# General car talk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 30, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611 "2022-08-30T15:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/301 "2023-08-16T02:38:28Z")
So after changing the oil, I went to rotate the tires on our Subaru Forester today. I couldn’t get one lug nut off completely, after about five turns in the lug nut seized. So out comes the breaker bar, as I figured that the stud was toast anyway and I would be replacing the stud. Turns out that only the last 3mm of thread on the stud were fucked, but the threads on the nut were gone. Replacing the stud requires removing the brake caliper, but of course the 14mm bolt holding the caliper were also frozen. Since I only had a 12 point socket, I was a bit wary of using gorilla strength to loosen the bolts. I’ll have to get a 6 point socket, and probably an impact drive just to make it easy. Until then, I was able to clean up the stud and get a new nut to engage the good threads. So it’s good for now, but researching how to replace the stud showed that this is a common issue on Subarus. So now I need to decide if I want to replace the one bad stud, or go ahead on proactively replace all 20 studs and nuts. It’s just so much fun learning that your particular car has a known issue of weak-ass wheel hardware. On the plus side, I now have a reason to get an impact drive and a set of 6 point sockets. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/302 "2023-08-16T21:34:59Z")
> [@Capn\_Carl](#): > > but Honda wanted that car to be the best-handling car on the market, so they specified a lot of camber. The cars handled well and tire wear was acceptable—as long as it was driven aggressively the tires would wear evenly. But if the owner drove the car mildly, the camber caused excessive wear to the outside edges of the tires. IIRC, Honda later specified less camber due to complaints about tire wear. The performance BMWs are set up the same way. Above about 100mph, the lift of the car gets the camber right. Any slower and the high camber eats outer tread. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/303 "2023-08-17T00:21:39Z")
I haven’t read the thread, but every time I see the title I think it sounds like a Klingon. ‘General Kartok’. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/304 "2023-08-17T08:48:34Z")
I didn’t know that. Seems like they’d want to use aerodynamic devices to eliminate that lift. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/305 "2023-08-18T11:47:30Z")
that’s one of the reasons i loathe working on cars… you start out doing one 20 min job, and things start caramboling like on a billard table … 4 trips into town and $200 poorer you spend the whole weekend under the car (which at this stage cannot be used, as you are waiting for spare-part X) … no, … not for me any longer … (same seems to apply to minor PC or OS touch-ups… well fugg-me-sideways, now the BT controller is no longer visible to win11) not sure if I get too old or too smart to not dive into those chain-reaction prone jobs ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/306 "2023-08-18T16:21:51Z")
Oops, wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/307 "2023-08-18T20:55:50Z")
Ford is producing a Mustang supercar. I’m sure there’s a market for it, but at $300K how many can there be? > **[2025 Ford Mustang GTD revealed as a $300,000 race car for the road](https://autos.yahoo.com/2025-ford-mustang-gtd-supercar-003000493.html)** > > There’s never been a Mustang quite like this: the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD. There's never been a Mustang priced like this, either. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/308 "2023-08-18T23:14:26Z")
The goal isn’t to sell Mustang GTDs. The goal is to sell far more of the more pedestrian Mustangs by reflected glory from the GTD. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/309 "2023-08-19T04:57:20Z")
Is that a homologation model? Edit: yep, maybe I ought to read the linked story first. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/310 "2023-08-19T12:33:26Z")
Think of it like the 2nd gen Ford GT. It’s a barely streetable race car built by Multimatic for collectors. They’ll sell 100 a year or so. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/311 "2023-08-19T16:11:31Z")
Here’s what impressed me in that article: Ford CEO Jim Farley (whom I had never heard of 5 minutes ago, is a [competitive racing driver](https://www.autoblog.com/2021/12/06/jim-farley-vintage-racing-win/). As a [former amateur, non-competitive, track driver myself](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-high-performance-driving-instructor/354791), I think that’s really cool, and gives me a lot more respect for Ford and Farley. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/312 "2023-08-19T22:45:40Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > you start out doing one 20 min job, and things start caramboling like on a billard table … 4 trips into town and $200 poorer you spend the whole weekend under the car (which at this stage cannot be used, as you are waiting for spare-part X) … Yikes! I just spent three hours removing the water pump on my Ranger. I swear I used to be able to completely change the thing start to finish in less time. Getting that fan off this time though was a bear. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/313 "2023-08-19T22:50:03Z")
Every vehicle gets harder to work on over time. I’m not talking about model year changes. The very same specific VIN number gets harder over time. Mostly because stuff seizes, rusts, gets dirt in/on it, etc. And we get older and less spry and it’s harder to see, etc. To the degree we’re installing truly cheap overseas 3rd party parts, it’s a sure thing that when they in turn need to be replaced they’ll have more trouble with stuck fasteners, stripped whatevers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/314 "2023-08-19T23:13:46Z")
Yeah, the water pump bolts are looking suspicious. Need to track some new ones down. Still not too bad for a 32 year old truck with 355K miles. First new vehicle I bought when I started working, and it made it to my retirement. I’m pretty pleased with that. It came with a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty. Four months after I bought it it was out of warranty based on miles. Ford really should have had more faith in their product. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/315 "2023-08-23T02:08:44Z")
That’s 3rd gen GT. And yes, they sell enough to keep people lusting after it. A whole lot of moaning went on in the racing paddocks when Ford announced the end of the GT. I’m looking forward to this Mustang GTD. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/316 "2023-08-27T20:58:18Z")
The LeMans winning car from the 60s was the GT40. Ford was pretty adamant in their marketing materials that the 2005 GT was a new model with a new name, albeit an homage to the GT40. The 2017 GT is the 2nd gen. Pedantry, I know. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2023, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/317 "2023-08-27T23:16:01Z")
And correct pedantry, so it doesn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/318 "2023-10-04T14:27:35Z")
Some brilliant car innovations which the fickle public didn’t appreciate: > **[It seemed like a good idea at the time: 9 car designs that went nowhere](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10/it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time-9-car-designs-that-went-nowhere/)** > > Flying cars, amphicars, two-engined cars, steam cars—not every idea is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/319 "2023-10-04T14:38:40Z")
Like your Mom used to say: > Just because you _can_ do something doesn’t mean you _should_. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/320 "2023-10-06T01:49:06Z")
I’m not sure what thread this should go in, (unintended) self driving? maybe one of the EV ones? So I’m putting it here. A guy couldn’t get his MG electric car to slow down below 30 MPH, until eventually letting it hit the rear of a police van, which then slowed it down. All I can think is the car must have had multiple system failures. I’m having trouble imagining what (non-deliberate) driver error could lead to this situation. This isn’t the MG of our youth, but rather SAIC Motors of China, which bought the MG brand. > **['I was kidnapped by my runaway electric car'](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-67005620)** > > Brian Morrison's MG ZS EV had a malfunction near Glasgow and had to crash into a police van to stop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611.md?page=17)