The MW Automotive Thread 5.0 GT

[Phyrox]

I think matte black / satin is one of the most common finishes I see for modded AMGs, Lambos, and BMW M cars out here in West LA.

I feel like the only sane man in a crazy world, but I hate it. That and black wheels. Hate them both individually, hate them even more together.

[jenius]

100% agree on black wheels... I had a black Corvette at one point in my life and was in a very black phase so I considered doing black wheels... then I randomly saw a Corvette just like mine with the black wheels and realized how important a little contrast is. Maybe a bright car with black wheels would work... but all black didn't work for me.

[anime52k8]

I like black wheels, they're classy and subtle and it doesn't show brake dust.

Edited May 12, 2015 by anime52k8

[areaseven]

I like black wheels, they're classy and subtle and it doesn't show break dust.

What's "break dust"?

[anime52k8]

What's "break dust"?

I can't think of an appropriate way to respond to that that won't get me yelled at by a mod.

Edited May 12, 2015 by anime52k8

[David Hingtgen]

Black wheels only work on silver or white cars, IMHO*. (and white wheels only work on white cars)

*bright yellow and red may be acceptable as well---provided you've got matching yellow or red calipers to add contrast/interest

[ErikElvis]

Here's my brown bike. it has heavy metal flake you can't really see in the pic.

And yeah black wheels are touchy. Looks good on one blue car and not another Really depends. I do think they can look good on white cars. They have to be big rims though or they look like steel wheels when your driving

Edited May 12, 2015 by ErikElvis

[areaseven]

Mighty Car Mods unveil their Mad Max-inspired Nissan Silvia.

[SchizophrenicMC]

I hate matte black. If you want your car to look like trash, paint it matte black. If you never want to be able to repair paint or body damage without a total respray, paint it matte black. If you don't want your finish to be maintainable, paint it matte black. Matte black sucks.

I have similar feelings about wheel color. It has to match your car's color. Gloss black wheels on light or bright cars, white wheels on white cars, silver wheels on everything else. Painted insets are allowed, so long as they follow the theme. (eg factory moss green pearl insets on the wheels of the Grand Cherokee Orvis Edition, which was only sold in MGPC) Matte wheels are never allowed. Semi-gloss is acceptable. Chrome sucks, but whatever. Polish aluminum is a super gorgeous finish, but it's a lot of work to maintain it without really expensive clear coats that will bond to the metal without disturbing the polished finish. Those are only somewhat less work to maintain.

Basically all I'm asking is that people practice good color sense, and display a reasonable sensibility regarding the permanence of their car's finish. I'm not gonna say rattle cans can't get good results, but if your plan hinges on rattle cans and blue painter's tape, and not much else, you should probably save the money and keep driving your ugly car, because you won't be making it pretty any time soon.

I dig that Mod Max Silvia though.

[Agent ONE]

Matte black is porous also, therefore it takes fingerprints like stainless steel. Always looks treble. Kinda like how a DeLorean always looks dirty.

[SchizophrenicMC]

At least you can easily get rid of dirt and oil on the surface of a Delorean. And it's easy to hide scratches on. Matte black, yeesh. It also absorbs a ton of heat, which sucks in southerly climes. For that matter, it absorbs every bit of UV that gets thrown at it by the big sky ball, so it looks lighter and lighter as time goes by and the paint oxidizes. And it's not like gloss where you can just buff and polish it back, and wax to protect the paint and maintain the finish.

I just can't express my disdain for matte black enough.

[Vifam7]

Where did the whole black wheels thing begin? Samething with the matte black paint. It seems to be a recent trend among sports cars.

Personally, I think black wheels and matte black paint only look good on bicycles.

[Agent ONE]

At least you can easily get rid of dirt and oil on the surface of a Delorean. And it's easy to hide scratches on. Matte black, yeesh. It also absorbs a ton of heat, which sucks in southerly climes. For that matter, it absorbs every bit of UV that gets thrown at it by the big sky ball, so it looks lighter and lighter as time goes by and the paint oxidizes. And it's not like gloss where you can just buff and polish it back, and wax to protect the paint and maintain the finish.

I just can't express my disdain for matte black enough.

The only exception I can find is painting a car with black bedliner. Not porous, and basically indestructible. Looks good on offroad vehicles.

[areaseven]

The only exception I can find is painting a car with black bedliner. Not porous, and basically indestructible. Looks good on offroad vehicles.

Something like this?

[areaseven]

[SchizophrenicMC]

The only exception I can find is painting a car with black bedliner. Not porous, and basically indestructible. Looks good on offroad vehicles.

"basically indestructible"

My dick. The stuff doesn't fade, it just comes off in ungainly chunks. It's really prone to rock chip damage (which takes chunks off, revealing the inevitable red paint underneath) and it's actually pretty weak on parts that rub on things, like door handles. And if you take it out on the trail, the first tree branch you even look at will take a nice chunk out of the bedliner. And unlike clear coat, which just scratches and can be buffed out, you have to recoat when the bedliner is damaged. And it's been my experience that bedliner doesn't like to stick to cured bedliner. ie, get out the angle grinder. Then again, looking good isn't the point with bedliner.

Actually I'm just not sure what the point is.

That piano drop on the Morris Marina though.

[areaseven]

[derex3592]

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/s/jeremy-clarkson-says-corvette-z06-not-serious-player-143035974.html

Edited May 14, 2015 by derex3592

[areaseven]

[SchizophrenicMC]

Sixth Generation Camaro: Because why even try?

[David Hingtgen]

Any redesign where you have to point out what's different, is pointless.

"Rear fenders now go 3mm more out and 4.5mm further up!"

I bet the top of the glass is still pupil-high, like the last one I sat in.

There's "low, sleek roofline" and then there's "just plain stupidly low". The Camaro is the latter. For that much mass and volume, I shouldn't feel claustrophobic.

Considering how changed(and awesome) the Corvette is now, I was kinda hoping that the 2nd-fastest/coolest Chevy might get a bit of the same "spark of inspiration". But nope, not at all.

[areaseven]

I bet the new Camaro's still useless at drive-thrus.

[anime52k8]

Sixth Generation Camaro: Because why even try?

Meanwhile, at GM HQ:

"Johnson, what are we doing to to make the sixth generation Camaro a winner?"

"well, sir, where going to unsubtly rip off design ques, body lines, and engine options from the sixth gen Mustang while still making the car look 90% identical to the outgoing models."

"Excellent! but what can we do to really push it over the top?"

"We could give it an interior so gaudy and inappropriate for the vehicle that even Dodge owners will roll their eyes and groan at it."

"Brilliant! Rush it into production!"

Edited May 17, 2015 by anime52k8

[ErikElvis]

I have been really unimpressed with the new gen camaros. I just can't get into them. The new mustang on the other hand was instant love. (And I have a 2002 SS camaro). As much as I love my camaro it is basically a rattly piece of junk from the factory. The next time I go domestic it will be a ford.

[anime52k8]

I love my mustang.

[SchizophrenicMC]

I drove an Ecoboost Mustang. I loved it instantly. They really nailed it. It feels like it weighs less than it does and it has just enough boost lag to be fun. Interior quality took a huge improvement too, and it shows itself off as a total clean sheet design. They paid attention to detail and it shows.

The new Camaro though? I'm calling it now: they didn't update the chassis, it's still just a 2-door Commodore. Losing 200lbs? That's normally impressive, but in a car that weighs closer to 4000lbs than 3000, it's not so much. And how can such a big, heavy car have such a small, uncomfortable interior? The Challenger may be heavier and bigger, but at least it has some visibility and usable seats. Oh and you know, vents that don't aim at the hips.

Seriously, that's interior design 101: face-level vents are at face level.

[areaseven]

What the hell is this guy talking about? Designed after the F-22 Raptor?

[David Hingtgen]

What the hell is this guy talking about? Designed after the F-22 Raptor?

I've think I've seen everything from trains to jeans to pickups "inspired by the F-22". So yeah, that phrase has been inappropriately used since about 1991 or so...

[dizman]

I like that blue on the new mustangs, good choice and nice car!

[Sildani]

The new Camaro uses the Alpha chassis used by the Cadillac ATS and CTS, 70% of which is unique to the Camaro. Not so much Holden in there anymore.

That said, I can't fit into the current Camaro - my head hits the roof at about ear level - and I doubt I can fit into the new one. They still subscribe to the "concrete pillbox" school of window sizing, too.

I do fit into the new Mustang, but I do so perfectly, with no extra space. It's very, very nice inside. It's such a change from the previous two generations, they actually could've called this one the Probe and it would've made sense.

The Challenger is too bloody big. It does look good and sound better, though, and the Hellcat is the most 'Murican car since the original Viper. I think I'm right in saying it's the cheapest 700 horsepower you can buy. And with a factory warranty!

But full disclosure: my dream car is a Land Rover, so my opinions on muscle/pony cars are suspect at best.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Sildani

[David Hingtgen]

That said, I can't fit into the current Camaro - my head hits the roof at about ear level - and I doubt I can fit into the new one. They still subscribe to the "concrete pillbox" school of window sizing, too.

Exactly. Why do cars 1000lbs less and several FEET smaller in dimension, have better head/shoulders room? Seriously, I bet some Italian sports cars are better in that regard, than the 2007+ Camaro.

I am 6ft and one-half inch tall. That is not at all "unusual" nor should it "be a factor" when buying a car. Guys 6'6" have that problem---I should not---but I sure do in the Camaro! (heck, even my current car is quite iffy---I hate its sunroof for that reason, as an extra inch would be a world of difference---but for that car---EVERY SINGLE ONE that was not custom-ordered, has a sunroof, so there was almost no way to get one without)

[SchizophrenicMC]

The only guy I ever knew who didn't have a problem fitting in his Camaro was 5'5".

I have no idea why Camaros are so big, so heavy, and so cramped. I can only chalk it up to GM not knowing how to build cars.

[David Hingtgen]

Question for those who may know:

If the manufacturers want to preserve their low roof-line for exterior appearance, why can't they just lower the seats some for more headroom? Don't need 6 inches, just an inch or two can make a HUGE difference for a good chunk of the population. Every time I sit in a potential new car, and crank the seat down all the way to check headroom--it always seems like there's room to allow it to go down further--it just doesn't due to how they designed the rails. (ever see a cut-away of a Countach? I think there's about 1 inch between butt and outside air, at the low-point of the seat---you CAN build seats down much lower to the floorpan)

Heck, a semi-permanent adjustment would be really nice. Like a "high" and "low" bolt-placement. The power adjustments would still work, it'd be independent of that---just have alternate places for the actual bolts to insert, that hold the seat to the rails/tracks. Could change them when you sell it, etc. Set it to "high" for old ladies, etc.

[areaseven]

I guess GM did their measurements based on mullet height instead of actual human height.

[areaseven]

Captain Slow gives a cooking lesson.