The cars and bikes thread!

[Raza]

Thanks for the replies, guys.
The Subaru is out. I won't take a chance.
I find absolutely no info about driver comfort. That's my number one priority. It appears that the Out back is still a vehicle geard towards different needs than my own.

If I could get a better deal on it, I'd buy it and turn it, but at the asking price it's not worth the hassle.

I'm also eyeing a 2011 Ford Taurus SEL. We'll see.

If that's the current generation Outback, you might be making a mistake.

I've known several people who have owned them, and they are all over the moon with it. My one neighbor just traded his in for a minivan (third kid popped out) and he said he misses it dearly.

[boatme99]

It's a 4th gen model. They have since completely redesigned it for the 5th gen, around 2015 I think.

How did graduation go? A good time?

[Seriously]

I have it in the Porsche; it's usually OK but can be annoying. There is a button to disable it but it defaults back to on. If you have the car in sport mode it's also disabled, but again the car defaults to normal mode when you re-start it the next day. Not sure if you can change a setting for that.

Yeah , there are ways , I have stopstart in my car and you can definitely get add-on's to disable it permanently at your choice. (and remember the setting)
I actually knocked up a little circuit for my current car, works a treat. I don't have to touch that damned switch once set , unless I want to change my saved choice.

I also wonder how much this shortens the starter, battery and engine life?

Batteries in stop start cars are selected as AGM (best but the dearer of the two options) or EFB (slightly cheaper but not as rugged)
Starters are usually (but not exclusively) not conventional starter motors , rather they are combi starter/alternators flat belt driven.
As for engine longevity , they are only off for moments, so oil has very little time to start draining back and causing a huge blip in oil pressure.

[geoffbot]

On my bmw you can code all sorts of options including I believe disabling start top permanently. Don't they damage the starter motor? I always drive in sport mode which disables in anyway though, and tbh it doesn't delay me getting off the mark at all - maybe because manuals need a clutch press first which activates it; of course autos don't.

[Seriously]

maybe because manuals need a clutch press first which activates it; of course autos don't.

Yeah this, there is a clutch (top of travel) switch on the manual stop start, so as soon as you dfip the clutch (when it's stopped) engine restarts.

They are though, just a complete PITA and waste of money in my view , they get in the way more often than not, stopping the engine when you don't want it to.

A pointless 'pushed on us' bit of 'technology'

[geoffbot]

Apparently it can save 4-10% of fuel depending on how long you would otherwise spend idling in traffic every day, of course.

[Raza]

It's a 4th gen model. They have since completely redesigned it for the 5th gen, around 2015 I think.

How did graduation go? A good time?

Yeah, it was great. Dinner at Del Frisco's

The previous gen Outback was not the refined car the current gen is. I'd hold out for a current model. Great resale value on those for a reason. In recent generations, Subaru has really upped their game from somewhat agricultural, but reliable and durable cars to truly well rounded machines.

[Raza]

On my bmw you can code all sorts of options including I believe disabling start top permanently. Don't they damage the starter motor? I always drive in sport mode which disables in anyway though, and tbh it doesn't delay me getting off the mark at all - maybe because manuals need a clutch press first which activates it; of course autos don't.

My brother's new S5 has start stop. It's strange, I don't know if he disables it or not when he drives. The engine comes back on when you let off the brake or turn the wheel (enough).

I imagine start stop makes parallel parking a nightmare.

[mlcor]

You mean you don't keep that thing is sport mode 100% of the time?

Nope, but the Aston is permanently in sport mode. And you can make it the default.

Doesn't have the start/stop thing so that's not a problem.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Seriously]

Apparently it can save 4-10% of fuel depending on how long you would otherwise spend idling in traffic every day, of course.

It's bollox if I'm stuck that long in traffic I'll turn it off myself , or find a way off the motorway asap lol

My brother's new S5 has start stop. It's strange, I don't know if he disables it or not when he drives. The engine comes back on when you let off the brake or turn the wheel (enough).

I imagine start stop makes parallel parking a nightmare

If it's auto , it's pedal pressure sensitive , you will prob find if he's holding hard on the pedal it stops , but release pedal gradually and there comes a point (before the brakes come off enough for the car to roll) where the engine will restart.
It doesn't usually let you reapply that pressure and make it stop again , it waits til you've moved the car some more before resetting itself for that.
Also if you come to a fairly gradual stop with gentle pressure you may not actually be pressing hard enough for the SS to activate (but once stopped with gentle pressure if you push harder you will engage it) , so it's a way of avoiding it without a disable switch.