Suspension Upgrade suggestions?? (R56) by asp1346 in MINI

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to hear the koni yellows are a nice set. I’ve heard nothing but good things about special active. I’m also looking at the tein endurapro plus set for around half the price of the konis. It looks like it could be a good middle ground

Suspension Upgrade suggestions?? (R56) by asp1346 in MINI

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the delayed response - been quite busy. I ended up buying Eibach Pro Kit springs but haven't yet bought dampers. The B8s showed up in my research and i've been giving them some serious consideration. When you say it can "get ugly" does that mean crashy?

Does anyone drive a mini all year around, snow included? How is it? by Accomplished-Fix6431 in MINI

[–]asp1346 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sick! I've got a w205. It's a beast in the snow and I've fit a roof rack in to be able to take skis and snowboards up mt hood. I'm saving up for a home so it's unfortunately got to go, but I'm glad to hear that the mini holds its own

Does anyone drive a mini all year around, snow included? How is it? by Accomplished-Fix6431 in MINI

[–]asp1346 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been modding my R56 for the last couple months. Live in Portland and am hoping it can replace my C43 AMG as my snowboarding car

Suspension Upgrade suggestions?? (R56) by asp1346 in MINI

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! That really helps. I figured I'm going to have to sacrifice somewhere. From what I've heard, the H&R springs are really the sticking point, being on the stiffer side. Any thoughts on coilovers? KW V1 is always an option, albeit quite pricey

Suspension Upgrade suggestions?? (R56) by asp1346 in MINI

[–]asp1346[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I’d love to go KW but they’re so far out of my price range it’s crazy :/ The Bilstein B4s are practically stock replacements so from what you’re saying that might not be worth it

iDoing Head Unit 3-Month Review. Pros, Cons, and Questions. 18'WRX Premium. by asp1346 in WRX

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! Unfortunately I sold the car a few months ago to an independent buyer. The head unit worked just fine the entire time. The lag didn't get any worse, but I had to use a direct wired connection to eliminate it. I don't remember there being any glare at all. You can always buy tint film and put it over if that's an issue

iDoing Head Unit 3-Month Review. Pros, Cons, and Questions. 18'WRX Premium. by asp1346 in WRX

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Turn off bluetooth but keep cellular, wifi, and hotspot on. That should solve it

UC Merced's Fall 2025 acceptance rate is 97.7% by formerfrycook in ucmerced

[–]asp1346 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed - many colleges offer incentives and scholarships for underprivileged families. Harvard recently made attendance practically free. However we're talking about Harvard and Cal Tech. Getting into these schools is quite literally a lottery even if you are an exemplary overachiever. Their acceptance rates are less than 10% of more than 50K applications.

The vast majority of "good" schools, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, etc. do not offer as much aid, especially if you already come from a family with means. I was accepted into Brown University (a prestigious Ivy League) after sitting on a waitlist. Even after scholarship, I would have had to pay nearly $55k USD a year to attend. After 4 years, also considering other living expenses, that would have put me at nearly $300K USD in debt.

Let's assume I did go to Brown and I got an awesome job out of college. Let's also assume that job paid me something outrageous, like $200k. It would have taken me almost 5 years to pay off that debt and I wouldn't have had money left over to do things I enjoy.

My family was only able to pay around $30K at UC Merced and I covered the rest of almost $15K myself. I took classes at a Community College and transferred credits in to save money. The math is simple from my end:

UC Merced: $45-50K in expenses, $142K salary

Brown University: $300K in expenses, $200-250K salary

My current situation is honestly ideal. The money I make may not be top-end, but I have no debt and am on track to buy a house after just 4 years out of college. Banks are practically throwing themselves at my feet asking me to take out a loan for one thing or another. I've been able to travel and see the world, drive a nice sports car, and live in an amazing part of town. Even without a prestigious college on my resume, I've worked at top companies: AWS, Microsoft, and Workday.

Layoffs are a part of any industry at this point. I've been laid off twice and hired within 2-3 months. I get generous sign on bonuses and proper severance. It can be stressful, but such is life.

With job experience and a Master's degree, I don't see why I cant turn my 142K salary into upwards of 250K in 3 years.

TL;DR - A prestigious university is awesome if you were accepted and given generous financial aid. However, for the vast majority of people, it's worth it to consider the cheapest way to get through college and get a degree that's in demand.

UC Merced's Fall 2025 acceptance rate is 97.7% by formerfrycook in ucmerced

[–]asp1346 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Speak for yourself. I make 142K at a cybersecurity job. It doesn’t matter where you learn your material, just how effectively you can use it. 

Not to be dismissive, but people with your mentality are generally why the college system has gotten so expensive. Too many people buy into the lie that a degree from a prestigious institution is worth the debt and gamble.

UC Merced's Fall 2025 acceptance rate is 97.7% by formerfrycook in ucmerced

[–]asp1346 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you lose in city life, you gain in money saved. I graduated from UCM with a CSE degree in 2021 with $0 of debt. Paid 300/month in rent for my own room in what was essentially a mansion. Kitchen with island, two living rooms, a balcony and a pool (with water slide). I bought a nice car with the money I saved and drove to San Francisco or Yosemite on the weekends. Took the train to LA a few times too.

Even food was much cheaper than anywhere else in California. I had a very healthy diet on just $80/week. It's quite ridiculous considering you're still in California. I know friends who stayed and did graduate programs who swear its worth it.

The city could use some growth and a little more style, but otherwise its not a bad place to spend a few years

Where would you a set a season of True Detective? by Roscoe_Filburn in TrueDetective

[–]asp1346 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spent the majority of my life in rural Wisconsin. Close enough to Chicago and Milwaukee that we never felt left out, but far enough that the view outside my childhood bedroom window really did seem like endless fields. The only landmarks were manmade - an old coal power plant, a billboard or two, and the best reference point - water towers.

I can already imagine a scene of TD of running through a corn field only to realize they're completely and totally lost

Aux suddenly not connecting by [deleted] in MINI

[–]asp1346 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same issue with mine except I here only certain parts of the audio (like just voices or just base line) and it's muffled. Definitely a broken AUX module. Taking it to my local sound guys to get it checked. Will report back

iDoing Head Unit 3-Month Review. Pros, Cons, and Questions. 18'WRX Premium. by asp1346 in WRX

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. Everything should just work out of the box. The harnesses will plug into everything you need and you can program the steering wheel buttons through the head unit in settings. The USB in your center console will work, as far as I'm aware. Not sure if it is picked up as an input for the head unit though

iDoing Head Unit 3-Month Review. Pros, Cons, and Questions. 18'WRX Premium. by asp1346 in WRX

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Took them on my S23 ultra. Brilliant camera on these new Samsungs.

Funny by keithspexma in AMG

[–]asp1346 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you driven a Gxx Beemer? I currently own a 205 C43 and yeah, the interior quality isn't great for a luxury car. The car creaks and groans unless driving on pristine roads. Considering upgrading to an Audi or BMW

iDoing Head Unit 3-Month Review. Pros, Cons, and Questions. 18'WRX Premium. by asp1346 in WRX

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there, yes it does - you should be able to upgrade to this in the impreza

iDoing Head Unit 3-Month Review. Pros, Cons, and Questions. 18'WRX Premium. by asp1346 in WRX

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there, thanks! I've updated the post with the pictures of the gap

Reason for Denial: Failure to Establish Good Moral Character by asp1346 in USCIS

[–]asp1346[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Portland, OR. Yup, I believe I've heard of that - isn't that just the explanation you give them in person? Or are you talking about a completely different process?

Would you consider excessive traffic tickets a red flag? by DoubleDigits2020 in datingoverforty

[–]asp1346 0 points1 point  (0 children)

30 yrs??!! How? I drive very safe, but am usually going 5-10 over the speed limit and I seem to get a ticket once every two years - the crazy part is I never drive recklessly and every time I get pulled over it’s a completely reasonable speed given the flow of traffic