Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

That?s one car that would stop me from buying a charger. I don?t know anyone with a manual golf wagon though. :(
 
CrzRsn said:
Also can get the VW Golf SportWagen 4Motion and Golf Alltrack 4Motion as a manual. The BMW 340i Xdrive sedan can be had with a manual as well as the 440i Xdrive coupe, but not the 340i Xdrive wagon :(.
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It?s always been that way with USDM BMW wagons. E91 we only got the 328i and ix with a manual (IIRC) and the d and dx (both autos). E46 was the first 3er wagon we got just the 325i and ix, 5 speed manual or auto. With the 5er, it was E39 for the first USDM 5er wagon, which could be had as a 528i (manual or auto) and the 540i (auto only). The E61 was the last 5er wagon we got and we got the AWD only models, IIRC, the 530ix and later the turboed 535ix.
 
Der Stig said:
It?s always been that way with USDM BMW wagons. E91 we only got the 328i and ix with a manual (IIRC) and the d and dx (both autos). E46 was the first 3er wagon we got just the 325i and ix, 5 speed manual or auto. With the 5er, it was E39 for the first USDM 5er wagon, which could be had as a 528i (manual or auto) and the 540i (auto only). The E61 was the last 5er wagon we got and we got the AWD only models, IIRC, the 530ix and later the turboed 535ix.
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But no 3er wagons are available with manuals.

I went through all the MY18 3er and 4er trans options.

320i Sedan: Steptronic, Manual
320ix Sedan: Steptronic
328d Sedan: Sport Auto
328dx Sedan: Sport Auto
330e Sedan: Steptronic
330i Sedan: Sport Auto, Manual
330ix Sedan: Sport Auto
340i Sedan: Sport Auto, Manual
340ix Sedan: Sport Auto, Manual
328dx Wagon: Sport Auto
330ix Wagon: Sport Auto
330ix GT: Sport Auto
340ix GT: Sport Auto
430i Coupe: Sport Auto, Manual
430ix Coupe: Sport Auto
440i Coupe: Sport Auto, Manual
440ix Coupe: Sport Auto, Manual
430i Vert: Sport Auto
430ix Vert: Sport Auto
440i Vert: Sport Auto
440ix Vert: Sport Auto
430i GC: Sport Auto
430ix GC: Sport Auto
440i GC: Sport Auto
440ix GC: Sport Auto
 
CrzRsn said:
But no 3er wagons are available with manuals.

I went through all the MY18 3er and 4er trans options.

320i Sedan: Steptronic, Manual
320ix Sedan: Steptronic
328d Sedan: Sport Auto
328dx Sedan: Sport Auto
330e Sedan: Steptronic
330i Sedan: Sport Auto, Manual
330ix Sedan: Sport Auto
340i Sedan: Sport Auto, Manual
340ix Sedan: Sport Auto, Manual
328dx Wagon: Sport Auto
330ix Wagon: Sport Auto
330ix GT: Sport Auto
340ix GT: Sport Auto
430i Coupe: Sport Auto, Manual
430ix Coupe: Sport Auto
440i Coupe: Sport Auto, Manual
440ix Coupe: Sport Auto, Manual
430i Vert: Sport Auto
430ix Vert: Sport Auto
440i Vert: Sport Auto
440ix Vert: Sport Auto
430i GC: Sport Auto
430ix GC: Sport Auto
440i GC: Sport Auto
440ix GC: Sport Auto
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Correct, none of the current wagons are offered with manuals. Been that way for the F31, the E91 is the last USDM manual transmission BMW wagon.
 
All this talk about manuals vs automated gearboxes reminded me of this little snippet from Walter R?hrl. It's in German and I'm not gonna translate it, but some might/will understand it ...


(no offense to homosexuals)
 
Mitchi said:
All this talk about manuals vs automated gearboxes reminded me of this little snippet from Walter R?hrl. It's in German and I'm not gonna translate it, but some might/will understand it ...

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I thought I could understand German quite well. But I guess not...
 
BerserkerCatSplat said:
I've always charged my battery in-car without disconnecting it, I honestly had no idea it was recommended. :lol: Your average shoebox charger isn't going to put out notably more voltage (and waaay less current) than your alternator, and those sensitive bits should be unpowered with the ignition off anyway. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless your car's manual calls for it.
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Well, some of the electronics still needs to be powered even with the ignition turned off. Otherwise no car could be remotely locked/unlocked...

I guess half the people writing "how to charge a car battery" have just heard or read that an external charger can kill the electronics and simply repeat what they've heard without questioning it. If I had not read anything about the topic I would have just assumed that it's going to be fine (since, again, the alternator probably produces a lot more ripple and peak voltages than a proper charger). I was just wondering if I missed something really obvious since apparently every "how to" makes it its mission to point out that you should absolutely disconnect the battery when charging it, because reasons.*

*again, having a very poor charger that produces a lot of voltage peaks could potentially damage the electronics. Or when the battery is charged with a very high current it can get rather warm, so maybe it's better to do that outside of the car...
 
CD82 said:
Well, some of the electronics still needs to be powered even with the ignition turned off. Otherwise no car could be remotely locked/unlocked...

I guess half the people writing "how to charge a car battery" have just heard or read that an external charger can kill the electronics and simply repeat what they've heard without questioning it. If I had not read anything about the topic I would have just assumed that it's going to be fine (since, again, the alternator probably produces a lot more ripple and peak voltages than a proper charger). I was just wondering if I missed something really obvious since apparently every "how to" makes it its mission to point out that you should absolutely disconnect the battery when charging it, because reasons.*

*again, having a very poor charger that produces a lot of voltage peaks could potentially damage the electronics. Or when the battery is charged with a very high current it can get rather warm, so maybe it's better to do that outside of the car...
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The only reason I can come up with is the possibility of damage from reversing the leads.

Which I did one time. It instakilled the charger.
 
Yeah I've done it jumping cars, too. It may have fried the ECU in my recent parts Subaru.

The car never started after that.

Of course, we were trying to start it to move into the shop for dismantling, so we didn't exactly spend long on the diagnosis.
 
CD82 said:
Well, some of the electronics still needs to be powered even with the ignition turned off. Otherwise no car could be remotely locked/unlocked...

I guess half the people writing "how to charge a car battery" have just heard or read that an external charger can kill the electronics and simply repeat what they've heard without questioning it. If I had not read anything about the topic I would have just assumed that it's going to be fine (since, again, the alternator probably produces a lot more ripple and peak voltages than a proper charger). I was just wondering if I missed something really obvious since apparently every "how to" makes it its mission to point out that you should absolutely disconnect the battery when charging it, because reasons.*

*again, having a very poor charger that produces a lot of voltage peaks could potentially damage the electronics. Or when the battery is charged with a very high current it can get rather warm, so maybe it's better to do that outside of the car...
Click to expand...

Charging the battery in the car is perfectly safe - over here, many car battery chargers come with harnesses to permanently install in the car to allow for in car charging via a quick connect plug. You can even buy units that permanently install in the car and you just plug and extension cord into, like an electric block heater.

There are only two issues - one, you need to have the charger deactivated before starting the car unless it is the "starting assist" kind to avoid damaging the charger or the electrical system and two, as others have noted, you need to make sure you don't hook up the charger to the car with reversed polarity or bad things will happen.
 
I mean, I can envision some bizarroworld way for bad shit to happen.

The negative battery terminal in the BRZ has an ammeter built into it (why?)

In theory, charging across that could cause the ECU to make dumbassed decisions if it's trying to do something based off that info. No idea what, but it's a window of opportunity.

I, of course, connect both cables to the terminals because I am a bad boy and don't hunt around for a good ground elsewhere, handily working around that.
 
Good lord, this is one of the available interior color combinations in the 2019 Lincoln Nautilus

NGoqJHEl.png


EDIT: Looks like the colors on that one are a bit too vibrant. Weird as its directly from Lincoln's Facebook page. Here is the version from NetCarShow's press photo collection.

z0X0T89l.png


Still a bit much for me.
 
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laxmax613 said:
that's a new Lincoln interior? it looks fifteen years old.
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The interior is actually a really nice place to be. I was more commenting on the color palette.
 
CrzRsn said:
Good lord, this is one of the available interior color combinations in the 2019 Lincoln Nautilus

NGoqJHEl.png


EDIT: Looks like the colors on that one are a bit too vibrant. Weird as its directly from Lincoln's Facebook page. Here is the version from NetCarShow's press photo collection.

z0X0T89l.png


Still a bit much for me.
Click to expand...

laxmax613 said:
that's a new Lincoln interior? it looks fifteen years old.
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:hmm:



On the subject of interiors....



I think I need a Cruze in my life simply because this color combo is available.
 
93Flareside said:


I think I need a Cruze in my life simply because this color combo is available.
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MKX had a pretty swanky brown leather interior in one of the 2016 Black Label themes.

xM2GMk3.png
 
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