Car enthusiasts?

[Sweets 4,517]

[Sweets 4,517]

[Sweets 4,517]

And we seen the original bandit car from the second movie in the country music all of fame.  I got very excited when we see it since it was my first love of cars I have quite a few more but I don’t want to over post.  

[Kupar 13,339]

No worries about all the posts @Sweets. It's good to see all these, and read about your own cars 😊. I was wondering though ... Does leaving the wipers up mean something? Perhaps it's a code for "a pee fan lives here" 🙂

[mickymoist 3,513]

Definitely a car enthusiast,  Over the years once debts/mortgage were paid off I started going for hot hatches and remaps to keep finding more bhp...it gets addictive 😁. I live in the mountains so I shifted to 4wd cars that, with winter tyres, would still get me about, sort of decided that I would keep going for more power as long as I could afford it with a view to going more conservative after work. Had a couple of Subaru STi, Forester and WRX and finally peaked with my pride and joy below.  Have now gone back to something much more sensible but have no regrets in the money spent on cars over the years, gave me so much pleasure.

[Kupar 13,339]

1 minute ago, mickymoist said:

Definitely a car enthusiast,  Over the years once debts/mortgage were paid off I started going for hot hatches and remaps to keep finding more bhp...it gets addictive 😁. I live in the mountains so I shifted to 4wd cars that, with winter tyres, would still get me about, sort of decided that I would keep going for more power as long as I could afford it with a view to going more conservative after work. Had a couple of Subaru STi, Forester and WRX and finally peaked with my pride and joy below.  Have now gone back to something much more sensible but have no regrets in the money spent on cars over the years, gave me so much pleasure.

Ooh ... that's a nice line-up of vehicles you have had, and is that an S4 Quattro estate? Awesome!

[mickymoist 3,513]

Just now, Kupar said:

Ooh ... that's a nice line-up of vehicles you have had, and is that an S4 Quattro estate? Awesome!

RS6 🙂

[Kupar 13,339]

Just now, mickymoist said:

RS6 🙂

Even better!

[Sweets 4,517]

22 hours ago, Kupar said:

No worries about all the posts @Sweets. It's good to see all these, and read about your own cars 😊. I was wondering though ... Does leaving the wipers up mean something? Perhaps it's a code for "a pee fan lives here" 🙂

I just has it detailed not sure why he left the wipers up.  Lol

[Kupar 13,339]

1 hour ago, Sweets said:

I just has it detailed not sure why he left the wipers up.  Lol

I only recently found out about the pineapple code (and upsidedown pineapple). I am somewhat naive lol. I'm a little disappointed there's a perfectly innocent explanation for the wipers 😉

[Sweets 4,517]

22 hours ago, Kupar said:

I only recently found out about the pineapple code (and upsidedown pineapple). I am somewhat naive lol. I'm a little disappointed there's a perfectly innocent explanation for the wipers 😉

I must be a bit naive too what they upside down pineapple stand for 

[Kupar 13,339]

1 hour ago, Sweets said:

I must be a bit naive too what they upside down pineapple stand for 

Pineapple generally is code for "I'm a swinger"; upsidedown is "and I'm looking for a party". Apparently. So know what you're doing when you're next in the supermarket 🙂

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

It is possible to wear the cap without owning the hot car, right?

I definitely count myself as a car enthusiast, although the sportiest car I ever owned was in my relative youth - a late '80s Vauxhall (Opel) Cavalier SRi.  Since then it's been a line of boring family saloons, a couple of people carriers, a Land Rover and now an SUV.

I do like to think I have a few molecules of Hydrogen and Carbon in my DNA, possibly ingested as a foetus - my parents were season ticket holding spectators at Oulton Park in Cheshire prior to and for a while after I was born.  Race meetings there would see everything from small club meetings with race prepared family cars up to the F1 stars of the day racing in 3 litre V8 open wheel death traps, and the Le Mans super cars of the day.

My middle name is taken directly from an F1 champion - I have the photographs my dad took of him, with the likes of Jackie Stewart, Jo Bonnier and other big names of the day  - two albums full of home printed black & white prints.  I'm currently working through scanning negatives and once prepared I may add a couple to this thread.

After experiencing the full F1 weekend at Silverstone a couple of months ago and then the British Touring Cars back at Oulton Park, I'm really thinking I should get more into the whole experience again... maybe the Goodwood Revival next.

[Kupar 13,339]

1 hour ago, gldenwetgoose said:

It is possible to wear the cap without owning the hot car, right?

Absolutely!

1 hour ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Since then it's been a line of boring family saloons, a couple of people carriers, a Land Rover and now an SUV

Similar here - one of the first 'warm' hatches a long time ago as my first car (kindly provided by my employer 🙂) then a long list of sensible cars to ferry kids and their stuff around. But ... when they left home, it was a second chance to enjoy driving something more fun (within a budget of course). so your chance may come again 🙂 

[Kupar 13,339]

4 hours ago, p1ssputz said:

This is maybe not quite on-topic (not specifically about cars) but it's related (it's about driving): Has anyone here every driven go-karts? What was your experience like?

I personally have only done it once, but it was a blast. The thing about go-karts is that even though they don't technically go fast, they respond quickly and accelerate well due to their power-to-weight ratio, so you can get a real racing experience. I remember doing it and I had a really good time with it although I really sucked. (I was doing well early in the race, but at one point I spun out and tried to make up time by always keeping the gas pedal floored. I learned an important lesson - you can't race faster than your car, or your tires, will allow. I was actually a lot slower because I was trying to push harder through the corners than I could have. Sometimes you simply can't make up for a lost lead.)

Curious to know if anyone has done any type of kart racing (or other types of racing with actual cars or anything like that). I guess perhaps I'm a different type of car enthusiast.

I tried go-karts many, many years ago when I was a kid. Fantastic fun 😊. But not since then. Must try it again sometime.

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

Similarly, had a few goes with the Honda engined 160cc karts - birthday party outings, that sort of thing. 

It’s one of those things I go into with a enthusiast optimism and come away feeling quite deflated…

With no differential between rear wheels, powering into a corner generally will result in under steer and coming out of the corner far slower than proper technique, and with a single gear once momentum has been lost you become a bit of a sitting duck for everyone to pass. That and power to weight ratio is grossly affected by driver’s weight…

Would love to try my hand in a ‘real’ racing car though. 

[Kupar 13,339]

It's no big deal to all you petrolheads out there, but I am feeling pleased with myself, as I've just successfully installed some after-market ultrasonic reverse parking sensors to my GT86. The hardest thing was getting the bumper (fender) off lol. And I only had one pop rivet left over after everything went back on lol.  The sensors work a treat, and crucially, the lights and other electrics still do too 🙂 

[oliver2 4,418]

2 hours ago, Kupar said:

It's no big deal to all you petrolheads out there, but I am feeling pleased with myself, as I've just successfully installed some after-market ultrasonic reverse parking sensors to my GT86. The hardest thing was getting the bumper (fender) off lol. And I only had one pop rivet left over after everything went back on lol.  The sensors work a treat, and crucially, the lights and other electrics still do too 🙂 

Verify our dishtance to end of parking bay. One ping only.

[Kupar 13,339]

I managed a little controlled drifting on a circular skid pan the other day 🙂  Quite pleased with myself. I'd booked an hour on a slippy wet concrete skid pan just to get a sense for what to do when the back of my RWD, narrow-tyred GT86 starts to slide out. I know, of course, but it was good to feel it happening and practise correcting things in a safe environment rather than at 60mph on a roundabout with HGVs next to me. The low grip surface replicates at about 15mph what you would normally experience at about 60-70mph on normal roads. Switching off the traction control / electronic stability program as far as possible meant it was just down to my own steering and throttle control, and it got better with time until I wasn't spinning 360 degrees more often than maybe one time in 6 as I gently increased the speed at which I was going round the circle lol.

But for the other 5 times, by the end of the hour I had got sufficiently better that I was able to hold and maintain a controlled drift, rather than just regaining control, slowing down then gradually increasing the speed again. That was great fun, even if it was only at 15mph.

On my way to the skid pan I stopped off for a coffee at a service area as I was early. I'd been there about 5 minutes when about a dozen proper sports cars turned up - BMW M Series and AMG Mercedes of various kinds, a couple of Porsche 911s, a Jaguar XKR, I chatted briefly to one of the guys before he went off to speak to his mates - yes, they were going to a track day together at the same place I was going. I didn't see them again that morning, but I guess they would have had an interesting experience in the near-zero temperatures and gentle sleet. 

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

14 minutes ago, Kupar said:

I managed a little controlled drifting on a circular skid pan the other day...

But for the other 5 times, by the end of the hour I had got sufficiently better that I was able to hold and maintain a controlled drift, rather than just regaining control, slowing down then gradually increasing the speed again. That was great fun, even if it was only at 15mph.

On my way to the skid pan I stopped off for a coffee at a service area as I was early. I'd been there about 5 minutes when about a dozen proper sports cars turned up - BMW M Series and AMG Mercedes of various kinds, a couple of Porsche 911s, a Jaguar XKR, I chatted briefly to one of the guys before he went off to speak to his mates - yes, they were going to a track day together at the same place I was going. I didn't see them again that morning, but I guess they would have had an interesting experience in the near-zero temperatures and gentle sleet. 

Excellent - one of those skills like administering CPR that gives you a nice feeling you'd be able to use it if you had to, but that doesn't make you necessarily go looking to experience it every time you go to the supermarket.

Also, never fall into the illusion of imagining that someone in a supercar is in any way a better driver than you are.  Remember Sabina Schmidt (RIP) with Clarkson on the Nurburgring in a Transit van overtaking the track day cars?   Money doesn't buy talent - although it may buy the opportunity to practise a little more frequently.  You can guarantee if things went wrong for them it wouldn't have been at 15mph.

[Kupar 13,339]

27 minutes ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Excellent - one of those skills like administering CPR that gives you a nice feeling you'd be able to use it if you had to, but that doesn't make you necessarily go looking to experience it every time you go to the supermarket.

Also, never fall into the illusion of imagining that someone in a supercar is in any way a better driver than you are.  Remember Sabina Schmidt (RIP) with Clarkson on the Nurburgring in a Transit van overtaking the track day cars?   Money doesn't buy talent - although it may buy the opportunity to practise a little more frequently.  You can guarantee if things went wrong for them it wouldn't have been at 15mph.

Indeed. I'm realistic I think about my abilities behind the wheel - I enjoy driving and I have done quite a lot of it since I passed my test a long time ago, visiting clients and going out to meet people all over the place for work over many years, and having family and friends in several different parts of the UK. I liked the opportunity to learn and to challenge myself ... but I know it's inevitable that my reaction times will be slowing down now, and so I'm perhaps trying to compensate for that by upping my skill levels. Maybe the IAM coaching and test would be a sensible thing to do too (though not as much fun as going round a track lol!).

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

7 hours ago, Uroguy said:

What do you think about hatchbacks? I drove a 2013 Kia Rio and a 2016 Kia Forte. Although they weren't large vehicles, but being brand new was okay. They didn't require huge gas bills and didn't need time to warm up in the winter time. How do you guys feel about hatchbacks? They did the job, not be fancy sports cars for show.

I can understand them being a little different from the norm in the big wide US of A,  but over here in Europe probably the majority of cars across most countries are hatchbacks with less than a 2 litre engine.

It's mostly a practicality thing - yes we have SUVs and 4x4s, we have executive saloons (sedans) like BMWs and Mercedes, but a lot of people want a smaller car that's easy to park, fuel efficient and cheap to run.  A small saloon (sedan) has the disadvantage that the boot (trunk) is also tiny, so when it comes to normal family life can be a problem.  Baby's pram, airport suitcases, new TV...  all difficult to get into a small saloon car, but in a hatchback no problem at all.  Flip the seats down if you have to and you have a minivan.

Kia are a later, but successful addition to the Asian manufacturer's over here in Europe too - nothing wrong with them in an age when most manufacturers are all offering similar specifications, warranties and the like.

(That said - I'd avoid the Kia Picanto if that even exists over there - I had one as a hire car and had to drop out of top gear to drive up a 7% hill).

[Kupar 13,339]

24 minutes ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Kia are a later, but successful addition to the Asian manufacturer's over here in Europe too - nothing wrong with them in an age when most manufacturers are all offering similar specifications, warranties and the like.

Kia have been doing very well in the UK in the last year or so and have 5.7% of a very fragmented market here in 2021 so far, and growing fast (like their rival Hyundai). For comparison, Ford has 7.5%, VW 9% and BMW 7.1%. I know many people with Kias who are very happy with them. And @gldenwetgoose is right - hatchbacks are a very familiar sight on the roads of Europe because of their practicality. 

[Sophie 24,410]

On 11/29/2021 at 10:17 AM, Kupar said:

Indeed. I'm realistic I think about my abilities behind the wheel - I enjoy driving and I have done quite a lot of it since I passed my test a long time ago, visiting clients and going out to meet people all over the place for work over many years, and having family and friends in several different parts of the UK. I liked the opportunity to learn and to challenge myself ... but I know it's inevitable that my reaction times will be slowing down now, and so I'm perhaps trying to compensate for that by upping my skill levels. Maybe the IAM coaching and test would be a sensible thing to do too (though not as much fun as going round a track lol!).

I'm an advanced driver and I'd totally recommend it. Sure it isn't as fun as going round a track but you learn so much more about your car and it's lots of fun pushing your car a little more on the road while still being safe. A lot of people are quick to upgrade their engine, or their brakes or whatever to make the car faster, but the best upgrade is the driver. Most people aren't even being held back by their equipment when they upgrade.

[Kupar 13,339]

2 minutes ago, Sophie said:

I'm an advanced driver and I'd totally recommend it. Sure it isn't as fun as going round a track but you learn so much more about your car and it's lots of fun pushing your car a little more on the road while still being safe. A lot of people are quick to upgrade their engine, or their brakes or whatever to make the car faster, but the best upgrade is the driver. Most people aren't even being held back by their equipment when they upgrade.

That's what I thought Sophie. And I would quite like an assessment of how good a driver I am, and where I could improve. I'm sure there are lots of areas.