c/auto-enthusiasts

Manual swap on my 2002 WRX vs selling it for a DSG Golf R, which side are you on?

I dumped $3,400 into a 6-speed swap over two weekends and the clutch feel is unreal now, but my buddy in Portland says I should've just bought the DSG car because lap times are actually faster, so do you chase the connection or the numbers?

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the_cameron•23h ago

Remember when we used to swap carbs over lunch?

Back in 2001, my buddy and I would pull a Weber off a junkyard Civic in the parking lot at lunch, tune it with a flathead, and be back to work by 1pm. Now I need a laptop, a scan tool, and 3 hours just to adjust the idle on my GTI's drive-by-wire. Does anyone else miss the raw simplicity of a screwdriver and a vacuum gauge, or am I just getting old?

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harperwright•1d ago

Blew a head gasket on I-5 at 2am, learned to check coolant before road trips

Rolling through Sacramento in my 05 Civic and the temp gauge spiked right past H, steam pouring out before I even hit the shoulder. Towed it 40 miles to a shop in Modesto, cost me $1,800 and a 3 day rental. Has anyone else had a cheap fix they ignored turn into a big bill like that?

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miaharris•6d ago

The 2024 owner's manual said spark plugs last 100k, then my 40k service bill showed up

I was flipping through the glovebox manual of my 2022 truck last Saturday and it clearly says iridium plugs are good for 100,000 miles. But I called the dealership in Des Moines to get a quote on the 40k service and they listed spark plug replacement as a required item. That is a $340 upsell for parts that are nowhere near worn out. I asked the service writer about it and he just said 'it's manufacturer recommended' with a straight face. Has anyone else caught this kind of gap between the printed manual and what dealers push? Is there a reason to trust the manual over the shop's checklist?

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jenny580•9d ago

Stop buying that brand of brake lines, I found pitting after 2 years

I used to grab whatever stainless lines were cheapest at the parts counter, then I pulled mine at 60k miles and saw rust pits forming near the fittings on my Tacoma in Phoenix. Switched to the coated ones with the Teflon liner last summer, and the difference in pedal feel alone made me regret the old setup, anyone else run into hidden corrosion on their daily?

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nancy_davis•9d ago

Swapped my daily driver to a manual after 12 years of automatics

I finally pulled the trigger last month and traded in my 2015 Civic auto for a 2019 Mazda3 with a stick. Honestly, I was scared I'd hate it after commuting in traffic for so long, but the engagement is totally worth it. First week was rough, stalled like 6 times at intersections, but now it's second nature. Only weird part is my left knee gets tired on the 45 min drive through Austin. Anyone else make the switch late and regret or love it?

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lisat60•11d ago

The curb weight stat that stopped me cold at the car show

I was reading the spec sheet on a 1970 muscle car at a local show in Dayton and it listed the curb weight at over 4,200 pounds, which blew my mind because I always pictured those as light and nimble. My buddy's modern sedan weighs less than that and still has way more safety gear stuffed in it. Anyone else ever look up an old favorite's numbers and realize they were way fatter than the legend says?

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joseph_sanchez•12d ago

Dropped $450 on a ceramic coating, now I regret skipping the paint correction

Took my 2017 Civic to a detailer in Austin last month, paid $450 for ceramic coating but the swirl marks are still visible underneath because I didn't spring for the $200 paint correction first. Has anyone else been burned by assuming prep work was included in the price?

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the_wesley•12d ago

Rolled 200,000 miles on my 4Runner at 3am in the middle of nowhere

I was driving back from a job site near Flagstaff last Saturday and the odometer flipped to 200,000 right as I passed the exit for gas. I pulled over just to snap a photo because I never thought this truck would make it, honestly I bought it with 140k from a guy who used it for towing. No major repairs except a water pump at 178k and the alternator at 192k, everything else has just been oil changes and brake pads. It hit that milestone and now I'm sitting here wondering if I should keep daily driving it or finally buy something newer before the next big thing breaks. Anyone else got a specific mileage number that made them rethink their ride?

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mark676•12d ago

Rant: my paintless dent repair kit made things worse on my old F-150

I tried one of those $80 suction puller kits last weekend on a door ding from a parking lot in Austin. Figured it would be simple, watched a few videos, felt confident. That thing left a bigger crease than the original dent, I swear the aluminum flexed wrong or something. Ended up paying a pro $150 to fix both spots, so the kit cost me double in the long run. The lesson for me is that DIY tools have a skill ceiling, especially on newer body panels with thin metal. Should I just accept that some jobs are worth handing off, or is there a specific technique that actually works for these kits? Has anyone else had a dent puller backfire like this?

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olivers28•14d ago

Peak torque numbers changed how I see my old truck

I was messing around online last night and looked up the spec sheet for my 1995 F-150 and found out it only made 210 lb-ft of torque from the factory. That surprised me because I remember hauling a loaded trailer through the Cascades back in 2002 and it felt like it could pull a house. My buddy's got a newer 2.0T hatchback that puts out more torque than my truck did, and that honestly kind of stings. Anyone else ever look up their old vehicle's numbers and feel like the memory was better than the math?

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umabailey•16d ago

Brake bleed trick with a cheap aquarium tube saved my Saturday

My 2005 Civic's pedal went soft after a caliper swap, so I grabbed a 6-foot aquarium tube and a water bottle for a DIY bleeder. The trick was submerging the tube end in fluid so no air sneaks back in, worked better than the $40 kit I borrowed before. Anyone else use random household stuff for brake work, or am I the only one cheap enough to try it?

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the_mary•23d ago

Went from 6 seconds to 2.1 in the quarter mile after a weekend of tuning

My 2004 STi was stuck at 6.0 for like two years with the same bolt-ons, and I just spent last Saturday at the dyno in Phoenix messing with the fuel map and wastegate. Took off almost 4 seconds just by leaning out the midrange and adding 3 psi on the top end, no new parts. Has anyone else seen that kind of jump just from tuning a stock turbo, or am I just that lucky with this setup?

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cameron684•24d ago

Swapped my coilovers for bags after one road trip and zero regrets

Drove from Houston to Austin last weekend in my 2004 G35 and my back was done after 2 hours. The ride was so stiff over every expansion joint. I had BC Racing coilovers set pretty low and it looked great but drove like a go-kart on rails. My buddy let me drive his car on AirLift performance bags and I could not believe how smooth it felt while still handling corners. I ordered a kit the next day. The install took about 9 hours in my garage with a buddy helping. Now I can daily it to work without feeling every pebble. Has anyone else made the switch and gone back to coils? What made you switch back?

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tylerr39•25d ago

Wasted $400 on a performance chip that did nothing for my truck

I bought one of those plug-in performance chips for my 2012 F-150 from a shop in Phoenix. It claimed better gas mileage and more power, but after two weeks of testing on my usual commute to work, I saw zero improvement. Has anyone else fallen for these things or actually found one that works?

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palmer.zara•27d ago

Rant: Restoring a classic car isn't better than buying a modern one

I spent 8 months in my garage in Phoenix trying to get a 1972 Datsun 240Z running right after the carburetor flooded at a stoplight on Bell Road, and I finally sold it for parts. Why do people act like old cars are somehow purer when modern ones actually start every morning?

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brooke71•1mo ago

Just realized most car guys don't actually know how to read a spark plug...

Overheard two guys at a Cars & Coffee last Saturday arguing about rich vs lean conditions from a photo and neither one had ever pulled a plug to actually check, so maybe we should all step back before acting like experts.

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maxmurphy•1mo ago

Hot take: 'Barn finds' are mostly just people neglecting their cars

I was scrolling through Bring a Trailer last night and saw a 1970 Challenger that supposedly sat in a garage for 30 years and sold for like 80 grand. But here's the thing that hit me - that car wasn't found, it was just ignored. My uncle has a 67 Mustang in his garage back in Ohio that hasn't moved since 1994 because he keeps saying he'll restore it someday. That's not a barn find, that's just him being lazy about rotting metal. Every time I see one of these stories about someone finding a dusty muscle car in a shed, I wonder how many actually get saved versus how many just end up as parts cars for someone else. The whole romantic idea of uncovering a hidden gem makes me roll my eyes because most of the time it's just a car that someone couldn't be bothered to maintain. Have you guys ever come across a real deal barn find that actually ran after a battery swap, or is it all overblown?

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tylerr39•1mo ago

Hit 200,000 miles on my old F-150 last Tuesday and it still runs like new

I was driving to work on I-95 and glanced down to see 200,000 miles pop up on the odometer. That truck is a 2005 model and I've only done basic oil changes and one transmission fluid swap at 150k. Anyone else got a high-mileage vehicle that just won't quit?

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barbara_taylor83•1mo ago

Got my classic Mustang stuck in a muddy field at a car show last month

I was at a huge show out in Elkhart, Indiana about 5 weeks ago. They had overflow parking in this field and it had rained the night before. I drove my '66 Mustang in thinking it was fine, then went to leave around 4pm and the tires just spun. No traction at all. I sat there for 20 minutes trying to rock it out, people were honking at me. Finally a guy with a lifted F-250 offered to pull me out with a strap. Thing is, I didn't have a tow hook on the front so he had to hook to the control arm. Scratched it up a bit but at least I got out. Anyone else ever had a show turn into a recovery mission?

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riverhill•1mo ago

Wasted 80 bucks on a carbon fiber intake from eBay last year

I got one of those cheap carbon fiber intakes off eBay for my 2010 Civic Si. It looked nice in the pictures, lots of weave and shine. Took me 3 hours to install because the brackets didn't line up. Then I drove it for a month and the filter started falling apart. Pieces of it got sucked into my throttle body, had to clean that out. The whole thing flexed so bad it rubbed against the hood liner. Total waste of money and time. Has anyone else had luck with budget parts like this or am I just cheap?

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kim_nelson•1mo ago

$60 for a magnetic drain plug was stupid until I cut open my oil filter

Found four chunks of bearing material stuck to that magnet after 5,000 miles on my 2002 Miata, so I guess the $60 paid for itself, has anyone else gotten actual proof from one of these things?

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troy_wilson8•1mo ago

Got yelled at by an old timer at a Cars and Coffee meet last month

I was at the Cars and Coffee in Plano, Texas, the one at the shopping center on Preston Road. This guy in his 70s walked up while I was revving my Honda S2000 and told me to stop being a clown and actually learn how to drive it. He was right - I spent more time trying to look cool than working on my heel-toe downshifts. Has anyone else had a random stranger give them useful advice at a car meet?

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wood.john•1mo ago

Hot take: Car shows are less about the cars and more about the parking lot drama now

I was at a local show in Phoenix last month, one of those Saturday morning meets at the Pavilions. It used to be all about walking around and checking out engines, but this time I noticed half the crowd was just clustered around the parking lot edges. Some guy in a lifted truck nearly backed into a Miata because he was too busy watching a guy argue with a kid about a hood prop falling off. Then this older lady with a classic Impala got into it with a flatbed driver who blocked her in. I swear I saw more shouting than actual wrench talk. It got me thinking, are we more into the drama than the builds now? Has anyone else seen meets turn into this kind of circus?

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harperwright•1mo ago

Took me 15 years of owning a stick shift to realize I was resting my hand on the shifter the whole time

A buddy in Austin riding shotgun called me out on it after we hit a rough patch of highway and he saw my hand bobbing on the stick, and then I looked up that it wears out the synchros, so how many others out there learned this one the hard way?

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