Yea... it was bad last night again too. I haven't been able to spend some time in an empty parking lot to just get a feel for what the rear end wants to do when its slippery.

Also, do you guys feel that the ABS is really quiet compared to most cars? Like I feel the brake pedal pulse a little, but nothing as server as some of the other systems I've heard out there.
This is my first car that has ABS, its pretty neat so far.
Also my first car that is rear wheel drive - all the time. I had an explorer and ranger before, rear until you drop it into 4 wheel.

The fact that I'm not the only one driving the car in the winter makes me feel a lot better. There were 1 or 2 cavaliers on the drive home from buffalo, but mostly all semis and SUVs and pick ups. I am really arrogant, but even I will notice those things and be like, hmm, there might be a reason for this.

Are we through doing any meets? Wait until the lake freezes and then go ice racing?

 

I wouldn't say its less noticeable than previous cars I've driven.
Yulia's Mazda 3 feels the same (far as pulsing goes).
Remember... the harder you apply the brake, the more you'll feel the pulsations.
Your car does an ABS check after sitting for awhile (that's the "thump" you hear/feel when you first move).
If the ABS wasn't working like it should, it would disable itself.

I don't think snow should stop us from meeting... but most will probably be driving different vehicles.
You can pop some flames to keep us warm
Or maybe schedule "meets" when you guys need to work on something (like Ryan with his coils/plugs) and just make it a casual, "feel free to stop by" instead of our usual meets at restaurants.
Like when I change my coils, everyone is welcomed to stop by. May not last that long, but at least I have a pool table and plenty of beer left over from our Halloween Party.
Just throwing ideas out.

 

yea...I wouldn't mind chillin and shootin the **** or whatever...just a weather dependent thing. Maybe catch a football came or two some time.

 

^^not a bad idea John.

 

Football??? Cars???? Beer????

Wow, where do I sign up?

 

I just got back from Las Vegas and when I saw this I had to get one in honor of John. Worlds biggest umbrella drink!

Btw, I think my Durango has finally sh*t the bed and I'm going to start looking for a new winter ride. I'm thinking about the CX7 since I've grown accustomed to having a vehicle with a hatch that you can toss things into, though I worry that it might be just a bit small. Then again I don't really want to go much bigger, since the gas price honeymoon we're having right now can't last forever. My wife is lobbying for Murano, and the Nissan vs. Mazda debate is underway.

 

Jon from the Cleveland6Club has a CX7 and loves it.

http://cleveland6club.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1636

 

I spent a lot of time considering the CX7. When the seats lay down there is plenty of room for normal, SUVish tasks. The car drives well although ya gotta get used to the turbo (I test drove two).

The downsides are the fuel mileage which isn't much better if at all then the RX8 (17-21 MPG for the AWD version) and the starting cost. If you're looking for pure value nothing beat the Jeep Patriot but that thing is the epitome of economy. I like the '08 tribute/escapes and they get better mileage and around the same storage space.

I peeked at the Nissan but they just redesigned the Murano. I didn't like the previous one but the '09s appear to be a very good compromise between the CX7 and the Escape/Patriot cars. And you can get used '09s for under 25k. CX7s go back to 2007 so there are more options on the used market and Patriots unfortunately only go back a year so there were almost none of them. You can get the redesigned 08 Escape/Tributes now used for around 16-18k and 07 CX7s touring or grand touring for about the same price.

 

Thanks for the input . . . I hadn't thought about the Patriot at all. I'm going to go out on Saturday and drive the CX-7, the Murano and perhaps the Patriot as well. I'm going to have to go back through the back issues of my car mags. I recall one of them savaging the '09 Murano recently. I think the gist of it was Nissan had softened it up in terms of the performance and handling in favor of making it more luxurious.

We may actually end up going new instead of used. My wife had her annual review at work today and it must've gone well because she just emailed me and offered to "pay for it."

 

Performance seems like something you shouldn't care about. It's a DD SUV - not a track car. Handling obviously matters but if it's built on a car frame, which most of the smaller SUVs are, then it will probably handle twice as good as your Durango.

Besides luxury is a good thing. Its one thing to add unneccesary bling to a sportscar adding weight, wasting power, and providing distractions to the driver. It's another thing to add a GPS to a car your wife drives.

Nice. Sugar-mommas rock.

 

Hey, that Durango handled pretty damn well! Especially when you goosed the throttle going around a curve on a wet road. Nothing like going sideways down a narrow street in Little Italy to get your blood flowing.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get stuck driving whatever it is we end up getting, since my wife is partial to her Maxima. It's her baby.

 

Hey peeps -

Need some advice from other car folks. Got another ticket ( 2 speeding tickets total in life... 2 in the last 6 months... both in the RX8)

Anyway, it "alledged" events occurred in Painesville. State Highway Patrol. Claimed 77-65. He wrote that he was moving but he was sitting in the median... Plus my cruise was set at 76, and with the smaller 17inch rims I calculated that I over state my speed 2mph per 60mph intervals... so I was really going like 73.5mph.

What has been your experiences fighting tickets or getting them reduced? Think its worth it?

 

You can question the accuracy of the gun...but it won't do you any good to argue over the 3 MPH. It isn't even worth the $$$. You are talking about $15 in savings. And what your cruise was set at doesn't matter nor does your math. As soon as you say your cruise was set to 76 they will take that as you admitting guilt and call it a day.

 

Good thought: I won't say anything about my cruise...

Thoughts about the saying he was moving when he was sitting in the median?

 

It is worth it on the long haul to have the points removed however to do that it will usually cost you more money up front. I would attend your hearing rather than just mailing in the ticket, dress nice, and ask the judge/overseerdude if you please no contest can they remove the points. Better to have a lawyer do it but if you are respectful and dressed well most judges will let it slide.

They're in it to collect money anyway and usually could give a crap about points.

BTW - 75 in a 65 is rough. Ouch. Did you brake when you saw the cop or keep on going 75?

 

Yeah, thats the biggest thing - i don't want the points. I can handle the 100 dollar ticket.

Cop clocked me at 77. I was set at 76... and when I passed him I dropped it down to 71, but I never hit the brakes. I just coast down. I guess I view the brakes coming on as the "I'm guilty" lights.

Perhaps I should reconsider my strategy.

 

Yeah. I've debated this one for years but I -always- brake when I see a cop. There's three reasons why that seems to be the more sensible option:

1) Cops aren't always that fast. If you brake before they click the gun you're safe!

2) Some cops really are just trying to help keep the roads safe. These cops are much more likely to take pity on someone who saw a cop early and responded, displaying road awareness possibly in response to realizing they were speeding without knowing it, and are unlikely to pose a big risk to the rest of the road.

3) Cops have egos and most have power trips (especially those not into option #2). When people don't respond to their presence they feel disrespected and that triggers their power trip to teach the person a lesson.

Dunno. It's worked well for me. The only two tickets I've gotten in my life have occurred when I went over a hill on a back road at the same time a cop was going up the hill on the other side (10 over) and 9/12/2002 when I was distracted on 77N just past 80 in Brecksville looking for my checkbook. I got behind a train of cars who had just passed me and I accellerated to match them and pass the car I'd gotten stuck behind. I missed the cop on the right until after I was through. He never clocked me but he clocked the train and figured I was as guilty as the first guy.

The rest of the time I seem to manage just fine. I've probably been clocked 10 over by a cop ~100 times in the past 10 years, always brake when I see them, and have only gotten tickets when I wasn't paying attention or just got unlucky. I've settled down to keeping it at around 8 over unless it's a rush hour (no cops!) but still have my moments when I probably deserve a ticket.

 

You guys are funny. This is simple. Cop gets assigned to go out an run radar. They set some mental limit, or are told a limit by there boss. Usually they'll give you 5 or 6 miles over.. Maybe as much as 10. A lot depends on how many complaints there have been in an area and the speed of the rest of the flow of traffic. But if you're going faster, that's it. You get clocked, you're going over that limit, you're gonna get pulled over. The number of your speed shows on the display. End of story.

It's not about egos or any of that other crap.

Look at it this way. With all the "spirited" driving we do, if you get a ticket or two, you got off a hundred other times.

 

I don't know what this spirited driving is that you speak of.

 

 

I've met a lot of cops. I have yet to meet on that doesn't have a big ego.

Anyway just settle for reason number 1 why you brake. You brake faster than the cop clicks and you win. Be a lot more fun with track brakes. By the time he clicks I could be stopped.

Screw that. I like winning the cat&mouse game entirely too much.

 

I would agree with Doc on this one.
When I worked with the fire dept and we were in good terms with Streetsboro PD, this discussion would come up (mainly making fun of people trying to get out of tickets).
One thing that stuck out the most was that they would say honesty is your best way out of a ticket.
People give them attitudes and dumb stories, so they are less forgiving.

Now one thing you brought up was that he was in the medium, but wrote he was moving.
IF you can prove that the ticket has flaws, then its possible to fight it. But you need to prove it.

 

I think that's true most of the time, Doc, particularly with respect to the state troopers. But I tend to agree with Ryan with respect to some of the local boys. I still haven't figured out why it is that Ohio allows townies to patrol our Interstates. These are the guys who are sent out to raise revenue for their town coffers and some of them are pretty fickle, not to mention poorly trained and underpaid. As a case in point, we have a case in my office where an officer filed suit following an injury he sustained while writing a ticket. He's employed by a certain local suburb notorious for their speed trap on I-71. At deposition he admitted that he's a truck driver by trade, and works part time as a "police officer." He makes under $10/hr.

Anyway, Vyn, if you decide to show up at Painesville Muni Court, be sure to use the magic words: "Your honor, may I approach the card table?"

 

Difference here is...if he didn't clock him while he was in the medium but after he had identified him as traveling above the limit and gunned him after he pulled out. BTW...moving gives more room in the speed department because the gun is less accurate which is why he might have done it. So he could get the extra $30 out of you.

 

Bag Of Crap