[Gary]

[quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=100438]the sitting car subject sparked a thought in my mind, in addition i just got done driving in grand rapids and thought of how all the stopping and going was going too use my brakes and gas more made me come too think of a possible topic of discussion for ETCG1.

whats harder on a vehicle, driving constant highway miles on and on or dealing with the bussle and hustle of city stop and go traffic? i have my imput and here it is.

I believe that City miles are much harder on a car, the constant breaking uses the pads faster, the constant acceleration means more blowbuy gasses passing the rings into your oil. i have noticed city roads are very rough most of the time and that is hard on suspension, bearings, constant acceleration is harder on tires as well as breaking. while highway driving and freeway driving the car stays at a more constant speed yet it needs too slow down and speed up on occasion, this is good because the engine stays at a more constant RPM but allows it too very up and down a little, brakes seem too be used more gently more or less too slow down the car and bring it too a stop on occasion, and with the acception of the back roads of the country or bad city freeways and highways it seems highways and freeways are smoother and easier on suspension components as there are also less sharp corners and bumps…

whats your imput eric? good discussion for ETCG1?[/quote]
In almost all cases, I agree that highway driving is easier on an engine/driveline/suspension than city driving however, like everything else there are exceptions. For example, a 454 with a 4 speed manual tranny with no overdrive and a very low final gear ratio(4.10); at 60 MPH I am already running at 2900 RPMS on the highway in my highest gear(4th 1:1 ratio with the 4.10s reduction) and have a stroke of 4 inches which equates to a good amount of wear on the highway since the piston has to travel great distance in the bore at a high RPM(especially at 75 mph!). Big block motors naturally don’t like high rpms due to the length of the stroke among other factors. 4.10s dont help the situation 😛

[Gary]

[quote=”13aceofspades13″ post=100438]the sitting car subject sparked a thought in my mind, in addition i just got done driving in grand rapids and thought of how all the stopping and going was going too use my brakes and gas more made me come too think of a possible topic of discussion for ETCG1.

whats harder on a vehicle, driving constant highway miles on and on or dealing with the bussle and hustle of city stop and go traffic? i have my imput and here it is.

I believe that City miles are much harder on a car, the constant breaking uses the pads faster, the constant acceleration means more blowbuy gasses passing the rings into your oil. i have noticed city roads are very rough most of the time and that is hard on suspension, bearings, constant acceleration is harder on tires as well as breaking. while highway driving and freeway driving the car stays at a more constant speed yet it needs too slow down and speed up on occasion, this is good because the engine stays at a more constant RPM but allows it too very up and down a little, brakes seem too be used more gently more or less too slow down the car and bring it too a stop on occasion, and with the acception of the back roads of the country or bad city freeways and highways it seems highways and freeways are smoother and easier on suspension components as there are also less sharp corners and bumps…

whats your imput eric? good discussion for ETCG1?[/quote]
In almost all cases, I agree that highway driving is easier on an engine/driveline/suspension than city driving however, like everything else there are exceptions. For example, a 454 with a 4 speed manual tranny with no overdrive and a very low final gear ratio(4.10); at 60 MPH I am already running at 2900 RPMS on the highway in my highest gear(4th 1:1 ratio with the 4.10s reduction) and have a stroke of 4 inches which equates to a good amount of wear on the highway since the piston has to travel great distance in the bore at a high RPM(especially at 75 mph!). Big block motors naturally don’t like high rpms due to the length of the stroke among other factors. 4.10s dont help the situation 😛

[Gary]

And the lawsuits ensue(no pun intended) http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2014/ford-explorer-carbon-monoxide-lawsuit.shtml

[Gary]

And the lawsuits ensue(no pun intended) http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2014/ford-explorer-carbon-monoxide-lawsuit.shtml

[Gary]

Amazing… sounds like the same scenario from TSB I read about certain newer GM models. What these engineers do to meet emissions requirements *facepalm*. Nissan quality seems to have dropped off and the Xterra and Pathfinder seem to have gotten the brunt of it with leaky radiators that destroy transmissions and whatnot(another common failure typically 2005-2007 models)

[Gary]

Amazing… sounds like the same scenario from TSB I read about certain newer GM models. What these engineers do to meet emissions requirements *facepalm*. Nissan quality seems to have dropped off and the Xterra and Pathfinder seem to have gotten the brunt of it with leaky radiators that destroy transmissions and whatnot(another common failure typically 2005-2007 models)

[Gary]

I would stay away from the BMW if I were in your shoes. I hope you have deep pockets for the Jaguar because not only will it eat gas but parts for Jags are expensive for the same reason parts for BMWs are expensive… it is a luxury vehicle. Jaguar electrical issues are all I ever hear about from owners. Other than those two points they are great cars.

[Gary]

I would stay away from the BMW if I were in your shoes. I hope you have deep pockets for the Jaguar because not only will it eat gas but parts for Jags are expensive for the same reason parts for BMWs are expensive… it is a luxury vehicle. Jaguar electrical issues are all I ever hear about from owners. Other than those two points they are great cars.

[Gary]

I agree as well. The fasteners have gotten ridiculous. I swear they do it so people are forced to take the car to the dealer out of pure frustration. At least they are secure though, my horn constantly loses its power wire due to a loose “slip on” terminal connection that slides off every so often from the engines vibrations.. I really should fix that :whistle:

[Gary]

I agree as well. The fasteners have gotten ridiculous. I swear they do it so people are forced to take the car to the dealer out of pure frustration. At least they are secure though, my horn constantly loses its power wire due to a loose “slip on” terminal connection that slides off every so often from the engines vibrations.. I really should fix that :whistle:

[Gary]

You state that you want to get rid of the celica before it becomes a money pit and you are looking at a used high mileage BMW. BMW parts aint cheap. Even if the tranny has been rebuilt how long will it be before something else goes? You need to think about the long term costs of owning a German luxury vehicle. Alot of parts need to be imported for BMWs not to mention they are usually marked up due to the nature of the type of vehicle it is. This opinion is from my experience in the field and the fact a friend of mine got burned pretty bad on a used BMW as well. It had 103,600 miles on it an became a money pit really fast to put it briefly.

[Gary]

You state that you want to get rid of the celica before it becomes a money pit and you are looking at a used high mileage BMW. BMW parts aint cheap. Even if the tranny has been rebuilt how long will it be before something else goes? You need to think about the long term costs of owning a German luxury vehicle. Alot of parts need to be imported for BMWs not to mention they are usually marked up due to the nature of the type of vehicle it is. This opinion is from my experience in the field and the fact a friend of mine got burned pretty bad on a used BMW as well. It had 103,600 miles on it an became a money pit really fast to put it briefly.

[Gary]

I owned a newer Chevy pickup with a 4.8L before an i will admit it had impressive power. I no longer own that truck because I disliked the fact it was a pain sometimes to “bolt on” modifications to the engine and trans without the computer throwing a fit and to need to be electronically programmed to accommodate the new mods. I now own a 1974 Chevy truck with a 454(7.3L) it pulls so much it feels like the frame twists from a launch. I believe that if an old engine is properly built and tuned it can easily outdo a newer motor.
You need to keep in mind these newer motors are riddled with electronic nannies and emissions controls that rob your engine of its true potential. Fuel cutoff, eletronic throttle control, speed governors, rev limiters..the list goes on an on. Older trucks have raw unrestricted power and heavy cast iron and steel parts. I like that I can control my idle speed, my timing, and my fuel to air ratio all with the simple turn of a screwdriver.

[Gary]

I owned a newer Chevy pickup with a 4.8L before an i will admit it had impressive power. I no longer own that truck because I disliked the fact it was a pain sometimes to “bolt on” modifications to the engine and trans without the computer throwing a fit and to need to be electronically programmed to accommodate the new mods. I now own a 1974 Chevy truck with a 454(7.3L) it pulls so much it feels like the frame twists from a launch. I believe that if an old engine is properly built and tuned it can easily outdo a newer motor.
You need to keep in mind these newer motors are riddled with electronic nannies and emissions controls that rob your engine of its true potential. Fuel cutoff, eletronic throttle control, speed governors, rev limiters..the list goes on an on. Older trucks have raw unrestricted power and heavy cast iron and steel parts. I like that I can control my idle speed, my timing, and my fuel to air ratio all with the simple turn of a screwdriver.

[Gary]

Used cars can be tricky. I took a risk in buying a 40 year old truck myself. Heres what I do when buying a used car to ensure I’m not buying a headache:

1. Give the car/truck a very detailed visual inspection(underhood, underbody, interior, exterior etc.)
2. Run the car and check for leaks in all the usual spots
3. Test drive and listen, feel, smell, and look for anything unusual
4. Hook up a vacuum gauge(if the place/person really wants to make a sale they will let you do this) and check the general engines operating condition if you know how to interpret readings.
5. Ask about the cars history… in my trucks case it was very well documented in a papertrail all the way back to 1974

If all these check out I would say its safe(make sure you get a title too). As far as honda reliability I agree with Wysetech, their quality has gone downhill in recent years and are certainly not as good as they used to be. If you are looking for reliability I would recommend Volkswagen or Toyota. I’m a domestic American car guy though and if you are looking for something generally easy and cheap to work on the American brands are the way to go. Volkswagen doesn’t fall under easy or cheap to work on at all trust me. A timing belt job on VWs is a nightmare to do.

[Author]

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