Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Hood River, Oregon

Hood River, OR Car Consumer Discussions

Re: do you notice [boaz47]

by circlew on Thu Jul 31 11:28:53 PDT 2008

The enthusiasts on the fine edge of ultimate performance prefer spartan options that benefit weight reduction along with the M/T. This means doing away with power motors and accessories that add weight to the modern sports cars. Here's some info including going on a diet to benefit the lighter side of performance... Interior * Remove rear seat. * Lightweight racing seats. * Remove interior trim, carpet, upholstery and insulation. (Wal-Mart cheap carpet is the lightest carpet - aircraft carpet might also be useful). * Scrape & Remove Putty from floorboard joints. (Submitted by Charlie Daubitz) * Replace heavy inner door handle assembly with a cable pull. (Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Remove locking mechanism completely if you can. (Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Remove Sound Deadener and seam sealer from under carpet, trunk, rear hatch. * Remove Headliner, Sun Visors, Clips, Sail Panels. * Replace glass windows with Lexan. * Replace Old Glass with new replacement glass (lighter). * Remove the stereo, speakers and wires. * Remove the air conditioning, heater, defroster, ducts and controls. * Remove the windshield wipers, the washer system and mechanism. * Remove the ashtray and glovebox. * Remove spare tire and jack. * Remove window regulators * Remove door crash bars. * Remove dash cover. * Remove excess wiring * Remove OEM gauge cluster. * Gauges – Auto Meter “Ultra Lights” are good, but what is even better is they are self illuminating and require no wire for lighting, no connectors, bulbs or heavy switches or the weight you carry with these minor items. (Submitted by Wayne Carroll) * Light weight steering wheel (there are some very light ones used in circle track, all aluminum). * Use Chrome Moly for your Cage vs Mild Steel. * Use Velcro for mounting most of your electronics and light applications on carbon fiber brackets. It is easily removable, weighs nothing and does not require fasteners or metal brackets to save weight. (Submitted by Wayne H. Carroll, E.S) * Replace OEM steering column with racing type. Flaming River has some aluminum ones if you want to get fancy. * Switch to billet aluminum brake, clutch, etc pedals. not the boy racer billet "covers" but the pedals themselves - the entire pedal box assembly can be bought/made in billet. (Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) Trunk * Use a smaller battery. * One battery instead of two (Submitted by Rob Cacioppo) * Smaller and/or lighter fuel cell. * Remove trunk hinges and spring, use hood pins or Dzus fasteners. Another option is to use the little gas charged spring rods. * Fiberglass trunk lid * One big fuel pump to feed engine and nitrous instead of two systems (Submitted by Rob Cacioppo) Body * Fiberglass or carbon fiber body parts (bumpers, hood, doors, trunk lid). * Aluminum bumper brackets. * Use aluminum engine parts. * Use pins or quick release fasteners to retain the hood and trunk in place of heavy stock hinges and springs. * Circle Track Hood Pins are available in aluminum. * Even Stock Fiberglass hoods can be modified to save weight - "I used an angle grinder, Dremel tool and diegrinder and removed all of the substructure attached to the underlayment of the hood. The hood shakes a little at 90mph or better, but it filled up a trash bag full of fiberglass and metal that weighted 30lbs according to my scales" (Submitted by Crystal Douglas) * Eliminate power window motors. * Fiberglass bumpers. * Remove flip down license plate bracket or replace with aluminum bracket. * Aluminum or Titanium bolts and nuts for non-critical areas. * Carbon Fiber nuts are now being produced. * Media blast entire car down to "white" (bare metal) 100% of car - top to bottom. shoot with minimal primer (one coat of etch) and use only two or three coats of lacquer paint. with original paint, a car carries about 15+ pounds of paint/primer alone. the undercoating also weighs quite a lot. if the car has been repainted without stripping to bare metal - very, very rare - it is probably carrying an extra 12-15 pounds in paint. more repaints equal more weight. * Paint - Use water based paint. Jerry Sievers-Paint N- Place says he saves approximately 1/3 of weight on his funny cars painting for the pros (John Force, Del Worsham, etc.), by using water based paint and decals – lighter colors (white) without pigment are the lightest. (Submitted by Wayne H. Carroll, E.S) * panels can be lightened/thinned by using tip number two.(Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Acid dip parts that are not critical for strength - dipping can functionally reduce 18 gauge metal down to 20 gauge or less. drill holes with a hole saw for even greater weight savings.(Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Fabricate all non critical brackets/attachments out of aluminum. many of these are available pre made but it is amazing what you can make with some aluminum from your local home improvement store - with some heat, aluminum can be bent and is easy to work with otherwise. (Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * For all non critical fasteners a) if you can't afford titanium, gun drill all steel fasteners or replace fasteners with gun drilled aluminum b) drill all nuts through the flats - in other words, when you are through, each flat of the nut will have a hole - maximize the size - i think a 3/8 nut will take a 1/4 inch hole. you can also use a jam nut (thin) instead of regular nuts. aluminum jam nut ... very trick.(Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Dzus Fasteners - Drill the middle of those as well. (Submitted by Wayne H. Carroll, E.S) * Replace grill assembly with aluminum mesh/hardware cloth. (Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Have louvers punched in your rear valence or use a hole saw and drill some. saves weight and will release air trapped at speed - also looks cool if done right - even if you use the hole saw.(Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Remove Bumper shocks and replace with tubing (Submitted by Charlie Daubitz) * On older cars there can be an amazing amount of rocks, dirt and other misc. crap built up inside rocker panels, behind the firewall in the trunk and behind the wheelwells. Difficult to remove, but you may find 2 lbs or more of dirt/rocks/who knows what in those locations. Engine and Engine Compartment * Use an aluminum master cylinder. * Switch to manual brakes/Remove Vacuum Brake Booster. * Switch to manual steering box (aluminum Vega is lightest) or rack & pinion. * Use an aluminum radiator. * Use a smaller radiator. Antifreeze/water weigh about 8.5 pounds per gallon. (Submitted by Dr. Alan Lott) * Remove all unnecessary junk from under hood - windshield washer equipment, plastic shields, hood insulation, etc. remove plastic under-fender liners (Subm

Cadillacs "Wealthy"

by anythngbutgm on Fri Dec 28 15:46:28 PST 2007

"However most of the very wealthy people I know still drive Cadillac's." Around here if your driving a BlingBling-mobile like an Escalade you're either living in a triple decker with 16 of your best homies or your half the Boston RedSox team. The rest of them are just kids working at McDonalds trying to pay for the gas because their mommy daddy already bought them the 'Slade as their first car. They also get loaded up with an entire BestBuy counters worth of soundsystems, the crap that will rattle and shake the thing apart 5 thousand miles later... Wouldn't want that as a used car :sick: . Gaurantee half of them couldn't tell you engine was under the hood but they could recite every Jay-Z or Snoop Dogg lyric in their sleep. They aren't rich, their parents are. The Escalade is to the 20th century what Joan Rivers is to Hollywood, tacky and obnoxious. :sick:

Last Report

by philmo on Mon Jul 23 13:51:52 PDT 2007

As I'm rolling through 11,750 miles this week on a 2007 Package #4 bought last December I don't think it, or I, qualify as "new" anymore. Nonethless, our most recent 2,750 mile, two week road trip is worth review. Generally, it's a fun car to drive and a real pleasure in cities and towns. On long stretches of interstate where the posted speed is 75 mph, not so much. Over 70 mph your mileage numbers are penalized by wind/drag as noted elswhere on this site. And the seating is troublesome after a 10 hours or so. On the days where we had lots of stops, sightseeing, activities, etc. it was no problem. But for the big-mileage days I was wishing for our Volvo seats. Using an 8gb iPod Nano connected with a $9 Radio Shack auxiliary cable we had plenty of new music. I've complained in other posts about audio quality in the "upgraded" system that is part of the #4 package and learned with many days in the car that tweaking the settings made a big difference depending on individual recordings. Our trip took us from Colorado to Oregon and back through Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. As you know, the west has been brutally hot the past few weeks. Big kudos for the climate control system which works well and cools the car down quickly. However, the big, black dashboard is a big, black negative acting as a heat-sink even when the AC is on. Next time you've parked out in the sun awhile and are back in the car hold your hand out over the dash: the heat will be radiating up from below your hand, not down from the window. Next accessory purchase: Prius-specific windshield sun screen. We got a 10k mile required oil change and service at a dealer in Bend, OR which resulted in quite a sloppy mess under the hood and with them reducing the tire pressure to spec which we promptly re-inflated to 42/40. One thing about driving all day and visiting friends and relatives with this car is that once you get there they then want you to drive everywhere for the novelty of riding in a hybrid and/or the sheer economy. But then there was the one 20-something hotel front desk guy in Boise, ID that said "what's a Prius"? It was great fun pulling up to river to fish and pulling out a fully assembled 9-foot fly rod while guides and clients had to re-assemble rigs broken down to fit into pickup trucks and shorter rides. But leather seats would have been preferred under a butt damp from wet-wading. The last night out found us in Rock Springs, WY very late where absolutely no motel rooms were available. A call east to Rawlins revealed only of $112 rooms at an "Econo"Lodge that we wouldn't have made it too until well past midnight. In the true spirit of a road trip I decided to make for an I-80 rest stop where I found a dozen or so other folks in the same predicament along with another dozen truckers who probably were regulars at this stop. Hey, it was safe, well-lighted and had a bathroom. The good news is that the Prius passed the "sleep-test" -- and with flying colors. Typically a night in the car is about waking up every hour or so to fidget and shift while taking a peek for first light. That night in Wyoming I overslept through sunrise and the starting engines of the departing motorists around me. Was I tired? Evidently. But being able to fold those front seats down flat surely helped. Arriving home with 2/3rds of a tank remaining the trip's fuel costs were $184. Fabulous. Best price: $2.88/gl with full service as is the rule in Oregon. Heading west with wife in the car, avg. 51.5 mpg. Returning east after flying her home in advance, avg. 53.5 mpg. No wife jokes, please ;-) She's already hating her new nickname, "Ms. 2mpg". That's it from me as I migrate toward the "Old Prius Owners -- Give Us Your Report" section. -Phil

Re: Freestyle mpg [mistr]

by freealfas on Sun Mar 18 19:46:30 PDT 2007

So says the buyer of a '95 cutlass and even better, a '94 elantra when you thought you were being a forward thinker in going Korean before it was all the rage it is now when in reality you were just being cheap. I can see why you are so adamant about not being caught with your pants around your ankles again in terms of what's under the hood if you know what I mean... Go buy the Acadia then and bring it by and we can compare...and we can start with who'll have more money in their pocket at the end of the deal, and then we'll see who has less weight to carry around, and then we'll see how much less gas I'll have to buy, and then we see the incrementally less amount of space you will have behind your occupied 3rd row, and then we'll each say mine looks better... whatever. Buy what you like I never said the FS was the end all be-all, my only point is that it was a good use of corporate parts, safe, economical, forward thinking, capable, agile, faster than it's competition, comfortable, and affordable 2 YEARS ago while GM/Hyundai were still figuring out what CUV stood for hence we weren't having this exchange back then. I do have a problem with how Ford is dealing the FS down the river and abandoning its forward thinking attributes to satisfy those like you with power inadequacy issues. Go nuts, even 18mos ago when we bought we got $4k under sticker, You will not be doing that with the new GM triplets any time soon because of fanboyism and all the wonderment of what is shiney and new. Bottom line and my greater point to all of this is the FS is the better VALUE every day of the week than what is available from the competition. Is it what YOU want to buy probably not.

Re: Here ya go, wwest... [erics6]

by wwest on Sat Nov 18 09:43:59 PST 2006

Yes, my "standards" for the early morning (fresh untracked snow) drive from Bend or Sun River to Mt Bachelor has been either an "AWD" Ford Aerostar, or a Jeep Cherokee Limited. The Aerostar AWD is 30/70 F/R without wheelslip/spin and 50/50 otherwise. The Jeep is now in "retirement" on a cattle ranch in north central MT, but we continue to rely on the Ford. I don't remember a time wherein the Mt bachelor road was closed nor the Portland/Mt Hood highway, Meadows being the only exception. But I would guess the commercial interests apply enough pressure not to close those roads and there is clearly an expectation, mostly justified, that folks traveling "these" roads are prepared for the experience. Years ago on the way to Mt Bachelor I was told to put all four chains on our Jeep as all four wheels were "driven". But for me the big, GREAT, advantage to snow chains is the ability to pass, drive right on by, those that are stalled, spinning, or even over in the ditch as a result of thinking that AWD, 4WD, or 4X4, would suffice. In the Jeep there were even countless times that I was able to take to the ditch to get around "clusters" of vehicles scattered helter-skelter all over the roadbed. Vivid images, memories of December of 1990, here on the eastside of Seattle, SR520, comes to mind. BMWs, Porsches, MBs, the pungent smell of burning rubber, spread all the slight incline into the Microsoft Campus. Poor souls... But looking back a bit, 1961-65, I survived some very severe winter driving in MT with RWD and the use of tire chains when/if needed. So in my mind I think I would rather put my trust in that configuration over and above most modern day AWD versions, but most certainly above ANY FWD or front biased AWD system. It no longer suffices to simply say AWD, that doesn't nearly convey enough information to the reader. Clearly, some of the AWD systems out there in the marketplace today are just barely improvements over FWD, not nearly up to snuff when compared to a simple RWD.

Re: 2007 Civic EX Auto w/ NAV - Prices? [rgustafs]

by mhattrup on Fri Oct 27 20:46:43 PDT 2006

If your a Costco member try their autobuying service. Log on to the Costco website and go under "Services" and you'll find your way to the auto buying service. You put in your information and you will get a reference via email to the nearest Costco dealer. Typically the dealer will call you to set up an appointment. Your supposed to have to go in and show them your Costco card and the email which has an authorization number. If the dealership is a long ways away they might tell you their price over the phone but they're not supposed to. It's not uncommon to find dealers that will go $300 to $500 over invoice through Costco's program. The prices vary from model to model and dealer to dealer so if you have a number of dealers in an area there may be a couple Costco dealers and their prices on the same model might differ. But it usally lets you get under MSRP and it's no haggle. If your willing to fly your parents to Oregon (unlikely since your on the east coast) contact the Honda dealership in The Dalles Oregon - Bodie Sanderson is great to deal with via email. It's a small town right on the Columbia River Gorge approx an hour outside of Portland on the interstate. Look north and you see the river and Washington, look south west you have a fantastic view of Mount Hood one of the prettiest snowcapped peaks in the Cascades.