Car lovers?

Most people I know with Subarus in general get very close to or over 30 unless they have a WRX or one of the other turbocharged models.

Pretty sure they're mostly/all turbocharged, aren't they? I'd looked at them a couple years ago before I bought the Escape(price drove this as well), and they were all 22/28 or so. Mid 2000s models if that helps any.

Only WRX and STI is turbocharge. The N/A 4 bangers get pretty good gas MPG.

The 2012 impreza is rated up to 36mpg.

Today I went to the used car lot to see a BMW and after being underwhelmed by what I saw I decided to give my A1 low mileage 2003 Infiniti g35 Sedan a facelift instead of getting into years of payments.

I got this Pioneer 7 inch Car stereo to rejuvenate my interior

I'm also thinking of having a new paintjob done to remove the scuffs and blemishes. It's black atm but I'm thinking of going Gunmetal. Should I keep the same color if I want the job to last or it doesn't really affect the durability ...?

Does anyone have any recommendations about the paintjob thing? What should I know?

My first love, err.. first car was a 1971 AMC Javelin.

Now, before you boys get your panties in a bunch.. It's a stock image, but mine was the same (minus the stripe on the hood.. college kids don't have money for stripes! It would cut into the beer budget!)

IMAGE(http://www.autopictu.com/images/amc-javelin-04.jpg)

Damn I miss that car. 401 engine, 4 barrel carb. Oh yeah, and regular gas was .83/gal.

Here's what I actually saw when I saw the Javelin

IMAGE(http://fireden.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/interstate-76.jpg.jpeg)

[quote=interstate78]Here's what I actually saw when I saw the Javelin

No machine guns, but it did have an 8 track player.

And by the way, the year was 1989. I bought the thing for $300, and had to dump about another $1000 into it to make it not so death-trapy. And I would do it again.

That Javelin's a nice looking car.

Yowzers. Been pining for a VW GTI for my next car but now I think I may have changed my mind!

IMAGE(http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/8706/focussti.jpg)

2013 Ford Focus ST! 252HP stock and great interior.

The ST is currently the car I want most of anything coming out. Or at least anything coming out that's within the realm of possibility for me to buy.

As a completely unbiased GTI owner and lover...don't stop wanting one, they're great!

IMAGE(http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i415/imnickson/2012-10-23_22-20-57_HDR.jpg)

Just picked this up yesterday. Daddy got a shaggin waggin!

I have an 06 Town and Country Touring. Do you enjoy all the power doors?

Yeah, I didn't realize vans had power EVERYTHING. Seriously, the only thing that's not power are the two front doors. The inside makes me feel like I'm not driving a minivan, except when I try to go around a corner.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

Yeah, I didn't realize vans had power EVERYTHING. Seriously, the only thing that's not power are the two front doors.

Power head rests?

ElectricPi wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

Yeah, I didn't realize vans had power EVERYTHING. Seriously, the only thing that's not power are the two front doors.

Power head rests?

Last chance power drives?

So my 2004 Freestar. Just under 180k miles. I've been hypermiling (by which I mean, real gentle acceleration, no sharp braking, etc. All safe :p) for quite a while now, which I think is what kept me from discovering this problem before now. About 4-6 weeks ago, I discovered I had problems. At first I heard gurgling from what I was told was the heater core.

I'm not leaking engine coolant. Level's held steady and I park in the same place at home and at work every day.

One morning a while back, engine temp gauge spiked to just under the overheating red mark. I pulled over immediately and popped the hood. No smoke, no nothing. Gave it a few minutes, resumed driving, as long as I didn't floor the accelerator and didn't go over 65 or so, I didn't have problems.

Another day right around that time, on my drive to and from work the engine temperature gauge was all over the place between normal (about at the quarter mark) and a bit under the red overheating mark. I took the drive real slow (60mph) and easy. Guy at work who works on his own cars and seems to know his stuff thought all the symptoms sounded like engine thermostat or water pump.

Since then, if I go 70mph or so for 10-15 mnutes, the engine temperature gauge starts creeping up to over the halfway mark, and I haven't held that speed to see how high it will get or what will happen. :p

I think those are all of the symptoms. I've been meaning to post about it for a while but since the trouble subsided I haven't made the time. My mechanic thinks it sounds like a cracking/cracked head gasket. I haven't really experienced any other symptoms that I've read about for that (milky or frothy oil, leaks or changes in coolant fluid level), so I'm trying not to think about it. :p

Given a lack of cash and a babby on the way, I'm looking to do whatever I can myself and learn while I do it. I've bought the Haynes manual and paged through it.

I'm thinking that flushing the coolant fluid using that bottle of chemicals you can buy, and then replacing the engine thermostat, are the two cheapest and easiest steps to take to see if that helps.

Is there anything else I can try out, or clarifications needed? I'm thinking there's other components or fluids I should check or replace, whatwith it being at 180k and not getting much besides regular (~4000mi) oil changes, I saw the section in the Haynes manual, but what should I be spending money on first? I don't want to just go down the list and buy stuff, if there's stuff I can work on first that's more likely to prevent problems. :p

A long and rambling post, but feel free to ask for clarifications as needed.

While what I'm about to suggest will require a coolant flush, my two thoughts are thus: Water pump's gone out, or your thermostat is bad. Both will involve removing the radiator and emptying coolant, but should be easily doable with the manual, some patience and plenty of time.

Our T&C power doors are finicky. The right side door, 30% of the time it works every time.

I spent last weekend driving around Sonoma Raceway. Me coming around turn 10:

IMAGE(http://www.headonphotos.net/gallery/misc/audi-121/Group%20B/38/images/CMPS3576.JPG)

More pictures of me here:

http://www.headonphotos.net/gallery/misc/audi-121/Group%20B/38/index.html

General Crespin wrote:

I've been hypermiling (by which I mean, real gentle acceleration, no sharp braking, etc. All safe :p)...

Is this why I keep getting stuck behind people who seemingly have all the engine torque of a ham sandwich?

Hypermilling is something that makes granny driving sound cool.

Coldstream wrote:
General Crespin wrote:

I've been hypermiling (by which I mean, real gentle acceleration, no sharp braking, etc. All safe :p)...

Is this why I keep getting stuck behind people who seemingly have all the engine torque of a ham sandwich?

That. They're also the speed up/slow down people on the highway.

AnimeJ wrote:
Coldstream wrote:
General Crespin wrote:

I've been hypermiling (by which I mean, real gentle acceleration, no sharp braking, etc. All safe :p)...

Is this why I keep getting stuck behind people who seemingly have all the engine torque of a ham sandwich?

That. They're also the speed up/slow down people on the highway.

I wonder if I could improve their mileage by shoving my boot up their arse. I'm fine with doing all that if a five-dollar difference at the pump is that important, but I wish that the people who do it in the left lane would quit it. It's simple, people:

Right or middle lanes: drive safely, conservatively, and with maximum economy.
Left lane: If you have traffic piled up behind you and no traffic piled up in front of you, get the hell out of the way.

Also, if you know you're going to be accelerating like a bowl of oatmeal, please don't jockey for position at the front of traffic at stop-lights. Now everyone has to accelerate like we're all driving a Ford Model-T and it's boring.

For me, it depends on what I'm driving. Van, I'm driving ms daisy. MINI, I'm driving Mario Andretti.

On the way back from an annual Audi GTG.

21+ cars, 2 RS4s, bunch of b6-b8 S4s, a Ferrari, S5, and my buddys stage 3 widebody 20th Anniv GTI. Photostream will be updated over the next couple days.

IMAGE(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/8156309549_ff0606e4c4_c.jpg)
IMAGE(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8156323130_0dbb8c7fe0_c.jpg)

Few more here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8679370@N02/

Finally got around to doing the spark plug replacement on my wife's xterra. Man, the plugs looked like trash. The center electrode was a worn down to a conical shape and the gap was way past recommended spec. It was surprising when looking at the new and old side by side. It took 4 hours of time on the car. I think I had to pull about 5 hoses, 3 clips on the electrical wires (1 really annoying one not mentioned in the online tutorial jammed up on the under side of a cluttered area) and 26 bolts / nuts.

Oh, and of course the 6 plugs and coil packs, too.

I'm glad I'll likely not be doing that again, even though it was mostly just a lot of time and not that hard.

Thin_J wrote:

The ST is currently the car I want most of anything coming out. Or at least anything coming out that's within the realm of possibility for me to buy.

Yes and yes. I just dumped $2900 into my Jetta replacing the clutch, struts and exhaust, so I'm going to drive it through the Winter. But, a new job means once Spring breaks I'm planning on getting a black or ingot ST and visiting my buddy in Raliegh with it, to get acquainted with the car.

Can't wait.

skeletonframes wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

The ST is currently the car I want most of anything coming out. Or at least anything coming out that's within the realm of possibility for me to buy.

Yes and yes. I just dumped $2900 into my Jetta replacing the clutch, struts and exhaust, so I'm going to drive it through the Winter. But, a new job means once Spring breaks I'm planning on getting a black or ingot ST and visiting my buddy in Raliegh with it, to get acquainted with the car.

Can't wait.

I may have a ST by then and I live near Wilmington. Sounds like a meet up should be planned!

I definitely won't have anything in the spring. I'm a couple years out at best. I have a lot of things I need to do before I even consider actually buying a new car