Automotive Addicts Lounge V4 - Lube my pistons, baby - General

[QUOTE=DanTehMan;50911028]Why doesn't every new vehicle simply include an automatic transmission with a manual gear selection mode? Isn't this the best of both worlds?[/QUOTE] Cost, and cheap ones suck. In europe there is demand for as cheap as possible hatchbacks. A standard manual box is as cheap as it gets

[QUOTE=DanTehMan;50911028]Why doesn't every new vehicle simply include an automatic transmission with a manual gear selection mode? Isn't this the best of both worlds?[/QUOTE] Automatic transmissions work in a very different way compared to a regular manual transmission. They also have quite a bit of a drivetrain loss, meaning they're less efficient than a manual transmission. They're also massively more complicated than a manual. Newer autos are improving though, and they're even passing manuals in fuel economy, due to an increase in gears and very well programmed transmission controllers, as well as now being able to lock the input on the transmission to the engine. Enthusiast also prefer manuals, since they feel it gives them a better connection and control over the car. A lot of regular cars still have fairly bad autos as well, especially with manual gear "selection" (it's more like you're asking the transmission if it could shift, not telling it) [editline]19th August 2016[/editline] You also have dual clutch transmissions, which are special manual transmissions with a computer controlled clutch or clutches, and controls similar to automatics. They don't have the same drivetrain loss as a automatic, but are even more complicated, and not as tried and developed as regular autos. They are very popular in high performance cars though, since they offer extremely quick gear changes and responsivenes.

[QUOTE=Birdman101;50911692]Are there even any cvts that are geared for max performance, and dont have pussy wannabe fake shift points? Im talking aomething you could just pin the throttle on and the pulleys would spin at max torque for takeoff, then just follow a curve to get you to max speed in minimum time. Does that exist?[/QUOTE] Our Freestyle would kinda slug along until you got to about 20 MPH, then it would just sit at 6k all the way up to 110. I would be interested in seeing it start at peak performance though.

[QUOTE=JesseR92;50912683]Also I need a new engine wiring harness for my new Yorker its become such a headache cant even start it now.[/QUOTE] Its caveman simple made from roots and rock dust! What are the symptoms? Wont turn over? Start by jumping the solenoid on the drivers side fender Will turn over, wont fire? Ignition box isnt grounded to the body, bad coil, bad distributor, no power to coil Wont charge? Swap it for a GM 1 wire alternator and be done No fuel? Vapor lock from heat, put a wooden carb spacer underneith I think thats it [editline]19th August 2016[/editline] For those good with audio I'm looking at a set of new 6.5s for my truck under $150. How are a set of lightning audio L65?

My friend is selling his drag Supra if anyone is interested :D I helped him making a short demo video of the car. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9KnJ-BtNaw&feature=youtu.be[/media]

Took this pic last holiday, was just in the side street of a big boulevard in Spain. [img]http://i.imgur.com/LcliUKD.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=DanTehMan;50911028]Why doesn't every new vehicle simply include an automatic transmission with a manual gear selection mode? Isn't this the best of both worlds?[/QUOTE] The one in my cheap 2013 Hyundai Econobox isn't bad at all

[t]http://i.imgur.com/8mPX4GA.jpg[/t] Tiny sampler of the cruise night in my new home town. The streets are closed and we got to watch four cars get towed to clear the way, including a Porsche! Local thrift shop owner invited us to come hang out and watch the show. It's perfect weather and we have perfect seats for this event. I'm gonna take a ton of pictures. There's so much Detroit iron in town and it's all going to come thundering right past me. Huge numbers of roadsters.

[QUOTE=Valon Kyre;50913811]Its caveman simple made from roots and rock dust! What are the symptoms? Wont turn over? Start by jumping the solenoid on the drivers side fender Will turn over, wont fire? Ignition box isnt grounded to the body, bad coil, bad distributor, no power to coil Wont charge? Swap it for a GM 1 wire alternator and be done No fuel? Vapor lock from heat, put a wooden carb spacer underneith I think thats it [editline]19th August 2016[/editline] For those good with audio I'm looking at a set of new 6.5s for my truck under $150. How are a set of lightning audio L65?[/QUOTE] No spark,the harness is toast though the insulation on the wiring is all cracked and brittle,been spliced and added on(badly) it needs to go.

[QUOTE=cardfan212;50913053]Our Freestyle would kinda slug along until you got to about 20 MPH, then it would just sit at 6k all the way up to 110. I would be interested in seeing it start at peak performance though.[/QUOTE] I thought the CVT in the Freestyle was decent. You have to keep in mind you only have 160-ish on a cold day horsepower to that CVT. So it was sluggish even at peak.

Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:

Hobbies... outside of cars? I'm not sure I understand the question :V: Seriously though, I just play video games, play the guitar and shoot guns. All my other spare time goes into cars.

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] motorcycles, guns, strong tobacco, old whiskey, good beer, and being a weeaboo pile of trash as an extension of motorcycles and cars there's also fabrication, which I don't strictly enjoy doing but I do enjoy the outcome of having something I built myself that's cheaper and better than an off the shelf component

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] Tech and mechanical shit in general. I'm the horrible mix of a 'backyard engineer' and a actual engineer. Which is probably born from the fact I've been perpetually broke for around 5 years, even though I prefer to do things [I]RIGHT [/I] instead of just [I]good enough[/I].

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] Hey, at least you have a real hobby. A big chunk of humans just work all day on a job that doesn't really require any skills and then they brush it off by spending all their free time recovering with social media and tv. Next to cars I'm really into computers and I have some degrees in there and I'm simply passionate about my work. I'd like to have way more hobby's sure, but I prefer quality over quantity. I'd rather have 1 or 2 hobby's I'm really passionate about (Racing and computers) and be someone skilled in those area's then spend all my free time juggling a bunch of hobbies that don't really get me anywhere. whatever :v: [sp]pui[/sp]

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] Computers, guns, fishing, and moving. Really, try moving often. It's fun and takes up a bunch of free time for researching and packing :v:

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]-burned out-[/QUOTE] Idk man. I've got the opposite issue, too many hobbies not enough time. I do alot of Fishing , Shooting Guns, Flying RC airplane's, Camping and Light computer gaming. Everyone likes planes and stuff. Should do it. It's fun crashing into stuff and doing things planes really shouldn't do like hover.

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] For me, I typically find my TV and reading only work to unwind after work. Same with games. On the weekends, if I spend a Saturday doing nothing, I'm so bored and delirious by early evening I feel antsy to do anything not related to a computer or TV screen. Hobby wise I tend to do a lot of driving (yeah, it's part of my job and gets old, but it does help. I really enjoy just casually driving around the countryside outside of our town with no real goal or destination), I spend a lot of money and time at the firing range (I used to do competitive shooting and will likely get back into it at one point in time or another soon), and just generally tinkering with either my car or random stuff around my house.

[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/New%20Bucket/IMG_5640.jpg[/IMG] Sure am looking forward to my next project! [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/New%20Bucket/IMG_5623.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/New%20Bucket/IMG_5629.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/New%20Bucket/IMG_5632.jpg[/IMG] I might have to pull my car off the road at this point. What do you think I should to to tackle this?

So I found another 300zx that's a 1990, 2+2 five speed it is damn near absolutely mint for 1200 because of lost title and bad fuel injectors, as well as something with the tranny. I don't care how it runs as I have 2 other 300zx''s. I just want the shell off this one. Now, I was thinking, since I basically want the entire interior and exterior, one of my friends said to just swap out the vins. I'm not too sure how comfortable I am with doing that, but wanted to get your guys thought's on it? I know there's another Vin on the door as well. But they are both 1990 300zx 2+2, is there a 'legal' way getting like a Vin transfer

Done did babby's first plug change on my WRX. Wasn't too bad but god damn the driver's side is so fucking cramped. Best thing I did was get a plug socket with a Ujoint, and tied some wire to it to yank it out. Old plugs had like 3 times the proper gap (it was causing me to have high boost sputtering), but looked pretty good. Weren't fouled, just a tinge of crust (plugs are 50k old.. 20k past their change interval :V) Not bad for a boosted motor with 220k on it. Feels so satisfying to do an expensive repair yourself successfully.

[QUOTE=crazycory65;50919938]So I found another 300zx that's a 1990, 2+2 five speed it is damn near absolutely mint for 1200 because of lost title and bad fuel injectors, as well as something with the tranny. I don't care how it runs as I have 2 other 300zx''s. I just want the shell off this one. Now, I was thinking, since I basically want the entire interior and exterior, one of my friends said to just swap out the vins. I'm not too sure how comfortable I am with doing that, but wanted to get your guys thought's on it? I know there's another Vin on the door as well. But they are both 1990 300zx 2+2, is there a 'legal' way getting like a Vin transfer[/QUOTE] You'll have to talk to the DMV, tell them you're want to rebody the car and swap the frames or something and they'll explain to you if it's legal or not. It all depends on the state, in Oregon it's not technically legal to swap the frame of a car because if it's damaged the vehicle is totaled or some shit like that. If you have a brand new truck and the frame gets bent they can't replace it even if you paid for it. You're also not allowed to buy vehicles which have been scrapped, ect. You'd probably need to obtain the title for that car though, if you have all the titles for the major parts things should go a lot easier.

lord why do you tempt me so......some guy 2 towns over is selling a '73 nova SS project car with an LS3/T56 for $5500 the body looked straight from what I saw the paint is fucked but it's original the interior is gutted down to the pans wheels/tires are mismatched and it definitely needs rear shocks at the very least but apparently it runs. I'm really goddamn tempted to see if this thing is a flaming hunk of shit or not and if not I may very well buy it (cause fuck money right?)

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] Shoot guns, consume beer. [IMG]https://fi.somethingawful.com/images/smilies/emot-911.gif[/IMG] But also, play vidya, reading, etc. Don't have time for much else. Trying to get my Xterra (or more accurately, the time off to actually do it) ready to go up in the mountains soon, I'd like to take a few long weekends to camp and hike, haven't been able to in a while since I started working full time and the ex I did it with became ex. If you want to achieve something, make your walks longer and drive your car to more fun places to walk, and then maybe start running a little. I just transitioned from walking every night to running most of them, and if nothing else it makes me feel like I did something worth the time at the end of it.

Oh, also, photography and photo editing. Used to do it with web design as a small business through school too for a few years. And it's been awhile since the cursed Charger showed it's still pretty self on here. [t]http://i.imgur.com/JlQSXbV.jpg[/t]

You should try to get yourself between your subject and the sun, so that everything facing you isn't darker than it needs to be.

Thanks. My car wasn't really what I was photographing on that session. My girlfriend and an abandoned house not seen in the picture was. The car was just snapped when we were getting ready to leave. And the rear end's nowhere near as cute as the front. The girl's got better teeth than ass. It's kinda flat back there.

[QUOTE=clutch2;50918012]Here's a dumb off topic question.. but what do you guys do for hobbies outside of cars? It's the last day of my 2 week vacation from work and I've done my best to not work on almost anything car related, because I'm burned out. I haven't answered calls from work, only did a few little odd jobs, was a lazy sack of shit and watched a ton of TV.. basically did stuff like I haven't done for years. But it also made me realize, if I'm not working on cars, I'm DOING anything of any use. Watching TV and reading books is fun.. but like, as a wind down from your day sort of thing. Even when I was busting ass most days I'd try to catch an hour of animu or reading at night. So I feel like I'm at an impass, a super fragile point in my existence as a human being. It doesn't help I just rewatched Evangelion (if you're teetering on the edge of falling into an existential crisis, don't). So now I feel like Shinji Goddamn Ikari because the only thing that defines him to the world is that he's an Eva pilot. And here I am, the only thing that defines me to the world is I work on cars a lot. That's it. And if I lose (or abandon, or take a break from, or throw away) that identity, what am I? I have no other practical skills anymore, I used to be great at math but haven't done anything more than basic algebra, tops, since college. I used to love to write, but for the last ~2-3 years I just don't have a voice I can put down on paper anymore without it being a struggle and me getting frustrated (it used to just flow and was fun). It didn't define me because no one read the stuff I wrote (aside from my dad, lol :v:) but it made me feel like I was doing something, was multi functional. I'm not one to blow money on a hobby that achieves nothing, like Golf, although I do throw some frisbee golf here and there, or take walks from time to time, or a little bike riding, but that's not quite hobby status for me, just a little pass time, like mowing the lawn. I want to put an end to all this before it destroys my professional career, because legitimately if I didn't do car audio installation (or working on cars in general) I don't know what I'd do or what path I would take. I've grown to really hate (stupid) people (that retail stores seem to attract) and having to do customer service any more than I currently do (maybe 20%-30% of my job) would be a major uphill battle. As it is I can usually vibe and just chill when I'm doing my work. But I can feel it slipping. And I think stepping away from working, going home, then working some more to please all my friends and acquaintances has helped some. But by taking that stress off, I've opened the pandora's box of not knowing who or what I am or even want to be. Wow, Ok, so what do you guys do with your free time other than use it to fall into nothingness? :v:[/QUOTE] My hobbies tend to be kind of all over the place. I'm really into music I've followed bands across the country more than a few times most recently I schlepped gear for six months for a group of my friends who are signed to facedown records. I play guitar and at one point did vocals for a couple local bands back in illinois. I'm also currently working on getting into competitive MMA (train mostly in BJJ and judo with some shorin-ryu karate and muay thai thrown in) I also do 3 gun IDPA and long range shooting competitions as well as a load of other redneck shit AKA mudding,fishing camping in random secluded places for extended periods of time as well as various techy things (shocker what with programmer being my actual job and all)

anyone wanna smell my d16 rice?? [t]http://i.imgur.com/VYSN4YS.jpg[/t]

My hobbies are bodybuilding/the gym, cars, biking, and I'd like to get into long range shooting. I drift between bodybuilding and cars/mechanics, its very hard to do both so I usually do one more than the other for a while and then switch back. Sometimes I get frustrated with bodybuilding so I go back to cars and it gives me a quiet cognitive outlet whereas bodybuilding fills the loud physical & social needs. They are also both really expensive hobbies to do properly... If I could give you an idea clutch, perhaps try refurbing things... stuff like old electrical appliances or radios? Actually, a radio would be right up your alley! I'm just thinking of something that would allow you to branch out on your skills with electrical. Or take up a physcial hobby, gym, rockclimbing, biking (but set a goal), stuff like that. On another note, I pulled the carpet out of my dodge, hosed it off, and painted it black with Duplicolor vinyl and fabric paint (shits awesome). The backstory is after I drove home from work up north I forgot a 4L jug of milk in the back seat... well it got all stinky and leaked onto the back seat and the whole truck reaked! I had a leather back seat already, so I figured I may as well go get a front seat to swap in, and since they're out I'll redo the carpet! Also swapped in some Lightning Audio L65's in the back and its night and day! [thumb]http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u423/Lawblind/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsjqpwflx7.jpeg[/thumb] [thumb]http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u423/Lawblind/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsqjze6qlu.jpeg[/thumb] I think I'll throw some new 6x9's in the front, any recomendations?