I either met the only non-rotard police officer in the state of Texas today, or I'm just the luckiest SOB to post today.



So...My car was doing that weird thing where it decides to become a hard-tuned race car for 10 minutes for no logical reason. You know what I mean? Clutch seems friendlier, shifting at the speed of light is effortless, engine revs up faster, there's suddenly noticeable pull @ 2000rpms in 3rd gear, tires become racing slicks... you know the days.
Well, there's this road I take on the way to work - it's wide open, great visibility, near NOTHING, long & straight - I hit my 2nd gear redline there everyday on the way to work as my "redline a day keeps the carbon away" ritual.
Today, I hit my 2nd gear redline a bit sooner than I wanted, so I decided to go for 3rd while I still had road left. I get up to about 90mph when I see a big van coming the other way. The van is about 150 yards away, and there's a big, thick, curbed median between us, but I hit my brakes and give up the 3rd gear redline just to be safe; afterall, there's an break in the median coming up, and I am going 90mph in a 35.
No more than a few seconds after I hit my brakes does the van change lanes to reveal a cop car that was riding his ass. The cop slams on his brakes, turns his lights on, attempts a 30mph u-turn in his Dodge Charger, and gets up on my ass in a hurry. I pull over, and in the time it takes me to pull up on the handbrake and get my wallet out of the cupholder, the cop is already standing outside my window, fists balled, teeth grit, and giving me the look of death.
I roll down my window and he says something along the lines of: Sir, you had better have a damn good emergency to tell me about. I quickly assess my situation in hopes of formulating a good excuse. I just got off probation 3 weeks ago (for speeding), my last speeding ticket occured during my probation period (and I managed to beat the system on that one and got it disqualified as violation of my probation), I was more than doubling the speed limit in a hot-shit japanese sports car, blasting industrial music, wearing fingerless gloves, in a car with wires & shit running all through it for various electronic devices fastened to the dashboard and windshield... Yeah, I'm FUCKED.
I just admit defeat. I knew this day would eventually come, and I've prepared myself mentally to deal with all the fines/jail/penalties that may follow, so I figure the least I can do is try to lighten the mood around me to dull out the pain that is about to insue. I tell him that there was, indeed, a legitimate reason for me driving like I was, but it was by no means an emergency. The officer kind of scoffs and gives me the old "dying to hear it" reply.
I let out a sigh and a slight laugh as I realize I prepare to talk my way out of getting arrested with a variation of the horribly cliche "dur hur fast car gotta go fast" excuse.



With an embarassed smile
"You wouldn't happen to know much about cars, would you?"

He folds his arms and takes a standoffish tone
"I happen to know QUITE alot about cars, Sir."

"Really?"
I say in shock. 99.9% of the cops I've dealt with in the past don't know dick about cars.

His expression still says "FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE" but can't help but get excited over the fact that he's *actually* hearing me out on this!

I lay the decarb story on him sparing no detial from my story. I give him the super-super short version of the intracasies of rotary engine care, along with a side of "RX-8 = slow, so don't get the impression that I was trying to flex any power", and even offer some hard proof to my claims (TSBs, C&D's "grossly underpowered" comments from last month's issue, the offical Mazda maintenance tips pamphlet, etc). From start to finish he maintains his F.U. face, but he never scoffs at anything I'm saying, nor does he stop my rant.
3½ minutes later, I'm finally done with my rotary engine maintenance seminar. He just glares at me for a few seconds before saying "Sir - I really don't care."

*whimper*

He then goes off on me like a parent. I get the danger speech. Then I get the reckless speech. Then I get the "you ruined my day" guilt trip. Then I he hits me with a "must redline" != "go 70 in a 35" retort. Then some name calling insues ("are you really that stupid?"). He continues to shoot down my excuse for a good 2 minutes.
I figure that this is it. He's going to take my license, he's going to run my plates, he's going to see my record, and I'm going to go to jail. I'm just about to kill my engine and get out of the car to save this guy some unneccessary hassle and cut to the chase, when he closes his shpiel with "If you feel you 'have' to go that fast for whatever reasons, you take that shit to the highway where it's legal, and not in a 35mph zone - understood? Good - now get out of here!"


...


?


...


:D






Like I said, I'm either the luckiest person ever, or he actually agreed (to an extent) with my decision to decarb my engine on that road. I mean, nearly triple-digit speeds in a 35 and all I got was a verbal warning? That's got to be some kind of record for a long-haired 24-year-old punk kid in a Japanese car!

u lucky dog! hahahaha. :)

:beer:

Awesome...now go play the lottery tonight ;)

He listened for 3 1/2 minutes?

Wow, I would have been done after 30-45 seconds and said, "I really don't care, the only reason you got pulled over was because I haven't seen any other 8's on the road in this area for months, have a nice day."

It's a sad state of affairs here =(

Bad habits don't go away. If not today, then it's just time before you get caught. Sounds like you were already taken to the fact about this.

good job

Hmmmmmmmm...lucky........... but they will get you AGAIN eventually. I'm sure this story will replay itself in the morning on my way to work where I have the same ritual and always hit 2nd and 3rd redline on a certain stretch. BUT............I am on the highway.

Good job but....
Take his advice and take it to the hyw.

Your lucky and stupid at the same time... wtf!?!?!?lol

kind of reminds me of this... (http://bash.org/?758379)

Heading for a crash.

Industrial eh? My current 2 cds in the 8 are Ministry's the Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste and Nine Inch Nail's Pretty Hate Machine

Got off lucky man

90mph in a 35mph arent u a playa : )

90 in a 35? Hmm...that is indeed better than my 90 on a 50, which I got away with because the cop didn't have a chance to catch up after I stepped on it instead of hitting the brakes and eventually got up to 120 and turned into my neighborhood and hid in my garage. =D

I was playing Need for Speed Most Wanted at the time too. That definitely prepared me.

2 years of owning my 8 and still no speeding ticket despite my recklessness. Nor a ticket I've had to pay for. Wewt.

much better outcome than my ticket. and i thought i was lucky. i was rushing to go pick up my gf at the metro station and i was on a 55mph highway, doing about 95. the cop is coming from the opposite direction, pulls into a crossroad thing and clocks me at 84, because i had very rapidly hit my brakes. gave him the sob story of not wanting my gf to wait around a grimy metro station and he reduced the 84, which would have been reckless endangerment, to 74. which was just a $90 fine.

he didnt say anything about my lack of a front plate either, even though i drove past him. i keep wondering that maybe if i had had it on, he would have just let me go. mebbe i should put it back on.

WoooooWWWW

Stop lieing , you obviously gave him a Bj , bitch...lol

Gotta lol at that :D:

Stop lieing , you obviously gave him a Bj , bitch...lol

Stop lieing , you obviously gave him a Bj , bitch...lol

Classic:boink:

90 in a 35!? Wow. Knocking on heavens door lately?

fingerless gloves?

Well as a Houston police officer I have to say that I've given speeders breaks on a daily basis. It all depends on the suspects actitude. Its the cocky "why did you pull me over" deminer that will get you a ticket everytime. That or maybe he was meeting some friends for lunch :) As an rx8 owner, I would have given you a break too.

Drive slower.

HOLY SHIT, that's the luckiest freaking thing I've ever heard of!


Classic...

So...My car was doing that weird thing where it decides to become a hard-tuned race car for 10 minutes for no logical reason. You know what I mean? Clutch seems friendlier, shifting at the speed of light is effortless, engine revs up faster, there's suddenly noticeable pull @ 2000rpms in 3rd gear, tires become racing slicks... you know the days.

Nice...haa haa...

Happened to me once too, texas trooper tho...

I even smelled like alcohol cause a friend at dinner spilled her drink on me...

He let me go after giving him the "It got away from me" excuse due to the gearing and lack of low end power...

1. Obviously a very effective message - you took the time to type it up, and probably tell several people, all resulting from his audience of one.

2. fingerless gloves? Are you a break dancer?

fingerless gloves?

seriously, WTF? plz say this part is a joke.


my guess is that you didn't get "lucky" - the cop had already run your plates and already decided the paperwork was not worth it when he saw he'd have to arrest you & impound the 8.


OT - WTF is the deal w/all the chargers? Every damn state must have got a few in the last year.

seriously, WTF? plz say this part is a joke.

Apparently from the research conducted on said fingerless glove man...his homeland security folder states...

"It's due to not wanting to burn his hands on the steering wheel or make it all sweaty...and stuff"...

If you would like to know the times he visits the bathroom please make another offical query...

OT - WTF is the deal w/all the chargers? Every damn state must have got a few in the last year.

The Dodge Charger is the new police car which came out in 2005. It's competing with (in some cases replacing) the old Ford Crown Vic Interceptors. The Charger is faster (5.7L 340 hp V8) and fairly pricey (around $24k I think, but that's the discount rate the police depts get).

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=108582

Chargers are the cool new thing for police to spend their speeding ticket taxes on, and then get the local newspaper to write a nice cheery "article" showing their new highway speed enforcement program which is "saving lives." Pardon my sarcasm. :)

Cruising for a bruising.

wearing fingerless gloves

You got lucky... not that I'm into fashion by any means... but if I was a cop and pulled you over for speeding, no excuse would work with fingerless gloves... sorry lol:Eyecrazy:

Heh, good story. Did you buy a lottery ticket as mentioned above?

Fingerless gloves??


I've explained this before...

If you'll look to the left you will see that I'm located in Houston, which is one of the most miserably humid cities I've ever lived in. I was born in Pennsylvania, and lived in Ohio for many years. I am a cold-and-dry climate creature. If the humidity ever goes above 50%, I start to sweat like I'm wearing a garbage bag. If the temperature is above 50 degrees, I drive with the windows down. When most of Houston is wearing winter coats and making use of their seat warmers, I'm in a t-shirt & shorts with the windows down wishing it was just a little bit cooler.

Put me in an RX8 with a leather steering wheel on a fun road and you'll quickly understand why I wear gloves. I sweat like a fat guy jumping rope in the attic on a 100 degree day. The steering wheel gets a salty crust around my hands. Sweat beads down my arms and drips off my elbows onto my lap. When I shift hard a misty spray comes off my hands like when a sweaty boxer takes a hard punch to the head. Actual pools of sweat form in the creases of the seats...
...It's pretty damn nasty.

I try to drive without them as much as possible, as I do look like quite the tard, but there are just some days when I care more about enjoying the open road than I care about how I look to other drivers.

lmao - "originally posted by everyone"



man, that might just be the worst combination of wrong car (crappy AC) & wrong state eva!


while I can't argue that the drive is way more important than looking "like quite the tard", wouldn't it be easier to just omit the mention of fingerless gloves? :dunno:

Heh...Added info to his "Permanent File"

"He's a schwety bastard..." Got it...

Wow...

he probably didnt get to clock you with a gun so couldnt give you a ticket. =x

Prlly right, but only for a speeding ticket. Reckless driving, exhibition of speed, and a few others are much more subjective and still coulda been handed out.

wouldn't it be easier to just omit the mention of fingerless gloves? :dunno:

Meh - I bring it up for 2 reasons:

1) It adds quite a bit to the how-the-hell-did-I-not-go-to-jail factor of the story. People get lucky every day with speeding tickets. Long-haired, glove-wearing, kids, blasting grating music, in hot-shit sports cars almost never catch a break.

2) One of these days I'm going to be able to attend one of the get-together events, and when I do, people are going to notice the gloves. I mention the gloves (mostly in the Gulf forums), so that I don't have to answer the "omg y do u have gloves on??" question 60-something times when I meet everyone face-to-face.

Meh - I bring it up for 2 reasons:

1) It adds quite a bit to the how-the-hell-did-I-not-go-to-jail factor of the story. People get lucky every day with speeding tickets. Long-haired, glove-wearing, kids, blasting grating music, in hot-shit sports cars almost never catch a break.

2) One of these days I'm going to be able to attend one of the get-together events, and when I do, people are going to notice the gloves. I mention the gloves (mostly in the Gulf forums), so that I don't have to answer the "omg y do u have gloves on??" question 60-something times when I meet everyone face-to-face.

That and he has something to take off and slap you in the face in the event he has to challenge anyone to a duel...

lol. and the added advantage of not having the pistol slip from his hands.


^^lots of sound reasoning, imo.




:beerchug:

^ true...I hate that when it happens...or when you fumble on reload...

I pulled over a red mt 8 a few weeks ago. He said he was going to join the boards. We talked outside of his car for about 30 minutes. I pulled him for going around a really tight corner pretty fast. I wasnt going to pull him but I figured he is probably on the boards so I might know him.

I pulled over a red mt 8 a few weeks ago. He said he was going to join the boards. We talked outside of his car for about 30 minutes. I pulled him for going around a really tight corner pretty fast. I wasnt going to pull him but I figured he is probably on the boards so I might know him.

nice so you pulled him over cause you might have known him...sweet...

I pulled over a red mt 8 a few weeks ago. He said he was going to join the boards. We talked outside of his car for about 30 minutes. I pulled him for going around a really tight corner pretty fast. I wasnt going to pull him but I figured he is probably on the boards so I might know him. But I figured since I did I'd mess w/him a bit, cuz I can.

Fixed.


kidding, kidding. Tho you def should have come back to the car w/"seems there's a warrant out for you"

:lol2:

"Step outta the car right meow!!"

Fixed.


kidding, kidding. Tho you def should have come back to the car w/"seems there's a warrant out for you"

:lol2:

I had a buddy show in the middle of out conversation. I think he got a little nervous as if I was stalling for some reason. He was cool about it. I forgot his name so I wont know if he ever comes on here or not. Next time I will remember about the warant. That would be funny. Then give them a rx8club.com card and leave. :rollingla

make sure you have "pwnd by plice34" somewhere on that card!

Aww yea....

J00 just got SERVED by police34...do not pass go, do not collect $200, proceed directly to RX8CLUB.COM....

LOL on my drive to work today I saw a Charger Cop parked along that road. I waved as I passed, and the cop just sternly glared back and pointed at me in that "You watch yourself" kind of way.

...have to wonder if it was the same guy...

Nice...next time wave and take a picture...they REALLY hate that...nothing spells "beat down and liberal abuse of your civil rights" like taking a picture of a cop for some odd reason...

Prlly was. I think the po-pos usually drive the same cruiser. Am I wrong in that assumption po-po?


BTW - just noticed your location ½mv² - :rofl:

Hard to tell - This entire county just got a fresh load of Laser-equiped, black, Chargers. They're a not-so-rich county that likes it slow that have more-rich counties that like it fast all around them. They'll pull you over for going .00001 over the speed limit, give you a ticket, and be there on the court date.

I got my first ticket ever in that county when I was 16 :)

the LA sheriff department hasn't upgraded their crown vics for like 10000000000 billion years or something, this ferrari flew by at LEAST 180+ and the cop turned on his light tried to run after it(this is on a street not highway) and the cop was like to my left, the car passed to my right, he tried running after it, then he turned off his sirens and continued to drive off into a neighborhood..............sad

your one lucky bastard. and i sometimes have fingerless gloves on when driving, only because i wear them when im at the gym working out. and i hate those all blacked out chargers. ive seen a camaro state trooper that looked cool.

I've explained this before...

If you'll look to the left you will see that I'm located in Houston, which is one of the most miserably humid cities I've ever lived in. I was born in Pennsylvania, and lived in Ohio for many years. I am a cold-and-dry climate creature. If the humidity ever goes above 50%, I start to sweat like I'm wearing a garbage bag. If the temperature is above 50 degrees, I drive with the windows down. When most of Houston is wearing winter coats and making use of their seat warmers, I'm in a t-shirt & shorts with the windows down wishing it was just a little bit cooler.

Put me in an RX8 with a leather steering wheel on a fun road and you'll quickly understand why I wear gloves. I sweat like a fat guy jumping rope in the attic on a 100 degree day. The steering wheel gets a salty crust around my hands. Sweat beads down my arms and drips off my elbows onto my lap. When I shift hard a misty spray comes off my hands like when a sweaty boxer takes a hard punch to the head. Actual pools of sweat form in the creases of the seats...
...It's pretty damn nasty.

I try to drive without them as much as possible, as I do look like quite the tard, but there are just some days when I care more about enjoying the open road than I care about how I look to other drivers.

ive yet to see you drive that rx without first putting on those glove, REGARDLESS of the outside temperature.

you love them. admit it.

That and he has something to take off and slap you in the face in the event he has to challenge anyone to a duel...

lol that explains everything. next ricer that pulls up to him is going to get one sweaty, partial glove across the face.

I know what you mean about sweating, not only because I'm from the Northwest and have lived in VA, FL, IL, and CA the past 3 years, but because I know how sweat will damage natural goods. Back home I purchased a new katana with a stingray skin handle from the Hanwei foundry. I held it for an hour or so, during which my sweat turned the white stringray into a nasty brown color... Lesson is, keep your greasy hands off the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter. And to do that, you need to get with the program, now! Introducing the fingerless rotary collection Summer 2007:


http://www.underway.us/rx8/gloves/spread.jpg
http://www.underway.us/rx8/gloves/spread.jpg


See me sweat (http://www.underway.us/rx8/gloves/sweat.jpg)


Who wants a taste of the old rotary power while I'm wearing these bad boys? Forget about it!

My friend Got lucky as hell one time too. I was riding Shotgun in my 8, and he redlines through 1st and 2nd, going into 3rd we shoots past the cop doing 75 in a 35. We get pulled over of course. So we're sitting there waiting for the cop to write up the ticket for nearly 20 minutes. The cop comes back, frustrated as hell, he tells my friend "you should buy a lottery ticket, it's your lucky day, i'm out of tickets." I kept looking back in the mirror, the cop was tearing through his cruiser looking for his booklet.