but while I used to consider it, when we heard we had a baby on the way, any 2 seater was an automatic no. Don't get me wrong, my gf has a Kia Ceed so we got the family car going, but I don't want to change car again in a while because she is old enough to be in a convertible.

I've heard good things about the C70 in terms or reliability. Obviously there is always "what if the roof mechanism breaks" but I haven't seen anything to worry about yet, unlike for example the VW Eos, which has a really cool roof mechanism (has a roof window in the hardtop), but they break often, and costs thousands to repair. I haven't checked prices on the Volvo and BMW, but I've seen Peugeot complete roofs + mechanism for like 250-500. (Reliable roof, less reliable car = loads of spare roofs)

 

I'm looking to test drive both, have been looking for the 330 a long time, but they are so hard to find, and figured I'd wait for a dealer close to test drive it, but no luck so far. To give you an idea, there are currently 4 on offer in my country, and it can take up to 2 months before a new one is offered.

 

Volvo's are much less rare, so I've been looking at that for about a month now, and there are some in decent driving distances, so gonna check that out soon.

I see advantages in both engines, quicker at lower RPM sounds good, but I don't mind hitting 5k RPM, hell I already do it with my Peugeot, and that bastard is very slow (about half of what they will do). Afaik 5 cilinders will provide constant power, so in that regard it does what I wanted, because I wanted a 6 cilinder for that reason.

 

I think for me the main difference is, is that the BMW has a lot more mods, and while I have no interest in making a ricer out of it, I did want to give it some upgrades. I'm sure there are some options with the Volvo, but not as many. I do have ideas for the console though, since that would be perfect for a custom big screen as the car radio.

 

The 280 is definitely in my range, but yeah got a 2 month old baby, so not the most practical car for that. This is also a big plus for the BMW and especially the Volvo, because those are 2 of the biggest hard top convertibles.

Regarding a similar Merc to the C70 and E93 would be something like the CLK i think, but i dont think they made a hard top. Then there is the C207 E class which i still think didnt have a hard top but that might be way over budget. Audi also has an option in the shape of a B6 or B7 generation A4 and later A5, but again i think its a soft top only. Another option if it wasnt a soft top would be a one of the later generation Saab 9-3. You can look into them if you wish but they seem to not have hard top convertibles.

 

Always test out the cars you are trying to decide between, cause a car thats better on paper wont always be the one you want after driving them.

What i can say about the Volvos reliability is that the C70 was made during an era where Ford owned Volvo ... so its basically a nicer looking luxurious 2 door mondeo convertible ... with a 5 cylinder turbo engine. The T5 engines as long as you are not trying to tune it to push its limits, it will last, especially if its maintained well.

BMW i know less about, but the 6 cylinder engine should also be great, just make sure its not leaking oil and that there are no vanoss faults... which is a common thing on BMWs.

 

Basically the quicker at lower RPM would mean that its easier for daily drivability. Both C70 and E93 will be way quicker than your current 307 either way.

 

BMW will always have more aftermarket parts, especially if there is a M car based on the same chassis ... which in this case its the E92 and E90 M3, but volvos as wall can have some aftermarket goodies, just bit more difficult to come by and usually more money cause there are no cheapo knockoff options.

[IPD]

1 hour ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Is this sarcasm?

Oh Gosh I hope it is sarcasm. Do people really want an AWD Corvette? Let alone a purple one, with no engine noise.

 

 

No, Yes, Yes, and Yes.

 

I'll also double down and say that I would much prefer the LT4 or LT5 engine to the LT6 engine; given half a chance on a C8 with any of the 3 choices--the LT6 is the last one I'd pick.  20 more HP and MINUS 180 torque....is not an "upgrade".

[JoaoPRSousa]

12 minutes ago, IPD said:

Well there's no accounting for lack of taste, I guess.  But sure, bash away at MB.

 

Please point out where I bashed Mercedes-Benz, your honour.

And regarding taste, everyone is different and everyone has different tastes. If you don't like it, that's your problem.

[Stahlmann]

What do you guys think about the Cupra Born or EV's in general? Thinking about ordering one as my next car. Planning to switch cars sometime next year. If i were to do so, i need to place the order in the next few months. I had a VW ID3 a while ago (which is basically the same car) when my A3 was in for repairs and that experience convinced me that my next car would be fully electric. Currently i shortlisted the Kia EV6, Hyundai IONIQ 5, VW ID3 and Cupra Born (my favourite atm).

 

[AlwaysFSX]

3 hours ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Do people really want an AWD Corvette? Let alone a purple one, with no engine noise.

Oh fuck yeah that'd be fun as hell.

[bcredeur97]

4 hours ago, Bitter said:

Mmhmmm 156,000 miles tho.

when i was looking on my phone I thought I saw a different number on the dash. My mistake!

[Neroon]

3 hours ago, IPD said:

It really sounds like the issue here is wanting:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-Family friendly (sedan or at least 4 seats)

 

That puts you in rarefied air with few options that will fit the bill.  That's just how it is.  In the history of the automobile, the number of cars that were offered as hardtop convertible with rear seats that were more than an afterthought....can probably be counted on 1 hand--and that dates back as far as the Ford Skyliner.

It is absolutely a limited space. There is actually a wikipedia with all the (modern) hard top convertibles. I can tell you I've looked into all of them, now I don't remember why I didn't like some, but generally I looked for cars available under say 12,5k with under 200k KM (125k miles), at least decent reliability and say like 7 seconds to 100kph/62mph. That created a pretty narrow list, of course already owning a hard top convertible, I really had to feel it was an upgrade. I've looked at 2 seaters, both at MB R171 models, and the MX5 NC, but the NC was too small for me, and eventually all 2 seaters ended up being scrapped from my potential list.

With 4 seaters I only looked at real 4 seaters, those 2+2 models for insurance reasons, was a no go for me. I just think it looks wacky to drive that.

I made that list during winter of 2020, with a clear goal for the next winter to buy that E93. But between cars being hard to get, and life getting back to normal due to covid, prices on those cars went up a few grand. So while 10-11 grand would be very doable, all the sudden 14-15k was the new 'low' point, with only a few really bad models hitting around 12k.

The car I'm looking for is obviously a weird one. I want a convertible, but a metal roof, I want a car for enjoying the weather, but I want it to be relatively quick, oh and I want it to be a decent family car as well. It's like a car of only compromises. Now if I had a garage or something like that, I might have just bought a second car, get like a hatchback or something and a softtop 2 seater, but I just don't want to expose a softtop to our weather through the year.
Because of that though, hard tops were quite popular here, and I see a lot of different models driving around here. So while there are limited choices in models, there are plenty of cars to buy in general, just some versions are very rare.

 

3 hours ago, PandaCopyRight said:

Regarding a similar Merc to the C70 and E93 would be something like the CLK i think, but i dont think they made a hard top. Then there is the C207 E class which i still think didnt have a hard top but that might be way over budget. Audi also has an option in the shape of a B6 or B7 generation A4 and later A5, but again i think its a soft top only. Another option if it wasnt a soft top would be a one of the later generation Saab 9-3. You can look into them if you wish but they seem to not have hard top convertibles.

 

Always test out the cars you are trying to decide between, cause a car thats better on paper wont always be the one you want after driving them.

What i can say about the Volvos reliability is that the C70 was made during an era where Ford owned Volvo ... so its basically a nicer looking luxurious 2 door mondeo convertible ... with a 5 cylinder turbo engine. The T5 engines as long as you are not trying to tune it to push its limits, it will last, especially if its maintained well.

BMW i know less about, but the 6 cylinder engine should also be great, just make sure its not leaking oil and that there are no vanoss faults... which is a common thing on BMWs.

 

Basically the quicker at lower RPM would mean that its easier for daily drivability. Both C70 and E93 will be way quicker than your current 307 either way.

 

BMW will always have more aftermarket parts, especially if there is a M car based on the same chassis ... which in this case its the E92 and E90 M3, but volvos as wall can have some aftermarket goodies, just bit more difficult to come by and usually more money cause there are no cheapo knockoff options.

Yeah afaik all the MB models are softtop if you want a 4 seater. Same with the other mentioned models. I know there are some nice hybrid (as in hybrid roofs) models these days, that have like a hard top with the cloth over it, but afaik those are all on the newer side and thus cost more.

 

Oh for sure, but I do have experience with 3 series, so I know what to expect for the most part, but yeah definitely want a test drive. Never driven a Volvo though.

 

Afaik a lot was still designed and made in Sweden, including the engine, so hoping that qualifies it to be better than a Ford.
The 330 generally has a lot more issues than the Volvo, it could be worse, because the 335 is a straight up disaster.
There is a E93 M3 btw, so loads of options.

Would be easier if money wasn't an issue, would just straight up buy an F33 (4 series) which were build until 2018 I believe.

4 hours ago, Bitter said:

Mmhmmm 156,000 miles tho.

I had a 20 year old E46 with around that mileage, and it looked way better than that.

[vetali]

7 hours ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Is this sarcasm?

Oh Gosh I hope it is sarcasm. Do people really want an AWD Corvette? Let alone a purple one, with no engine noise.

If I was rich I'd get it and a new Z06 to trigger the winga dinga pushrod boomers.

[IPD]

8 minutes ago, vetali said:

If I was rich I'd get it and a new Z06 to trigger the winga dinga pushrod boomers.

I hate pushrods.  I also really, REALLY hate that GM killed off the LTA engine.  I'm really hopeful that the LT7 (5.5L) is a worth heir. 

 

I can only imagine what portal to the abyss GM would open if they combined the unholy amalgamation of twin-sequential-turbos, a hot-V8 configuration, and 6.2L; and then just for good measure, padded the performance of it with dual motors for the front wheels pushing out another 200whp.  I think the earth's crust might rip apart.

[JoaoPRSousa]

Thought so

[Selle]

15 hours ago, Stahlmann said:

What do you guys think about the Cupra Born 

 

I got mine 2 month’s ago, very happy so far. It looks way better than the ID.3, but other than that it is the same car. I was also cheaper than the ID.3 in Norway, but it has become more expensive after I got mine, same spec as mine now costs 55.000 NOK (5400 EUR) more than I paid for mine 
 

Personally I don’t like the looks of the Hyundai/KIA, and they are bigger cars than what I need, more like the ID.4, but they charges faster if you do a lot of longer trips

 

The Born charges fast enough if you only do long trips occasionally, but if you do long trips with several fast charging sessions often it might be worth looking into something that charges faster

[DANK_AS_gay]

11 hours ago, vetali said:

If I was rich I'd get it and a new Z06 to trigger the winga dinga pushrod boomers.

I dunno, Corvette to me was always a V8 sports car. The mid-engined thing is fine, because that what was designed to be initially, but electric is just cancer. Top 10 ways to remove all character out of a car. Put a battery, AWD, and 3-4 electric motors, and you have any other electric car (in the drivetrain), just with a different software profile. Yawwwwwn.

[Stahlmann]

1 hour ago, Selle said:

I got mine 2 month’s ago, very happy so far. It looks way better than the ID.3, but other than that it is the same car. I was also cheaper than the ID.3 in Norway, but it has become more expensive after I got mine, same spec as mine now costs 55.000 NOK (5400 EUR) more than I paid for mine 
 

Personally I don’t like the looks of the Hyundai/KIA, and they are bigger cars than what I need, more like the ID.4, but they charges faster if you do a lot of longer trips

 

The Born charges fast enough if you only do long trips occasionally, but if you do long trips with several fast charging sessions often it might be worth looking into something that charges faster

Yes from what i've seen the ID3 and Born are basically the same car underneath. But the Cupra looks so much better, be it interior or exterior. If it's gonne be one of these two i'm pretty sure it's going to be the CUPRA.

 

The EV6 and IONIQ 5 both have their downsides. The Kia looks dumb from behind, the Hyundai looks terrible on the inside. And both are substantially more expensive with the spec i'd want.

 

I hate the wait that comes with a new car atm. I don't even know if i'm gonna get the same environmental bonus as current buyers. Currently you get 6000€ back from the govenment if you buy a fully electric vehicle and drive it for 6 months.

[IPD]

6 hours ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

I dunno, Corvette to me was always a V8 sports car. The mid-engined thing is fine, because that what was designed to be initially, but electric is just cancer. Top 10 ways to remove all character out of a car. Put a battery, AWD, and 3-4 electric motors, and you have any other electric car (in the drivetrain), just with a different software profile. Yawwwwwn.

That's like saying the Iron Duke is the same as a Windsor 351 because they both use carburetors.

 

I mean, if you don't understand the differences in battery voltage architecture (eg. 800v on the Nevera; 400v on the Leaf); nor the differences in motors (eg. 478hp motor *4 on the Nevera; 215hp motor *1 on the Leaf); nor the differences in range, etc--then sure.  ALL EV's look the same.

 

Frankly, the argument you're making about EV's is even less tenable than the argument I have about manual transmissions; namely--they are all the same.

[AlwaysFSX]

I'm gonna EV swap a 1995 Mercury Cougar and say it performs and drives the same as an electric Porsche.

[Neroon]

4 hours ago, IPD said:

That's like saying the Iron Duke is the same as a Windsor 351 because they both use carburetors.

 

I mean, if you don't understand the differences in battery voltage architecture (eg. 800v on the Nevera; 400v on the Leaf); nor the differences in motors (eg. 478hp motor *4 on the Nevera; 215hp motor *1 on the Leaf); nor the differences in range, etc--then sure.  ALL EV's look the same.

 

Frankly, the argument you're making about EV's is even less tenable than the argument I have about manual transmissions; namely--they are all the same.

I'm guessing he is talking about character through sound, as this is generally the main argument against electric when you get down to it. They want a big engine, needs to make a lot of noise, maybe give some pops. You want to hear rev the engine.

 

And btw, I don't fully disagree. I have nothing against electric, and I could get the car I want as an EV, I would do it. BUT I do like the sound of a strong engine, I understand that many don't care for it, or even don't like it, but living in a country where V8's are very rare, I can absolutely appreciate the sound of those engines.

[Bitter]

Electric cars have noises. Hearing tires struggle for grip as they scrub over asphalt and electric motors whine and scream as they convert hundreds of amps into foot pounds of torque.

[IPD]

I'm of the mindset that every degree of heat given off, ever decibel emitted--is energy that is not being applied to rotating the tires.  Nor do I think that a driving experience is "disconnected" and "boring" because you aren't shifting gears (EV's generally only have 1 gear).

 

It's about the dance between feeling the grip your tires will provide and your own application of control.  When will you exceed skidpad for the ambient conditions?  At what point will the brakes lock the tires up?  And can you drive well enough to get the vehicle "warmed up" to where the brakes and tires are all operating in their ideal heat band for performance (ala F1)?

 

P.S.

I would much rather drive a single-speed electric with no ABS, no traction control and no stability control--than the most robust internal-combustion engine sports car with all of those things enabled.  Far more engaging.

[iDeFecZx]

1 hour ago, Bitter said:

Electric cars have noises. Hearing tires struggle for grip as they scrub over asphalt and electric motors whine and scream as they convert hundreds of amps into foot pounds of torque.

And to a lot of people that whine sounds awful

[Bitter]

3 minutes ago, iDeFecZx said:

And to a lot of people that whine sounds awful

And straight pipe V8's sound terrible to me.

[DarkSwordsman]

Hi all. New to this thread.

 

This is my 1990 Miata in Mariner Blue. I've owned it for about 7 years now.

 

I unfortunately haven't taken care of it as much as I used to, but I hope one day to try to replace a lot of the rusted bits and turn it into something nice. It has about 142,000 miles and is a short nose 1.6 that definitely has seen better days. Also has a lot of cosmetic problems, including lots of dings and dents. Though all that doesn't stop it from being something that I can full throttle everywhere, chuck around street corners super fast, and still get over 20 MPG while doing it, lol.

 

Only mods I've done is that I've been through three exhausts. Originally a silly straight pipe which was awful, a Tsudo Catback that I ran with a test pipe, and now I have a Yokohama catback that I run with a relatively new cat (Colorado emissions). I actually really like the sound since it's beefy and crisp without being too raspy (if at all), but it's also not too loud.

 

I also have the TireRack C1 wheels. Back in 2017 or so, I was inspired by another car that had the 7.5 width C1M version and 215s that was lowered, which has a clean fit. Though I unfortunately just got 7 inch C1s with a hub ring and 205 DZ102s. Would love to get some 8 wide and 225s assuming I can fit them, and probably some 200-300 TW tire instead.

 

I would like to probably put a 1.8 or 1.8 VVT in it following the advice of Car Passion Channel, and do some super charger. Rotrex would probably work best but of course a jackson racing intake-side would be dope if I can find one/pay for it. Would be nice to see it do low 200 hp with some wider and stickier tires, plus some suspension (still running KYB OEM replacments).

 

I also used to be pretty active on ClubRoadster, though I haven't since I haven't spent much time on the car. Though I'd like to chat over there again.

 

 Went for a wash a couple days ago.

Spoiler

 

Here's some older photos from a few years ago:

 

Spoiler

Went driving with a friend back in New York at Lake George. Me and his GC8 with lots of brake dust after carving some super recently paved asphalt roads.

 

 

Another photo from the same day:

 

 

Photos back when I took it to Miatas at the Gap in 2017 at the end of the Dragon

 

 

 

 

[JoaoPRSousa]

8 hours ago, Bitter said:

And straight pipe V8's sound terrible to me.

I also don't like chocolate

[Bitter]

1 hour ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

I also don't like chocolate

*Shocked Pikachu.gif*