Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[NTP66]

A buddy of mine has a mid-90s supercharged Cougar that he loves. It certainly gets up and goes.

[DigitalGypsy66]

My grandparents' last car was an 1980 two-tone red Thunderbird. Sweet ride, as we used to drive it down to Florida (from Massachusetts) for them right around Labor Day the 2-3 years they owned it. Man, I wished I got to know them as an adult. Both had passed away before I was 11.

[CBear3]

My parents bought the reincarnated 02 T-bird. It has a whopping 6500 miles on it.

[mac5155]

Can we talk aftermarket remote start systems?

I bought a Mazda CX-5 in April. I have read in multiple places that the Mazda remote start with app is shite. I wasn't a huge fan of the dealer, so I don't know that I want to get anything installed there. I have read on forums that you can install these simply yourself, here are the parts needed, blah blah. But I am a complete dolt when it comes to these kinds of things.

So, that said, should I just find a place in the PGH area that does these? Any recommendations?

If you are in westmoreland County area I know a guy who does them. Pm me and I can give you his number if it's close to you. He's in mt pleasant and does work for most dealers.

[mac5155]

I'm still hunting for my BMW Z4, planning to buy next month. But I did a last ditch sweep of other interesting cars to see if anything else out there can pique my interest. It's going to sound absurd, but I love this car:

1997 Ford Thunderbird LX - $6,900









This thing is well optioned, hyper clean, cheap, and basically the peak version of the Thunderbird of my youth. And Rusty was my favorite NASCAR driver. My uncle had one from the generation before when he lived with us when I was about 7 years old. It has the same modular 4.6L V8 that my SVT Cobra had.

Main downside is that I can't Time Trial it like I can the Z4; and it's pretty much too nice to use as a winter car. It's also a bit on the long side for daily city driving; but, I've always loved big coupes and could overcome that pretty easily.

If this thing is still there in mid-September it will have to be put into the decision matrix.

Where's this listed?

My dad's work BFF has this exact car. He lives in Armburst area of mt pleasant. Lived with his parents all his life and is a Ford junkie. I doubt he's selling but was just curious.

[mac5155]

Oh, nvm I see the plate says Montana.

[dodint]

Seller claims to be on Long Island.

Montana is known as a haven for car collector registrations because of the tax advantages, though.

Armbrust, btw.

[offsides]

Anybody know anyone with one of those insurance monitors on their car that monitors if you are a "safe driver"? My wife is looking into getting one to save some insurance money. She drives pretty slow. Seems pretty scary to me. I can see them being put on all cars some day and the police simply can send you a speeding ticket in the mail. I sure don't want one.

[dodint]

To be fair people said the exact same thing about EZ Pass and that level of surveillance hasn't happened yet. You'd think, if anything, they'd ticket you for not slowing down enough for the booths but they don't.

[shafnutz05]

To be fair people said the exact same thing about EZ Pass and that level of surveillance hasn't happened yet. You'd think, if anything, they'd ticket you for not slowing down enough for the booths but they don't.

Yes, I see people go through the booths at 50 on the regular so I doubt they are ticketing.

[NTP66]

I go through EZ Pass booths going 25-30 all the time, and have yet to be ticketed.

[offsides]

My wife already has an app on her phone to find places. It also yells at her if she is speeding. The app knows the speed limit everywhere, even on exit ramps and city streets. And yes it is a pain riding with her. To me, this is the kind of thing law enforcement could use. Self driving cars will probably also use it.

[MR25]

I thought the point of the EZ Pass concern was timing between entering and exiting the toll road.

Per the turnpike website, Hampton to Allentown is around 332 miles. At the 70 mph limit, that's about 4 hrs 45 minutes. If you exceeded that, it would basically be "speeding" and per the concern you'd get a ticket if you drove it too fast and they saw it on your EZ Pass, or something like that.

[iamjs]

Seller claims to be on Long Island.

Montana is known as a haven for car collector registrations because of the tax advantages, though.

Armbrust, btw.

Found the VINwiki viewer?

[dodint]

I thought the point of the EZ Pass concern was timing between entering and exiting the toll road.

Per the turnpike website, Hampton to Allentown is around 332 miles. At the 70 mph limit, that's about 4 hrs 45 minutes. If you exceeded that, it would basically be "speeding" and per the concern you'd get a ticket if you drove it too fast and they saw it on your EZ Pass, or something like that.

Right.

Additionally, they have speed radar and cameras at every EZ Pass lane.

They are two different issues.

[robbiestoupe]

I thought the point of the EZ Pass concern was timing between entering and exiting the toll road.

Per the turnpike website, Hampton to Allentown is around 332 miles. At the 70 mph limit, that's about 4 hrs 45 minutes. If you exceeded that, it would basically be "speeding" and per the concern you'd get a ticket if you drove it too fast and they saw it on your EZ Pass, or something like that.

It shouldn't be that difficult to do this, so I'm surprised they don't.

However, if 5AF can't even keep its board clock correct, do we expect the PA Turnpike Commission to keep theirs correct?

[NTP66]

What are they going to do, give you a ticket based on your average speed over that distance? Come on now.

[dodint]

It was a big concern for people I knew when EZ Pass was rolled out. And I suspect it still is judging by how many people do not have it. I can't think of any good reasons why people willingly pay more to sit in those long lines at the ticket lanes.

The government is watching, bruv.

[NTP66]

Let them keep on keepin’ on. More open lanes for me.

[robbiestoupe]

I'm still surprised the Monroeville/Pittsburgh exit has only 3 EZ pass lanes and every other lane is cash only (6-7 lanes). Most of them are empty when I exit at 7:45 AM, and the EZ pass lanes are all backed up.

[Tomas]

Before I start doing my research, I'll ask the 5AF experts. Any advice will be appreciated, because I know very little about cars.

I got a "service engine soon" warning light on my 2009 BMW 328. The local car service people I took it for diagnostic testing wrote "leak diagnostic pump tests bad". They claim that everything else is OK. They gave me an estimate to fix it (about $400), BUT, at the same time, they told me that if I am OK with driving with the yellow warning light on, there is really no need to do anything, because (paraphrasing) "the leak diagnostic pump really does not do anything important" (just an emission check?). I should just let them run through the warning codes every oil change (to make sure than nothing new pops up), and I would be fine.

While I appreciate their honesty, I'd like to hear the "2nd opinion" from the resident 5AF experts. Thanks!!

[dodint]

They are correct. Masking valid codes is the only real issue. The pump is a compliance checker serving no operational function.

[dodint]

Also, my 3-series has several warning lights on that have no actual meaning, you get used to it.

[Tomas]

Also, my 3-series has several warning lights on that have no actual meaning, you get used to it.

Thanks!
And yes, it bothered me maybe the first 3 days - now I am completely used to that stupid yellow light...

On the other hand, needing to replace my last set of run flats (Continental ContiPro) after 20,000 miles...

[NTP66]

Source of the post needing to replace my last set of run flats (Continental ContiPro) after 20,000 miles...

Are you going with another set of run-flats? I had my dad switch from his absurdly expensive run-flats (whatever is factory on BMW) this summer.