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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    Funny this came up. @Paolino was asking me yesterday about it. He hasn't put gas in the car since March and the tank is full. I told him he needs to go burn through that tank soon and get a fresh tank in there.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    I have always liked driving these. I fit really well in the driver seat and everything is ergonomically great. The balance of the car, the steering, the handling are all superb. Could it use a bit more horsepower? Sure, but I wouldn't want it to disturb the balance of the car.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    The opposite. However, it can cause problems if you've run crap fuel for 100k miles and then suddenly run E85 and the E85 starts to break up the deposits and let them loose into your engine. E85 is a solvent and really good at cleaning engine deposits, but you can't run it unless all of your fuel system is set up for it because it can dissolve rubberized parts. The Avalanche was built to run E85 and gets 326hp and 348 lb-ft of torque on E85 while getting 320hp and 335 lb-ft of torque on regular 87. My mileage on E85 is around 11-12 and on gasoline is 15-16. E85 is about 25 cents a gallon cheaper here than the cheapest regular (costco) and 55 cents cheaper than everyone else.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    Oh, well it gets an Italian Tune Up every day then... sometimes multiple times a day. Plus I'm also running E85 through it every 3rd tank or so which should really clean out the engine good.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    A what now?
  6. Drew Dowdell
    This is the CAI I like. I like it because the box has insulation in it and the tube is plastic so it doesn't absorb heat like metal would. https://www.coldairinductions.com/shop/cold-air-inductions-products/cold-air-intakes/chevrolet/avalanche/2009-2013-gm-v8-fullsize-truck-and-suv-cold-air-intake-black/
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I do, and the thing that saved me from costly tickets was the fact that none of my 3 vehicles had over 160hp. Now I have a vehicle with 326 horsepower (and probably a CAI coming soon). I gotta watch myself in the new wheels.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    It was on the AWD Honda CR-V. I'm pretty good about tire rotations too. I have it done at every oil change and on the CR-V that was at 7,500 miles. Keep in mind that the quality of the roads here in PA are substantially different than what you have out your way.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    I buy the Defenders because they drive well, ride well, and I get good fuel economy with them. A big However, is that I never get full treadlife out of them. I rely on that long warranty because I kill them in about 35k miles, but I get more than 50% off the next set of tires. Michelin has to be losing money on me when I buy tires. The Goodyear Triple treads on the Encore have lasted 55k miles and technically still have treadlife left before needing to be replaced. But they are dryrotted and hard. The car rides rough and we noticed an immediate hit to our fuel economy when we first put them on. It came with Continental ContiTracks and we were able to cruise at 34mpg in it. These days with the Goodyears, we barely manage 30mpg highway. The new Costco ad is offering $110 off a set of for Michelins, so I think it will be going in for them before the end of the month.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    If FCA would sell the LX platform cars with a V8 and AWD, I would soooo be there. I'm surprised the '63 to '91 Jeep Grand Wagoneer isn't on the list. I would totally daily a '91.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    I only buy from Costco anymore because they only stock excellent quality tires as prices better than any competition. I have searched and price shopped tires for the fleet many times over the years and every time I've NOT used Costco, I've gotten burned. Also, Costco doesn't give me lip about warranty replacement, they just do it as long as it's still in warranty. And if you buy the tires there, the road hazard warranty is free for the first 5 years. I've used that benefit a couple times. CNet is correct in that the selection of tires they have is limited. When I first needed tires on the Encore, they didn't stock the size from either brand they carry (Michelin or Bridgestone) and I ended up going with a local chain. Narrowing it down a bit further... I'm pretty much only ever buying Michelin Defenders. I've had good results from them on the Honda for 2 sets of tires and the warranty is long. That's what the Avalanche will get once it is time and the Encore will be scoring a set this fall if we keep it into winter.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    What has been changed since it has been introduced?
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Three completely different driving styles, roughly the same results: Picture it, Sicily, 1922.... No wait... Pennsylvania, 2020... Myself in the Toronado and a new Jeep Compass in front of me at the light. To my right, an Audi S5. The light changes and the Compass takes off quickly, not flooring it, but being aggressive. I'm right behind him, flooring it just to keep up. (it's a sharp uphill slope) The S5 is just cruising effortlessly next to both of us without a care in the world. Three different throttle positions, same speed and acceleration achieved. I really like the Aviator inside and out. It's on the short list for an Encore replacement in a few years unless we find a perfect S90 in the meantime.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    What does wheelbase have to do with headroom or hip room? A 2020 CT6 has 6" more wheelbase than a Tahoe and has less headroom and hip room too.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    Aztec
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Ooooh I like that! I may have a problem
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Na I don't think I want one of those... just something to go in the front plate spot.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    I need a front plate..... what do you guys recommend. I saw a chrome one with the gold bowtie logo on it, but I felt that might be a bit over the top with all the other chrome up front and of course the giant gold bowtie on the grille. Link me!
  19. Drew Dowdell
    Yeah, this was served by Enterprise though I rented through National. I always rented National because I was their super executive elite top tier renter since I typically had 50-60 rentals a year. I've always found Enterprise's customer service to be terrible, even here in the states, while National has always been exceptional and done everything possible to keep my business. My last rental with National back in March I had reserved a Malibu... I ended up in a brand new loaded X3 for the same price. Drove it to Florida and back for $260~. They lost money on that one.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    over
  21. Drew Dowdell
    I used to do 12,000 miles a year pre-Covid. I'm not sure what I'm at exactly because I've rotated which cars I'm driving this year multiple times, but it's def going to be lower than previous years. Albert's will go higher than previous years because he's driving to work every day instead of taking the bus on weekdays like he did pre-covid.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    I would expect they would mostly be in Germany.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    Nope, it's a safety stance that Volvo has taken. They want to have zero deaths relating to one of their products by a certain date.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    For clarity Volvo brand will have the top speed limit, but anything Polestar will negate that. Polestars won't be governed.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    The Volvo interiors are definitely on-par with Benz or Audi when comparably equipped. The Volvo design is just different compared to the highly technical look of the Germans (particularly the Audi). I really love the minimalist design of the Volvo interiors and their seats are The. Best. In. Comfort. Periodt. In the earlier versions of this platform, the infotainment system could be a bit laggy and frustrating, but they've increased the processor and ram on them and they operate well now. Due to a quirk in the trade in market right now, we may trade the Encore in on an S90 fairly soon. Carvana is offering $10k for it and for a 7 year old, 100k mile car with a few dings, I'm thinking I should take it. Other dealerships are only offering $7,200.
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