Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

For those of you that do their own maintenance, the usual US parts chains' regular oil clearances are going on. Autozone is dumping these for as $2 per quart in various weights - Shell Rotella Gas Truck, Valvoline Modern Engine Synthetic, Quaker State Advanced Durability, Mobil 1 Annual Protection.

Advance Auto is blowing these out for about $0.95 per quart in 0W20, 5W20, 5W30 and 10W30 (not all of these will be in all weights): Mobil Super High Mileage, Mobil Super Synthetic (not Mobil 1, but a competent oil nonetheless).

The per quart price includes individual quarts and 5 quart jugs. I scored 30 individual quarts and six 5 quart jugs from Advance for the $0.95/quart price - then I used SpeedPerks loyalty coupons to get my net price down even more.







Original sources of info on these clearances below.
Autozone clearance - https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru.../5244219/local-autozone-clearance#Post5244219
Advance clearance - https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5250483/1
Advance continuance thread - some Advance stores are on a different system - https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5279244/aap-clearance-round-two

No connection with either business other than as a customer, etc., etc.
 
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Thank you YouTube algorithm
 
For all of the Wankel fans, there is a show with a guy that says he has fix some of the engine's problems on today at 3 P.M. EST.

 
For all of the Wankel fans, there is a show with a guy that says he has fix some of the engine's problems on today at 3 P.M. EST.

LS swap?


(I am kidding. I am a huge fan of the Wankel.)
 
For those that are EV curious.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/gmp29994375/future-electric-cars-trucks/?__twitter_impression=true

Every Electric Vehicle That's Expected in the Next Two Years
Owl - Looking good, just like every other supercar.
Audi - Yawn.
BMW I4 - :sick2: That grill....
Bollinger B1 - Dystopian Assault Vehicle Styled by Lego. with only 4 bricks to work with.
Bollinger B2 - Dystopian Assault Vehicle Styled by Lego with only 3 bricks to work with.
Byton - Face of a CRV mashed with an Evoque, roof and ass of a Nissan. Overall not bad, but not great.
Faraday Future FF91 - Looks French - funky, futuristic, and cool.
Ford F-150 Electric - Basically an F-150 with a grill from a late-1980s sci-fi movie.
Mustang Mach-E - Worst. Name. Ever. for a 4-door crossover.
Jag XJ Electric - Shut up and take my money.
Lordstown Endurance - This is what the Tesla truck should have looked like.
Lotus Evija - Bonkers, I love it.
Lucid Air - A practical, elegant sedan. I'd have one.
Mazda MX-30 - Nice, but kind of "meh" compared to some of the others on the list.
Mercedes EQC - Meh, looks like another generic soulless crossover.
Mercedes EQS - Not a fan, but at least they are trying to do something interesting. What are those rims? 30"s?!
Mercedes G-Class Electric - Why doe the G-Class electric have leg pipes? Meh, I'm only a fan of the Pro-series G, not the luxury ones.
Mini Cooper SE - Looks like a Mini, if you like Mini, you will buy it.
Nissan Ariya - Another soulless crossover from Nissan, but at least it doesn't have a CVT.
Polestar 2 - Well, I guess that explains why it looks like a Chinese knock-off or generic GTA crossover.
Porsche Macan EV - Another EV that looks just like the gas-powered version, nothing special.
Porsche Taycan - Why does it look like it was made to have pop-up headlights but they changed the regulations half way through the design process?
Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo - Oh look, a Porsche Kit-Bash!
Rivian R1T - For people who want the Electric F-150 but really want to rub your nose in the fact they have and electric and are better than you.
Rivian R1S - Styling by Land Rover, and that's a good thing. This is what the 4-door Defender should have looked like.
Cybertruck - Tesla, now with more memes.
Tesla Model Y - Styled with a Mazda 3 and some tracing paper.
Tesla Roadster - How do you make a car that quick look that unsexy?
VW I.D. Buzz - I assume that "Buzz" is named for the sound of driving the original bus at more than 45 mph? It has the features of a classic bus, but the seating position of a modern minivan - enjoy having the A and B pillars in front of you and all the blind spots that go with it.
VW I.D. Cross - Wooo... another crossover... yay.
VW I.D. Space Vizzion - Stupid name aside, I'm glad to see an estate that hasn't been Crossover'd.
Volvo X40 Recharge - That's it, I'm murdering every marketing wank who wants to find some electrical term for a model name.
 
Yeah. At this point, it's worth ~nothing so no incentive to get rid of it until a showstopper happens or I need more.

Mind, an actual catalyst problem may actually BE a showstopper, because I need to keep my daily driver CARB-legal (since it may conceivably end up wearing CA plates) - $814 for an OEM front cat, another $400 for the rear cat (and it could be either one), and the only aftermarket parts are 48-state. But it's probably the downstream O2.

I'm looking at a possible cat replacement on the XC60. OEM one is $1,600 + 5 hours of labor. For some reason, they decided to put the catalytic converter as part of the downpipe. There is an aftermarket high-flow downpipe/cat option for just $500 which may be the route I take.

Question about the 48-state issue - I get that they are not allowed to be sold in CA and ME, but can't you bring a car to CA that already has one installed? If it performs as designed and meets the actual emission thresholds, how would the emission inspection station know if it's an aftermarket cat?
 
I'm looking at a possible cat replacement on the XC60. OEM one is $1,600 + 5 hours of labor. For some reason, they decided to put the catalytic converter as part of the downpipe. There is an aftermarket high-flow downpipe/cat option for just $500 which may be the route I take.

Question about the 48-state issue - I get that they are not allowed to be sold in CA and ME, but can't you bring a car to CA that already has one installed? If it performs as designed and meets the actual emission thresholds, how would the emission inspection station know if it's an aftermarket cat?
Nominally, cars brought into CA need to be at the emissions certification level they were at when manufactured.

The actual chance of being spotted is slim, but if the tech happens to know what the OEM article looks like and the aftermarket one is a different shape, there could be trouble.
 
Anyone have any idea how difficult to find are semi automatic original beetles? My mother would really like to get her hands on one but I am guessing from a quick google that is is difficult to find them.
 
Yeah searching samba doesn't seem to come up with anything still for sale.

...the yellow one is tempting just for the novelty of being the same color as mine ?

Hmmm i just looked it up and apparently a new beetle can tow an old one, meaning I could potentially abuse the shop class rule of "you can do whatever you want as long as the car can leave at the end of the day" and look for just the transmission...
 
Yeah searching samba doesn't seem to come up with anything still for sale.

...the yellow one is tempting just for the novelty of being the same color as mine ?

Hmmm i just looked it up and apparently a new beetle can tow an old one, meaning I could potentially abuse the shop class rule of "you can do whatever you want as long as the car can leave at the end of the day" and look for just the transmission...

You should be able to swap the trans in an old Beetle in less than a day. There's some linkages and mechanical parts in the interior that must be swapped as well, so you can't get just the transmission. Here's a how-to for going from semi-auto to manual to give you an idea of what's involved: http://www.mclaydon.com/beetle/autostick/pbucha.htm
 
That's some real dangerzone rule stuff there. I've laid up cars doing RIDICULOUSLY routine stuff because of unforeseen complications.
The instructor is an absolute sap and we went overtime a few classes to get cars out of there so it's mostly just to discourage, well, something as ridiculous as a transmission swap.

Basically the school does not pay attention to what the class actually does so you can be as ridiculous as you want as long as you don't draw attention.
You should be able to swap the trans in an old Beetle in less than a day. There's some linkages and mechanical parts in the interior that must be swapped as well, so you can't get just the transmission. Here's a how-to for going from semi-auto to manual to give you an idea of what's involved: http://www.mclaydon.com/beetle/autostick/pbucha.htm
Excellent lets see how far I can get into this before mom changes her mind. ?
 
Excellent lets see how far I can get into this before mom changes her mind. ?

Keep in mind that the SA to manual conversion is more popular because there are critical parts of the SA system that are NLA and always fail, as noted in the site. Chances are that even if you do the manual to SA swap correctly, you're going to end up with a non-working vehicle.

If you want an automatic, this is a much better option: https://www.lsfest.com/the-best-bang-for-the-bug-ls-powered-volkswagen-bug/
 
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