Do yall consider your ride(s) as an extension of your
- Thread starter Speak2Mountain
- Start date
Since the mid ‘70s I have been replacing the pathetic DOT legal sealed beams with E Code Cibie or Hella headlamps. The current DOT standards still keep advanced technology out of the US, but mandating the use of obsolete and useless sealed beams was a particularly high mark for bureaucratic stupidity.
It's job is to cause joy and satisfaction, of course! Not used for attention or status, definitely not a C4 lol.What "job" does that '95 Vette do again?
Never overheated, not while I've owned it anyway, unless 230F is considered overheating. The LT1 is designed to run hot for emissions and fuel efficiency, and has reverse flow cooling for performance? Anyway... 1 speeding ticket -- many other models in this class are much faster.
I look at it more like the proper tool for the task at hand.
Our vehicles at home are definitely extensions. They are like family.
I'm a motorhead. I'm a big middle aged dude who lifts weights and drinks beer.
As such, I have a big, lifted Jeep so dented, even the radio is bent. It rolls over a dozen times a season and comes back for more.
Never thought to compare, but I drive pretty conservatively, even in Boston, and my Jeep has a 2.5L I built instead of a 4.0L or V8 swap.
It's tied into a Muncie SM420 with a 4:1 T-case and 5.38 geared axles. It goes pretty slowly.
My wife's car is clean, fast and has curves in all the right places. She's Puerto Rican and that's all I'm saying.
I'm a motorhead. I'm a big middle aged dude who lifts weights and drinks beer.
As such, I have a big, lifted Jeep so dented, even the radio is bent. It rolls over a dozen times a season and comes back for more.
Never thought to compare, but I drive pretty conservatively, even in Boston, and my Jeep has a 2.5L I built instead of a 4.0L or V8 swap.
It's tied into a Muncie SM420 with a 4:1 T-case and 5.38 geared axles. It goes pretty slowly.
My wife's car is clean, fast and has curves in all the right places. She's Puerto Rican and that's all I'm saying.
Sometimes, but very generally... For example I commute in older cars that I try to keep in top shape. I suppose that says something about me, that I like wrenching on cars and keeping older cars that I like on the road.. But the choice of car is always a compromise; if I had an endless amount of money, I'd have a Buick Grand National in the driveway and not a Grand Prix. So I don't think you can read too far into it...
I certainly don't think when I hop in my one of my two 6+ passenger vehicles that it fits my personality. It doesn't. But to fit 4 kids and a wife in the cars I like, I'd have to strap one to the roof. Nobody's volunteered yet
I certainly don't think when I hop in my one of my two 6+ passenger vehicles that it fits my personality. It doesn't. But to fit 4 kids and a wife in the cars I like, I'd have to strap one to the roof. Nobody's volunteered yet
Budget.
I would propose, that if the vehicle is a part of your identity, it is probably an idol. One way to tell is if you get bored and have to trade them in repetitively. We idolize something, and then turn on it when it fails to live up to our standards. Then it “develops” some flaw we can’t stand and we move on to repeat it with something else.
this pattern of idolizing things can be in vehicles, women, electronics, name it.
if I sound like I’m criticizing, hold up. I own the t-shirt, have been there.
this pattern of idolizing things can be in vehicles, women, electronics, name it.
if I sound like I’m criticizing, hold up. I own the t-shirt, have been there.
This...and I like to change them often.
Life is too short to drink cheap beer and drive boring cars.
This is an interesting perspective...and I'm not sure if I agree or disagree ;-)
I drive interesting (odd) vehicles, and have done so all my life. I do it because I love to do it, and I have been gifted with the ability to fix things, as well as the drive to learn about new mechanical things. So...I buy cars/motorcycles/boats for a low price, pour some love and money into them, drive them for a couple years, then sell them for a small profit, ending with me donating 50% of my profit to my local church.
So...I would propose some of us just enjoy driving new and interesting vehicles, not so much because it is an idol, but because we can. It adds something simple to your daily life. I have just one or two "fun" turns on my drive to work, but man, if it doesn't make me smile when I hit a perfect apex and learn how to master a different car. Just my drive to work is a joy in my life because of the vehicles I choose to drive. I wonder for those who just drive "appliances"...and ponder why they even care to change their oil? Surely the dishwasher will keep running if you forget to use the right "stuff" long enough to drudge along in your day to day.
I would agree...if you are going into debt, and especially upside down in debt, to drive the latest and greatest, that you probably have an idol...but I can't cast that net wide enough to cover those who have a passion, and do it responsibly.
My kid is out of college on his own and I have no consumer debt. I buy myself a different car every 4-7 years- my wife keeps her cars 5-10 years. I‘ve owned the Club Sport for 25 years, the Wrangler for 18 years. I don’t think anything in my garage is an idol, although meep might think so if he saw my office:
“When I see these blinding lights on the road, my thoughts drift more towards vigilante justice. You have been warned, that some random person, and I am not alone by any stretch, is getting really [censored] off at idiots who put this crap in their incan headlights then blind other drivers.”
Do all replacement LED headlight bulbs suck?
When I bought my Sonata in 2/2017 it had what I assume were cheap LED low beams installed, they had huge ballasts in-line and looked really cheap. I wasn't all that happy with the light output. I did the 9005 to 9011 mod and have been running those since. Been very happy with their performance...www.bobistheoilguy.com
I can no longer find your comment about using a baseball bat to smash out someone’s headlights, probably deleted
Thanks! Yes, my "thoughts", with each time it happens, and more time passing, more people are aware that what they're doing is wrong.
Now do you think that lets you off the hook if you blind other drivers? I will let you guess.
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WAIT, WHAT? NO! DOT does not "say", does not "approve", ANY retrofit headlight of any kind. It is completely false to state that any kind of change from incan in an incan housing is legal, because that's not even how the legal system works, the whole proposition is ludicrous. Legal is about exclusions but I digress and see below...
There is no such thing as an aftermarket headlight replacement being declared legal based on hearsay and lies.
If you saw something that suggested it, that is a fraudulent, marketing, lie.
There are NO aftermarket headlights that are submitted to DOT and approved for specific vehicles. Anyone who suggests otherwise has no grasp at all of what DOT is or how that works, and any manufacturer or reseller who suggests it, is engaging in fraud.
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I Love kids, but adults who want to play badly or act up like they pretend they know better but do it anyway, yeah, they are getting off my lawn. Have you no spine?
My needs. Wife in wheel chair so something for her. Someone gets sick we load 7 and go no need for family to follow behind. Daughter needs a ride. Lastly I need a truck. 2018 Grand Caravan does all this and more with best part is I got a bargain when I bought it 2 years ago. 20 mpg over lifetime so far.
beautifully put and well said. I’ll admit, I used to be the above guy. I enjoyed working on them, but I also had this thing where I’d get “car lust” and would pour time and money into it, then tire of it, sell it, buy something else, rinse wash repeat. There was rarely debt, I pay cash, but I’ll admit it went beyond just “transportation.” it was, for a number of years, a hobby that would “get the best of me” at times. On the outside, you’d probably not notice... but on the inside, I was giving my time to the wrong thing.
m
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Oh come on MCompact, you haven’t lived until you’ve squealed the tires on an old Jeep around some twisty-turnies (on pavement)
I was comparing non-DOT approved LED retrofits to what comes stock on many modern cars that certainly then is DOT-approved and asking the question - what is the difference? I get blinded by these legal/OE/DOT-approved lights all the time but that's ok? But my LED retrofits that don't blind a soul are illegal. Just a discussion topic and asking a good question.
You are certainly right on that one! I also see my time in the garage as therapy time, especially during this "Virus time". My bride and I are working from home, and if I get an hour break, its awesome to be able to pop out into the garage and spend the time fixing something, or making something run better. I make sure none of my motorized vehicle shenanigans get in the way of family time, or family budget.
I know some of you will point at the cars I buy for my wife. She makes as much or more than I do in our family budget, and has an extremely conservative mindset. I do enjoy spoiling her with very nice cars to drive, and they are all WELL within our budget. She doesn't buy fancy bags, or expensive dresses, and spends a huge portion of her time with charity work. I know it is certainly not an idol for her, as she would be just as happy driving our old Xterra (that is how I learned she would love the ZR2) for a DD, but it is something I enjoy spoiling her with.
