My VW 2.0t is rated for 91 octane (2012 German-made CC), and I thought all of the 2.0t engines were tuned for premium fuel. A turbo that isn’t tuned for 91 octane seems like a wasted opportunity. (and you don’t really save money by running cheaper lower octane fuel, as you get lower mpg when the engine timing has to compensate for the lower octane)
I follow this subreddit, as I’ve been ready for an EV for a couple years. I swear I’m not here to troll with my ICE rants.
I’ve only had turbo cars for the last 20+ years, and it’s amazing how much more power they make with 91-93 octane compared to 87 octane. The extra mpg on premium offsets the cost, with the benefit of driving further between refills. Altitude makes the difference even more pronounced.
On a related note, it’s amazing how well Saab in particular can take advantage of added ethanol compared to VW. My previous Saab made seriously more calibrated butt-dyno hp when running e25-e35 compared to e10 (35% ethanol was as far as I was willing to go with the stock injectors). My current VW doesn’t show similar improvement (I assume the VW fuel map/ecu has much narrower limits, or that I’ve hit the limit of the injectors to deliver the extra fuel required). Again, altitude can be a huge factor; I’d think non-turbo cars would REALLY shine when fed more ethanol (oxygen) when the car can’t get it from the ambient air and the engine can’t force-feed more air.
You could have omitted “EV” from your headline, and this would still be true.
Car guys don’t become sales people; “Sales People” become sales people.
Car guys also don’t become dealership mechanics; they own or work at independent shops.
Every car I’ve purchased in my 35 years of driving was/is a manual transmission with 4-wheel disc brakes, the last 3 were Turbo, and all were purchased used.
I can’t begin to explain the frustration of a non-car salesperson attempting to talk me out of the must-have options. Because “nobody” wants those things.
I seriously have had a lifelong history of salespeople acting all taken aback when I refused to test drive cars with autos and with drum brakes.
If your lot doesn’t have cars for me, just tell me upfront and we won’t be wasting each other’s time.
p.s., Don’t fucking ask me what monthly payment I can afford or try to talk me into a loan longer than 60 months. (On paper, I can “afford” twice as much as I’m willing to spend on a depreciating asset)
I can’t accept going back to 60s or 70s technology for something that affects safety as well as performance.
My 2012 ICE needed a brake job at 75,000 miles and again this summer at 150,000 miles, and I’m fine with that.
Drum brakes have much less stopping power and also tend to be much more likely to lock up during emergency/evasive maneuvers. In this case, older tech is absolutely inferior.
Hell, my BICYCLES have had disc brakes since, like, forever.
(Seriously, most bikes made after 1999-2000 have disc brakes)
The electric utility rates that the OP pays are absurdly high!
I pay something like $.12/kWh after accounting for the monthly “flat” fees.
I’m currently shopping for a rooftop solar array for my house and garage, and the typical ROI is about 14 years for 20-some panels generating 370-410 watts each.
If I was paying 4x my utility rate, I would have the solar array mounted yesterday!
In Minnesota, gas taxes, registration taxes/fees, and sales taxes on cars and car parts pay for only about 1/3 of our road maintenance.
The bulk of road usage fees are paid out of the general fund (mostly regular sales tax, income tax, and property tax).
Perhaps there needs to be a new fee on ICE vehicles to bridge this gaping hole?
I just found out that the VW has drum brakes.
Are you kidding me?!
There is no way I’m stepping 30 years back in time to effin’ drum brakes.
Shame on VW for making a “luxury” vehicle with the most substandard brakes available.
OMG, does the VW really have drum brakes?!
Only total pieces of shit have drum brakes, so don’t tell me the VW is “nicer” than the Hyundai.
Does it also have hand-crank windows?
What year are we living in, 1993?
You need front wheel drive with both a left and a right front tire contact patch to induce torque steer.
A contraption having these traits would be called a “tricycle”.
(could be called a “tadpole”, except tadpoles have a single rear drive wheel)