Car dealers that won't let you test drive

[matsuki]

Yeah, I think Wuchan meant D1SL.

I was mostly talking about JASMA compliant mufflers, emission compliant engine tuning, etc. There are alot of amazing track cars here that will pass shaken.

[Kanchou]

I test drove an RX7 but the total cost after 220000 worth of shaken and taxes, insurance, and recycle fees was 900000... sigh

[Coligny]

I test drove an RX7 but the total cost after 220000 worth of shaken and taxes, insurance, and recycle fees was 900000... sigh

It's cheap ? no ? You barely get a second hand kei car in my hood for this price... (and goes up to +2-3 milliun for NSX, EVO7, Stingrays or even regular Vette)

[AML]

Get a bike!
I did.

Self done shaken is only 20.000, bike itself brand new (for a good bike) is 100man, Used even less.

Fuel efficiency is much better than a car, no problems with parking or traffic.

Only down side is rain.

Insurance is also much cheaper.

And to beat me in a race it would take at least a Ferrari or jp sports car heavily tuned.

Ive yet to be beaten by a car and my bike isnt even a super sports...

[FG Lurker]

Fuel efficiency is much better than a car, no problems with parking or traffic.

I'm not sure where you are located but in Osaka parking for bikes is a total bitch now. Many garages won't let them in (wtf!?), "coin parking" generally won't work, and those fuckers in green come around and ticket any bike parked on sidewalks or other places bikes used to be able to park for free.

Only down side is rain.

Rain, winter cold, summer heat, no ability to carry shit, shitty licensing system by engine size (though it probably stops n00bs from becoming Darwin Award candidates...). Oh, and lets not forget what happens if you have an accident.

And to beat me in a race it would take at least a Ferrari or jp sports car heavily tuned.

Ive yet to be beaten by a car and my bike isnt even a super sports...

How big is your bike?

[Coligny]

I'm not sure where you are located but in Osaka parking for bikes is a total bitch now. Many garages won't let them in (wtf!?), "coin parking" generally won't work, and those fuckers in green come around and ticket any bike parked on sidewalks or other places bikes used to be able to park for free.


Rain, winter cold, summer heat, no ability to carry shit, shitty licensing system by engine size (though it probably stops n00bs from becoming Darwin Award candidates...). Oh, and lets not forget what happens if you have an accident.


How big is your bike?

Pretty much...

What he said...

(and not being covered by work insurance in case of accident going to or back from the office most of the time)

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'm not sure where you are located but in Osaka parking for bikes is a total bitch now. Many garages won't let them in (wtf!?), "coin parking" generally won't work, and those fuckers in green come around and ticket any bike parked on sidewalks or other places bikes used to be able to park for free.

I don't own a bike but I hear it's pretty much the same in Tokyo now too.

Rain, winter cold, summer heat, no ability to carry shit

Those are the same reason I don't commute to work by bicycle very often. Especially the heat.

[FG Lurker]

Those are the same reason I don't commute to work by bicycle very often. Especially the heat.

I used to commute by bike all the time until I bought a car and got lazy. Had free underground parking at my last corporate workplace and that pretty much put and end to biking to work. Now my commute is ~700m so I walk or bike depending on the day.

[Yokohammer]

I used to commute by bike all the time until I bought a car and got lazy. Had free underground parking at my last corporate workplace and that pretty much put and end to biking to work. Now my commute is ~700m so I walk or bike depending on the day.

I feel sorry for you guys who have long commutes.
Mine is one flight of stairs ... after my strenuous morning sit-up.

[FG Lurker]

I feel sorry for you guys who have long commutes.
Mine is one flight of stairs ... after my strenuous morning sit-up.

My commute got 7x longer when I moved to an office 4x bigger. Went from 100m to 700m... Hard life indeed!

[Greji]

How big is your bike?

Huge......

[Kanchou]

Get a bike!
I did.

Self done shaken is only 20.000, bike itself brand new (for a good bike) is 100man, Used even less.

Fuel efficiency is much better than a car, no problems with parking or traffic.

Only down side is rain.

Insurance is also much cheaper.

And to beat me in a race it would take at least a Ferrari or jp sports car heavily tuned.

Ive yet to be beaten by a car and my bike isnt even a super sports...

Don't have anything against bikes. I used to have a CBR600.

But I leave in Aizu and it's bad enough having a car that you can't drive half the year, and I want to do track days and autocross but don't want to have to wear a $1000 leather suit and buy a $500 helmet.

I could probably beat you around a track

They actually said they'd do a loan for me. Just how bad do they want this car out of their inventory?

I don't want to buy someone elses problems, and I don't want to have to remove the airbag and get a new steering wheel and bucket seat just so I can fit in the car comfortably.

[AML]

I'm not sure where you are located but in Osaka parking for bikes is a total bitch now. Many garages won't let them in (wtf!?), "coin parking" generally won't work, and those fuckers in green come around and ticket any bike parked on sidewalks or other places bikes used to be able to park for free.


Rain, winter cold, summer heat, no ability to carry shit, shitty licensing system by engine size (though it probably stops n00bs from becoming Darwin Award candidates...). Oh, and lets not forget what happens if you have an accident.


How big is your bike?

Parking: Not too bad here in Yokohama. There are some proper bike parking areas. But yea, theres still a danger of getting a parking ticket. But at least you dont have to search for 30mins for a car parking spot!

Weather: Yes, it can be a bitch. But in Kanto you can ride all year round. (with the proper attire)

Carrying shit: I admit, that can be a pain. But if you have the proper equipment on your bike you can carry quite a lot.

And accidents: Too many obasans who cant drive out there. I already had a pretty bad accident last year because of one. But over all, if you know what to expect, you can ride pretty safe here.

I wouldnt trade my bike for a car. Too many benefits over a car; like traffic, parking fees much cheaper or free, cost of maintenance is a lot lower, and you can beat almost any car out there in terms of performance.

My bike: 1000cc, 150hp at the wheel. Lotsa mods.

Full exhaust system, fuel management system, and more.

[FG Lurker]

Parking: Not too bad here in Yokohama. There are some proper bike parking areas. But yea, theres still a danger of getting a parking ticket. But at least you dont have to search for 30mins for a car parking spot!

Car parking is expensive but there isn't a shortage of it, at least not here in Osaka. Most larger buildings have underground parking and there are lots of coin park places around.

Weather: Yes, it can be a bitch. But in Kanto you can ride all year round. (with the proper attire)

Yes, and it is even pleasant to ride for about 4 months out of 12. (That's being generous I'd say too...)

And accidents: Too many obasans who cant drive out there. I already had a pretty bad accident last year because of one.

If you still have all your limbs and are able to walk around it wasn't a bad bike accident. Bikers? Organ donors on wheels...

[quote="AML"]I wouldnt trade my bike for a car. Too many benefits over a car]
Everyone has their own priorities. For me a bike isn't an option at all as when I am out and about I often need to move things around that wouldn't work on a bike. Plus I prefer a bit of comfort during the 8+ months of the year that being on a bike is uncomfortable as hell.

[Coligny]

I don't want to buy someone elses problems, and I don't want to have to remove the airbag and get a new steering wheel and bucket seat just so I can fit in the car comfortably.

My car modificashiuns are "putting stickers everywhere" level only (and few control rearrangement, but really some toggles places were selected by a complete masochist).

But sincerely... the steering wheel airbag would be the first thing to go if I was sure to be the only user of the car... unfortunately can't choose to take risk for others. But having an exploding baloon ready to break my arms at the first impact is not exactly doing great for my peace of mind...

For tall people, the driving position in the Note is beyond ridiculous, after one rare Toyohashi-Nagoya trip via route one (2 hours of stop and go) I didn't notice how numb my legs were, it was exit the car, legs failing immediately, faceplant on the parking tarmac. Lucky I usually never do more than 20-30 minutes trip... because I would not be able to take these kind of abuse on a daily basis.

[Kanchou]

The stock steering wheel is the first thing that needs to go on an older sports car, or a race car, but when it's a street-driven car with a stock airbag it's a bit more complicated of an issue...

[Kanchou]

Another thing I'm wondering about is where to get car parts and tires that don't cost three times what they do in America. And who he fuck is stupid enough to pay 10,000 for 4l of engine oil?

[FG Lurker]

Another thing I'm wondering about is where to get car parts and tires that don't cost three times what they do in America. And who he fuck is stupid enough to pay 10,000 for 4l of engine oil?

Korean tires (Kumho for example) are not badly priced here -- much closer to US prices than Japanese tires are.

Oil is a mystery, I'm not sure where to find good oil at reasonable prices.

[Coligny]

And who he fuck is stupid enough to pay 10,000 for 4l of engine oil?

whistle while looking at the wall and trying to push away with mah foot the last Nissan bill...

Wonder how much is for the recycle fee...

[AML]

Yea oil and other maintenance can be expensive here.
Did a check up on my bike not too long ago and they charged me 20.000 yen to tell me that my bike was ok...

And I just got another hagaki in the post telling me to come for another check up...

Such a rip off.

TIJ

[Kanchou]

I did some research and Hankook top sports tires cost 3.5 times in Japan what they do on TireRack.com.

At those prices, you could pay $550 to ship them from the US and still save $750.

The lower end tires cost slightly less than twice as much.

Some of Kumho's mid-range tires are only slightly more, but the performance tires are 2.5 as much.

[matsuki]

I did some research and Hankook top sports tires cost 3.5 times in Japan what they do on TireRack.com.

At those prices, you could pay $550 to ship them from the US and still save $750.

The lower end tires cost slightly less than twice as much.

Some of Kumho's mid-range tires are only slightly more, but the performance tires are 2.5 as much.

Even cheaper if you have a good shipping account setup Won't be as cheap as back home with the shipping charges but still beats JDM retarded expensive prices.

[FG Lurker]

I did some research and Hankook top sports tires cost 3.5 times in Japan what they do on TireRack.com.

At those prices, you could pay $550 to ship them from the US and still save $750.

The lower end tires cost slightly less than twice as much.

Some of Kumho's mid-range tires are only slightly more, but the performance tires are 2.5 as much.

Could you give me the specific models you are comparing?

[Kanchou]

Hankook Ventus R-S3 and Humho Ventus XS in 255 40 17

[FG Lurker]

Hankook Ventus R-S3 and Humho Ventus XS in 255 40 17

I'm guessing you mean the Kumho Ecsta XS, aka the KU36? I bought a set of KU31's (Ecsta SPT) last year and am so far very happy with them. Great on dry or wet and I even gave 'em a go on a light dusting of snow and they were surprisingly well mannered.

The price situation is perplexing. The KU31 255/40R17 at Tire Rack is $122 and the KU36 is $135. Here the KU31 is 12,400 for the same size but the KU36 is 28,700... WTF!? Something really doesn't add up.

If I had to take a stab at figuring it out though I'd say it is probably about perceived value and marketing. What Japanese tires does the KU36 compete against and how much are they selling for here? If they price the KU36 too close to the KU31 it would be hard to market the KU36 against far more expensive Japanese tires. Could be way off base of course, and it still sucks even if I'm not.

Have you considered checking out the prices in Korea? Probably cheaper to get them shipped from there than it would be to get them from the US. Won is super weak these days too.

[Kanchou]

Hadn't thought of that. Wouldn't know where to start.

Not dead-set on Korean tires, they're just the best deal.

[Blah Pete]

COSTCO sells tires. My friend got some there once and said he saved a lot.

[Kanchou]

There's no Costco here.

[FG Lurker]

COSTCO sells tires. My friend got some there once and said he saved a lot.

Costco's prices tend to be pretty good compared to somewhere like Autobacs. They only sell Michelin and Bridgestone though. Online prices for Kumho etc are generally a lot lower than what Costco can sell their Japanese tires for.

[Doctor Stop]

"Kumho", hehe.