Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

argatoga said:
Install a small hitch on your car, put on bike rack (I've seen them on SN95s). You don't need to buy a minivan.
Click to expand...

Heck, people have put bike-carrying hitches on MR2 Spyders, and those don't even have a trunk.
 
Yay, got a Mustang as my rental for the next month :D

Better than the Mazda 5 I got last time, but it's a V6, and the autotragic transmission sucks the fun right out of it.

That gearbox is utterly useless!
 
prizrak said:
Hooray!!

A co-worker of mine was playing a game on his phone - Logo Quiz. It basically gives you a bunch of logos and you try to figure out the companies. He didn't even know logos for Alfa, Citroen or Skoda.
Click to expand...

Lame-o! I played that game until I realized how good I was...and then I stopped when I realized how bad that made me feel. "Really? I knew that one? Why the hell should I know that one?"
 
NecroJoe said:
Lame-o! I played that game until I realized how good I was...and then I stopped when I realized how bad that made me feel. "Really? I knew that one? Why the hell should I know that one?"
Click to expand...

I play it on my computer:





...yeah i have no life....at least i haven't completed all the levels...yet. :p
 
Last edited:
Had the transmission flushed today. I knew I was overdue but its amazing how much nicer it drives now.
 
argatoga said:
Install a small hitch on your car, put on bike rack (I've seen them on SN95s). You don't need to buy a minivan.
Click to expand...

Or if you don't need to carry a passenger's bike, just take the front wheel off the bike. I throw a towel over the backseat and throw my bike in. Just have to be careful about how you wedge to make sure you aren't stabbing part of your car with part of the bike or twisting any cables on the bike. And again, if its just you, its not that much more work to the the rear wheel off too. Got a bike into the backseat of a friend's 92 Grand Prix coupe that way. (Coupled with the pair of bikes hanging off the hitch mount, he was probably traveling with bicycles worth more than his car).
 
Last edited:
Just watching Jeremy's review of the Ferrari FF and Bentley Continental GT and I started to wonder: The Bentley has a twin-turbo 4.0L V8 with 500hp; the Bugatti Veyron has a quad-turbo 8.0L W16 with 1000hp...is the Bentley's engine a Veyron engine split in half or is this just too good of a coincidence?
 
Ilpav said:
Just watching Jeremy's review of the Ferrari FF and Bentley Continental GT and I started to wonder: The Bentley has a twin-turbo 4.0L V8 with 500hp; the Bugatti Veyron has a quad-turbo 8.0L W16 with 1000hp...is the Bentley's engine a Veyron engine split in half or is this just too good of a coincidence?
Click to expand...
Everything on the Veyron is bespoke. The Bentley V8 is an independent Bentley-Audi joint development.
 
So it's just an amazing coincidence then; it's exactly half the Veyron's engine (half the turbos, half the capacity, half the cylinders, half the power).
 
duckedtapedemon said:
Or if you don't need to carry a passenger's bike, just take the front wheel off the bike. I throw a towel over the backseat and throw my bike in. Just have to be careful about how you wedge to make sure you aren't stabbing part of your car with part of the bike or twisting any cables on the bike. And again, if its just you, its not that much more work to the the rear wheel off too. Got a bike into the backseat of a friend's 92 Grand Prix coupe that way. (Coupled with the pair of bikes hanging off the hitch mount, he was probably traveling with bicycles worth more than his car).
Click to expand...

Or if you have folding rear seats you can do the same through the trunk, that's how I carried my bike when I first bought it in the A4. Pop front wheel off, fold the rear seats and just toss the bike in.

- - - Updated - - -

Ilpav said:
So it's just an amazing coincidence then; it's exactly half the Veyron's engine (half the turbos, half the capacity, half the cylinders, half the power).
Click to expand...
You can't really just "split" the engine and half and end up with a V8, conversely you can't just slap two V8s together for a W16. I would think that the W16 is actually based on the W12 that Audi makes with some turbos and 2 extra cylinders.
 
What about a roof rack? I see those with bikes all the time.
 
Yesterday I was having lunch with some friends in the lovely seaside town of Kiama, when I noticed something strange. A dark green NB MX-5 drove by, nothing out of the ordinary. Slowed down for a speed bump, then as it accelerated off, it gave off the unmistakeable Star Trek-like sound of a big electric motor whirring up. It was a bit of a WTF moment, the same car drove past later (I heard it coming this time - who said electric cars are silent), the only thing differentiating it visually was a tiny 'Electric' sticker on the rear bumper. That sound was amazing though, sounded positively sci-fi.
 
This morning my clutch pedal was unusually slow to return when I took my foot off it. It went in fine, bite point was normal, and if I didn't shift quickly felt perfect. But if I moved my foot too quickly the pedal wouldn't rise fast enough to catch up (or would for a brief moment, but then would slow down around the bite point). Anyone know what this means?
 
thevictor390 said:
This morning my clutch pedal was unusually slow to return when I took my foot off it. It went in fine, bite point was normal, and if I didn't shift quickly felt perfect. But if I moved my foot too quickly the pedal wouldn't rise fast enough to catch up (or would for a brief moment, but then would slow down around the bite point). Anyone know what this means?
Click to expand...

Possibly water in the clutch fluid has frozen depending on how your local temps have been, but more likely you have one or more hydraulic parts (either the master or slave cylinders, or damper unit if you have one) is on the way out.
 
Spectre said:
Possibly water in the clutch fluid has frozen depending on how your local temps have been, but more likely you have one or more hydraulic parts (either the master or slave cylinders, or damper unit if you have one) is on the way out.
Click to expand...

It was below freezing for the first time in a while today, so I'm hoping for the former.
 
thevictor390 said:
It was below freezing for the first time in a while today, so I'm hoping for the former.
Click to expand...

If that was it, flush and change your clutch fluid (and, since it's of an age, your brake fluid) immediately, check for leaks and improperly sealed or leaking reservoirs. And then hope the ice crystals didn't score the insides of your hydraulic cylinders.
 
Last edited:
prizrak said:
You can't really just "split" the engine and half and end up with a V8, conversely you can't just slap two V8s together for a W16. I would think that the W16 is actually based on the W12 that Audi makes with some turbos and 2 extra cylinders.
Click to expand...

:nod: you need two VR8s, one for each bank, to make a Veyron W16.
 
RdKetchup said:
Yay, got a Mustang as my rental for the next month :D

Better than the Mazda 5 I got last time, but it's a V6, and the autotragic transmission sucks the fun right out of it.

That gearbox is utterly useless!
Click to expand...

I think it's more the final drive than the transmission ratios. The standard rear end ratio is 2.73 for automatic Mustangs. That's way too tall - especially for the V6 - but does help it get 30mpg. I would like to see the 3.73:1 rear end available - perhaps with the V6 Performance Package, but it's only available on the GT.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top