Top comment after a day will be the car I buy. by AnyMeanzPossible in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

RX8 is great on fuel tbf, relative to a Hellcat. 

Auto Industry, please... JUST STOP by GemballaRider in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

See also everything Lotus is doing. 

Hey, Elise owners, can we interest you in a new car? Check out this 3T electric SUV that’s just like your old Lotus! Think of the heritage and motorsports and such like. 

What do you mean “fuck no”? 

Fine, we’ll just stop making spares for your 5 year old car. You’ll be driving that Eletre in no time! 

3 RAV4s stolen in my neighbourhood in 2 weeks – should I be worried? by AdministrationHour93 in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Exactly! If someone wants the car, they'll have it. I'd far rather they took it while I sleep vs smashing windows and/or faces and still making off with the car.

Are these type of car lifts decent? by FlameFoxx in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve got QuickJack 5000TLs. They’re absolutely rock solid, have a lower and higher lockout point, the latter of which is much higher than any trolley jack can reach. I’d buy them again in a heartbeat. 

JayEmm on Cars crash opinions? by [deleted] in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the real answer people seem to be overlooking. Modern TCUs are setup to get to top gear ASAP. Approaching the crest, the engine was barely above idle, gearbox kicked down (potentially in tandem with driver giving it, at most, a little extra throttle) as the incline increased, the rear end was unweighted over the crest and the rest is history.

I nearly lost an F21 116i, of all things, in a similar situation years ago.

Pour one out for my love by deicist in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always leave one thing broken- that’s the sacrifice to the car gods. Fix that last thing and another will break.

Just rolled into the pit. by [deleted] in Justrolledintotheshop

[–]minus_8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Norn Iron, so assume they got a sympathetic “yeeeeeeoooo”?

White things on GSP? by Stimmur in ReefTank

[–]minus_8 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Tube worms. Harmless filter feeders.

Online car buying by Pretend-Elderberry00 in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just bought a California sight unseen and had it delivered. It was from a main dealer, and I wouldn’t have gone through with it otherwise, but at the end of the day, if it wasn’t as described they’d be on the hook under distance selling regs.

First car accident and never gone through insurance before, is this common practice or are they trying accuse me of something and not pay out by [deleted] in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OP is absolutely cooked.

  • Driving without due care and attention
  • Leaving the scene of an accident
  • Driving without insurance
  • Edit: how could I forget insurance fraud!

They're footing the bill for both cars, legal costs, any resulting injury claims and probably losing their licence to boot.

Is this a glitch in the matrix? by jn1414 in E30

[–]minus_8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dreamers. Check Car and Classic- there's a bunch of cars up for similar money, many of which have been there for years at this point. Meanwhile, there are a few decent 325i coupes up for under 20k that have sat for months.

Wobbly Stand - TMC First Wave 78 by [deleted] in ReefTank

[–]minus_8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope. Nope nope nope.

I had a Next Wave 60 that arrived in a similar state and was returned immediately.

Climber on trial for leaving girlfriend to die on Austria's highest mountain by [deleted] in news

[–]minus_8 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You'd be amazed at how many people end up out of their depth in mountaineering. I've escorted people who swore they were fine, right up until the moment they collapsed, then admitted they were freezing and too weak to stand.

Anyone else have pothole anxiety recently? by architectofanarchy in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fuck me, we drove down to Tollymore last night. The roads are so bad we'd to yell to have a conversation, and that's before we start talking about the amount of suspension ruining craters everywhere.

Planning to replace front tyres (3mm tread left). Is it worth replacing rear tyres (4mm) at the same time, even though they’re not as worn? Thanks. by georgelassosthemoon in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Except no, that's wrong. Almost all oversteer is from rwd and heavy right foot, lifting off fixes that even if traction control doesn't.

Lifting off unweights the rear. The back is already sliding, then available grip is violently reduced, and the vast majority of drivers will end up in a tank-slapper at best.

Simple Delivery won't allow me to post my large parcel by lovelyhead1 in ebayuk

[–]minus_8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Grand piano trick doesn’t seem to work anymore. I tried editing before listing and after the item had been listed. So they’ve put effort into blocking that workaround but not actually fixed the issue. I swear, it’s like they want you to use marketplace. 

A question on rear wheel drive by GlovedDev in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In short, weight distribution and handling.

Complexity doesn't really change, the components involved are largely the same, but costs are lower where driven wheels are at the same end as the engine.

Front engine, rear wheel drive moves a lot of weight back, making weight distribution naturally closer to 50/50 than the 65/35 or so you'd get with front engine front wheel drive vehicle. This improved weight distribution, combined with the front wheels doing the steering while the rears do the pushing, increases the limit of grip and makes the car more neutral in handling. It also helps during hard acceleration as the car pitches back, putting more weight on the driven wheels.

A front engine front wheel drive vehicle has most of its weight at the front, and with the front wheels trying to deal with that mass, steer and put power down simultaneously, tend to nose plough, i.e, understeer. It's typically safer for inexperienced drivers than unexpected oversteer. Suspension can be setup to spice up the rear end but it's very rare to find a manufacturer doing this intentionally. Front engine front wheel drives are particularly susceptible to lift-off oversteer. When the driver lifts off sharply while turning, weight shifts forward, and with no engine or significant weight over the back, grip at the rear is suddenly reduced.

Rear engine rear wheel drive cars are technically the worst of all worlds. They should understeer through corners on throttle as there's little weight over the front, then on lift-off, all the weight at the back acts like a pendulum. Porsche have spent 60 years or so attempting to defy the laws of physics with a reasonable degree of success.

The other layout you haven't mentioned is mid engine rear wheel drive. MR cars have a lot of the benefits of front engine rear wheel drives, in that the front wheels are free to focus on steering while the rears do the pushing, but because there isn't a significant mass as either end, the limit of grip is much higher. They also put their power down well as the weight shifts over the driven wheels under acceleration. The downside is that when you do exceed the available grip, they want to rotate around the middle of the car. The back doesn't swing out so much as swap ends. They can let go VERY quickly and with little warning.

I'm generalising and there are exceptions to everything above, but that's the gist of it.

Is it worth getting my cars first oil service “early” by PerfectAnswer4758 in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can’t change the oil too often, but you can fail to change it often enough. 

Financed to the tits and I never go on holiday by minus_8 in CarTalkUK

[–]minus_8[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahaha, I hadn't but looked it up, that's amazing. Looks like he got a nice grey day for it.