Show off your whips!

[turboswimbz]

Yeah but I think I've seen just about every car in the NJ sometimes. Live at the shore, work in middlesex and go to school in Essex.

[BlueBMW]

Nice SoZ,  love the wheels as theyre the same style a lot of old BMWs look good in

[420GOAT]

looks like fun!

[esteban]

Yeah but I think I've seen just about every car in the NJ sometimes. Live at the shore, work in middlesex and go to school in Essex.

Ha! I grew up in Essex county. I live in Morris County now. NJ rules.

[Bernie]

Here is one of mine.  77 Monte Carlo

/monte%20carlo.jpg

[Sparky]

Currently have 68 [Red] and 69 Firebirds, daily driver I have a 96 Ram pickup.

Good god these are sexy....
I know you guys are waiting on Picts of my Saturn sc2... In time my friends :p

[Sparky]

Here is a video of my best run at Waterford Hills raceway.

Car sounds great but what the fuck is that rattling in the corners.... Good god man, that would drive me crazy.

[SignOfZeta]

Here is a video of my best run at Waterford Hills raceway.

Car sounds great but what the fuck is that rattling in the corners.... Good god man, that would drive me crazy.

Its actually the seat belt on the passenger side hitting the roll bar...or it was my garage door opener, I forget which.

[esteban]

Here is a video of my best run at Waterford Hills raceway.

Car sounds great but what the fuck is that rattling in the corners.... Good god man, that would drive me crazy.

Its actually the seat belt on the passenger side hitting the roll bar...or it was my garage door opener, I forget which.

I thought it was a loose PC Genjin HuCard in the glove compartment? No?

[Gogan]

Always liked this pic

[Nando]

insisted on installing a bra on it to cover up where they mashed a curb.

That's ghetto....

I've always liked the 5 series the best, style wise, before Chris Bangle (I think that's his name) took over. Was it him that gave the beemers a "shark/pontiac" look?




nice cars xray!

[Colossus1574]

i love Japanese plates!

Yeah. The number is no longer used, and I don't live in the same prefecture anymore, so I don't see much danger in posting my plate online.

Kaze, pardon me for being lazy and not googling it...but why/what are the reasons older cars are so hard to keep on the road in Japan? I heard the stipulations for Aircare (what it's called in Canada) is super tough as the car gets older. Is this the reason you no longer own the 'Lude?  Because the last few years here, right hand drive cars have been very very popular here, cause they're arriving on our docks in amazing condition/low kms and at very good prices! Skylines being the must common one, man the R34s are beautiful...

If I ever buy another car in Japan, I'm going straight to the used market again, for sure. Besides, the majority of new car designs here are boring family wagons or tiny fuel-efficient shopping carts with engines. I'll take a '90s sports car over that boring crap any day.

Thanks for the full details Kaze! Man...that really bites though, $1000 every 2 years is steep. Our "aircare" checks are $90 Cdn for 2 years (vehicles '92 and newer). But i TOTALLY agree with you in terms of the new car styles common in cramped cities like Tokyo. I get the same feeling when i visit my family in Hong Kong and see the new cars there, boring...but at least it's not too hard to hold on to older cars there, i still see quite a few "ricers". The current trend here these last 2 years, i've been seeing way more imports of cargo/transport vans like Mitsubishi Delicas...I think the insurance companies here have been making it too $$$ to bring in the performance vehicles...

Anyways, here's my ride, nothing fancy. Original owner '94 Accord, and yes, i've changed the lips and bumpers a few times  The last pic is still not the latest, i've replaced the lower signals with clears instead of the amber 
Greddy Lip
/27bcbe51.jpg
R33 Bumper

Type R lip

[kazekirifx]

I like the lips, Colossus.

[TheClash603]

Daily driver in the summer, occasional autocross and track days. While it looks stock, it has quite a few modifications to the suspension, ECU, intake, and exhaust, as well as a racing seat and harness (not in this pick) and roll bar. Over the winter I plan to build another 1.6 to swap into it with increased compression.

This year I had a chance to run it on Michigan International Speedway, a huge concrete oval. Top speed was 104 with top down and a passenger, which is not very impressive, but obviously this kind of car wasn't made for NASCAR tracks. Here is a video of my best run at Waterford Hills raceway. I hope to improve on this quite a bit when I go with the Alfa club next weekend.

How do you get to drive on a track?  Is it expensive?  Do I need special insurance / any modifications to my car?

Ever since I read the following article online about my car, I always wanted to give it a try:

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/04/2011-buick-regal-cxl-turbo-feels-good-at-144-mph.html

Only problem is, I assume a 144mph ticket is a giant fine and loss of a license.  Would love to give this a try where it is legal!

Also, my girlfriend has a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Turbo, we always said it would be awesome to race.  Is that possible, or single cars only?

[thesteve]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

[VenomMacbeth]

Just took my car into the shop today *finally.*  If the guy finds anything catastrophically wrong with my engine, he has a 289 and a C4 auto tranny he said he'd sell me.  Almost considering doing that anyway...

[NecroPhile]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

It might need a tailwind to get there, but the governor limit is 130 by manufacturer's claim.

[TheClash603]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

It might need a tailwind to get there, but the governor limit is 130 by manufacturer's claim.

I know her 0-60 time is better than mine.  I hate to say it, I might get beat by a girl if this ever happened.

[turboswimbz]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

My 98 hyundai sonota topped out at 123 according to the stock speedo (yep that is a fix, I totally srewed up my guages there).  And it took a hell of along time to get from 100 to 120.  It handled rather poorley to the corrections I tried to make at that speed too. But it made it.

[SignOfZeta]

Daily driver in the summer, occasional autocross and track days. While it looks stock, it has quite a few modifications to the suspension, ECU, intake, and exhaust, as well as a racing seat and harness (not in this pick) and roll bar. Over the winter I plan to build another 1.6 to swap into it with increased compression.

This year I had a chance to run it on Michigan International Speedway, a huge concrete oval. Top speed was 104 with top down and a passenger, which is not very impressive, but obviously this kind of car wasn't made for NASCAR tracks. Here is a video of my best run at Waterford Hills raceway. I hope to improve on this quite a bit when I go with the Alfa club next weekend.

How do you get to drive on a track?  Is it expensive?  Do I need special insurance / any modifications to my car?

Most tracks have "open track days" where you just show up and drive around in circles for fun. Some days a club (ie: Corvette Club, Porsche Club, Miata Club) will rent the track. Most clubs will allow anyone to join them as long as you pay and obey the rules. Here in Michigan we have three tracks where you can do this for about $150 a day. Usually you get about 2 hours of actual run time. If you live near a more popular track like Mid Ohio or Laguna Seca expect to pay significantly more.

The clubs pay the insurance unless the track is running the event themselves. What is covered by their insurance varies from case to case, but mainly its covering their liability. Your car isn't going to be covered for damages, not by them or by your regular car insurance.

You don't really need to do anything to the car, but some cars are better suited for this kind of thing that others. A Regal on all season tires...is going to plow like a pig and probably shred a set of front tires before the day is out just because it really isn't designed for this kind of thing. I've seen people run much crazier stuff though.

Ever since I read the following article online about my car, I always wanted to give it a try:

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/04/2011-buick-regal-cxl-turbo-feels-good-at-144-mph.html

Only problem is, I assume a 144mph ticket is a giant fine and loss of a license.  Would love to give this a try where it is legal!

You aren't going to hit 144 with this car anywhere but a test track like a big oval or a salt flat. Once you get above 100 the needle starts taking a lot longer to climb. At most tracks there is just too much cornering going to on be able to stay WOT for 40 seconds or whatever. You could easily hit it on a highway, but frankly that's fucking idiotic. Sure the car feels fine at that speed, but if basically anything happens to upset the car at that speed, a deer, a blowout, a pothole, there isn't going to be anything left but a fine mist. I'd want a full cage, harness, etc to run at that speed, and a more sports oriented car to begin with.

Also, my girlfriend has a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Turbo, we always said it would be awesome to race.  Is that possible, or single cars only?

The people are grouped into three or four groups based on driver experience and car potential level. Passing is only allowed if the guy in front of you points you past. If he's slowing you down the corner workers will blue flag him, which means he should then let you by. Sometimes they don't want to do that, especially if its some guy in a supercharged Viper or new Vette and he's not happy about being slower than you despite having 5x the power, in which case he'll get a talking to or moved down to a lower level run group.

[thesteve]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

My 98 hyundai sonota topped out at 123 according to the stock odometer.  And it took a hell of along time to get from 100 to 120.  It handled rather poorley to the corrections I tried to make at that speed too. But it made it.

i just know i have walked away from one in a 91 saturn SC

[TheClash603]

Zeta, I appreciate the advice.  So it seems the 2011 Regal Turbo and 2012 Sonata Turbo are not worth taking to the track, at least without some sort of racing tires.

Last question.  If you were to max out a car's speed, can that damage a car?  Or is the car built for that speed, so it is okay?

My girlfriend claimed going too fast could break my car, I don't buy it.

I got my eye on the ATS, too bad my car is 4 years to go in payments.  When I get that bad boy, I would imagine it would be ready for the track.

[tpivette]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

My 98 hyundai sonota topped out at 123 according to the stock odometer.  And it took a hell of along time to get from 100 to 120.  It handled rather poorley to the corrections I tried to make at that speed too. But it made it.

You mean speedometer. An odometer tells you how many miles the car has traveled in its lifetime

[tpivette]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

It might need a tailwind to get there, but the governor limit is 130 by manufacturer's claim.

I know her 0-60 time is better than mine.  I hate to say it, I might get beat by a girl if this ever happened.

If you just want to see which car has the better acceleration, then you want to go to a dragstrip, not a sanctioned race track. While you won't top out the car at a dragstrip (you wouldn't at a racetrack either), you will see which car can cover a quarter mile the quickest. More than likely, you'll reach a higher mph at a dragstrip than a racetrack as well.

I really wouldn't want to physically experience a car's top speed anyway. While it wouldn't necessarily damage the vehicle, the danger factor increases exponentially than just running the quarter mile at a dragstrip.

Both of your cars are probably in the low 15/high 14 second range, while having trap speeds around mid 90mph. The winner would be decided by driver ability

[NecroPhile]

I know her 0-60 time is better than mine.  I hate to say it, I might get beat by a girl if this ever happened.

Delete a couple dozen years off your Regal and then race her.  That'd be more fun (for you).

[turboswimbz]

the hyndai will shutdown around 90-110

My 98 hyundai sonota topped out at 123 according to the stock odometer.  And it took a hell of along time to get from 100 to 120.  It handled rather poorley to the corrections I tried to make at that speed too. But it made it.

You mean speedometer. An odometer tells you how many miles the car has traveled in its lifetime

Yep, thought about this as I went to work today! screwed that up, Was wondering when someone was going to call me out on that.

Although by that mistake in wording I would have been traveling at 100,000 miles per hour. I believe the car would have fallen apart, but it'd be one hell of a ride.

[SignOfZeta]

Zeta, I appreciate the advice.  So it seems the 2011 Regal Turbo and 2012 Sonata Turbo are not worth taking to the track, at least without some sort of racing tires.

Well, the tires aren't really the problem. A Vette or a Miata would be fine on any tires. The cars you have are very big and heavy and front wheel drive and the suspension is soft and designed to lean toward understear. If you put race tires on it then you'd just learn how easy it is to roll the car. Consider a CTS or a 5 series if you want big powerful and track worthy. Your cars are much more designed for comfort, long cruises, and getting decent fuel economy, and from what I understand they are very good at that. Meanwhile my Miata gets only 26 MPG and the wind noise is even worse than the rattling interior.

Last question.  If you were to max out a car's speed, can that damage a car?  Or is the car built for that speed, so it is okay?

My girlfriend claimed going too fast could break my car, I don't buy it.

Well, as long as your tires can handle it and the engine temps aren't getting to hot, no, speed itself is irrelevent. A modern car is designed well enough so that self destruction is almost impossible if it's properly maintained.

[TheClash603]

Zeta, I appreciate the advice.  So it seems the 2011 Regal Turbo and 2012 Sonata Turbo are not worth taking to the track, at least without some sort of racing tires.

Well, the tires aren't really the problem. A Vette or a Miata would be fine on any tires. The cars you have are very big and heavy and front wheel drive and the suspension is soft and designed to lean toward understear. If you put race tires on it then you'd just learn how easy it is to roll the car. Consider a CTS or a 5 series if you want big powerful and track worthy. Your cars are much more designed for comfort, long cruises, and getting decent fuel economy, and from what I understand they are very good at that. Meanwhile my Miata gets only 26 MPG and the wind noise is even worse than the rattling interior.

Apparently I bought a terrible car, my Regal Turbo only gets 16.3 MPG and I can't even play with it on a track.  I am sure the fact I only do city driving kills it though and you are right that it is very comfortable.

Final question (for real).  If you have an all-wheel drive vehicle, would that be usable on a track?  Or is only a rear wheel drive car appropriate?  I honestly would love to get on a track and play around, but living in Buffalo, NY rear-wheel drive isn't really an option (unless you want 2 cars, which I don't).  I was thinking of an ATS when I upgrade to my next car, but I would definitely get the all-wheel drive variety.  If that isn't track ready, then I guess my dreams of being a racer will never come true!

[tpivette]

The new Turbo Regal isn't a bad car at all (my younger brother has one... black on black, manual trans, with an aftermarket tune...very nice car), it's just not the kind of car you buy to go racing on a sanctioned racetrack. You can go to a dragstrip, however, no matter what kind of tires you have on it (provided they're not worn out) and still have fun. Off-the-line traction may suffer, but it wouldn't be dangerous to not have a dedicated drag radial or full slick for participation

[roflmao]

Don't feel too bad, Clash.  Our Rodeo gets about the same MPG.  Lol, I just had this image in my head of the Rodeo at the drag strip.  That would be a sight indeed!

Our other car is an older Acura TL.  It's fun to drive, but not in the same leage as some of y'all so I'm not going to take a picture of it and post it here.

Before the TL I had an Integra, and that was a blast to drive, especially when we lived in San Diego.  So many twisty roads, so little time.

[TheClash603]

Don't feel too bad, Clash.  Our Rodeo gets about the same MPG.  Lol, I just had this image in my head of the Rodeo at the drag strip.  That would be a sight indeed!

Our other car is an older Acura TL.  It's fun to drive, but not in the same leage as some of y'all so I'm not going to take a picture of it and post it here.

Before the TL I had an Integra, and that was a blast to drive, especially when we lived in San Diego.  So many twisty roads, so little time.

Thanks for using up all of the world's fossil fuel with me!

[roflmao]

Thanks for using up all of the world's fossil fuel with me!

Oh, that ain't even the half of it.  

Our RV only gets 8mpg on a good day!

[TheClash603]

Thanks for using up all of the world's fossil fuel with me!

Oh, that ain't even the half of it.  

Our RV only gets 8mpg on a good day!

If we got this bad boy on a track, what do you think is top speed?

[roflmao]

If we got this bad boy on a track, what do you think is top speed?

The limiter kicks in at 75 mph.

[BlueBMW]

Apparently I bought a terrible car, my Regal Turbo only gets 16.3 MPG and I can't even play with it on a track.  I am sure the fact I only do city driving kills it though and you are right that it is very comfortable.

Must be nice.. I get about 15mpg in my old BMW.... City driving absolutely kills this car.  Highway, it'll get around 28mpg at 80mph all day long.  I guess they designed these cars with driving fast at all times.  When my brother moved from California to Tennessee, he drove this car.  Most of the way through Kansas and Missouri he averaged over 100mph and still got almost 30mpg.  Though his fuel / time savings would have been crashed if he had gotten pulled over...

[Xray]

Currently have 68 [Red] and 69 Firebirds, daily driver I have a 96 Ram pickup.

Good god these are sexy....
I know you guys are waiting on Picts of my Saturn sc2... In time my friends :p

I perfectly agree - When I first saw the red 68, "sexy as hell" is exactly what went through my mind ... It had a for sale sign on it, 2 days later, I owned it.
The yellow 69 I bought as a project the next year, and is still in various stages of completion.
Kinda an ego boost driving in these cars ,,, Girls smile, guys have a look of awed envy, and kids beg you to spin the wheels. They both run only on high octane fuel, they'll knock and backfire like crazy if I tried any low grade fuel. Might get 10 MPG, so they are a real drain in the wallet, but worth the time & $$ spent keeping them on the road.
They truly don't make em like that anymore, not even close.

[SignOfZeta]

Zeta, I appreciate the advice.  So it seems the 2011 Regal Turbo and 2012 Sonata Turbo are not worth taking to the track, at least without some sort of racing tires.

Well, the tires aren't really the problem. A Vette or a Miata would be fine on any tires. The cars you have are very big and heavy and front wheel drive and the suspension is soft and designed to lean toward understear. If you put race tires on it then you'd just learn how easy it is to roll the car. Consider a CTS or a 5 series if you want big powerful and track worthy. Your cars are much more designed for comfort, long cruises, and getting decent fuel economy, and from what I understand they are very good at that. Meanwhile my Miata gets only 26 MPG and the wind noise is even worse than the rattling interior.

Apparently I bought a terrible car, my Regal Turbo only gets 16.3 MPG and I can't even play with it on a track.  I am sure the fact I only do city driving kills it though and you are right that it is very comfortable.

Final question (for real).  If you have an all-wheel drive vehicle, would that be usable on a track?  Or is only a rear wheel drive car appropriate?  I honestly would love to get on a track and play around, but living in Buffalo, NY rear-wheel drive isn't really an option (unless you want 2 cars, which I don't).  I was thinking of an ATS when I upgrade to my next car, but I would definitely get the all-wheel drive variety.  If that isn't track ready, then I guess my dreams of being a racer will never come true!

As far as I can tell, everyone thinks the turbo Regal is really great. It just isn't a performance car. No matter what the numbers say, no matter what the salesman said. Its a quality passenger sedan, it just has completely different priorities.

When the G8 came out GM made a big deal about how on paper it was as good or better than a 5 series in every way. To some extent I agree with them. That is, if you drive both and you literally cannot tell why the 5 is worth more money, more maintenance costs, dealer-only fleecings, etc, then by all means buy the G8. If you can't see why the 5 is better then you would be wasting your money. Anyone who has owned a string of BMWs isn't going to go for that though.

And the G8 was a friggn' Pagani Zonda compared to the Regal.

BTW, 16.8 MPG is fucking ridiculous. Are you running E85 or something? That's exceptionally bad. That's worse than my '93 Chevy pickup than I only do winter city driving with.

As for FWD/AWD/RWD. I assume by mentioning that you live in Buffalo you are thinking that RWD doesn't work in snow. This isn't true at all. We get just as much snow in Michigan, so does Germany, and I assure you Ann Arbor is swimming in BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches, and pick-up trucks year round. With modern day suspension, tire, and traction control technologies there is no reason for a safe driver in a well maintained car to fear snow. Now, a Mustang with a broken ABS sensor and summer-only tires? He's fucked.

As for on the track, neither is inherently superior. There are plenty of high performance FWD cars that can clean my clock like GTIs, Intengras, Mini Coopers S, Abarth 500s, etc. The main difference between those cars and what you have though is about 1000lbs  of mechanical flab. Small and FWD is fine, big and FWD is not good for the track. A performance-oriented AWD system is an advantage, but only if you have the power to push it along. A WRX or Evo will fly with AWD, but it just slows down an Audi TT or Ford Taurus. I honesty think that AWD has outlived its usefulness in anything but off-road oriented applications or extreme performance supercars. FWD is the most practical, RWD is the most fun.

[NecroPhile]

Now, a Mustang with a broken ABS sensor and summer-only tires? He's fucked.

Heh, ain't that the truth.  I'm just fine after I swap in the snowshoes and a bag of sand though.

[thesteve]

when i was in Texas i drove a 77 impala.
when we got freezing rain i could hold the road, but the civic's couldnt

[TheClash603]

BTW, 16.8 MPG is fucking ridiculous. Are you running E85 or something? That's exceptionally bad. That's worse than my '93 Chevy pickup than I only do winter city driving with.

I always use 91 or 93, unfortunately 16.3 MPG is all I get.  I attribute the low MPG largely to Buffalo having horribly timed lights, but who knows?

I will have to take your word for it and look at some RWD cars next time I go to buy.  I was always told you spin out easily in snow/ice.

[tggodfrey]

Yeah i dont want to hear shit about MPG.  On 93 pump.....5-6 MPG.  On alky.....less than 3 MPG


https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3811358324904

The Z and the 2 harleys you dont get to see.

[Flare65]

Yeah i dont want to hear shit about MPG.  On 93 pump.....5-6 MPG.  On alky.....less than 3 MPG

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3811358324904
The Z and the 2 harleys you dont get to see.

Very Sweet ride!  Looks like a lot of fun!  The car she is leaning on ain't bad either!  :>

[tpivette]

Went to Cecil County Dragway on Saturday (9/15) and came away with a new best...



Don't know of anyone else who's bested that time with a stock C5... can't wait til the weather gets cooler in Oct/Nov and I can do even better!

Here's a youtube video of that pass:

Here's a photo of the car in the staging lanes:

[Drakon]

/ba264014af69c8d58e21930e9878a0e2.jpg

Really affordable.