motored my Z again this am. knowing the barometric pressure was dropping i went out early before rain. didnt get rained on. QD'ed afterwards and cleaned the inside glass as well.

my wife ended up using the GE all weekend long so i couldn't go shopping at homedepot. lol not that it was anything urgent. the GE hauled a ton of crap from garage sale goods to antiques to kids stuff.

i did get those griot's pads finally (they re-shipped them for me), but ambient temp was only 50F today and too windy to do any paint sealant this weekend. hummm... looks like the GE will not get coated.

 

i think this coming weekend (maybe next weekend not sure yet) im going to swap out the G to snows and bring up my GE's snows to the garage to be installed the following weekend.

it's not that there's any snow yet, i want the temps warm enough to where i can still wash those expensive SSR wheels/tires before i stack them up for storage. also by mid month im sure they will start coating the roads with icemelt crap which is very corrosive for wheels. especially with the large lip the SSR's have, i dont want corrosion under the clearcoat where it pitted from regular use. it will be impossible to fix without a full polish + clearcoat repair which will run 150 a pop.

 

keep forgetting... wanted to give a shout out to all the public works sweeper truck folks. THANKS for keeping our roads clean! without you guys my weekend drives would not be as fun or safe for that matter. so thanks!!!

 

I can't believe that you guys are already having winter weather... I have the windows open and it is a very comfortable 74 degrees inside... The only trees with brown leaves I can see from my porch turned that way months ago when it was so hot and dry... They actually lifted the burn ban a few days ago... It does get into the low 40s just before sunrise.

 

35F is not winter weather yet.

 

had a long day at work yesterday, but was refreshed going home in the nice cool sunny weather.

this am, had problems with my music software with one of my key files going to craps (pissed the hell out of me) but again my drive this am made me feel better. something about cars and driving refreshes my head.

was looking at the new FRS's released specs. not bad, might be perfect for wat i am looking for next. i'd probably just get the base model and mod it to my liking and use it as my dd. i am a bit concerned if the 2700lbs chassis and RWD will work in snow or not. in contrast my G35C is ~3500lbs so im not too worried unless the snow is so deep my lowered G turns into a dozer. hahaha. then i will get stuck and will need to call the wife to help me out with her GE + snow tires.

 

some stupid in a cooper-s blocked me from making a right turn lane this am. not sure wat his problem was cause i wasnt' tail gating him or anything. maybe just jealousy cause im driving a real car vs his dumb clown car. when you drive those cars you need to be swift and just quick to get out of people's way. that is the best way to enjoy such cars. otherwise large SUV's and expensive sedans will basically push one over to the side or plow over then. hahahaha.

speaking of clown cars, i like that new Fiat500. that is like the ultimate clown car but not stupid looking like the kia soul, or too small like the useless smart cars.
will need to see how those Fiat's do. i remember back 20yrs ago or so alfa-romeo was here but quickly dissappeared due to reliability issues...(?)

 

Come on now! Didn't you have a Cooper too? I kinda like em but I drive em how they're supposed to be driven. Whipped through traffic without people noticing.

safely of course. lol

 

I've had a couple of annoying mornings on my way to work as well. I was late so I was driving fast (but not aggressive) in the left lane. Sometimes there are drivers who are driving like only 60/65 in the lane and I will go around (politely). But since my car looks modified/fast, people get aggressive and sometimes try to speed up and block me from getting back in the same lane, causing me to be stuck behind a slow car in the middle lane as well. Very aggravating, but I just get back behind them because they are now going the speed I originally wished they were going .

I drove a Fiat this past weekend at the mall. They were giving out $15 gift cards just to test drive it around the block, easiest money I've ever made. It's not a bad car, the handling is sharp like the Fit due to having such a short wheelbase. Seats were comfortable in the front, but only children could be comfortable sitting in the tiny backseat. The brakes and acceleration were surprisingly good, though. I think this car will sell well.

 

yah, especially in the mornings i get annoyed often by idiots in saturns and trashy pos cars driving like 5-6mph under the speed limit... they should just get the f- out of the way or just stay home.. they aren't worthy to be out and about when us real working folks (blue collar to executives) are out there trying to make a difference for our communities.

hey thanks for the input on the Fiat500. i checked out pictures and the interior looks surprisingly good. i highly doubt i'd get one but if i do, my kids can ride along in the back. gj scoring easy $15!

 

gotz my tracking number for a pair of new piaa wiper blades for my G.

hope they work well in the winter time as advertised. my G being a 7yr old car has the traditional exposed metal type that kind of branches out in 2 sections at the ends of the blades. they're fine in normal weather but in snow/ice they tend to freeze up and prevent the blade from flexing properly over the glass during wipe.

 

woot my piaa blades came in. looks pretty good. i like how robust it looks. will try them on over the weekend.

no car action today, looking forward to a relaxing commute home. gotz aheadache today from too much yelling at folks at work. things are resolved for now but me growing up in the US, speaking my mind bluntly about how i feel about someone's poor performance into their face is of the norm. it's sad but has to be done sometimes to resolve things. i hesitated today at first since one of them i was hoping i would never have to do this to him, but he pissed me off and off i went.

 

Had a nice calm commute this am (for a change).

Looking forward to my commute home. Will do a quick no-rinse clean up tonight.

 

so tonight i timed myself how long it actually takes me to 'wash' my car using the no-rinse product. ive been using this stuff on my Z when i drive over puddles. not often do i use it for the entire car.

took me about 43min including cleaning wheels, tires, and glass (for wheels/tires/glass i used other cleaners of course!) to do the G. normal wash/dry takes me about 28min total start to cleanup. i need to practice more. lol

i test fitted the piaa blades not too bad. should work nicely for winter.

 

I can't stand it when people drive around like complete numb sculls. Like cutting across from the fast lane, to the slow lane (cutting you/traffic off in the process), and barely making the turn for an intersection they almost missed. Oven better, the ones who have plenty of yards between cars to make a left in a center turn lane... and wait till traffic is COMPLETELY CLEAR. -.-

The new Fiat 500 seems like a interesting little car. Not sure about how reliable it will be in comparison to the older models that were here in the states (electrical issues were very common). Wouldn't mind seeing one a few years down the road with a good bit of miles on it to see how it held up.

If you'd drive a modern day BMW-MINI the way they're supposed to be driven you should expect to have it in the shop quite a couple times a year, even more once its past the 70k mile mark. Not trying to talk down on their product by the way, just stating what I've seen. [/first hand witness on several counts]

 

hootie- yah, some folks are just complete idiots. like this am i was motoring my Z and while 99% of the drive was fine there was 2 old geeeezers driving 10-15mph under the speed limit on a 2 lane road (die already! hahahaha jk) and some stupid broad grabbing something from her purse or something in the passenger seat while creeping up to a light with 20yrds+ to spare inching up so i have to inch up behind her silly arse. then light turns green she's still going at it with the digging and cars in front of her are like 100+yards away when she finally realizes. being a gentleman that i am, i dont blow my horn and just stare at the person in their side mirror shaking my head.

yah, ive seen a few Fiat500's driving around in my area and most of them were by older guys. must be some 'back in the old days' memory thing going on. this was the same when MINI first came out back in 2001-2002. most were older guys and middle aged borderline fat women, and a few younger folks.

 

so i swapped out the G's summer wheel set to the winters. while doing so i inspected the brakes and suspension. everything looks great...almost new. lol

anyway it was kinda (well not really) emotional while wrapping things up for the year... it felt like summer/fun is really over now. hahaha. man the stock 18" wheels look like shit (well, not really, just super conservative vs my flush SSR wheels look). they were very cool back 7yrs ago to me, but now it's like a frikken sunken where'd the wheels go? look. i'll live.

 

motored the Z this am. was a good drive. since we turned back the time i went out earlier than usual. gassed her up and QD'ed afterwards.

then headed out to homedepot in the GE. since ive not been in the GE for like a month it was kind a refreshing to have such great visibility from the driver's seat. but i also noticed when you have such a high seating position (stock) 40mph feels like 60mph especially on a windy day in the GE. lol

besides the stuff i bought for the house i got 2 new switch guts for the utility room and garage. the one for the garage i got an illuminated switch so that i can tell whether i turned off the light or not in the utility room from the garage. very cool.

 

the morning commute was calm for a monday. obviously had to dodge a few people like one in a PT cruiser but given the car you dont expect much from the driver anyway. like telling a saturn driver to get with the times or something. lol

this was the first time taking the G out with the new LM60 snow tires i got wrapped at tirerack late sept. not bad. quiet ride, soft, squirmy but that's expected from a taller sidewall tire with deep treads for snow. appearance wise car doesnt look all that bad. just a factory lowered look with snow tires. will re-torque the lugs tonight.

this coming weekend im going to swap out the GE's wheels/tires to snow set.

 

wat a crappy day. just rain rain rain rain rain... car and tires did well, just a crappy day to be outside. glad i dont have to travel today.

hope it's nicer later in the evening. tonight no car action other than just checking psi on my Z.