Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Spectre said:
This. Big manly keyring causes big manly repair bill and big manly pain in ass when your ignition lock cylinder or electronics fail.
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I did things differently when I had cars with delicate little ignition cylinders - but the ones in both Fords are enormous, stable, chunky hunks of metal that I could hang a brick off of without a problem. When I end up with something delicate again, I'll switch techniques.
 
teeb said:
I think there was a story going around about how some Aston keys were literally Volvo keys, complete with Volvo logo, wrapped in leather. It was on Autoblog.
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Hmm, what do Volvo keys look like?

The Aston key itself is okay, it has a circular metal shaft instead of the usual flat ones with tiny Aston logos on both sides. But the key fob... not only is it a generic looking black unit, it also looks very cheap and is rather light. This is for a 2008 mind, apparently in 2009 the DB9 got the ECU or whatever that crystal block is you stick in the starter button in the center console.

I kind of expected it to not look that special, it's just a key after all and I knew Aston borrowed a lot of parts from Ford and Volvo and others perhaps... but even my own Lexus fob is much nicer, has some decent weight to it and some nice polished metal.

Edit: There's no leather wrapping, just a tiny bit of leather connecting the fob and the key itself. So maybe it's not even from Volvo, maybe they just picked up generic fobs from Halford's or somewhere. :lol:
 
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Shawn said:
Hmm, what do Volvo keys look like?

The Aston key itself is okay, it has a circular metal shaft instead of the usual flat ones with tiny Aston logos on both sides. But the key fob... not only is it a generic looking black unit, it also looks very cheap and is rather light. This is for a 2008 mind, apparently in 2009 the DB9 got the ECU or whatever that crystal block is you stick in the starter button in the center console.

I kind of expected it to not look that special, it's just a key after all and I knew Aston borrowed a lot of parts from Ford and Volvo and others perhaps... but even my own Lexus fob is much nicer, has some decent weight to it and some nice polished metal.

Edit: There's no leather wrapping, just a tiny bit of leather connecting the fob and the key itself. So maybe it's not even from Volvo, maybe they just picked up generic fobs from Halford's or somewhere. :lol:
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They're referring to this:

https://pic.armedcats.net/n/na/nabster/2009/12/12/aston-martin-key-a-volvo-piece.jpg
 
Holy shit, that's gross. It doesn't even feel like leather, just some crappy hard plastics. I'll try and see if I can gouge some out next time. :D
 
Shawn said:
Hmm, what do Volvo keys look like?

The Aston key itself is okay, it has a circular metal shaft instead of the usual flat ones with tiny Aston logos on both sides. But the key fob... not only is it a generic looking black unit, it also looks very cheap and is rather light. This is for a 2008 mind, apparently in 2009 the DB9 got the ECU or whatever that crystal block is you stick in the starter button in the center console.

I kind of expected it to not look that special, it's just a key after all and I knew Aston borrowed a lot of parts from Ford and Volvo and others perhaps... but even my own Lexus fob is much nicer, has some decent weight to it and some nice polished metal.

Edit: There's no leather wrapping, just a tiny bit of leather connecting the fob and the key itself. So maybe it's not even from Volvo, maybe they just picked up generic fobs from Halford's or somewhere. :lol:
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Here is the story in question, by the way.
 
teeb said:
Here is the story in question, by the way.
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Funny you should post that, I have just returned from reading it.

They make a good point in that last line, it's still an Aston and the key is irrelevant really. Remember Jeremy's Ford GT key? Looked like the ones from Tauruses we used to rent in the 90s.
 
I like the earlier circular puck more. In the end though it's only a keyfob.
 
So after a week of ownership, I finally ran the Civic Si out of gas for the first time. I topped it off a couple days after buying it, so I could take that drive up to the lakes. Lots of twisty bends and tight corners. Good fun. But according to my odometer I only put about 300 miles on the car and it was almost empty. I was kinda bummed hoping for a little better then that, but I did do some spirited driving, so I couldn't complain too much. But the gas pump clicked off pretty quick. It only took 10 gallons. So 10 gallons over 300 miles? Not bad!

For some reason I thought the car had more then a 13 gallon tank. Either way though, I'm impressed.
 
Whaen did you get an Si? What year is it? Do you still have the Yota?

Questions! QUESTIONS! QUESTIONS!!!!!!! :p
 
TomCat said:
So after a week of ownership, I finally ran the Civic Si out of gas for the first time. I topped it off a couple days after buying it, so I could take that drive up to the lakes. Lots of twisty bends and tight corners. Good fun. But according to my odometer I only put about 300 miles on the car and it was almost empty. I was kinda bummed hoping for a little better then that, but I did do some spirited driving, so I couldn't complain too much. But the gas pump clicked off pretty quick. It only took 10 gallons. So 10 gallons over 300 miles? Not bad!

For some reason I thought the car had more then a 13 gallon tank. Either way though, I'm impressed.
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The car I'm driving now has a 20 gallon tank and it gets 330 or so some miles out of it.
 
argatoga said:
The car I'm driving now has a 20 gallon tank and it gets 330 or so some miles out of it.
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Ouch. What car is it?

JipJopJones said:
Cool. I musta missed the thread.

Most people know my stance on Civics. Good cars, they just don't do it for me though. Sorry. Good cars though. :cool:
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I can relate. Civic's are kinda boring. They're all over the place, every where you look. It's hard to take 3 steps in any direction without running into one.

I would have gotten a Mazdaspeed3 or a VW GTi, or maybe even a Mini Cooper S, but the Civic Si checked more boxes on my list. It's a very reliable car, it's well built, and it holds its value. Hard to beat.
 
TomCat said:
I can relate. Civic's are kinda boring. They're all over the place, every where you look. It's hard to take 3 steps in any direction without running into one.

I would have gotten a Mazdaspeed3 or a VW GTi, or maybe even a Mini Cooper S, but the Civic Si checked more boxes on my list. It's a very reliable car, it's well built, and it holds its value. Hard to beat.
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Hey, I owned one for a year (well, almost a year) Drove it every day. It was reliable, reasonbly fun to drive, cheap to run/maintain. But as you said... just so damn common and a bit boring.
 
JipJopJones said:
Hey, I owned one for a year (well, almost a year) Drove it every day. It was reliable, reasonbly fun to drive, cheap to run/maintain. But as you said... just so damn common and a bit boring.
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Well, there is something special about the Si models. Or SiR as they were called in Canada. I could always drive my 4Runner, but it really sucks to drive on the streets with the spool. It's just not enjoyable. Being unique is only worth so much, you know? Driving a slightly boring and over popular car is a small price to pay really.
 
EyeMWing said:
I did things differently when I had cars with delicate little ignition cylinders - but the ones in both Fords are enormous, stable, chunky hunks of metal that I could hang a brick off of without a problem. When I end up with something delicate again, I'll switch techniques.
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I had a Ford F-150 for a while with an 'enormous, stable, chunky hunk of metal' ignition switch, so I made up the giant keyring much as you did.

I then found out why replacement Ford ignition mechanisms are sold for $19.95 at parts stores and why they're stocked in large numbers.

Labcoatguy said:
And here's a Forduar key for my '99 XJR:
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argatoga said:
I like the earlier circular puck more. In the end though it's only a keyfob.
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You guys might want to avoid showing your keys in internet pictures. It's more than possible to make up one of those keys based on just a picture.

argatoga said:
An awesome one. :p
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You're either on the throttle all the time or you're running rich, you should be getting a tad more out of it. :D

TomCat said:
I could always drive my 4Runner, but it really sucks to drive on the streets with the spool. It's just not enjoyable
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You have just discovered why I want an LSD on my Pathfinder instead of just spooling it. :D
 
Spectre said:
You guys might want to avoid showing your keys in internet pictures. It's more than possible to make up one of those keys based on just a picture.
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Ah so that would explain why I am currently driving Labcoatguy's car across the country right now. :)

Spectre said:
Y
You're either on the throttle all the time or you're running rich, you should be getting a tad more out of it. :D
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I'm thinking a little from column A and a little from column B. I might just replace one of my O2 sensors on the second bank. 50/50 chance I'll replace the right one. :p Just need to figure out which bank is bank 2.
 
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Spectre said:
You have just discovered why I want an LSD on my Pathfinder instead of just spooling it. :D
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Tell me about it. I'm looking into getting an aussie locker. But I may wait, because I want to buy an 86+ rear axle and swap that in instead. We'll see.
 
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