The "Newly Introduced Car That I'm Really Feeling Right Now" Thread....

[dillaxx]

well i meant have they been reliable over the years or would someone be spending money fixing it every 3 months... i've heard both ends for bmw owners... and bmw does offer that $0 maintenance cost

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

From what I've learned through reading about stuff and hearing things around the dealership from the used car manager and other salesmen who know about cars, BMWs tend to have little problems that pop up after a few years. Usually nothing mechanical or too problematic, but annoying little things, like parts of the interior falling apart or certain electrical devices having issues. I've seen it in the cars that were in our used lots.

 

[dillaxx]

gotcha... im really feeling this cars right now...


btw... GT-R possible pics..

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/06/first-official-pics-of-nissan-gt-r/

the lights look like they could be similar to those of the 350Z....

 

[Duke]

^^ Welcome to 3 weeks ago, dude. There are already vids of the thing hurtling over the Nordschleife.

They won't offer the new GT-R with a manual, though. Only a 6 speed sequential flappy paddle box, which may work very well, but I think it's stupid there's no choice.


And wtf with that weight? All the time you hear how manufacturers are saving weight here, saving weight there. Shaved off 6 pounds here, managed to cut this part by 10 pounds, engine lighter by 30 pounds, bla bla bla, then the new car is there and the thing is 400 pounds heavier.

= wtf-o-rama

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

^ You have to keep in mind that the top-of-the-line model is supposedly going to be 200 pounds lighter and employ a lot more carbon fiber in its construction.

 

[dillaxx]

i saw a car last night, some chick had a celica with a carbon fiber strip on top of her spoiler....wtf... what'd she save, 5 pounds?

 

[Duke]

^ You have to keep in mind that the top-of-the-line model is supposedly going to be 200 pounds lighter and employ a lot more carbon fiber in its construction.

Emphasis on supposedly. And even then, assuming it's 200 lbs. lighter than the normal GT-R they're building now, it's still 200 heavier than the old car.

But thats not the point. The designers claim they're saving so much weight and in the end it's still a lot heavier. It doesn't add up. And they're not telling us where all the weight went as well.

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Emphasis on supposedly. And even then, assuming it's 200 lbs. lighter than the normal GT-R they're building now, it's still 200 heavier than the old car.

But thats not the point. The designers claim they're saving so much weight and in the end it's still a lot heavier. It doesn't add up. And they're not telling us where all the weight went as well.

It might be heavier than the old GT-R, but consider the differences. The engine is FAR more powerful and the car as a whole has had FAR more tuning, obviously enough to cover the weight increase over previous models.

While weight is the enemy, I'd understand the GT-R's increased weight. Think about it, they're marketing it in the U.S., so it's going to have to meet safety standards, which will require more crash beams (weight) and inevitable airbags all around you (weight)... the same reason why the WRX got so much heavier in 2001 and why the Evo is getting so much heavier now. Also, consider the engine size going from a 2.6-liter to a 3.8... again, more weight.

 

[dillaxx]

could it be because of the AWD system in it?

I just came across this article today and found it pretty interesting...


http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/14/torque-vectoring-the-future-of-awd/

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

could it be because of the AWD system in it?

Well, the AWD system definitely accounts for the heavier weight IN GENERAL, but seeing how the Skyline GT-R has always had a complicated computer-controlled AWD setup, it doesn't account for the extra weight over previous GT-R models.

 

[dillaxx]

anyone know of a site that tells you where to find the changes made to an automaker's lineup for the new year??

 

[Duke]

It might be heavier than the old GT-R, but consider the differences. The engine is FAR more powerful and the car as a whole has had FAR more tuning, obviously enough to cover the weight increase over previous models.

While weight is the enemy, I'd understand the GT-R's increased weight. Think about it, they're marketing it in the U.S., so it's going to have to meet safety standards, which will require more crash beams (weight) and inevitable airbags all around you (weight)... the same reason why the WRX got so much heavier in 2001 and why the Evo is getting so much heavier now. Also, consider the engine size going from a 2.6-liter to a 3.8... again, more weight.

I'm positive it will cover the weight, it's just that it intrigues me where all that weight is sitting in, y'know. But you're probably right that it's in all the safety gizmo's.
The engine shouldn't matter, though. Isn't the new VQ38 or whatever it is from aluminium as opposed to the cast iron RB block? Shouldn't be that much of a weight difference, despite the volume increase.

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

I'm positive it will cover the weight, it's just that it intrigues me where all that weight is sitting in, y'know. But you're probably right that it's in all the safety gizmo's.
The engine shouldn't matter, though. Isn't the new VQ38 or whatever it is from aluminium as opposed to the cast iron RB block? Shouldn't be that much of a weight difference, despite the volume increase.

True, the new engine block should be lighter, so let's just assume that the increase of displacement will cancel out the weight loss of a lighter material for the engine block. But look elsewhere. On top of the safety equipment, I believe that the car is switching to much larger wheels (19s or 20s, which will still be heavier even if made of forged aluminum), larger RUN-FLAT tires (heavier), larger brakes to slow down the extra weight and power (heavier, and probably not the lighter ceramic rotors).

 

[dillaxx]

answer me question please?

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

^ No. You'll just have to look it up individually yourself. What do you want to know about what model year of what car?

 

[dillaxx]

well i was just curious about acouple of makes.. i was reading the latest car and driver and they were listing changes for each make, but just model wise.. like.. the ford 500 is out and the taurus is in.. the lexus lost the lx470 and picks up the ...570?? stuff like that... but it didnt say what physical were made to existing models.. more chrome interior, wider seats or whatever... new lights..

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Your best bet is to check out magazines like Motor Trend, Road and Track and Car & Driver. Usually around August or September, their issues have all the next model year's cars and how they're different from the previous model year. I'm sure that you can find all that stuff on their websites.

 

[dillaxx]

it was in there, but not quite what iw as looking for..it just talks about models.. not the changes to them

 

[Duke]

True, the new engine block should be lighter, so let's just assume that the increase of displacement will cancel out the weight loss of a lighter material for the engine block. But look elsewhere. On top of the safety equipment, I believe that the car is switching to much larger wheels (19s or 20s, which will still be heavier even if made of forged aluminum), larger RUN-FLAT tires (heavier), larger brakes to slow down the extra weight and power (heavier, and probably not the lighter ceramic rotors).

And the fact it's built so that even fat Americans can fit inside. I think the car as a whole got a bit bigger as well, and now we know more about the specs of the car, I'm positive the new AWD system will have added some weight to it, as will a large number of other, replaced/rebuilt parts of the machine.

Run flat tyres suck, btw. As long as you're not living in the ghetto or South America and have this car I'd rip them out underneath and fit some proper sports tyres. I mean, who the hell drives their hundred thousand dollar motor car through places where you're afraid to even stop, anyway? If you're a judge in Columbia and you have run flats on your A8, ok, fair choice, fair point, you'll need them. But for any other person it's just a sales pitch. Run flats seem to have a bad influence on everything, from the tire grip itself to fuel efficiency to the life span of the tire, which is a lot shorter than a normal one.

 

[DeeezNuuuts83]

It's no secret, run-flat tires are put on some nicer cars since they don't expect the cars' owners to be the type to want to get out and jack up their car and swap it out for the spare. A lot of these drivers are the type to not want to get their hands dirty, so they'd rather be able to safely drive to the closest tire place and let them do it.