modern cars p**s me off
Discussion
cerb4.5lee said:
I share exactly the same view as you, I have a E90 330i too and it's weight annoys me and it never feels 200 plus bhp because of it, I also had a E92 M3 with over 400 bhp and that suffered from the same flaw because of its weight.
Now I don't know whether it's because I used to have XR4x4's/200sx/TVR(all around 1200kgs) but the weight of modern cars just takes the piss.
Traction control and all the other crap they have on them I don't understand either, I had a TVR Cerbera for 6 years without any safety crap on it and kept it out of a field so why have it when you don't need it.
The problem is nowadays a car needs over 500 bhp to actually feel quick to counteract the fact it weighs so much, I've said it a few times that with cars the past was far better than the future for sure.
I used to have a Chimaera and selling it was the biggest mistake I ever made, not just for the fact its worth twice what I paid for it now but the lightness and nimbleness and the V8 rumble with the roof down never failed to bring out the 12 year old in me. (we will have to move forums if this nostalgia continues)Now I don't know whether it's because I used to have XR4x4's/200sx/TVR(all around 1200kgs) but the weight of modern cars just takes the piss.
Traction control and all the other crap they have on them I don't understand either, I had a TVR Cerbera for 6 years without any safety crap on it and kept it out of a field so why have it when you don't need it.
The problem is nowadays a car needs over 500 bhp to actually feel quick to counteract the fact it weighs so much, I've said it a few times that with cars the past was far better than the future for sure.
Agreed with all of this. I do not like Electric handbrake, weak gear shifter, electric keys. I would like mechanical stuff as it used to be. But Automakers are not interested in this as they need profit so they use products that will fail and make money in the aftermarket.
The future is all of this plus the "connectivity" so you will be able in a short time to read your oil level from your phone and share it on Instragram... Isn't that wonderful to know that greghm needs to change its oil (provided that the sensor works)...
We could extend it to the "snitching" features of all this as these device could communicate to our beloved government agencies that we have not updated this or that or taxed the car properly.
Rant over but still thinking about it.
The future is all of this plus the "connectivity" so you will be able in a short time to read your oil level from your phone and share it on Instragram... Isn't that wonderful to know that greghm needs to change its oil (provided that the sensor works)...
We could extend it to the "snitching" features of all this as these device could communicate to our beloved government agencies that we have not updated this or that or taxed the car properly.
Rant over but still thinking about it.
greghm said:
Agreed with all of this. I do not like Electric handbrake, weak gear shifter, electric keys. I would like mechanical stuff as it used to be. But Automakers are not interested in this as they need profit so they use products that will fail and make money in the aftermarket.
Not really, its all part of gradually introducing the tech required for the ultimate future that is electric driverless cars....i.e pretty much nothing mechanical at all on them, or rather nothing mechanical that needs human interaction in its function.
sir? Just f
k off.aeropilot said:
Not really, its all part of gradually introducing the tech required for the ultimate future that is electric driverless cars....i.e pretty much nothing mechanical at all on them, or rather nothing mechanical that needs human interaction in its function.
I totally agree with you. - I wonder when are we going to see actually driverless Uber cars? 2018 ?
- When is it going to be considered as irresponsible and dangerous to have a human driver on the roads ?
greghm said:
I totally agree with you.
- I wonder when are we going to see actually driverless Uber cars? 2018 ?
- When is it going to be considered as irresponsible and dangerous to have a human driver on the roads ?
I was watching an old top gear the other day, of Dave of course and Clarkson was talking about driverless cars and suggested that at some point the computer may need to make a decision if there is an inevitable crash, either run into the lorry and kill you, or swerve onto the pavement and kill the school children walking down the road, so he said the car will kill you as it would be a numbers game, scary thought eh? lol, there was more to the point than that, but that summed it up a bit- I wonder when are we going to see actually driverless Uber cars? 2018 ?
- When is it going to be considered as irresponsible and dangerous to have a human driver on the roads ?
aeropilot said:
Not really, its all part of gradually introducing the tech required for the ultimate future that is electric driverless cars....i.e pretty much nothing mechanical at all on them, or rather nothing mechanical that needs human interaction in its function.
But I want a dipstick in my EV, how do I check how much range is left if it doesn't have one?You realise the door handle lights are actually there to light up the floor don't you, not show you where the door handle is?! 
If you park in crappy car parks that become a maze of puddles when it rains or on a muddy verge they sometimes actually serve a purpose seeing what you've got to hurdle when getting back in the car.
But yes agree in general, my 2012 Audi S4 even had a hole for a dipstick but with a blanking bung in the top because it obviously saves a few pence FFS. Luckily one from the 3.2 engine fits and can be ordered from the dealers for a few quid. Having sold the S4 and temporarily trundling round in an '02 325ti Compact whilst I await the arrival of my M240, driving an old car with analogue feeling controls and not too many electrical additions is quite refreshing.
If you park in crappy car parks that become a maze of puddles when it rains or on a muddy verge they sometimes actually serve a purpose seeing what you've got to hurdle when getting back in the car.But yes agree in general, my 2012 Audi S4 even had a hole for a dipstick but with a blanking bung in the top because it obviously saves a few pence FFS. Luckily one from the 3.2 engine fits and can be ordered from the dealers for a few quid. Having sold the S4 and temporarily trundling round in an '02 325ti Compact whilst I await the arrival of my M240, driving an old car with analogue feeling controls and not too many electrical additions is quite refreshing.
Edited by LocoBlade on Monday 23 January 21:02
[quote=LocoBlade]You realise the door handle lights are actually there to light up the floor don't you, not show you where the door handle is?! If you park in crappy car parks that become a maze of puddles when it rains or on a muddy verge they sometimes actually serve a purpose seeing what you've got to hurdle when getting back in the car.
But yes agree in general, my 2012 Audi S4 even had a hole for a dipstick but with a blanking bung in the top because it obviously saves a few pence FFS. Luckily one from the 3.2 engine fits and can be ordered from the dealers for a few quid. Having sold the S4 and temporarily trundling round in an '02 325ti Compact whilst I await the arrival of my M240, driving an old car with analogue feeling controls and not too many electrical additions is quite refreshing
Light up the floor? they the beam doesn't travel half way down the door? its a feeble light, if they were to light up the floor, surely you put them under the bloody car like the boy racers used to with their neon lights??? lol I used to have an S4, but now I drive a 325ti, tremendously gutless in comparison but yes its simple and I like it, to a point
If you park in crappy car parks that become a maze of puddles when it rains or on a muddy verge they sometimes actually serve a purpose seeing what you've got to hurdle when getting back in the car.But yes agree in general, my 2012 Audi S4 even had a hole for a dipstick but with a blanking bung in the top because it obviously saves a few pence FFS. Luckily one from the 3.2 engine fits and can be ordered from the dealers for a few quid. Having sold the S4 and temporarily trundling round in an '02 325ti Compact whilst I await the arrival of my M240, driving an old car with analogue feeling controls and not too many electrical additions is quite refreshing
Light up the floor? they the beam doesn't travel half way down the door? its a feeble light, if they were to light up the floor, surely you put them under the bloody car like the boy racers used to with their neon lights??? lol I used to have an S4, but now I drive a 325ti, tremendously gutless in comparison but yes its simple and I like it, to a point
talksthetorque said:
aeropilot said:
Not really, its all part of gradually introducing the tech required for the ultimate future that is electric driverless cars....i.e pretty much nothing mechanical at all on them, or rather nothing mechanical that needs human interaction in its function.
But I want a dipstick in my EV, how do I check how much range is left if it doesn't have one?
Must admit the only bit of tech on mine that annoys me is the lack of temperature gauge, and that's only due to the N52's appetite for water pumps. I actually prefer the electronic dipstick, but then I don't do oil changes myself, just keep an eye on the level, and having the readout in the dash makes it so much easier imo.
bodhi said:
Easy to figure that one out - have you driven it anywhere? Yes? Then the answer is f**k all
Must admit the only bit of tech on mine that annoys me is the lack of temperature gauge, and that's only due to the N52's appetite for water pumps. I actually prefer the electronic dipstick, but then I don't do oil changes myself, just keep an eye on the level, and having the readout in the dash makes it so much easier imo.
Easier maybe - but good luck if (or when) the sensor fails! Must admit the only bit of tech on mine that annoys me is the lack of temperature gauge, and that's only due to the N52's appetite for water pumps. I actually prefer the electronic dipstick, but then I don't do oil changes myself, just keep an eye on the level, and having the readout in the dash makes it so much easier imo.
Good luck with the water pump and no temperature gauge too - when the pump does expire the temperature goes up to the red bit of the gauge (or would if you had one) in less than a mile! And mine expired in December - would doubtless cook quicker in the summer.
Still OEM pumps are only £500 + fitting!
Why no dip stick? Simple, the average driver on the road doesn't dip the oil of their car and will not open the bonnet until something goes wrong, so why bother?
In order for the manufacturers to stop engines running dry of oil in the warranty period (engine fails, owner pits 3 litres in before taking the car to the garage), they fit a sensor and monitor that sensor via the ECU. The ECU warns the driver that the oil is low, gives the driver the provision to check the oil level if they so wish and provides a log of misuse by the driver.
I have a 330i (N52), and it doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I also change my oil mid schedule. It is not so hard to read the manual to find out the oil capacity and then pour that same amount of oil in to the engine. Start up wait 10 mins and check the OBC.
More annoying is the lack of engine temperature gauge. But again, we can blame the car driving moronic majority for this one, as most don't look at it and don't know how to interpret it. I suspect that many of diagnostic time has been wasted by drivers reporting the temp gauge fluctuating, as it does during normal use. Manufacturers then fitted ECU controlled gauges which indicated normal once a temperature threshold had been met and stayed there until a higher threshold has been breached, where the needle indicated HOT, buy which point there was a bunch of warning lights anyway. So, why bother fitting a gauge? Can't imagine what an uneducated driver would think where the likes of the N52 engine are electronically controlled to operate between 80degC under high load to 112degC in ECO running. The needle would be swinging all over the place and the driver goes faster/slower.
Back to the oil level indicator. How do we know the engine oil temp is above 60degC (and we can start using the engine a little harder)? Answer, we can obtain a reading on the OBC for oil level as the on board oil level measurement only occurs above 60degC.
In order for the manufacturers to stop engines running dry of oil in the warranty period (engine fails, owner pits 3 litres in before taking the car to the garage), they fit a sensor and monitor that sensor via the ECU. The ECU warns the driver that the oil is low, gives the driver the provision to check the oil level if they so wish and provides a log of misuse by the driver.
I have a 330i (N52), and it doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I also change my oil mid schedule. It is not so hard to read the manual to find out the oil capacity and then pour that same amount of oil in to the engine. Start up wait 10 mins and check the OBC.
More annoying is the lack of engine temperature gauge. But again, we can blame the car driving moronic majority for this one, as most don't look at it and don't know how to interpret it. I suspect that many of diagnostic time has been wasted by drivers reporting the temp gauge fluctuating, as it does during normal use. Manufacturers then fitted ECU controlled gauges which indicated normal once a temperature threshold had been met and stayed there until a higher threshold has been breached, where the needle indicated HOT, buy which point there was a bunch of warning lights anyway. So, why bother fitting a gauge? Can't imagine what an uneducated driver would think where the likes of the N52 engine are electronically controlled to operate between 80degC under high load to 112degC in ECO running. The needle would be swinging all over the place and the driver goes faster/slower.
Back to the oil level indicator. How do we know the engine oil temp is above 60degC (and we can start using the engine a little harder)? Answer, we can obtain a reading on the OBC for oil level as the on board oil level measurement only occurs above 60degC.
About ECU it is interesting how it is slowly starting in general aviation. I fly (not often as I'd want) aeroplanes and a lot of the teaching for the Licence is on technology so I could actually understand what was an alternator, a dry sump, what happens when this goes off and that does not move. The interesting thing is that they teach you not to trust the petrol gauges at all.
So now you see ECU being populated in most aeroplanes and the future is an aeroplane like the Icon where you just need to have a Stick/wheel, pedals and a few other knobs.
So now you see ECU being populated in most aeroplanes and the future is an aeroplane like the Icon where you just need to have a Stick/wheel, pedals and a few other knobs.
LocoBlade said:
They're called "puddle lights", the clue's in the name Agreed they don't give you a floodlit arena but when it's dark they give enough of a glow on the floor to spot something you'd probably rather not stand in.
hers must be knackered then because they don't reflect on the floor at all Agreed they don't give you a floodlit arena but when it's dark they give enough of a glow on the floor to spot something you'd probably rather not stand in.LocoBlade said:
They're called "puddle lights", the clue's in the name Agreed they don't give you a floodlit arena but when it's dark they give enough of a glow on the floor to spot something you'd probably rather not stand in.
oh, still pointless though what ever they are for because puddle or not you still have to get in the car and stand in the damn thing lol (provided its a big one of course) Agreed they don't give you a floodlit arena but when it's dark they give enough of a glow on the floor to spot something you'd probably rather not stand in.interesting points regarding the reasoning behind all this electronic madness though, I don't necessarily agree with it all, but sort of get some logic behind it. Basically if something works then why mess around with it, with really what is essentially a blind system, what I mean is, you are never quite sure are you? As when cars get older sensors pack up all the time unless you can see for yourself using a simple level gauge of some sort. the manual says to check oil when engine is up to temp, so you could be driving around on empty until engine is warm enough to check it, but you don't know when the engine is up to temp, because there is no temp gauge, so you have to look at the manual and find out that 6.5 miles the engine is there.... what a f******g faff
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