You know you're a car guy when...

[Jeff V.]

On a whim, you post an obnoxious car on the Focus board, and on a hunch you look in the parts section for a new cat.

You find a cat for sale in the city where you work.

PM the guy an offer and contact details.

Several hours later, I have an OEM cat sitting under my desk

[jackhammer]

"Money Power Respect" hahahahaha 3 things the focus does not cost, have, or command!

hahahaha, i like this guy

[Jeremy C]

I figured you would say:

"when your day job is helping people fix cars, and in your spare time you browse car forums and help people fix their cars free of charge."

[vegasidol]

Were you in need of one? Apparently so...but...

[Jeff V.]

I didn't need one, but I've been wanting one for a long time. I'm tired of how buzzy and ricey the car sounds. This will fix that. This one was a good deal, and WAY too convenient to pass up. I saved $20 compared to the average price of these things, and probably another $20-$30 in not shipping it.

Once I get it off, I can flip my test pipe for $90-100, so I may even make a small profit on this deal. Hell, even if I break even, it'll be more than worth it.

And I can reduce my emission of harmful greenhouse gasses

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Gatecrasher""]I didn't need one, but I've been wanting one for a long time. I'm tired of how buzzy and ricey the car sounds. [/quote]

Ya know, that's the exact reason I never put a downpipe or gutted the precats on my green car. I loved how quiet the car was cruising down the freeway.

[vegasidol]

Ahhh...good find then.

Good thing I reminded you to post the pic.

[Telionis]

You know when you're not among other car guys when you tell a joke about FWD and nobody even comes close to getting it, or even realizing it's a joke.

I was at lunch with these two other guys, a corporate neighbor and a coworker, first time I met the former, the latter was an old friend. I knew my friend was too nerdy to really find it funny, but I thought he'd at least get it. The other guy I had no idea about. He looked pretty nerdy and was a computer scientist, but I decided to give it a try.

We were talking about "big-wheels" those plastic tricycle things that kids have, and I said "ever seen that shirt with the picture of the big-wheel and a cross through it, with a caption that says, 'we learned early that front-wheel drive is wrong-wheel drive?'" They were both like, "what, I uhh... no, why is it wrong!?!" I say "you know the traction issues and such," and the new guy says "I had a big-wheel and never had traction problems..." I say, "no I mean the cars," and he says, "I've got a fwd car, what's wrong with it?" I'm like "...NM." - Totally failed. My friend then said "yeah, my car is too, it gets me to where I'm going and that's all a car is for..." Such an unmanly statement that it hurts me to hear it. I swear that dude (my friend) is less masculine that most girls I know. He doesn't act fruity at all, and he's not gay at all (far from it), he just lacks the "virility" of even the average American girl.

[vegasidol]

[quote=""Telionis""]My friend then said "yeah, my car is too, it gets me to where I'm going and that's all a car is for..." Such an unmanly statement that it hurts me to hear it. I swear that dude (my friend) is less masculine that most girls I know. He doesn't act fruity at all, and he's not gay at all (far from it), he just lacks the "virility" of even the average American girl.[/quote]

Reminds me of this guy I worked with last winter. It was stormy/snowy out and we were talking about driving conditions.

I asked him what wheel drive he had. (clarified) Do you have fwd? rwd? awd?

I got a blank stare. "I don't know man, but I was going REALLY slow and everyone was passing me and I was scared".

[Telionis]

[quote=""vegasidol""]Reminds me of this guy I worked with last winter. It was stormy/snowy out and we were talking about driving conditions.

I asked him what wheel drive he had. (clarified) Do you have fwd? rwd? awd?

I got a blank stare. "I don't know man, but I was going REALLY slow and everyone was passing me and I was scared".

[/quote]

Thread inspired by the guy:

http://www.daveruybal.com/vbb/showthrea ... #post24844

[Synchro]

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

I love how confused and concerned people get when you tell them their car is wrong-wheel-drive.

If you actually explain it, odds are good that they'll just get uppity, so it's best to let them stew.

[Caffinated Soap]

[quote=""Telionis""]We were talking about "big-wheels" those plastic tricycle things that kids have, and I said "ever seen that shirt with the picture of the big-wheel and a cross through it, with a caption that says, 'we learned early that front-wheel drive is wrong-wheel drive?'" They were both like, "what, I uhh... no, why is it wrong!?!" I say "you know the traction issues and such," and the new guy says "I had a big-wheel and never had traction problems..." I say, "no I mean the cars," and he says, "I've got a fwd car, what's wrong with it?" I'm like "...NM." - Totally failed.[/quote]Not all FWD cars worry about traction issues. Most don't have enough HP to do so.

But seriously, it's all in the mindset. You can't make everyone a racer.


[quote=""Synchro""]If you actually explain it, odds are good that they'll just get uppity, so it's best to let them stew. [/quote]I'm really glad I got out of that phase.

There are situations in which FWD isn't WWD, such as attempting to leave my driveway. Granted, FWD only benefits daily driving situations, but that's what my car is. Anyone trying to convince you that FWD is a viable racing platform is a fool. You can make a FWD fast, but converting to A/R WD would always benefit it.

I'll make a street car when I can afford upkeep on it. Until then, I'll love just having a semi-reliable car.

[Synchro]

I have such a hard time driving WWD cars now. It was bad enough trying to go from AWD to WWD, but now that I DD a perfectly balanced RWD car, going to a WWD vehicle damn near makes me crash.

You don't wanna know how many accidents I nearly got into in that PT Cruiser.

WWD is cheaper than either RWD or AWD, which is why it's used in so many cars today. No other advantages. Many Euro econoboxen have traditionally used the same drivetrain, but in a ME-RWD layout, which is FAR superior to WWD. Only problem I can see is that Americans have trouble with rear-biased cars, and spin them into ditches (you know you're in Beaverton when you see a Porsche spun off the road). Good news though! Mercedes is bringing ME-RWD back to the econoboxen masses thanks to their SmartFORTWO cars! Not enough torque to spin 'em, even on ice!

It's wrong because it's inferior. Inferior = wrong. Cast aluminum transfer cases? Wrong. 18-spline output shafts? Wrong. Front Wheel Drive? Wrong.



If your front wheels are powered, your rears had better be as well!

[Caffinated Soap]

[quote=""Synchro""]...going to a WWD vehicle damn near makes me crash.[/quote]And yet others drive them with no issues. Sounds like someone's just a bad driver looking for something to blame.

Or maybe I'm just ambi-drive-strous. Going from a Jimmy to a 3kGT doesn't bother me a bit.

[Synchro]

Too many "jokes based on reality" to choose from, and no desire to bother.

Inster Obvious Joke About How If The Masses Can Drive WWD Cars Fine, And The Masses Are Known For Their Inability To Drive Properly, Then WWD Vehicles Must Handle Improperly. Two Wrongs Making An Even-More Wrong.


Seriously. It kinda writes itself. Americans are some of THE worst drivers in the Western world. The majority of them never learned how to drive, and as a result there are daily accidents, fatal accidents on laser-straight, level, and adequately designed highways. Which wheels motate them about are the least of their concerns.

For those of us who know how to drive, FWD is inferior, therefore wrong.



But as a fun aside: the reason I had problems going back to WWD is that I haven't driven a WWD car in years. An American, improperly-balanced WWD car at that. My Integra never gave me such troubles. Sure, the Integra would push like a motherfucker, but it was never the camel that the PT Cruiser turned out to be. I'm actually a little upset that Jenny's S2k is set up for massive understeer from the factory. There were probably so many complaints from AMERICAN drivers about how "oversteer-prone" the early models were, that they redesigned the damn suspension to force push even when *braking* through a turn. Let me tell you - the early models weren't oversteer-prone, they were *PERFECT*. Under- and over-steer are all controlled by how much throttle you give, as they should be. Lift the throttle? Oversteer. Ease the throttle? Neutral. Hammer the throttle? Push...unless you break the back end loose, then it's oversteer. It's a driver's dream, and Honda had to ruin it all because their customers DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE. (Grrr)


And yes, I have every right to be pissed about people not learning how to drive. It's a fucking multi-ton chunk of steel hurtling around at 60mph. You'd damn-well better be trained in its proper use, or you deserve to be neutered...then bludgeoned. Driving isn't a right. Learn to drive properly, or get the fuck off the damn roads.

And once you've learned to drive properly, you'll see why FWD really *is* WWD.

Circuitous. Lovely.

[Caffinated Soap]

Quite a long-winded reply for a simple joke.

[Synchro]

I'm trying to stay within character here.

You don't know how long of a path I took just to insult a friend of mine with a "you're such a pussy, you must be a woman" snap. Let's just say it got into theoretical genetics.


Punchline: Lesbian trapped in a Man's body.

And yes, the way I said it, it was very insulting.