The Automotive Thread

[Dexman PE PMP]

F*ck minivans. That is all.

more room in the back of a minivan than a sports car... bet it would be more comfortable to stretch out and play games in...

A blanket fits quite nicely in the trunk of the car and unfolds to create a much better place to stretch out under the stars...

 

[Lumber Jim]

F*ck minivans. That is all.

more room in the back of a minivan than a sports car... bet it would be more comfortable to stretch out and play games in...

Like I said, the stow and go seating is awesome.

 

[envirotex]

[SIZE=medium]Man I hate to admit this……. J[/SIZE] we rented a minivan (Town & Country something or other) for our vacation (we drove around 1700 miles in it) not sure if I just have never owned a car with all the bells and whistles (DVD player, USB ports, electrical outlets, 200 cup holders, sat radio built in, etc) but that vehicle made getting around with 5 people a hell of a lot easier than I think my Tahoe would have (even though the Tahoe has more room) but it just felt like it was a bigger vehicle( must be the 2[SIZE=small]nd[/SIZE] row bucket seats) . I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to own one, but for a vacation / rental need I would definitely rent one again….

I wish my tahoe had the 2nd row bucket seats versus the 60-40 bench seat- makes it a PIA for whomever has to get in the 3rd row.....

We always rent for long road trips...the best part is handing the keys back to the rental guy after you've been driving it around for a week with your kids trashing out the back...

 

[MetsFan]

We have rented minivans for trips before and it they are so nice! We only have one kid, but there's plenty of times where I think, "Man, if I had a minivan..." We have a Grand Caravan for work and you can get a giant amount of stuff in one.

Had to replace the brakes and rotors on my 2006 Escape today. I keep telling myself that it's still cheaper than having a car payment, but ouch.

I hear you, I just paid $300 for the shop to reprogram my car. All they did was push a couple of buttons!

 

[Road Guy]

if you get the pads done on time you can usually avoid the rotars (but brakes and rotors are pretty cheap and fairly easily to install yourself) - dont you have a husband?

But I have been quilty in the past of letting the pads go and buying new rotors- now I just put on new pads every year.. take a few hours but its one of the best things you can learn to do for a car that will save you money.. its a crime what people charge for them.....

**** this just reminded me that I sold my hydraulic jack when I moved that I used to use to change said brakes

 

[DVINNY]

We have rented minivans for trips before and it they are so nice! We only have one kid, but there's plenty of times where I think, "Man, if I had a minivan..." We have a Grand Caravan for work and you can get a giant amount of stuff in one.

Had to replace the brakes and rotors on my 2006 Escape today. I keep telling myself that it's still cheaper than having a car payment, but ouch.

I'm assuming that you had a shop do it? That does get pricey. The first time pays for itself for you to buy a nice jack, electric impact wrench and whatever specialty tool you may (or may not) need to get the caliper off.

Is an easy job to do really.

 

[csb]

How often do brakes need to be replaced?

 

[Road Guy]

if you get your tires rotated you can ask the folks who do that to look at the brake pads when they remove the tires, I generally replace them when they have about 1/3 of the pad left, saves all that work on the rotors and such...(assuming you have disc brakes and not drums)

 

[MA_PE]

Pad life depends on how hard you ride the brakes. IMHO should be about 30k miles, but some folks get much less

 

[Road Guy]

Dex gets around 5k miles I imagine

 

[blybrook PE]

I've had pads last 10k, others 80k. All depends on the vehicle and how you drive.

The 10k pads were not the riveted type and I have a feeling thats one main reason they failed. Separation is never a good thing.

 

[csb]

I had about 80k on these brakes.

Good call on avoiding rotor work.

 

[NJmike PE]

I did front brakes on my xterra last summer at my buddies house. I knew I had worn them down a bit, but realized exactly how much on the way there. I pulled out onto the highway and the remnants of my pads fell out and I began braking with the caliper piston. It was only for 10 minutes but it was enough to begin score the piston, but not enough to require it to be replaced. I think I got somewhere around 30-40k on them.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Dex gets around 5k miles I imagine

You assume I slow down. I just passed 51k on my factory pads thank you very much.

I am shopping for new pads though and am debating upgrading to a larger 6-piston caliper for the front.

 

[mudpuppy]

Pad life depends on how hard you ride the brakes. IMHO should be about 30k miles, but some folks get much less

Good grief 30k? Or less?? I shoot for around 80k. On the other hand, I avoid big cities that have traffic where I have to stop a lot.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Downshifting is your friend.

 

[snickerd3]

Pad life depends on how hard you ride the brakes. IMHO should be about 30k miles, but some folks get much less

Good grief 30k? Or less?? I shoot for around 80k. On the other hand, I avoid big cities that have traffic where I have to stop a lot.

This!

 

[Supe]

Dex gets around 5k miles I imagine

You assume I slow down. I just passed 51k on my factory pads thank you very much.

I am shopping for new pads though and am debating upgrading to a larger 6-piston caliper for the front.

You too can experience the absurd pricing of Wilwood pads!

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

I was looking at the Hawk pads, but there seems to be quite a few complaints of them squeaking. Surprisingly, the stock pads seem to be the best overall option.

 

[Supe]

Hawk HPS and HP+ are decent street pads. Stay away from anything EBC makes other than the Yellow Stuff pads.