redkow97

I keep finding great deals on German sedans. Most recently an ‘04 Audi S4. But the 4.2V8 has timing chain nightmares i also found a 535 xDrive for the same price, which negligible higher miles. I’m still hoping for an Si or a TSX with a 6-speed. I’m looking at accords too, but they don’t seem to make a sedan with a manual trans AND the V6, and if i’m Going to buy an accord, i don’t like the notion of it only having the 2.4 ...i just realized that all the cars i listed use the 2.4 I-4 after 2012. Maybe that’s why i’m Leaning toward them. Parts availability.

I love 'big' bikes and track days and racing. With that said, it is less expensive and lower-risk to just go buy a race-prepped XR100 and kart-track race. the small bike teaches you most of the same skills, crashes for pennies, uses 1 set of $200 tires a year, and is less likely to land you in the hospital. I understand that people like to ride what they own, but take a hard look at mini racing before booking 6 or 10 more track days. Unless you've got a lot of money to spend, it can burn you out quickly.

throw in SM wheels at that price, and I'll be there with cash! ?

What size are you? I don't remember what size my suit is (44/54?), but it's big on me at 5'11" and 170ish. Still not super snug on me with a back/chest protector. My suit is hanging in my basement, and you're local. Just repair it if you crash it. I'll try to throw it in my car, in case you don't see this thread until during the workday on Friday. I'll be back in Wickliffe on 7/7 for a birthday party to pick it up.

that's what i thought. The actual process of getting a dirt-bike set up with brake lights is a bit harder though. The switches linked to the lever/pedal are the hardest part to "rig." Easier to just use a lever from a street bike, and accept that rear brake won't activate the brake light, IMHO. pics?

Nonsense! What is the gate fee these days? I have the week off, and wouldn't mind getting the kids out of the house. If I make it, i'll be pushing a stroller, and slathering sunscreen on myself and both daughters.

I'm more comfortable gambling on a Chinese 125 for $1500 than gambling on a German sedan for $5,000-$10,000...

side note: The bar for "luxury" is low for me. My current vehicle lacks 2 features that I would like: power windows, and cruise control. The wife would like remote locks (it has power locks, but no remote. weird) The mazda 3 and the Jetta are the only compact (non "luxury") cars that I have found with leather interior. I'm not married to leather interior, but any car that has it tends to be very well optioned. I really only started looking at luxury brands because it's nearly impossible to find a compact car with a manual transmission AND a high trim-level. I've also come to learn that there is no such thing as a "nicely optioned" Nissan Versa or even a nicely optioned Corolla... With that said, the Civic interior doesn't suck horribly. I just can't bring myself to buy a Civic unless it's an Si. My neighbor's teenage daughters share a 2014ish civic. They're great (they watch our dog when we're away, and our kids when we go out), but i can't drive the same car as them... And I'm totally going to do a sweet Grom burnout in the cul-de-sac in front of their house.

I'm leaning more back to this direction... The possible maintenance nightmares of a used luxury car are weighing too heavily on my mind. I'm looking at newer corollas, and crashed Groms. I'm not going to commute. It's just not practical. But I like the option to have a bike that is OMRL eligible, and also street legal for when I want to take a quick ride to scratch the itch. I can get to the Brecksville reservation without taking any highways (I cycle to the Brecksville reservation), and it's a nice shaded ride with 30 mph speed limits. The roads there are fun enough for between race weekends, and a grom is small enough that my kids can learn on it some day. Wife has her M endorsement, but hasn't ridden since I sold my EX500... Groms haven't dropped to the price-point I was hoping, but I think I can pick one up this winter (maybe sooner) for $2,000. When i say "Grom," I also mean Z125 pro, and I'd even consider the Motrac 125, if I can find one new for the same price as a used Grom. Nervous about the other Chinese 125s for $1200-$1500 new... But I won't be putting a ton of miles on it, so maybe it's not the worst idea ...but FI is appealing.

A little surprised at the lack-of-love for the Civic Si and the BMWs. A4 is definitely getting consideration at this point. I wouldn't have excluded it from the start if not for some nervousness about Jetta issues... I'm also surprised by how inexpensive they are. Need to make sure tires aren't $250 each... Just spend $303 to put 4 new tires on the corolla. That's a nice little perk of having a low-performance car.

that would almost definitely be more than 10k, unless i find one with pretty high mileage. Plus it's on the large side of what I would want to fit in the garage. The accord is about the largest I would realistically consider... I need to be able to fit 4 adults in a pinch, but it's usually just me in the car. A4 deserves consideration, so long as I believe it can last 200,000+ miles without major mechanical expenses. I wish I could find more FWD models rather than AWD. More stuff to break, and pulls down economy figures...

7 seconds to 60 would be plenty "fast" for me. The corolla takes more like 9 seconds, and my wife's SUV can hustle to 60 in the mid 7's, and feels like lightning by comparison. I know I'm unlikely to get stellar acceleration AND good fuel economy. I don't need the car to be V8 quick, I just want it to be able to get out of its own way on entrance ramps. The ability to leave it in 2nd gear, rather than waiting for the automatic to drop from 4th to 2nd, will alleviate some of that issue even in a low-powered car.

I am a little nervous about VW electronics. I have known some people who have had horrible experiences with Jettas. With that said, I have read good things about the 1.8T. I don't recall reading anything about the 2.0T - but that definitely checks all the boxes.

I've resigned my current position effective 7/7 and start a new job 7/9. It's a (slightly) shorter commute, and significantly more money. I'm going to get screwed on my student loans, but I should still have more left over at the end of each month to devote to fun and frivolity. My current situation is: Bikeless, and driving a 2003 Corolla CE with 188,000 miles and counting. I'm not in a hurry to replace the corolla, but once we pay off the wife's car (scheduled to be a couple of years, but we'll probably pay it down a lot quicker now), there would be no reason for me not to be driving something nicer, and keep the corolla around for the bike rack, transporting the dog, and really snowy days, etc. The options I'm considering are: - buy a $2500 (or less) bike, and replace the corolla with a slightly newer corolla whenever necessary - forego the street bike, admitting to myself that I won't commute, and buy another XR100 race bike for $1000 or so, and then buy a nicER car. That's where things get complicated... Assuming I want to spend no more than $10k on a car (with some wiggle room for something really awesome), what's the best option to live with long term? I have considered the following (in loose order, from most seriously considered, to least) 8th or 9th generation Civic Si sedan (changed from 2.0 to 2.4 between 2011 and 2012) - 4 doors, manual transmission, 200ish horsepower, and reasonable fuel economy. used Acura TSX - 4 doors, hopefully a manual transmission, the same 2.4 the newer Si and base model Accord uses, but a much nicer interior. either generation Lexus IS. I actually prefer the older model better, and those have a manual transmission. If the new ones have a manual option, no one has them for sale. But it's toyota build quality, and a nice interior used 3-series sedan. I would insist upon a manual transmission if i went this route. Concerned about maintenance costs and longevity when I can probably get a newer, lower mileage Si for the same money. With that said, an Si will never carry the 'clout' of a BMW and I'm open to MANY other options, if they're good quality vehicles. My wife doesn't have a lot of experience driving a manual transmission, but she's willing to learn. With that said, i am open to automatics so long as there is some benefit in exchange for giving up the manual trans. (i.e. I would hypothetically consider a Charger SRT8, because the horsepower makes the automatic worth it. I would probably NOT consider an Si with an automatic, if they made them) Other things to consider: I am primarily interested in small sedans. My garage isn't large enough for a Challenger - especially not if I ever want to store bikes again. 4-doors makes transporting kids easier, but I would look at coupes if it's something really cool (E36 M3?). My commute is still 37 miles each way, which keeps me above average, but it's considerably shorter than the 47 each way I've been driving for the last 5 years... What I'm saying is, fuel economy is still something to consider, so I'd like to be able to get close to 30 mpg highway. While I am not super hung-up on having a car as a 'status symbol,' I admit that I would enjoy a nicer interior than even a top-trim 2018 corolla could possibly offer. The wife would also enjoy it if we had something that puts off an air of sophistication, rather than redbull rally car fart-can WRX. Additionally, she hates hatches. I know the GTI is a great car, but she wouldn't see it that way. I don't sell my cars. I drive them until they need to be replaced. Resale value is a non-factor for me unless the car becomes a maintenance money-pit (my concern with 3 series...), and I can't justify keeping it. As they would say on the WERA forum, "what sayeth the beeb?"

Miatas are absolutely underpowered, but power isn't what makes them fun. When I was 16, the guy across the street from me had a '93 Mustang GT and a '04 Miata. He sold the Mustang, and I couldn't understand why. I understand now. With that said, turbo'd miata is a pretty common mod... Adding 2 more seats is harder. The problem with cars is that most all of them that are fun to drive are a poor value... That makes acquiring old ones (E36 M3) approachable, but the maintenance on something that old can get expensive really quickly. I badly want for late 90's and early 2000's Mustangs to be fun and fasISH, but I'm not convinced they would be. Plus I hate that body style. I considered them, because the wife likes the angular model. I prefer the previous gen Cobra, or the subsequent GT In any case, we're all looping back to M cars...

No one has mentioned a Porsche Boxter, or a Miata? I know the Miata isn't german, but you can get a really really nice one for the money you'd spend on a marginal BMW. With that said, I doubt the Miata interiors are much to brag about, unless you're talking about a very new model...

passing rules aren't worth getting hung up on... if someone is faster than you, they will go around you. Usually in a place you didn't think was possible. 99% of on-track safety is awareness and predictability. Do what the person behind you expects you to do, and they will not put themselves on a course that intersects with yours.

Nothing but good things to say about Honda 600’s, but you didn’t need to prep a sport bike for your first track day! it’s a really humbling experience to see the XR1200’s turning faster laps than you can muster on a race prepped 600. Have fun!

^ to update the post above, I figured out that the watch isn't as dumb as I thought. The HR eats battery - so it's only really paying attention if you have it start an activity. There is an "indoor cycling" activity that I've been using with good results (within 2 BPM of the hand-grips on the spin bike) So I can get it to track my time and my heart rate, but I have to edit and manually enter the distance the spin bike tells me I covered (obviously the GPS isn't tracking movement on a spin bike).

Side note: rear fender was clutch. I need neoprene shoe covers. My toes were numb. I guess throwing a hand warmer btwn the cover and the shoe is very effective. Tye rest of me was warm. My hands were sweaty when i stopped to investigate my loose crank (i assumed my cleat was loose, not the crank)

Cold, but not too bad. Pretty dry until the double track the last 4 miles. My oacing wasn’t good. I went too fast for the first 25 miles and paid for it the final 15. I may also be getting a cold (sore throat), so that couldn’t have helped. My left crank came loose around mile 30. Really surprised i had the Allen wrench to tighten it. Must be the same size as the front axle. 3:17 and 41.5+ miles. Other people on strava who rode the same route were getting as high as 43.8 12.8(ish) mph is slower than i was hoping, but i didn’t bother with any of the rest stations, and i went faster in every segment on strava. Tired and sore now.

I sold my subcompact 9mm on Thursday and replaced it with a Glock 19 gen 5 on Friday. 100 rounds down range. I still flinch and pull low/left. I’m actually better when i shoot quickly, because i don’t anticipate the recoil. Must practice more.

I also lost front derailleur function last year. My cassette stayed functional, but that hill near the end is tough. Between warmer conditions and adding a rear fender, i’m Hoping to keep my ass dry.

I read a review of it that cracked me up. Something to the effect of, "it fires reliably, every time. You'll want to clean it every 1000 rounds or so ...or don't - it really doesn't seem to care." Went on to criticize the trigger, but also admits that it's completely acceptable for the price-point, and the type of thing you can fix with aftermarket parts, or some inexpensive gunsmithing. For my purposes, I would prefer something with a safety, but I wouldn't let that be a deal-breaker. I would part with my KelTec PF9 (with 2 mags) for pretty cheap if anyone is interested in that... IF i sell the PF9, I'll probably end up with a G19. If I keep it, I'll continue to look for something like a used SD9VE. The only sub-$100 gun I have ever encountered 'in the flesh' was a pawnshop 25 cal. It wasn't worth the $75 they wanted for it.

cleaned up my bike a LOT last week to take it to Ray's Indoor. Put on an "ass savers" fender last night. Hoping it won't be needed for riding this weekend. I also ordered new brake pads. New chain needs to be ordered and installed for the spring.