What would you like to change most about your car?

[MinisterofDOOM]

I doubt anyone here owns a car they don't like (at least not solely a car they don't like). Well, except maybe Dave. We wouldn't be here if we drove Camrys or were stuck in Altimas when we didn't want to be. But that doesn't mean any of our cars are perfect, either. There's always...that something...that keeps the car from being perfect. That something that reminds you it's wrong every time you drive the car. If anything, the more you love your car the more you notice its weaknesses.

So what are they? What one or two things would you change on your car to make it more perfect? What's holding it back?

For me, it's the open differential. Hands down, it's the car's greatest weakness. It blows my mind that Ford and Jaguar put SO MUCH effort into the DEW chassis and platform as a whole...so much aluminum, so much focus on weight distribution, directly targeting the E39 540i...and then they stuck an open differential in the back to undermine all their work. There are so many aspects of the car that demonstrate exemplary engineering but are held back or countered by the lack of a limited-slip differential.

EVERY TIME I drive the car--regardless of weather or road surface or traction or tires or anything else--EVERY SINGLE DRIVE, I find myself wanting to beat the open diff to death with my bare fists. It makes me genuinely angry. Of course the newest DEW model (the XF) gets a fancy-a** electronic LSD. But ten years ago you couldn't get an S-type, LS, or T-bird with an LSD from the factory--AT ALL. And the crappiest part is that since it's such a niche car, there's no aftermarket solution either. People have hybrided Mustang Cobra diffs into them (since the Cobra had IRS for a while), but it's not easy.

It's stupid. Such a moronic oversight (or misjudgement). I can't believe their design people said "Let's outdo the 5-series" and then slept okay at night without even an OPTIONAL LSD.

[Razi]

I get jealous of the interior quality whenever I get in our '94 Q45.
The S13's interior isn't terrible, but I wish everything felt a bit better.

I hate my differential too, the vlsd is only marginally better than the open diff I used to have.

[Jesda]

A softer ride would be nice. The firm suspension really amplifies the convertible cowl shake. I don't mind body roll as long as there's sufficient grip. I also need a new hood since rust is eating mine little by little each year.

Once in a while I get an itch for an LS or S-type. The S-type in particular is quite a bargain, and you could get it with voice controls and other gadgets. I have a feeling though that this summer or fall I might be following Greg and Becky in ownership of a Honda Insight.

[themadscientist]

I feel my car is lacking something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel something is really holding it back.

[Rev_D21]

Wishing my D21 had LSD. Working on that though.

[frapjap]

That can be an awfully annoying tick against your car. I HATE not having limited slip on a rear drive car.

Things I would change if I could by car:
Trans Am: more power, but it was fast for when it was new so it isn't all that valid. Otherwise, I love the car, but hate, hate, HATE when I go over a bumpy road and when it feels like everything in the chassis makes noise and bounces against itself. Cruising on the highway or around town it'll soak up regular bumps and potholes without protest, but when road imperfections are back to back they're just effing terrible. No squeeks, rattles, or other noises ever- until you go over uneven pavement. I feel like the car will shake apart at times. Drives me crazy.

Miata: cruise control and slightly longer seat bottoms. I have long legs and would like more support there. Otherwise, that automobile is perfection. Plenty of power, amazing handling, and just enough seats for passengers.

Corolla: Front seats are awful. Not just awful, f*** atrocious. No lumbar support, short seat bottoms, no center arm rest. Piss poor ergonomics. Otherwise that car does exactly what it is supposed to- a simple, slow commuting fuel miser with no frills and a decent sized trunk with unparalleled reliability.

[Jesda]

Cruising on the highway or around town it'll soak up regular bumps and potholes without protest, but when road imperfections are back to back they're just effing terrible. No squeeks, rattles, or other noises ever- until you go over uneven pavement. I feel like the car will shake apart at times. Drives me crazy.

The Saab has been like that since I took apart and reassembled the interior last year. My craftsmanship blows. It used to be drum tight inside.

[Razi]

My car rattles like that so much, it drives me insane. It's making me crazy just thinking about it.

It used to be much worse though.
Now, I've only got a few rattles left and most of them are behind the dashboard.
Ugh.

[Jesda]

I might go back and cover all the panel edges with thick 3M mounting tape. Taking that crap apart isnt fun though.

[Razi]

I'm afraid to take off my interior panels.
The cheap plastic breaks and the metal clips fall out. I wish Nissan made our panels like the Q45's.

I've used tape with a felt backing to keep panels from rattling against things, works quite well.

[alms24sebring]

The thing that I hate most about any car are no cup holders. In my civic, this is the 3rd car in a row with no real cup holders (I guess the 240 had passable ones in the center consule). The Civic has more of a can holder, but its broken anyways. The rings sit so low that if I manage to fit a medium drink in there and take a slow turn, it flies out as I saw 2 nights ago from taco hell. Thankfully they make tight tops. I dont know whether to blame the time it was made (92), or the fact that fat america makes a medium drink look like a Double BIg Gulp

Also in my civic, I HATE how loud it is from a busted mexicanized exhaust pipe. I need a new one from downpipe to muffler.

[Kompresshun]

On the I30 there aren't many things I would change. It's a good all around sedan for what it is, other than the fact that it's a VERY slightly dressed up Nissan Maxima. The one thing I can think of that I would absolutely change about it though is the 4spd automatic, considering a lot of it's competition at the time already had them. It does fine with the 4spd auto, but I feel like another gear could've really made a difference in the 5-5.5 gen Maxima/I30/I35. I also feel like the interior comfort is a little lackluster for a "luxury/sport" sedan and isn't that comfortable for long trips. It isn't horrible though, so that's a really minor beef with it.

The Jeep - Chrysler did a darn good job building this thing and it is put together really well. Two things I hate though:

1. The interior door handles on all four doors are poorly designed and are prone to breaking over time. There is only a couple of easy repairs that have been discovered, but there are cases where you have to replace the whole door panel to fix it.

2. It has an AWD system, even though it's marked as a 4x4, with no mode selection. You get AWD at all times, whether you need it or not. The higher end models do have selectable low-range, but other than that you get the same with them too. I feel like it really wastes a lot of fuel economy being locked into 4x4 at all times.

I have a feeling though that this summer or fall I might be following Greg and Becky in ownership of a Honda Insight.

I'm considering one of them too for later this year, but the prices of them have already been rising, so I may reconsider.

I'm also thinking about just buying a Honda Civic or something similar, since i'm not looking for astonishing numbers. I drive 32mi round trip, 5 days a week and when we're home almost everything we could ever need is within 10mi. If I could pick up an extra vehicle that gets mid to upper 20's in the city, i'd honestly be perfectly happy. 30's in the city would make me very happy though.

[Jesda]

Yeah, I'd like another gear too. I have three.

Saab engineers decided that the turbo could basically make up the difference, which it sort of does, but my fuel economy sucks as a result: 19/21 city/highway. I get about the same mpgs regardless of whether I'm sitting in traffic or cruising at 70.

I think I have another 30k of life left on this autotragic (it does shift responsively and crisply, at least) and then I'll find a manual to swap in.

[06_blkout]

1. Cupholders - B15 front cupholders are worthless and shouldn't even be there.
2. Design of the trunk - it's got a lot of room for it's size, but the opening to get stuff in there is tiny.
3. The rear bumper clips that have to be replaced yearly so it doesn't sag.

[nissangirl74]

For my Insight, not much, considering I get this



Greg's Insight has a rattle in the dash that drives me I N S A N E.

The truck. Nothing except gas mileage. Otherwise, it is perfect.

The Cube we won't discuss.

"Bella" - Z- needs power steering, badly

"Marilyn" - Roadster - needs better seat belts and a 5th gear; the suspension creaks but that is to be expected at her age.

"Alice" - the wagon- If you could find room for a compressor, real A/C (not the thermador) would be sweet. Then we could drive her in the summer. She also has an exhaust rattle which is in process of being fixed.

"Sheila" - the Bluebird - She needs seat belts and a 4th gear.

"Peanut" - for now, a different rear end; she is way, way, WAY too low-geared

The Dime - she is being restored, so that leaves the door wide open. I believe we have everything we need though. Just as a whim, I would say A/C for her too.

"Charlotte" - the '31 Ford. 4th gear and seat belts

[alms24sebring]

2. Design of the trunk - it's got a lot of room for it's size, but the opening to get stuff in there is tiny.

That is a great point. That is a major flaw in cars that are designed to have space and suffer from a small caboose lid.

There is also a screw or something in my dash that rolls around every time I turn fairly quickly. Thats annoying

[Gold Digger]

One of the things I find to be kinda odd on the GT-R is it's confusing factory boost control.

The turbos, as I hear through word of mouth, are actually wastegated at .50 bar, but with the stock factory boost control solenoid, it's actually at .85 bar. But trying to add an aftermarket BC is kind of a pain in the butt because you have block vaccum/boost lines here and there. Plus the factory controller is on the driver side of the car, but the turbos are on passenger side of the engine. It's a freaking rats nest of hard lines and rubber hoses going from the boost controller to all the different areas. Just more places for leaks to start.

Would also be nice to have a VCD stock like some WRX's I have seen over here. Since the car is usually a RWD car, it takes quite a bit of torque (hard acceleration or tire slippage) for the ATESSA system to engage the front end. Then it's usually only a 10%-15% split. In winter, on the RARE occasion we get any substantial snow, would be nice to have a constant AWD with a good split.

[Heavy]

lets see here...

the IS300: MORE POWER, you introduce a car thats supposed to compete with the 3-series and you give it a measley 215hp? and it came with an open diff stock, you can get a IS300 with a LSD but its rare or source a MKIII supra rear end.

the LS400: WHY THE f*** WOULD YOU PUT THE STARTER UNDER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD!!!!!!! and the 95-97 interior is rather "bland" compared to the updated interior in the 98-00, i want more wood trim damnit.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I wouldn't mind a nicer interior, too, but that's not why I bought the car. And interior quality is all relative anyway. My friend who drives an '07 Elantra described the LS's interior as "like being in God's womb" which is far from how I'd put it. But leather, soft-touch surfaces everywhere, and decent ergonomics won't draw complaints from me.

the IS300: MORE POWER, you introduce a car thats supposed to compete with the 3-series and you give it a measley 215hp? and it came with an open diff stock, you can get a IS300 with a LSD but its rare or source a MKIII supra rear end.

Eh...the 3 series has never been about power anyway (except perhaps the M). BMW, especially during that era, was about nimble chassis and connecting with the driver. Granted neither of those have EVER been Lexus' forte, but I think the first-gen IS did a pretty decent job. The new IS, though, is an overpriced, directionless joke.

Would also be nice to have a VCD stock like some WRX's I have seen over here. Since the car is usually a RWD car, it takes quite a bit of torque (hard acceleration or tire slippage) for the ATESSA system to engage the front end. Then it's usually only a 10%-15% split. In winter, on the RARE occasion we get any substantial snow, would be nice to have a constant AWD with a good split.

That's actually why ATESSA is one of the few AWD systems I like. Certainly since I've never driven a GTR or any other car that uses the system I'm hardly equipped to comment on how it works in the real world. But in theory, a 10-15% split only when necessary is exactly how AWD should work. I do NOT want 50-50 all the time. And I do not want front-bias. And I don't want power shifting forward every time a tire starts to spin. I just want enough forward traction to make up for drastic loss of rear traction. But then again I'm a pretty vocal detractor of AWD, and my philosophy has always been "Tires, tires, tires" when it comes to traction problems. I've owned many RWD cars in a climate known for harsh winters and never had a problem. My view is that if you can't make RWD work with the right tires, its your driving and not your drivetrain that's in need of work.

For my Insight, not much, considering I get this

I got the fuel economy display to read 62mpg in the LS8 a few days ago by resetting it while going downhill in 5th on the highway. Unfortunately I immediately had to go back UPhill and it dropped to 26.
I reset the computer again yesterday after a fillup, and then proceeded to hoon it around town because it was 60 degrees and I could open the windows without freezing to death and hear my exhaust note.
Current reading: 8.8mpg.

[AppleBonker]

The truck. Nothing except gas mileage. Otherwise, it is perfect.

I pretty much feel the same way about mine. There are a number of things I wish I had:

-manual transmission
-sporty
-8' bed
-better mileage

But those are all things I knew I was sacrificing when going with the Titan. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want a manual trans in a full-size truck. Nor would I want it to be sporty as that would ruin all of the benefits of having a truck. Those two will be corrected whenever I can manage to purchase a garage queen.

The 8' bed really isn't a necessity. And I don't know that I'd really want to make my turning radius worse. I can just think of a few (albeit rare) situations where it would be nice to have more bed space. Probably not something I'd actually want to change though.

And the mileage, I knew it was going to suck when I bought it. I didn't honesty think the VK56 in a 2.5 ton vehicle with poor aerodynamic qualities was going to get great gas mileage. Again, not something that would actually be changed. A garage queen/DD beater would be the best option for fixing this issue.

Given that, I'd probably say I wouldn't change anything.

[breadbox]

I currently drive an S13 and a 720 Pickup.

Let's start old and go to new.

720: Let's face it the NAPz24 could have had a better head option. Stupid emissions handicapping what could have been epic vehicles for years. Other than that its a pretty sweet pick-up for its size.

S13 Coupe: the Trunk is a joke and like the back seat is there for small things.

On both coupe and hatch... Auto seatbelts are lame.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I too will go in chronological order:

91 S13 coupe: RUST. Jesus titty f*** christ, rust. Also, I really dislike the rear bumper design and how far it sticks out from the rest of the car.

97 Honda Prelude: I wish it had adjustable camber from the factory. I chew through tires quickly and feel like the camber isn't the same on both sides. Also, I wish it had either a taller 5th gear, or a 6th gear for highway cruising. 4000+ rpm @ 80mph sucks the gas.

01 Miata: ummmm.... I gotta dig deep for this one. Better shift knob from the factory? And I guess I wish the stock components could handle more power. Also the driver's seat is starting to tear. @166k, she had a good run though.

[MinisterofDOOM]

4000+ rpm @ 80mph sucks the gas.

Solution:


2500rpm @80 mph is the win.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I bought the prelude in 2005 for $4900 as a winter beater (FWD that doesn't really suck!). Now that I'm living in the south, I'm kindof waiting for the drunk redneck to rear end me and total the car so I can buy a Vette. Adding a 4th car to the fleet with my limited garage space would be irresponsible... or something. And with 261k on the clock, potential buyers are scared s***, even though it runs and drives better than their 2008 50k boringmobile.


Realistically though, the Prelude has plenty of low end power to justify a tall 6th gear for highway cruising (H22A BABY!!). I wouldn't need the extra 4 cylinders.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

4000+ rpm @ 80mph sucks the gas.

Solution:


2500rpm @80 mph is the win.

Interestingly enough, we share the same solution. MOAR POWA.

[Dattebayo]

I'd like to change my car. Period. Is that enough? lol

[MaximA32]

Really the only thing that bugs me about my car is lack of that third pedal for my left foot. I want a manual car again so much it hurts.

[hitbychance]

i'd lower it but since i can't with our roads id add more power in the form of boost

[Jesda]

Yeah I agree with MoD, you don't need that much power to achieve parity with the E46 3-series. My 2004 325 convertible weighed 3800lbs and only had 184hp. Because the engine worked so hard to move that mass, it got around 18-20 mpg. On the other hand, it was fun pushing that I-6 hard.

Compare that to my 22 year old Saab which puts out around 165hp and weighs 2900lbs. BMW's power-to-weight was quite terrible unless you got the 330i.


This is why the 260hp 2003 G35 was such a revelation when it hit the market.

[nissangirl74]

I reset the computer again yesterday after a fillup, and then proceeded to hoon it around town because it was 60 degrees and I could open the windows without freezing to death and hear my exhaust note.
Current reading: 8.8mpg.

That's less than half what the truck gets. DAMN.