How rough do you treat your baby?

[ToniCipriani]

Your car, I mean. Don't call the cops on me for child abuse

I mean, back in the days with my Cavalier, I noticed the rougher I drive it, the better it runs. At one point, I pamper it all the time, and it constantly gives me random problems. Specifically, I had this intermittent starting problem which the dealer couldn't diagnose. But then I started driving it rough, hard accelerations, quick starts with no warmups, almost to the point that I'm doing donuts with it. But it ran much better and problem-free.

But now, since I have the G6, I have mixed feelings. I don't want to rough it up, since it's still fresh off the lot, but I'm afraid I might run into the "problems" for not "driving" it.

So that's my story. How do you treat your car?

[razoredge]

I used to beat her once a day until she got old enough to endure 2 beatings dayly.

[mute]

i think its healthy to excercise it once a week, i drive like that for two days once a week but the rest of the time id pamper it too let it rest and get good mileage

i def agree tho

[NOS2006]

I try to drive good.. I beat it when I cruise or if it's a really nice day though. And entering the freeway.

[MyerShift]

Only after a thorough warm up. Don't want to have a head gasket problem with my 2.0L Breeze.

And then only when I have enough money to cover the fuel or possible maintenance issues. I need new front tires really badly!

[sciguy_0504]

When I'm in a bad mood I'll drive rough but other than that Sci gets treated normally. I don't baby it, haven't cleaned it in awhile, no mods.

[Cory Wolfe]

Well, I actually tried to not beat my GA... It deserved to be, though. It's a beater. I eventually say to hell with it and just drove it hard over the rough roads instead of just the semi-rough ones.

[Satty]

I go to the local oxygen bar to air up my tires. When I wash the car (twice a day) I used Evian run through a Brita filter to rinse it. I dry it with a diaper. I use tweezers to get every last bit of dirt out of the carpet. I shampoo and scrub the seats. I clean the bottom of the floor mats. I clean the bottom of the trunk mat. I Armorall the spare tire. I never press the throttle more than 30% of its travel. I never slam on my brakes, I dont ride them either. If I drive through a puddle, I immediately get out and wash the car. When it isn't being driven I have seven armed virgins guarding it. My garage is bullet-proof.

Its a Toyota, it deserves no less.

Edit: Typo

Edited January 18, 2006 by Satty

[mute]

I go to the local oxygen bar to air up my tires.  When I was the car (twice a day) I used Evian run through a Brita filter to rinse it.  I dry it with a diaper.  I use tweezers to get every last bit of dirt out of the carpet.  I shampoo and scrub the seats.  I clean the bottom of the floor mats.  I clean the bottom of the trunk mat.  I Armorall the spare tire.  I never press the throttle more than 30% of its travel.  I never slam on my brakes, I dont ride them either.  If I drive through a puddle, I immediately get out and wash the car.  When it isn't being driven I have seven armed virgins guarding it.  My garage is bullet-proof.

Its a Toyota, it deserves no less.

lol.......seriously its a nice car tho

[Satty]

lol.......seriously its a nice car tho

Thanks, you might be only one of six people on this site to admit that. Seriously, I keep air in the tires (and buy new tires when a nail gets in one just right and punctures the sidewall. Asshole nail) and I was it from time to time, just like the other cars I've had. I gun it when I need to, otherwise I drive like a perfectly normal, sane person. I dont baby it, I dont try to kill it either.

[mute]

Thanks, you might be only one of six people on this site to admit that.  Seriously, I keep air in the tires (and buy new tires when a nail gets in one just right and punctures the sidewall.  Asshole nail) and I was it from time to time, just like the other cars I've had.  I gun it when I need to, otherwise I drive like a perfectly normal, sane person.  I dont baby it, I dont try to kill it either.

good man........id like to think im well rounded

[zoomtm]

floor that 3.8 !

[daves87rs]

Only after a thorough warm up. Don't want to have a head gasket problem with my 2.0L Breeze.

And then only when I have enough money to cover the fuel or possible maintenance issues. I need new front tires really badly!

It's funny you say that. A co-worker has a Breeze that he beats the piss out of it.

Right now, it's gone about 5k without an oil change (*shakes head*).

But it keeps runninng quite well, though I donn't know why....

When we had our 95 Neon -toward the end of it (before we traded it in) we

beat the daylights out of that Neon. And it still kept going...

I'd given up on saving the car after all the issues it had.....

[mute]

It's funny you say that. A co-worker has a Breeze that he beats the piss out of it.

Right now, it's gone about 5k without an oil change (*shakes head*).

But it keeps runninng quite well, though I donn't know why....

When we had our 95 Neon -toward the end of it (before we traded it in) we

beat the daylights out of that Neon. And it still kept going...

I'd given up on saving the car after all the issues it had.....

hah my dads best friend used to have a mercedes and he had it for 11 yrs, bought it as a beater put 170ooo on it, never changed the oil, sold it cuz he hit a deer

Edited January 18, 2006 by mute

[Flybrian]

Satty, you don't use Fuji water in the washer fluid?

Seriously though, I baby my baby.

[mute]

Satty, you don't use Fuji water in the washer fluid?

Seriously though, I baby my baby.

i filter fuji thru brita only the best for my minivan

[funkypunnk]

I have always and will always beat the EverLovin$h! outta my cars. I have found that they run better also. I even beat the crap outta my old cars. Plus, when they do break, I get to fix em and since I enjoy working on cars, it is kind of like therapy for me.

[TurboRush]

I got air under all four tires on my car. Twice. Hows that for beating? I also jumped a buddies old Camry about 20 or so feet. (Yes, it was a junker car and we were fooling around in a farm field.)

I was pissed off one night because of some chick and I took a downhill traintrack hump at 80 km/h (people usualy slow down to like 40 km/h to go over them) in my '99 Alero.........

I got airborn and landed fine but the 2.4L engine misfired all the way home...

next day, discovered one of the spark plugs had shatered in pieces (all outside of the plug hole... fiew) and the fuel presure regulator was shot.

[sciguy_0504]

Everything is fun and games until a spark plug shatters.

[z28luvr01]

I baby it, big time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

In the seven months I've had it, I don't think I've been past 4500rpm, even though that's the sweet spot for the Ecotec. I never jam on the brake or the accelerator. After every wash I check the pressures and fluids, and I treat the leather with Mother's lanoliin-based PH balanced leather cleaner/conditioner. After every wash, I wipe down the trunk, door jambs, and engine compartment with the wet towel just before I throw in the wash. In the summer I'll also wipe down the cutout for the sunroof. In the nice weather I'll wax twice a month...usually one week I use a cleaner wax and the folllowing week I use pure carnauba. With the winter weather I'm not able to wax as much, so I'm thinking of getting one of those detailing sprays (like the Mother's FX stuff) that I spray on the car as I dry it. I WILL use a claybar on it in the spring.Every couple of months I'll wipe the seals for the doors/trunk/sunroof with armor all to keep them nice ans supple. I occasionally clean the inner fenders with tar/bug remover to get them looking like new. In nice weather I'll swerve around puddles rather than drive them, to slow down the process of dirt collecting behind the rear wheels. Every two or three washes I'll wipe down the dash/console/door panels with the Armor all cleaning wipes (not the same stuff I use on the seals) to pic up the hair/dust. I don't vacuum alot, but I dump the mats out at least once a week. Since I usually clap my shoes together before I get in, I don't get a lot of dirt anyway.

[Guest Josh]

Ask the guys that came here for the Camaro debut how I am about my Solstice, they'll tell ya unless they're too busy badmouthing me....guess it depends who ya ask tho!

[mjdecker]

There's times where I redline it ... and there's times where I just drive like an old man. Depends on my mood. Majority of the time I'm hard on my car.

Now my previous car, 88 LaBarron coupe 4cyl w/ busted turbo, auto.. that car I could floor and it had a 0-60 in like 2min.. no joke.

One time I'm out with my buddy Jay in his 82 Monte and we're going like 60mph or so on some back roads. We hit a set or railroad tracks and we're air borne long enough to look at each other and go "Oh F*$#!!!" a loud crash when we hit the ground but that was his tool chest in the trunk (luck the trunk and not the back seat). The car stalled out and we had to coast it down the hill and parked it over night. The next morning my buddy came back to start it and it fired up as if nothing happened. B)

[ocnblu]

I have run the piss out of this truck. All my previous vehicles, too, except for the 'Vair.

I agree, the harder I run the truck, the more it likes it. The GTI was a glutton for punishment as well.

The Saturn felt as if it would collapse if I sneezed on it. What a pu**y car.

[MyerShift]

I drove my Skyhawk the hardest. Tough Love for my favourite baby.

[Mike The Canadian]

small streets = granny

large roads = pretty rough

I dont think i've hit the limiter before..i've floored it but not for even a fully gear

[BlkHhr104]

Well it depends if im in a rush ill accelerate it hard, besides no matter how crappy my 3.4 is it sounds good, but i did replace a tire already, and its an 05, and its got almost 30k on it, so yeah i treat a little rough but it gets breaks in the nice weather, I always whash it my self on nice days.

[knightfan26917]

*shrugs*

I baby my cars ... perhaps too much....

But, I didn't baby the '97 malibu or '00 mc LS....and both of 'em are (thankfully) gone....he he he.

Irony rocks .

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html

"I'm out of my pain" ... Beth Hart ... 'LA Song'

[Sixty8panther]

Ask XP about how I am with my Datsun... he hung out w/ me today and we went to Stop & Shop for a few groceries... (mostly to get away for the G/F) I did a pretty irresponsible powerslide arounds the empty side of the parking lot.

HE's riden in the Camaro once... though I was pretty tame taht day. Nothing too drastic just some high RPM fun down a dead end street.

[Satty]

I had bad, bad experiences with Fuji. Pretty bottles though.

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

my car commonly sees 5800rpms... redline is like 6300 but the auto doesnt like shifting that high (weird).

ifi baby my car and see to it it never reaches 2400rpm its mileage is OK... if i always revv it to 2700-3200rpm i commonly see 3-4mpg better in city driving.

wheels are sometimes broke lose if the road is wet.

[Nick]

It really depends, but I do like to drive my car spiritedly. It just asks for it. It's as if the car knows it when it isn't being pushed, and it hates it. So, I give it what it wants, and it gives me a huge grin acorss my face and suprises me more and more every day.

[zoomtm]

I baby it, big time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

In the seven months I've had it, I don't think I've been past 4500rpm, even though that's the sweet spot for the Ecotec. I never jam on the brake or the accelerator. After every wash I check the pressures and fluids, and I treat the leather with Mother's lanoliin-based PH balanced leather cleaner/conditioner. After every wash, I wipe down the trunk, door jambs, and engine compartment with the wet towel just before I throw in the wash. In the summer I'll also wipe down the cutout for the sunroof. In the nice weather I'll wax twice a month...usually one week I use a cleaner wax and the folllowing week I use pure carnauba. With the winter weather I'm not able to wax as much, so I'm thinking of getting one of those detailing sprays (like the Mother's FX stuff) that I spray on the car as I dry it. I WILL use a claybar on it in the spring.Every couple of months I'll wipe the seals for the doors/trunk/sunroof with armor all to keep them nice ans supple. I occasionally clean the inner fenders with tar/bug remover to get them looking like new. In nice weather I'll swerve around puddles rather than drive them, to slow down the process of dirt collecting behind the rear wheels. Every two or three washes I'll wipe down the dash/console/door panels with the Armor all cleaning wipes (not the same stuff I use on the seals) to pic up the hair/dust. I don't vacuum alot, but I dump the mats out at least once a week. Since I usually clap my shoes together before I get in, I don't get a lot of dirt anyway.

what car do you have?

[ToniCipriani]

what car do you have?

Z has a Cobalt.

[zoomtm]

oh...

[mute]

my car commonly sees 5800rpms... redline is like 6300 but the auto doesnt like shifting that high (weird).

ifi baby my car and see to it it never reaches 2400rpm its mileage is OK... if i always revv it to 2700-3200rpm i commonly see 3-4mpg better in city driving.

wheels are sometimes broke lose if the road is wet.

do a neutral drop

meaning release and stomp it everytime you hear it start to get whiney near the top of a shift and itll go high as it can after the first 2 shifts

[Dsuupr]

I dont' beat the Cobalt as bad as Roach I or Roach II, though we don't give it a minute of rest either. On average we do 1000 miles a week, and we never avoid a road because of gravel, or not floor it to get into traffic.

[mute]

I dont' beat the Cobalt as bad as Roach I or Roach II, though we don't give it a minute of rest either.  On average we do 1000 miles a week, and we never avoid a road because of gravel, or not floor it to get into traffic.

uh holy $h! im guessing that car is gone in two years cuz thats 100,000 miles right there

you need to take it easy and stay in at night or something

[intrigued]

I am so a part of the beater crowd. Ive had my 01 alero gls for about 20 months, in that time I have put on about 35,000 miles over the 20k it had when I got it. It get redlined probably about 5 times a week with many many highway merges in teh 4k rpm and almost as many cars passed at 5k rpm. IT has never had a week since I have owned it when it hasnt broken at least 90 and is motor crossed sometimes in the summer.

Ive gotten air in it on a number of ocassions probably about 30 times and once blasted off an exit all the way up at the speed limiter and came to a stop with makes rotors literally smoking.

Longest ve driven it at the edge of its limiter with the cruise locked in at about 110 mph was about 20 miles and the car wasnt working terriably hard, doing low 3k rpms in top gear.

This car is still all orginal parts except for rotors which I have gone through a bunch of lol. I love how reliable this car has been, it takes what I dish out and just comes back for more, the 3400 hasnt even had the headgasket problem despite the way I flog it, though I do let the car warm up before I drive like a maniac.

Its just now startig to show the wear, the tires needed replacment (thread was showing through the sidwall and they looked like racing slicks, so I just bought 4 new Perelli P zero neros to replace the crap goodyear eagle ls, and the suspension is showing its age some with increased body lean and some crash through from worn springs. To reward my car for its faithful service and to increase its performance in combination with its kickass tire I have just ordered a 4 new KYB after market struts and ebauck (SP?) prokit springs that will make the car handle better nd ride in a way so it doesent look like its a 4x4 anymore.

Anyways the drivetrain runs lie the day I got it and the suspension and breaks have taken a beating but those are the oly things I have ever needed to replace, my car is a champ and I am never going to get rid of it, even after I eventually get a new one, it would make a good winter car if I get that camaro im drooling over...

[Cory Wolfe]

I just realized something... I have never floored the gas in the GA. I've never dropped the clutch on a start either... or gone over 100 mph... or slammed the brakes... or hit the redline... So sad considering the damn thing spun a rod bearing.

[intrigued]

heh BV you baby'd your car to much it got soft and lazy lol you should've given it the digital driver treatment every now andthen... your with at wide open throttle or your coasting lol

[intrigued]

testing is my post count goint up at all I seem to be stuck below 40

... guess its working again jus have to post more at the new sight..

Edited January 19, 2006 by intrigued

[mute]

running the engine at high rpms makes sure the oils stays thin and distributed on all the surfaces inside of the block, the pump gets it there but high speeds in the crankshaft, cams, camshaft, pistons, etc trap a thin layer of oil over the moving parts and keep it from gettting allowed to drain or get too thick....

samew principle as making sure you run a car enough, it pretty much keeps the oil thin enough to coat everything evenly hence specific failures of bearings and such

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Pretty much all of our cars get pampered.

Each is washed once a week or at the very most, once every 2 weeks, REGARDLESS of weather. Each is waxed about once every 2 months, and it's a 3 stage wax (cleaner/polish/wax) not just a cleaner-wax. I have a special polish for the stainless and a special polish for machined bits. plastic trim is always treated aand detailed with something silicone based. etc, etc, I could go on and on....

Oil is changed roughly every 3,000 miles upon which all fluids are checked. Other fluids are changed according to maintenance schedules.

The Camaros are kept inside at all times when not being driven or shown and when driven ARE NOT HOT RODDED. I have too much money invested in them to destroy them. Now, that said, they are 'athletically' ran every once in a while

The Focus racks up a lot of miles but most are highway miles from home to UNCC and back. I never hot rod this car either unless I'm feeling 1) aggressive 2) angry (This'll always do it) or 3) need to merge quickly or keep up.

The Silverado, of course, gets a little more wear and tear since it is of course, a truck and is used for truck things and by multiple drivers. But it is never blatantly hot rodded either.

The F-150 is purely my dad's work truck and is on it's own maintenance schedule. Out of sight, out of mind.

The Toyota, while continueing to build LOTS of miles and probably in the worst shape of any of our cars (our beater) it still isn't ran hard and gets the universal good treatment of all our cars. Eventhough it is driven by multiple drivers.

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

with my other vehicle... if the engine dies i usually drop the clutch to restart it... yeah its bad but SO WHAT... beatermobile!

[Ravenfreak13]

Even though I got a 98 Saturn SL!, I wash it once a week, wax it every copule months, vacuum and clean the interior once a month.

[capriceman]

The Caprice is tortured every day its driven. I give it 5 minutes to warm up. Then to get everything moving, I give it 1/4 throttle out of the driveway. first stop sign. launch it on the road. First stop light, giv it enough gas so that it pulls but doesnt spin the tires. Since Its been fixed tho it runs even stronger and better. I havent really floored it yet but come the right time on the right patch of ice I let er rip.

[Dsuupr]

uh holy $h! im guessing that car is gone in two years cuz thats 100,000 miles right there

you need to take it easy and stay in at night or something

So far no problems. Chances are we'll sell it around 50k, right before the warranty goes out. This will give us the most bang for our buck because it will be new enough that someone will pay good money for it. I don't forsee have any troubles with it though. It's still solid all the way around. No rattles like a toyota.

It does get floored a few times a week (clearing it out ), its never given warm up time, we do oil changes when it tells us too (every 8000 miles or so) and we take it on huge pot holed dirt roads, but it still doesn't get beaten like Roach I.

Edited January 20, 2006 by Dsuupr

[ToniCipriani]

I started flooring my G6...

But it seems it's liking it

I find cleaning up the interior is the most important. Keeps bad odours out.