Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

It has come to my attention that the rear cat is unmonitored and therefore unable to be the problem.

This means that the cat in the header is the only one in play.
And the header is, quite conveniently, also the major restriction in the stock system.

I should also point out that it's way past time to change the smegging spark plugs in this thing again, and the resultant shitty burn could very well be causing this whole situation. But I like lying to myself in order to justify shiny things.

Current thought process:
- Buy new daily driver.
- Brakes, coilovers ASAP.
- Full exhaust before the next emissions inspection.
- Scrounge a parts ECU and buy an off the shelf E85 tune (assuming I get on the cheap fuel train with said daily driver, I may as well). Factory ECU retained for paranoia's sake.
 
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Have a Jeep Renegade for a rental. Patriot is in the shop again. Front wheel bearings this time!
 
JCE said:
My condolences.
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Could be worse. Much worse. My last 5 rentals have been a Mazda3, a Renegade, an Accent, a Versa Note and another Accent. I'd take the Rengade over the Accent and Versa Note any day.
 
I had a Camry last week. This is worlds better.
 
I've got a rental Cherokee for six weeks. The transmission is possibly the worst non-CVT I've ever experienced. EPA rates it at 21MPG city, I'm getting 16 driving quite normally. Interior is nice and it rides pretty well, but that drivetrain is ass.
 
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It?s ok in a Renegade honestly. The 9-speed holds gears waaaay better than a 2014 Cherokee I had. Much better than a CVT Patriot.
 
Got the renewal notice for my fianc?e's auto insurance. Premium went up by $50/mo. Called the insurance company to see what the hell happened and they said that the cost of insurance a vehicle in Michigan has gone up. Yeah, but $600/yr on a Jeep Patriot? My Mustang policy went up by $120/yr. Told them I didn't buy the explanation. Guy dug a bit further and said "oh, you had a just switched discount, which is only valid for the first billing term and expires on the first renewal. Also we had an internal adjustment of a few other discounts from 5% to 2%." Checked all the application paperwork and there was nothing about this discount expiring after the first term. Guess I now need to go insurance shopping because this deceptive 'suck you in' with a low price bullshit is ridiculous.
 
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It is going to get worse before it gets better too. The State Legislature is looking into changing the insurance laws, and the insurance companies are going to start playing around to get away with as much as they can before it doesn't finally change(they Legislature will not do anything constructive).
 
GRtak said:
It is going to get worse before it gets better too. The State Legislature is looking into changing the insurance laws, and the insurance companies are going to start playing around to get away with as much as they can before it doesn't finally change(they Legislature will not do anything constructive).
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I know they want to get rid of no-fault. Which in theory should only make it better. But its already insane as it is. 82% more than the national average. http://www.insure.com/press-room/2017-most-least-car-insurance-rates-by-state.html

I just don't understand how a first billing term discount doesn't count as bait-and-switch fraud.
 
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It is not just the no fault they intend to play with. It is also insurance premiums based on the area you live in.

Did they explicitly state how long the discount was good for?


I know this sucks, but you are doing the best thing and shopping for new insurance. I know people that do it every year just to make sure the deal they are in is the best they can get, which really is aa good idea anyway.
 
You didn't think "no-fault" insurance came without additional costs, did you? :lol: Also, you have the giant sinkhole of De-Riot where insurers have to shovel out cubic yards of money... They're going to get that money back with interest any way they can. :p

***

Saw this happen a couple nights ago; driving on a Dallas main street, three lanes each direction. I'm piloting thomas' Cadillac in the center lane and there's this white Mercury Grand Marquis about two car lengths ahead of me in the right lane. Go up over a level train crossing that's on a bit of a rise in the road, suspension bounces a bit and settles down. The suspension on the MGM bounces, settles - and then the driver's upper ball joint goes and the chassis slams to the ground - hard. The corner light unit promptly ejects and goes winging off god knows where, an impressive spark show ensues and the car grinds to a halt.



Fortunately for the occupants, this happened just outside a shop that was closing for the day and the employees gave them a hand getting it off the road.



 
93Flareside said:
It?s ok in a Renegade honestly. The 9-speed holds gears waaaay better than a 2014 Cherokee I had. Much better than a CVT Patriot.
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Maybe it works better in a lighter vehicle, or this unit is just behind on its transmission programming updates. It's jerky and schizophrenic, and despite being the V6 it feels like a reedy I4 until about 3/4 throttle, where it suddenly realizes it has more than 100HP.
 
I have a friend who was absolutely ASTONISHED when I suggested that her $3000/yr Honda Civic insurance bill was rather fucking high. She'd been with AAA since she got her license and assumed that's just what it costs. Convinced her to quote Progressive. Which is also not exactly cheap, but it came out a third of that.
 
I?m nearly 1,000 with the mustang. Wagon is half that. 4 doors is the way to go for cheapness sadly.
 
EyeMWing said:
I have a friend who was absolutely ASTONISHED when I suggested that her $3000/yr Honda Civic insurance bill was rather fucking high. She'd been with AAA since she got her license and assumed that's just what it costs. Convinced her to quote Progressive. Which is also not exactly cheap, but it came out a third of that.
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That's insane, my insurance for two cars in BK with full coverage is a bit above that....

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93Flareside said:
I?m nearly 1,000 with the mustang. Wagon is half that. 4 doors is the way to go for cheapness sadly.
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Not really true, my Z + Subaru were less than a G35/37 sedan when I last looked at replacing it.
 
Yeah, but have you seen how G35 and G37 owners drive? They make Audi and cheap BMW drivers look good.

My cousin has a G35x, dipshit goes through a set of tires, a set of pads, and a set of rotors yearly.
 
Blind_Io said:
Yeah, but have you seen how G35 and G37 owners drive? They make Audi and cheap BMW drivers look good.

My cousin has a G35x, dipshit goes through a set of tires, a set of pads, and a set of rotors yearly.
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Tire and brake wear are known 'issue' on those cars though, around here they don't drive all that abnormally aggressively actually.
 
Having ridden with him and seen how other Gxx drivers around here behave, I can see why. The guy treats the throttle like it is a switch (on or off), corners like a madman, and late-brakes at every light. Even with abnormal brake wear, a set of rotors each year is insane.

The insurance rates on those models tell the real story, the drivers who tend to be attracted to them are more prone to risk so the insurance companies raise the rates accordingly.
 
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

They?re typically owned by kids of my age and they drive like assholes. For some reason they have to fuck with the headlights and they?re always pitched too high or have some shitty aftermarket crap of a headlight. That exhaust note makes my skin crawl for some reason. It doesn?t sound good.

I almost got a G35 Sedan because it was quick and had AWD. The interior and lack of aftermarket support that either allowed me to keep the stock head unit and add an AUX input adapter or, completely replace the head unit without much trouble was a turn off. Plus, the one I looked at was from a sketchy dealer. Car was ok after I did a PPI, it was the dealer that gave my little confidence that I wasn?t going to be ripped off.
 
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