Cars and other kinds of motoring gibberish

eightysix wrote:

I drive a '92 Honda Civic Sedan. Come to think of it, all the cars in the family are Honda. Kinda weird for me cuz I'm a Toyota-head and I don't know jack about Honda. :hehe:

Toyotas are awesome... well the hachi roku anyways... :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:Didja ever clean out the brake dust with the water hose? You haven't had the pads that long so it couldn't be that the pads are worn already. The other possibility is that the pads aren't retracting back enough during normal driving, so they're in constant contact with the rotors and you get the squeal... The brake pads usually have these guides that they slide on and if they get gunked up and/or don't have enough lubrication, they stick...

Yep, I went to this gas station around here. It has sort of a "self car wash" thing. It's a really high powered hose (more than a garden hose). I sprayed in there and all this black stuff came out. Nothing orange, though. After that, the squealing reduced but didn't go away. The next few days it got progressively worse :crazy:

I had this issue once where something like this happened, something like my brake pad was "out of place" or something and kept rubbing, making a similar horrible noise. I wasn't charged for the adjustment, nor do I know what caused it. It was so long ago and I dunno mechanic lingo :sweat: I guess the brake pads I get are @$$.

bmwracer wrote:What were the cirumstances when you had the problem with stopping? Was it wet out? Had you been stepping on the brakes a lot before the sudden stop? Did the pedal feel soft or spongy when you braked hard?

Let's see, it was very dry out....sunny 82 degree day. I was just driving along, and some fool in front of me suddenly stopped in front of a driveway to a restaurant, then seconds later putzed his way in. I had to hit the brake kinda hard to stop in time (but I've come across this before -__-). I was probably going maybe....40-45? Busy road. It would have been a close call anyway because the guy basically stopped in the middle of the road to think before turning in, but the braking distance was slightly longer than it usually is. The brakes didn't "lock" and I didn't swerve or anything, just took a little longer to stop.

bmwracer wrote:
Read your manual. It's not that dry, I think. :)

LOL, I know how to check fluids, thank god....but my friends don't. I tried to teach one friend...she totally didn't care. She doesn't know how to check the tires either, she doesn't even own a gauge! LOL. That's one of the few things in my glovebox...the manual, tissues, and a tire gauge :beaten: I know how to check fluids under the hood, but everything else blows my mind. Damn ovaries. :rolleyes:

KouSeiya315 wrote:Hehehehe, it's all good. So is this where the car lessons will be now?

bmwracer wrote:Yessiree, thanks to Aho.

Actually, Sephy is the one who split this topic from another thread and created it into this one and put me as the "thread creator".
I didn't do anything except go off topic in the other thread :sweat: :sweat:

But hopefully, it's a good thing 'cause almost everyone likes cars! :D

KouSeiya315 wrote:Yep, I went to this gas station around here. It has sort of a "self car wash" thing. It's a really high powered hose (more than a garden hose). I sprayed in there and all this black stuff came out. Nothing orange, though. After that, the squealing reduced but didn't go away. The next few days it got progressively worse

I had this issue once where something like this happened, something like my brake pad was "out of place" or something and kept rubbing, making a similar horrible noise. I wasn't charged for the adjustment, nor do I know what caused it. It was so long ago and I dunno mechanic lingo I guess the brake pads I get are @$$.

Yeah, it sounds like a sticking pad or similar. What a pain. Whoever did the brakes the last time apparently didn't take the necessary precautions to lubricate the moving/sliding portion of the pad. Or the entire brake caliper system for your car is crummy to begin with. :(

Let's see, it was very dry out....sunny 82 degree day. I was just driving along, and some fool in front of me suddenly stopped in front of a driveway to a restaurant, then seconds later putzed his way in. I had to hit the brake kinda hard to stop in time (but I've come across this before -__-). I was probably going maybe....40-45? Busy road. It would have been a close call anyway because the guy basically stopped in the middle of the road to think before turning in, but the braking distance was slightly longer than it usually is. The brakes didn't "lock" and I didn't swerve or anything, just took a little longer to stop.

Hmm, could be brake fade. Brakes have an optimum temperature where they work best and if they exceed that temperature, they lose effectiveness, i.e., they fade. If you keep applying the brakes (like in stop and go traffic) the brakes get overheated, and they lose effectiveness. Soft pads fade more, as do solid brake discs/rotors. Harder pads naturally fade less, and rotors that are ventilated cool down better and faster, so they fade less as well.

LOL, I know how to check fluids, thank god....but my friends don't. I tried to teach one friend...she totally didn't care. She doesn't know how to check the tires either, she doesn't even own a gauge! LOL. That's one of the few things in my glovebox...the manual, tissues, and a tire gauge :beaten: I know how to check fluids under the hood, but everything else blows my mind. Damn ovaries. :rolleyes:

Well you're better than most women and some guys about taking care of their cars, so don't feel so bad about it. Not everyone's a motorhead, er, mechanic. :)

Mr.ChoyBoi wrote:Toyotas are awesome... well the hachi roku anyways... :hehe:

And the Supras! :D

--The only two Toyotas I'd buy!

ahochaude wrote:

And the Supras! :D

--The only two Toyotas I'd buy!

That's two more than me! :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:That's two more than me! :hehe:

:beaten: :beaten:

Must be nice to have higher standards! :D

in singapore, hardly anyone besides the hardcore enthusiast noe much abt car repairs besides switching a tire, maintaining the oil n radiator coolant lvls. but we are a car-proud society. quite amazing when a 2004 honda civic costs $80k SGD, tats abt 47k USD.

the onli racers in singapore race in official carpark rally races and young punks (we call them ah bengs) run arnd after midnight with their illegally modded japanese mod cars (civics especially). they buy such an expensive car so tat they can onli run it at night ... :rolleyes2: :rolleyes2:

a new M3 cost 176k USD here btw :shakehead:

bmwracer wrote:
Yeah, it sounds like a sticking pad or similar. What a pain. Whoever did the brakes the last time apparently didn't take the necessary precautions to lubricate the moving/sliding portion of the pad. Or the entire brake caliper system for your car is crummy to begin with.

With my luck it would probably be the latter :( I tried looking some stuff up to see if the caliper system sucks (probably does) but I found information which, to me, is like Greek and it probably doesn't pertain to this :sweat:

Front:
Size & Type: 10.08 x 0.78 vented disc w/single-piston sliding caliper
Swept Area: 199.4 sq in.
Rear:
Size & Type: 7.88 x 1.5 drum
Swept Area: 63.3 sq in.
Power Assist Type: Single diaphragm, vacuum

lala81 wrote:
a new M3 cost 176k USD here btw :shakehead:

DAMN!!!... lol.... better come the US and buy one then.... :hehe: only around 80k here...

ahochaude wrote:

:beaten: :beaten:

Must be nice to have higher standards! :D

It has nothing to do with higher standards. I just don't like their designs. If I were to buy a Japanese car, it'd be a Honda/Acura... :)

KouSeiya315 wrote:

With my luck it would probably be the latter :( I tried looking some stuff up to see if the caliper system sucks (probably does) but I found information which, to me, is like Greek and it probably doesn't pertain to this :sweat:

Front:
Size & Type: 10.08 x 0.78 vented disc w/single-piston sliding caliper
Swept Area: 199.4 sq in.
Rear:
Size & Type: 7.88 x 1.5 drum
Swept Area: 63.3 sq in.
Power Assist Type: Single diaphragm, vacuum

Well that info looks reasonable enough. And your front discs are vented, so the problem might be in the implementation... :(

bmwracer wrote:It has nothing to do with higher standards. I just don't like their designs. If I were to buy a Japanese car, it'd be a Honda/Acura... :)

What about a Nissan?! Or even a (only speaking of this particular model) Mazda RX7?! :)

bmwracer wrote:
It has nothing to do with higher standards. I just don't like their designs. If I were to buy a Japanese car, it'd be a Honda/Acura... :)

If I bought a Japanese car, it would probably be a Nissan. :mrgreen: Before I got my car, I had driven several Altimas from renting for various reasons (varying from 1998-2003 in models). They were pretty sweet. The only thing I didn't like was on an upward incline, they all roll back when switching from brake to gas. My car doesn't do that, and considering my neighborhood is known for having steep hills, I'm kinda glad I got mine instead though I wouldn't have turned it down if I could afford it, lol. Considering a used one for the same year with more miles than mine cost $6,000 more and I loved the other car I was looking at too (mine), I bought mine instead :hehe: They changed the design for Altimas drastically and now they look a lot bigger. Still nice, but maybe too big for me. Still gotta parallel park though, lol.

*If* for my next car I went for an SUV and it was a Nissan, Pathfinders and X-terras are pretty sweet too. I'm dying to drive a Dodge Durango. I dunno why, I just want to. ;) The only SUV I've ever driven has been my sister's Explorer and her husband's Explorer. I don't have anything against American cars though...

ahochaude wrote:

And the Supras! :D

--The only two Toyotas I'd buy!

And the MR2! For me anyways. The only other MRs I know of are the NSX, some high class european cars, and F1 cars. Gotta love the exotics.

eightysix wrote:

And the MR2! For me anyways. The only other MRs I know of are the NSX, some high class european cars, and F1 cars. Gotta love the exotics.

Oh yeah! *slaps forehead* *KwaPAK!*

How could I forget the MRs?! ONLY the OLD ones though. The new ones are so duff.

ahochaude wrote:

Oh yeah! *slaps forehead* *KwaPAK!*

How could I forget the MRs?! ONLY the OLD ones though. The new ones are so duff.

Yeah, the Spyders look ugly. Oh, and I'm digging the new 6 series from BMW. Hot stuff.

KouSeiya315 wrote:If I bought a Japanese car, it would probably be a Nissan. :mrgreen: Before I got my car, I had driven several Altimas from renting for various reasons (varying from 1998-2003 in models). They were pretty sweet. The only thing I didn't like was on an upward incline, they all roll back when switching from brake to gas.

That's weird. An automatic shouldn't do that at all.

*If* for my next car I went for an SUV and it was a Nissan, Pathfinders and X-terras are pretty sweet too. I'm dying to drive a Dodge Durango. I dunno why, I just want to. ;) The only SUV I've ever driven has been my sister's Explorer and her husband's Explorer. I don't have anything against American cars though...

I haven't liked an american car since the days of the AC Cobra and Boss 302 Mustang.... :)

eightysix wrote:Yeah, the Spyders look ugly. Oh, and I'm digging the new 6 series from BMW. Hot stuff.

Really?? I'm true blue BMW, but these latest designs from Chris Bangle are turning me off...

bmwracer wrote:
That's weird. An automatic shouldn't do that at all.

Most cars I've driven don't. Ones I have driven that do: Nissan Altimas, Ford Explorers, Ford Escort Zx2's (particularly bad!), my friend's Ford Focus does it too... It's like, if you are facing up hill on a steep hill, stop at a stop sign in the middle of the hill, release the brake to hit the gas, you'll drift back a tiny bit. It would only bother me if someone was on my @$$ behind me...

Btw, my car is going in Friday for a checkup to see what this squealing front wheels business is all about. Today it was really bad...and embarrassing :sweat: It was SO loud. I'm frickin' dying to know what exactly it is... :nut: I'm about to dig through my car records to see if I in fact got front brakes before, or just back ones. I can't remember which it was :rolleyes: