Teh Official "Dude Where's My Forum?" Thread, Brought to you by the minds of Box, and her fiancée, Lorelei Options

[Box]

Hmm, looking around and I could get an earlier G35 or 350Z. Or a RX-8, those things are dirt cheap. If I go Miata I have decided on the NB2 in order to get the best chassis, sure that means narrowing down years again but I'm trying to get out of this whole different car once a year program. I found some interesting information on the chassis rigidity between the years that kind of made it easy to decide:

Mazda MX-5 (NA, 1990 – 1993) 4,881 Nm/deg
Mazda MX-5 (NA, 1994 – 1998) 5,152 Nm/deg
Mazda MX-5 (NB, 1999 – 2000) 5,219 Nm/deg (+1.3% torsional; +7.6% bending; +35% dynamic torsional)
Mazda MX-5 (NB, 2001 – 2005) 6,367 Nm/deg (+22% torsional; +16% bending)
Mazda MX-5 (NC, 2006 – 2008) 8,132 Nm/deg (+47% torsional; +22% bending)

[richee3]

You would hate the RX8's torque curve. Fun cars, just not good Box cars.

[Box]

I think I'd hate it blowing apex seals all the time too. The G35 coupe and 350Z would be worth looking into, but oil consumption and clutch crap meh...

[1994Celica]

You would hate RX8's, I love them but you have to rev to the red line in every gear to enjoy them. I drove a Focus ST it was meh. It was quick but big, hard to see out of and I didn't like the way it felt. I prefer my OBS

[richee3]

Only the '06 6MT Z's have oil consumption, not sure if G's ever got the Revup engine but that's the engine to avoid. Otherwise decent cars.

[Box]

The RX-8 I was joking, even if I liked revving out to the moon just to get from stop light to stop light I just can't trust them. Based on their prices no one else can trust them either, even nice examples are dirt cheap.

For some reason I remember the first years of the VQ35DE burning oil in the '02-03 Maxima and it was the same time frame as the 350Z and G35, then the RevUp engines burning too. If not that's great because then that would add more cars to look into. VQ35DE has nice torque to it too.

[1994Celica]

I don't think you'll ever be happy.......

[richee3]

Maybe in Maximas, I'm not sure. I haven't followed the history of the VQ35 outside of the 350Z. But the Z's are good cars with weird quirks. They all have power window failures, frequently. No matter which brand of motor you choose, they will fail. Avoid the '06 6MT because of oil consumption. '03-early 04's are known for front tire feathering due to an alignment more set up for the track than the street, which some people said a new alignment fixed and others say they need an alignment every 6 months. Pre '07 6 speeds had syncro issues but it seems that several of those have been addressed and repaired. Any 350Z you look at can be a good car so long as you familiarize yourself with the known issues of that year to see if they have been addressed. And of course, as usual, buy from a little old lady instead of a ragged out example as it seems the VQ lets horses out of the stable if they've been abused. But I would own another one in a heartbeat if there was room in the garage or the budget.

I've never driven an LT powered Trans Am to know how they feel but I always thought my '04.5 Z was a great car for 0-80, and was just as comfortable and composed with the tail end hanging out as it was with the cruise control set on the highway. But after 80, I could tell I had a 3.5 liter V6 under the hood, and that's where I think your LT1 would stand head and shoulders over the Z. I routinely saw over 25 mpg, maintenance was easy, but you can't get around Nissan's engineering, and it seems like they fired all the good engineers around 2000. I think you should find a clean Z for a test drive but it's one of those cars that just because I liked mine doesn't mean you would enjoy it at all.

[Box]

I don't think you'll ever be happy.......

Not unless I become a multi-millionaire and can get my dream car, a McLaren F1. Actually I feel like I'm really close to being happy with the Firebird, just the stupid solid axle keeping it from ever happening. Trust me I wish I weren't this way, I'd love to not be so OCD and anal and nitpick things to death but it's just how I am. I've entertained the notion of just saying forget about caring so much about handling and just keep the Firebird, but I just can't do that.

[Box]

Maybe in Maximas, I'm not sure. I haven't followed the history of the VQ35 outside of the 350Z. But the Z's are good cars with weird quirks. They all have power window failures, frequently. No matter which brand of motor you choose, they will fail. Avoid the '06 6MT because of oil consumption. '03-early 04's are known for front tire feathering due to an alignment more set up for the track than the street, which some people said a new alignment fixed and others say they need an alignment every 6 months. Pre '07 6 speeds had syncro issues but it seems that several of those have been addressed and repaired. Any 350Z you look at can be a good car so long as you familiarize yourself with the known issues of that year to see if they have been addressed. And of course, as usual, buy from a little old lady instead of a ragged out example as it seems the VQ lets horses out of the stable if they've been abused. But I would own another one in a heartbeat if there was room in the garage or the budget.

I've never driven an LT powered Trans Am to know how they feel but I always thought my '04.5 Z was a great car for 0-80, and was just as comfortable and composed with the tail end hanging out as it was with the cruise control set on the highway. But after 80, I could tell I had a 3.5 liter V6 under the hood, and that's where I think your LT1 would stand head and shoulders over the Z. I routinely saw over 25 mpg, maintenance was easy, but you can't get around Nissan's engineering, and it seems like they fired all the good engineers around 2000. I think you should find a clean Z for a test drive but it's one of those cars that just because I liked mine doesn't mean you would enjoy it at all.

I just remember my brother avoiding the VQ35DE when he bought his '99 SE because it was all over the Maxima forum how the 3.5 burned oil. So find a Z that a little old lady used for drifting to church on Sundays.

That's the one thing I really love about the Firebird is the power plant, it's brilliant. Though in fairness it was an evolution of an engine from 1955 so I'd hope by 1996 it would be brilliant, those that put down the LT-1 just refuse to familiarize themselves with the Opti quirks and buy into the LS hype too easily. Which I haven't pushed it too far on the street because I'm fond of not getting tickets, but getting to 80 is nothing and it's actually happened a few times without meaning to when passing people. By today's standards I wouldn't call it fast, but I'd say it's quick. Plus I get 28-30 mpg out of it, of course that's because it's idling along at 55 mph but still. And it's just frustrating to me because for what it is the car handles fairly well and they can be made to handle great on a track, there's just no getting away from the solid axle and the nonsense those bring when you're trying to carve corners in the real world. Which I don't know if it really makes sense but to me the solid axle just doesn't match the rest of the car, like when I'm driving it around some curvy back roads the entire time I'm thinking "You know had GM put an IRS in this it'd be perfect." So freaking close, but no... It just gets to feeling twitchy out back when you push it because of the stupid solid axle, and you can tell if it had IRS you could push it a lot harder with confidence. It's like a case of gifted underachiever, the car could be so much more with a good IRS setup. But yeah I should really find a 350Z or G35 to test out and see how I like it, on paper I should but that really doesn't mean much.

[narly_charley]

I wanted to strangle the drunk ****ing hill jacks in scattered around our neighborhood that think it's a good idea to light giant mortars in the neighborhood. You don't realize the stress of fireworks until you have a baby that's trying to sleep and you see them squirm around with every boom on the baby monitor. Haha!

[Bitter]

So ****ing tired. 2 more hours of driving to get to work to do 1/2 a day. **** me like I ****ed the GF last night

[Box]

If you followed your chart you were supposed to call in sick.

[Bitter]

I should but I can't. Not in my blood. As I sit in the ****ter with the Redbull runs...

[Box]

Yeah I couldn't call in sick unless I were, and if it weren't contagious I'd just tough it out.

Looking more into the 350Z, at least based on what I'm seeing on CL and eBay it'd be a viable choice as far as price range goes. Hmm, on paper a 350Z would have everything. Good power, good handling, and good looks. Hmm... I had looked into them somewhat before buying the Firebird but the ones that popped under $6,000 I figured it was a too good to be true kind of thing, but now there seems to be plenty. Still, for the same amount of money I could get a much nicer condition Miata. Then again in theory the Z wouldn't need anything outside of suspension and brake stuff... Plus the Z is a coupe and not a convertible. Hmm...

[1994Celica]

One of my dream cars popped up for sale today at a reasonable price, 2001 Porsche 911. If I didn't have student debts I honestly would look into getting it but alas it's probably for the best I don't get it.

[Box]

Or get the 911 and sell off the 914, Outback, and/or Celica.

[1994Celica]

Or get the 911 and sell off the 914, Outback, and/or Celica.

Yeah and then have a beautiful expensive car that I couldn't rely on haha. Maybe in 2 years I can get a 911 after I pay off some stuff. Till then I'm just going to maintain my Outback and restore the 914 and the Celica needs some money put into it. I don't think owning three cars is a good idea haha.

[Box]

You'd have a 911 though, and that's what really counts.

Wheeler Dealers episode for the Miata is on, it's a sign.

[rentaspace]

Probably because you can get a Crucial 275GB SDD for $100 USD most anywhere and a Samsung 250GB SDD is like $105, though assuming you're selling at $100 AUD it'd be cheaper to get yours.

Are they M.2 or Sata SSD?

Here a Samsung 850 evo m.2 is $145 a 960 Evo is $189

As for crucial, about $140