Convince me that I don't want a Golf GTI

[zinfamous]

Aahhhh not the Aveo.

lol--did you actually watch the video? I suspect that there is much irony injected into its production.


Update: Enterprise gave me an Elantra GT for the day (or two days, I guess). Funny, I was definitely internet cross-shopping the Elantra GTs or whatever newest models were, as well as the Veloster N (never test drove any of them). .....I'm not that impressed with the Elantra GT. It is a good car, but the transmission when set to sport mode is just...sad. Interior is poop, but otherwise it is a decent car to drive.

 

[JCH13]

It is a good car, but the transmission when set to sport mode is just...sad. Interior is poop, but otherwise it is a decent car to drive.

So, aside from the interior and transmission, it's good? Those are two pretty big strikes in my book

 

[zinfamous]

So, aside from the interior and transmission, it's good? Those are two pretty big strikes in my book

well yeah, but I'd argue that my Mazda3 is a great car, for doing the primary job of what any car is supposed to do, but the transmission is still shit (boring) and the interior well, isn't all that bad, really--better than the Hyundais--but still not great.

I think for what you get in a Hyundai, for the price, they are good cars. Compared to the VW DSG, obviously, the Hyundai automatic transmission is just sad. No auto-rev matching, doesn't seem to know what gear it wants to be in when accelerating. ...this is in sport mode, and I basically only drove it ~15 miles to my house. Normal mode is fine for a regular old car.

 

[nakedfrog]

No auto-rev matching? Isn't rev-matching part of the fun of driving stick? Not sarcasm.

 

[zinfamous]

No auto-rev matching? Isn't rev-matching part of the fun of driving stick? Not sarcasm.

I was comparing automatic transmissions. The VW's DSG has auto rev matching, which you can't do on your own anyway with an auto. So it's actually nice. with the Hyundai, downshifting on their pseudo-manual triptronic or whatever they call it is...not something you want to do.

The Honda Type R does have auto rev matching on the manual (I think you can only get a manual?), but you can also turn it off. I mean, it's not a bad feature for those that don't know how to do it and/or simply don't want to learn. It definitely saves your engine for those that don't know it's a thing. Then again, it's not something that you would think Type R owners aren't aware of and would most likely turn off, anyway. I think auto rev-matching should be a standard, included on/off option for any moderately-priced manual cars (though these things are just disappearing as it is).

Personally, I'm going to have to start learning how to do that. I never knew it was a thing, but I'm eager to learn

 

[nakedfrog]

I was comparing automatic transmissions. The VW's DSG has auto rev matching, which you can't do on your own anyway with an auto. So it's actually nice. with the Hyundai, downshifting on their pseudo-manual triptronic or whatever they call it is...not something you want to do.

Ah... my Subaru has a sport mode that I've never really bothered using.

 

[repoman0]

Personally, I'm going to have to start learning how to do that. I never knew it was a thing, but I'm eager to learn

Make sure you learn heel toe downshifting after that. Screwing it up at least 50% of the time and bucking the car / irritating your passengers is an important part of feeling superior for driving a manual.

 

[zinfamous]

Make sure you learn heel toe downshifting after that. Screwing it up at least 50% of the time and bucking the car / irritating your passengers is an important part of feeling superior for driving a manual.

yeah, that's definitely the next step after rev matching. Or not...I don't plan to go on a track or anything, so not sure if I really need to learn that. ...though of course it's all part of the fun in general so why not?

 

[repoman0]

yeah, that's definitely the next step after rev matching. Or not...I don't plan to go on a track or anything, so not sure if I really need to learn that. ...though of course it's all part of the fun in general so why not?

I think it’s close to necessary even in regular driving in certain situations. Slowing down on a highway to take an off ramp in the proper gear for example ... you don’t want to go back and forth between brake for slowing and gas for proper rev matched downshifting because that’s almost as irritating as the inevitable screwed up heel toe downshift. And you definitely don’t want to just slip the clutch to get in the proper gear while braking because you don’t want to be a noob.

 

[Vic]

I don't want to void the warranty right now so if anything, I was just thinking a minor air filter replacement. I also don't really want a loud, farty car, in the city anyway. Too many of those chuds driving around the neighborhood already. Though, I must admit....

But obviously I'm going to get a "carbon" spoiler to replace the stock one, because it saves something like 2kg in weight, so of course it makes this thing super fast!

(not serious)

That's why I said active exhaust. They're valved exhausts that are only loud when your right foot is in the floor.
I have the VWR intake and the Milltek active TBE with an APR stage 2+ on my R. It's only loud when I want to be.

 

[zinfamous]

That's why I said active exhaust. They're valved exhausts that are only loud when your right foot is in the floor.
I have the VWR intake and the Milltek active TBE with an APR stage 2+ on my R. It's only loud when I want to be.

Have you experienced any warranty claim issues with that?

 

[JCH13]

Have you experienced any warranty claim issues with that?

Circa 2012 a buddy of mine got some flak for having a modified GTI as part of a warranty claim. He got in tough with VW corporate and cleared it up, warranty wasn't an issue with mods after that.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Speeding ticket, did you receive one yet?

 

[zinfamous]

Speeding ticket, did you receive one yet?

I haven't even sat in the car over the last 3 days!

too busy getting my colon scoped...didn't really want to have an inadvertent shart on the brand new seats, during the prep.

Anyway, I'm going to give it the 1k break-in for the engine before I start noobing this thing up.

 

[nakedfrog]

yeah, that's definitely the next step after rev matching. Or not...I don't plan to go on a track or anything, so not sure if I really need to learn that. ...though of course it's all part of the fun in general so why not?

I've spent a lot of time driving stick in the last ten years and have never learned it.

 

[Vic]

Have you experienced any warranty claim issues with that?

I haven't had any warranty claims. The car has been remarkably reliable. *knock on wood*
Now at 70k miles and out of warranty with (other than the mods) nothing but scheduled maintenance. I've been thinking about buying an RS3, but it still drives like new car even. Seriously. YMMV.

 

[zinfamous]

I haven't had any warranty claims. The car has been remarkably reliable. *knock on wood*
Now at 70k miles and out of warranty with (other than the mods) nothing but scheduled maintenance. I've been thinking about buying an RS3, but it still drives like new car even. Seriously. YMMV.

Interesting. Did you start tinkering as soon as you got the car, or some years into it? Wonder if that helped it keep feeling new. I've read that as far as having success with warranty calls on modifications, it's really a YMMV and generally depends on the type of shop (the actual mechanics) at the dealership you work with. Some are very cool with it and will make it work, others will just claim that it will be fine but are unwilling to go to bat for you if necessary.

Anyway, not something that I'm looking to do any time soon, if ever. At least for the first couple of months, I need to get my normal finances and spending back in order and adjust to the new situation. Spending money like this is kinda like multi-organ failure and massive internal hemorrhaging for me. I'll get over it, though.


....Got the recall service (power steering) on my Mazda complete, and the shop was kind enough to let me know that my right engine mount was broken (explains the shudder that I barely noticed), and general ~65k mile service: fluids, belts, cabin filter, etc. (Actually, I got some of this done last year at another shop, so don't really need to do that, probably). They quote $480 for the engine mount, $790 for the standard service, and $140 for the cabin filter. I'm like.....gah. I'm getting this thing detailed tomorrow, and I might just drive it straight to Carmax after and see where they come with an offer. Comparing Mazdas and other sedans with age/mileage, I'm seeing listings of about $7.5-8k on autotrader. I was hoping for ~$7k from a private sale, ...but now if I end up putting up $1.3-1.4k on those repairs just to (hopefully) get to $7k, I'm now curious about what Carmax would offer straight-up.

Probably worth it, at least, to repair the engine mount. The rest can pretty quickly go if one is compromised, right?

 

[Vic]

It was very soon after I got it. Only hiccup I had was that the stock clutch couldn't take the increased horsepower, and had to be upgraded. For obvious reasons, I didn't even try to get that done under warranty.

 

[zinfamous]

It was very soon after I got it. Only hiccup I had was that the stock clutch couldn't take the increased horsepower, and had to be upgraded. For obvious reasons, I didn't even try to get that done under warranty.

clutches aren't generally covered under warranty anyway, are they? Or was someone (er, well, the finance officer) just lying to me as one expects?

 

[NutBucket]

The engine mount should be easy enough to replace yourself.

Clutches are covered under b2b warranty but you'd have to abuse the crap out of it unless it's actually got a manufacturing defect.

 

[zinfamous]

The engine mount should be easy enough to replace yourself.

Clutches are covered under b2b warranty but you'd have to abuse the crap out of it unless it's actually got a manufacturing defect.

I assumed it would be, and further assumed that I was being sold a bill of goods with that claim. Whatever. didn't make a difference. I'll check out engine mount repair. wasn't sure if I would need a lift or what not to do it. I don't really have the space, much less a flat surface, to safely crawl under a raised car, either.

 

[rstrohkirch]

clutches aren't generally covered under warranty anyway, are they? Or was someone (er, well, the finance officer) just lying to me as one expects?

Most car companies specifically state clutches aren't covered in their power train warranties. A few do cover them and some offer separate warranties that extend to wear parts like clutches.

 

[NutBucket]

Agreed it would not be covered by a powertrain warranty.

Maybe find a cheap indy shop for the engine mount. That one is pretty hard to mess up.

 

[repoman0]

Save yourself 120 bucks of that service on the Mazda and at least replace the cabin filter yourself. It’s a $20 dollar 30 second job at least on my douche mobiles

 

[nakedfrog]

Save yourself 120 bucks of that service on the Mazda and at least replace the cabin filter yourself. It’s a $20 dollar 30 second job at least on my douche mobiles

On my Subaru, it's a $7 filter and more like 10-15 minutes of work since I have to remove the glove box door and glove box itself. But still, yeah, if you asked me to pay $140 for that kind of effort I'd spit in your eye.