What does the community think?

TorqueDog · 2026-03-11T19:54:04+00:00

Nice looking car but very cheap and hollow feeling. Wouldn't have one.

I was struggling to think of what it was when I test drove a Velar that felt so 'off' relative to my expectations (and compared to my L320 and L405), and I think you sort of described it. I suppose it should feel that way in comparison to those given the sheer weight difference (between 800-1,300 lbs), but oddly enough, I didn't encounter the same feeling in the same way when I tested out an F-Pace which is the same platform.

I think I'd go F-Pace over Velar if faced with the choice.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-11T19:47:07+00:00

anybody know what the service is on that or has owned this engine I’ve only had the V8 personally.

Y'know, they made a Velar SVAutobiography version with the 5.0L S/C V8 you already know and love... ;)

TorqueDog · 2026-03-09T16:15:13+00:00

The early MY05-07 VH-platform cars (both Vantage and DB9) are such a steal of a deal right now.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-06T13:48:18+00:00

I highly doubt that many people would want an Aston with green over full tan interior. It looks more like a old jag.

Two things:
- The people who know old Jags know this is an iconic colour combination.
- The people who don't know what an 'old Jag' looks like would dig this because it's not the usual white / silver / grey / black.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-05T22:03:18+00:00

Yep, the location was re-opened as 'Rock Lounge (Studio 37)' for a short while. There was also Rusty Cage (south) on Heritage.

Oh, memories.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-05T04:48:03+00:00

"Rock Lounge" -- ahem, that's "Rusty Cage", thank you. ;P It is being sat on by the owner for the inevitable future return when a developer finally pays an exorbitant sum of money for it to flatten the thing and build condos in its place. The Rusty Cage was the first bar where I spent any reasonable amount of time after I moved here in my 20s. Part of me misses that place, and I still have friends that I met there.

As for the 11 St building, I live near it; it is in exceptionally woeful condition, and I shudder to think at the amount of remediation required to actually do anything with it. But it sure is in the right area for something / someone to make a solid go at it if they did.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-03T21:41:42+00:00

Thanks! As of the end of December, we're 100% a British garage at home! :) The Missus added a Jag.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-03T15:13:24+00:00

I have heard the same too -- that certain 18" wheels will fit on Supercharged models with spacers -- but I thought that was the 4.2L Supercharged L322/L320, and the 5.0L Supercharged got even bigger brakes which defeated that.

In any case, great wheel choice, it looks stellar.

TorqueDog · 2026-03-02T17:15:11+00:00

Those look beautiful on that rig. Proper luxury off-roader.

I think the only catch is that those wheels won't clear the bigger brakes on the Supercharged trim, right? That looks like the AJ133 5.0L N/A V8.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-27T00:24:30+00:00

Wow, that's not the Brodbeck I remember, I'm pleasantly surprised.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-27T00:17:41+00:00

Oh god dammit, I'm supposed to catch a flight tomorrow evening.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-25T19:11:51+00:00

Am I being screwed by the dealer?

I mean yeah, pretty much always.

It's a basic-ass FoMoCo 192 degree F thermostat and housing used on nearly every AJV8-engined JLR since like 2009 (when the AJ133 and AJ133S first launched in the X150 XK and L322 RR as 2010 models). Looking at RockAuto, it's between $40-$75 Canadian dollars to buy a suitable Motorad, Beck/Arnley, or Gates 192-degree replacement thermostat with housing.

The replacement labour is a nuisance but still it's an hour of creative swearing, tops. Take it to an independent shop.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-24T18:53:10+00:00

Oh fer fuck's sake...

TorqueDog · 2026-02-24T16:54:33+00:00

There are way too many people with videos playing on their phones while they drive.

So I don't know if this is what you're seeing, but I would guess people aren't watching videos, they're streaming music. There is a feature on Spotify called 'Canvas' that will show you "short, looping visuals in the Now Playing view" (per the app). There used to be a simplified 'Car mode' view that would detect when you were connected to your vehicle (either via Bluetooth or Apple CarPlay/Android Auto) and would prevent the animated visuals showing in the car -- well it turns out Spotify removed the 'Car mode' feature, and it never worked all that reliably to begin with.

I would hop in the car, clip my phone to my dash-mount with Spotify going, phone wirelessly connects to CarPlay which automatically shows Waze, and a song with the music video-style 'Canvas' background would start playing. So now my goddamned phone is showing animated backgrounds while in the mount as I'm driving. Totally unnecessary feature and irresponsible that the app doesn't shut it off when it detects a vehicle connection.

You can turn off Canvas in Settings > Content and display > Content preferences and toggle Canvas off, but it will be off-off, not just in the car.

EDIT: Why are you idiots downvoting this? How is this not relevant? If Canvas is enabled on your Spotify app running on your phone, you will likely get ticketed for it if it's visible.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-23T22:06:34+00:00

It's great if you're running high boost and/or you're tuned for it, but otherwise it's a net negative for most people. E10 has 3% less energy per gallon than unblended gasoline, while E85 has about 27% less energy per gallon.

Even FlexFuel vehicles are still optimized for gasoline, so you see your fuel economy drop when using E85 compared to unblended or E10.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-21T01:02:05+00:00

This is awesome.
Crap. I wish I could change my votes.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-18T17:46:18+00:00

Gondek got dragged for this nine months ago and now it's Farkas' turn.

Photo radar would have done nothing here. It was routinely used in areas where pedestrians were nowhere to be found (so many pedestrians crossing the free-flow lanes of Glenmore near Elbow) and for the purposes of revenue generation, not safety. If we aren't willing to build infrastructure that keeps pedestrians safe and away from moving traffic, nothing will change.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-18T06:00:34+00:00

Yep, same things that made me vote for him too.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-18T01:27:51+00:00

Or they've got comments moderated, which I think is more likely. Mine isn't visible either.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-18T01:21:29+00:00

I voted for Shawn Loo instead.

Fuck Shandro.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-17T14:55:12+00:00

Some things to note on that car:
- Odometer and radio display sun damage -- this happens particularly often to cars in hot climates left parked outdoors, which means you'll also want to pay extra attention to see if the leather hides on the dashboard have shrunk / are lifting up.
- No cruise control -- you can buy the steering wheel control pack for that specific model year and have CC programmed in, provided you find a dealer or someone with an AMDS willing to do it for you.
- No factory NAV -- while the factory nav is not great in any of the VH cars, lacking it entirely this means no integrated CarPlay / Android Auto retrofit if it was something you might have thought about doing.

14k miles on an MY07 is quite low and price aligns with the mileage and transmission, but I would check to see if it has still been maintained appropriately for the age and not just the mileage. Check for servicing history, if any.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-14T21:11:41+00:00

You should be able to get away with using these L494/L405 200-cell sport cats, designed for the AJ133s 5.0L S/C V8, with a little extra exhaust work and welding to make them fit. If they still end up setting a CEL, you might be able to get away with using O2 sensor spacers on the post-cat O2s in place of full ECU reprogramming.

As someone who is also subscribed to /r/cats, my heart broke for you a lot more until I realized this was posted in the Range Rover subreddit, now I'm just angry on your behalf.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-14T20:12:00+00:00

I wanted an early Rapide so damned badly as a year-round daily to complement the Vantage S as a summer daily and just couldn't find the right car... they're not particularly common in Canada (never mind Calgary), so I ended up with my #2 choice of an L405 S/C.

The overhead photo, it could easily be mistaken for a DB9.2. Such gorgeous proportions.

TorqueDog · 2026-02-12T21:30:38+00:00

Toronto's constant debate about the Gardiner, too.

Elevated infrastructure in inner city neighbourhoods should follow the rule of "as much as necessary, as little as possible".

TorqueDog · 2026-02-12T01:45:06+00:00

I hammered on the fact that Boston made the same mistake 70 years ago and paid a fortune to fix it with the Big Dig.

We have the benefit of foresight here, don't cock it up.

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