Cars

[windwalkingwolf]

16: do an "Italian tune up" on your car once in a while. Ferrari owners don't drive their cars much and after a winter of storage they drive like crap. So Italian mechanics figured out that the remedy is to put the peddle to the floor and drive it hard for an hour. This would burn the carbon from the engine and it would run better. A lifetime ago I had a Lada Samara and I delivered Pizza around Kingston. Every two weeks I drove to Montreal or Ottawa (at 120km, nearly full throttle on that little motor), and it would always run better after. The same is true on my dad's Subaru (he'd leave on a trip and I'd drive his car a few times: full throttle from each stop) and it had better acceleration and more power afterwards.

This is also a common problem with VW's that are driven softly. Owners go to the dealer complaining of loss of engine power and they happily charge $3000 for a new turbo when all it needs is to be driven hard to burn the carbon out.

Engines run most efficiently between 85 and 90 km an hour--use less gas at that speed (than 65) too. So, if you drive a lot of back roads or in-town, or granny-drive highways at night because my, I mean your lol night vision is getting crappy, you get drastically more engine wear and a ring of carbon buildup at the top of cylinders. Power and fuel efficiency suffer huge, emissions control components go belly up, and the exhaust will have a noticeable unpleasant odour to the people behind you when you do step on the gas.
So, put the hammer down every once in a while, it's good for your engine, and if the road's empty and the music turned up (Pedal to the Metal by Kazzer is appropriate), good for the soul :)

[baronrenfrew]

WWW! you amaze me sometimes by the range and depth of your knowledge! you are too smart for the job you do (but I also can't picture you in an office situation where your "managers" aren't as smart as you: I don't think you can suffer fools or office politics).

as for research: here's a site for used car research:

http://www.autos.ca/used-car-reviews/pa ... ake=Subaru

and here's a quote from that site:
"One last neat thing to note about the Forester: this model’s similarity to the Impreza means that there are lots of options for aftermarket performance bits, particularly for turbocharged versions. The best way to describe the Forester might be to liken it to a sexy librarian: reserved on the outside, but a lot of fun once you get acquainted. Those shopping for a practical vehicle with the potential for some fun on the sly, the Forester looks like a solid used vehicle choice."

[poultry_admin]

ok off topic from chickens but I'm wanting to get a new car ( used really ) I want all wheel drive because of all the late night horrible roads I have to drive in the winter. Looking at a used subaru or a used Rav 4.Anyone have any thoughts?

Ok, late to the game, but anyways.... I looked into the Subaru a while back. Took a new one for a ride and DW almost had to throw up 2km down the road. They have a undersized sway bar in the rear that made her motion sick.
So test drive and test passenger the one you are thinking about getting.

[poultry_admin]

Engines run most efficiently between 85 and 90 km an hour--use less gas at that speed (than 65) too. So, if you drive a lot of back roads or in-town, or granny-drive highways at night because my, I mean your lol night vision is getting crappy, you get drastically more engine wear and a ring of carbon buildup at the top of cylinders. Power and fuel efficiency suffer huge, emissions control components go belly up, and the exhaust will have a noticeable unpleasant odour to the people behind you when you do step on the gas.
So, put the hammer down every once in a while, it's good for your engine, and if the road's empty and the music turned up (Pedal to the Metal by Kazzer is appropriate), good for the soul :)

Do the same with your blower wheel / HVAC fan, too. At least every 6 month a drive with the thing all the way on high for no less than 30min with all vents open. The brushes in the motor are made for optimum noise, but that cakes some gunk on the commutator. Cleaning it off extends the live of your motor.
Exceptions are 2016 and newer models that have a brushless motor (the NA pickups, chev cruze, some toyotas and hondas, high end cars and others). There, it doesn't happen anymore because the brushes are gone.

I design them for aftermarket applications.

[Ontario Chick]

So test drive and test passenger the one you are thinking about getting.

What if you like the car, but not the passenger?

[windwalkingwolf]

WWW! you amaze me sometimes by the range and depth of your knowledge! you are too smart for the job you do (but I also can't picture you in an office situation where your "managers" aren't as smart as you: I don't think you can suffer fools or office politics).

Thank you for the first statement
The second statement is suspect--I was not smart enough to incur massive student loans while I was still young enough to get out from under them, so I joined army in the hopes to eventually get schooling paid for...wrong choice for me. Spent two years in a cubicle afterwards. Both experiences not to be repeated lol.
I'm now too old and intolerant for student debt, office politics and especially fools, so the job I have now is a stroke of luck, because I get to avoid all three for the most part, earn a living wage (though still not enough for car payments or mechanic bills :D) and as an added bonus, I get to meet a lot of people with interesting stories to tell.

[Killerbunny]

DH says look at a Mitsubishi Outlander if you have a dealership near.

[Ontario Chick]

Looked at it since KB's DH is mechanical genius......
2 problems
#1 it has three rows of seats and since my back seats haven't had a human behind on them in years, the extra row would just be a hindrance to all the things that have to go in the back, like feed bags, chicken crates, bales of straw and wood shavings, pet carriers, plants, small trees, 2x4's and any other lumber, small appliance's and any other "must have" finds along the highways and byways that can't be left behind.
#2 it's classified as subcompact/compact, which has got to be an oxymoron for an SUV?
so too small for - see #1

[Killerbunny]

I love our Astrovan (I know), chuck out the 2nd row of seats.

[ross]

I agree KB had 2 Astros but know have a dodge caravan easier to get in ( my second ) stow & go seats , lots a room for scooter etc & feed , groceries . Like front wheel drive for winter & anti slip button to turn off in deep snow . Got it stuck in the sand pit hunting deer yesterday, took it out of no slip & out she popped . 208,000 plus klicks just change oil . Whatever works . Luck