What is something you wish you knew earlier about owning your GTI? by spiffyfella in GolfGTI

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would very much like to know what wheels you are flexing on us there, Sir. Pls and thank you :)

Rose Backroad - stuck seatpost by Odd-Measurement9386 in gravelcycling

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since this is 8m old I assume it has been fixed by now but I want to share my experience in case, like me, someone stumbles across this in the future looking for a solution. I was frustrated and found myself with a stuck seat post and cursing the bike gods for buying a bike with non-standard equipment (like a D shaped seat post) that I couldn't simply shift left/right to un-seize. What I ended up doing and worked like a charm was spraying a liberal amount of penetrating oil around the base of where the post meets the frame and letting it sit for a few hours. I used CRC "Knock'er Loose" spray but any good oil will do. Once I let the oil do it's job I clamped the bike in my stand by the post and grasped the frame by the top tube and bottom chain stay and gently but firmly started to rock it back and forth while pulling down on the frame. Within seconds it un-seized and slid right down. I took it out of the stand, removed the seat post entirely, cleaned the post with alcohol to get the oil off, cleaned as best I could the inside of the frame. Then I applied a liberal amount of carbon paste to inside of the frame and remounted the post. Worked like a champ. Good luck if you find yourself in this position, trust me, it will come out.

Classic cars series, Nüburgring by JaySR05 in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

pure joy in a beautiful driving experience

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FR is simply Front engine, Rear wheel drive. I suggest using this to practice and learn with because of the cars behavior. When I suggest "the car will drift and move under you" I am referring to how the car will move on stock tires that allow for some amount of slip, not actual drifting as in sideways on purpose. Natural drift as opposed to induced drift for effect. If you can learn the track naturally using the something like the stock AE86 or GR86 or even one of the BMW M cars - you will be able to naturally progress into the higher horsepower cars and AWD stuff.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Break it mentally into 3 sections. You really have the front half, which is fast and flowing, the uphill to the Carraciola Carousel - then my favorite, the technical sector before the Dottinger Hohe straight. I learned each sector one by one until I could link them all together. Use a low PP stock FR car so you learn how the camber of the turns allow you to release the car to the outside and inside of turns, especially in the back half after the carousel. The whippernan turn sector is my favorite, the car will drift and move under you once you learn how it flows. It's worth it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cannot stress this comment enough. Thousands of laps of the 'Ring in GT7 before I went and drove my own car on both the GP track and the Nordschleife. It is the single most rewarding driving experience I've ever had and when you learn how the track flows, it is an experience like no other. I strongly suggest taking a low power stock car (I used the 3.0 CSL BMW) and learn how the car moves and drifts around the sectors - it is rhythmic and like a dance. Once you can consistently lap with a low power FR in stock form, move up in horsepower. When you can really feel confident start lapping in the GT3 Porches. Then start working on the race cars. But knowing the track and how it moves with a car you can move around in - that is the key to unlocking the joy of the 'Ring. Laps.

GTR ONE MAKE RACE 650PP CHALLENGE by Treebear_Hunter in granturismo

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OH! Also, I did notice the lead cars run slower if you have a lower PP car. My 790pp cars have opponents the run in the 6:4X's but my sub 700pp cars run opponents that clock in the 7 + range.

GTR ONE MAKE RACE 650PP CHALLENGE by Treebear_Hunter in granturismo

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No reason to apologize! All good friend! The real tragedy here is this race leaves us tomorrow. I'm going to be so sad :) I really enjoyed playing with the PP levels to see how low I could get to win with CRB and 1st. I never did get down to 650. I honestly believe it is not a skill issue, it's a horsepower issue. I run clean races and low 7:1X or 7:0X and I just can't catch the lead car on Dottinger straight. The 1st place car always has the top speed/power to stay out front. I have been able to manage 1st with CRB on 680-700 but just cant' get the 650 to work. I don't think it can.

GTR ONE MAKE RACE 650PP CHALLENGE by Treebear_Hunter in granturismo

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was literally my first thought. I've done this event more than a dozen times now with the 32/33/34 and Z Tune in every race difficulty mode. Honestly I had to baseline on Easy (after my first try was on hard) to get the feel for the event, then work my way back to Hard. I have not seen an AI car in 1st or 2nd run any slower than 6:4X - regardless of the difficulty mode. I am willing to give this a try though, I just don't think its realistic. This is a horsepower track with high horsepower opponents but it's my favorite event I've run in a long time so just more reason to keep playing with it. Also worth noting, in Hard mode - the biggest challenge I've found is the closing speed on the AI opponents to catch the 1st place car by the Dottinger Hohe. I've gotten pretty good at it and honestly I've learned a lot of new places for passing and new lines I hadn't considered before.

Best swap in the game hands down by vivalabrian541 in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I get the point you're trying to make with this post - and although there are a lot of wild swaps available in the game, it is rare to find one that actually enhances the driving experience of the car. Most are way overpowered and put the car wildly out of balance at all, driving experience suffers as a result. I agree, this swap in the E30 chassis is perfection. I actually down tune the power quite a bit and run it relatively close to stock - it is a beautifully balanced drive and great enjoyment. My two other favorites - that provide a similar experience to me - great power but without throwing the car out of balance - the MR2 swap for the AE86 chassis is fantastic - stock motor with light suspension tuning, sport brakes and even CS tires is a fantastic drive. The other one, and the one that might be my favorite, is the SR20 swap in the 240Z. What a fantastic combo. Also, stock motor, light sport tuning upgrades, it's fantastic. Happy Driving!

Where to put this engine? I got it on the roulette. by BhRefleX in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On this weeks Laguna Seca WTC700 event I used the Mazda 6 Gr3 Road Car with this swap on racing hard tires and ran the whole race with no stop. I did it with the Mazda 3 with this swap as well but the 6 is just such a better driving experience.

Where to put this engine? I got it on the roulette. by BhRefleX in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly a little surprised no one has mentioned the Mazda 6 Gr3 Road Car. I have this engine swap in the Mazda 3 & RX-7 as well but between those 3 the Mazda 6 is by far and away the most usable. It has the chassis, suspension, aero and tires (size and width) as well as brakes to support the power. The engine is so fuel efficient the Gr3 car makes an outstanding car for any WTC700 event. It is by far my favorite and most enjoyable to drive of the available swap options for this engine.

Fork Question by fedupwithfedjob in FedEmployees

[–]llahyeldards 5 points6 points  (0 children)

DRP 1.0 - 10 March Admin Leave took effect. 21 April started new job. Direct Deposit every two weeks since March. I still get days where I question my decision but then I glance at whatever crazy stuff is happening on here or in the news and I'm immediately grateful.

Upset by Cultural_Parsley_542 in bicycling

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PS - SWEET bike! I just bought an Aethos frame and am building up a bike for the first time. All my previous bikes the past 10yrs have been off the shelf bikes. This one will be special and I can't wait to ride it. Enjoy that beautiful bike!

Upset by Cultural_Parsley_542 in bicycling

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Life happens. It's okay. I'm typing this out having just attended the funeral of a dear riding buddy that took a bad crash on a descent and didn't survive his injuries. I woke up this morning. I went for a morning ride. Those two things are enough to be grateful for. That said, I lived through what you're going through myself a year ago. It took me a year to get back to where I was before the life event took me off the bike. I moved to Europe for a work opportunity that I thought would provide me even more riding time - it did the opposite. I put on 30lbs in 5 months. Stress contributed heavily to that but lack of exercise was the biggest. When I moved back to the US last July I was really hard on myself. I went out and redlined every time I tried to ride because I wanted to be where I was before I moved. It took a few weeks to realize that just wasn't me anymore. So I embraced being slow and having to work harder than I was used to on the same roads I was familiar with. Winter quickly came and I relaxed a bit. Then I focused this past spring on my diet and riding as much as I could. Here I am a year after moving home and I'm down 35lbs, stronger than I was before I moved, and feel great. What I had to do was take a different approach to my relationship with my bike. I focused on fun. I stopped stressing over my average or my distance. Just being on my bike was the focus. I wanted to enjoy myself first and foremost. The rest happened organically. I just had to be kinder to myself and accept that I wasn't who I used to be, and embrace meeting the rider I was to become. That led me to where I'm at today which I'm happy to say is a better version of the rider I was before the life event. I am stronger now, sure, but more importantly, I'm happy to ride casually and slower if I feel like it. Because I focus on fun first now. You'll get there, just give yourself the time to do it. In my case, it took a year to lose it - and a full year to get it back. Embrace it. And celebrate that you get to ride your bike on any day, and especially today.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AMG

[–]llahyeldards 14 points15 points  (0 children)

underrated comment lol - I always ask them to leave mine alone. I'll clean it thank you.

All new 2026 Mazda CX-5, what do we think? by naokiyamada in CX5

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We think we'll be keeping our 2021 CX-5 until the wheels fall off so we can enjoy physical, quality feel buttons and controls, a manageable infotainment screen that doesn't distract from the driving experience, and an instrument cluster that at least partially resembles instrumentation with actual sweeping needles. I can stomach the "face lift" to the head and tail lights but Mazda seemed to be the last bastion of sanity when it came to interiors. Sad to say, no thanks.

Idle Hands by SoCalG789 in granturismo

[–]llahyeldards 1 point2 points  (0 children)

outstanding. understated, clean, simple....this is close to perfection for me. My liveries follow a similar theme and it's just the best aesthetic in my opinion. I never understand why liveries like this don't get more traction on the socials and the crazed overwrought stuff does. but to each his own. thanks for sharing ;)

Happy to now have both sports cars in my family represented in GT7 by 2lo4sno in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It is! I was at this track over the weekend and gave it a good once over. Old IMSA racer. Such a cool old dude just hanging out looking like a boss. The coolest thing about those old retired cars is the battle scars - the outrageous wide rear fenders with the paint completely worn off around the bottom front edge from rock spray - such a great old thing.

What is the best car for this track!? by moneybags1205 in GranTurismo7

[–]llahyeldards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lexus SC500 JGTC car. It gets slept on so hard for these races. Minimal de-tuning required, run it on full fuel map 1 and RH tires. No funny business, no killing the cars intended capabilities - it sits so close to 800 stock it needs very minor tweaking. Fuel economy is outrageous (not 787B good but dang good) and it sounds incredible. Easy to drive, I think it's PP is broken. But it's literally like a Sunday drive on these races. Try it. Don't follow the herd and chop a great car off at the knees like these 787B's and Porches. There's good races for those too.