The random chat thread for throwing out things that don't matter

Nice wagon! Love me a wagon. 

Quick update on the Mazda. It's been a week. Still can't nail the 1-2 shift, it's slow and jerky. Every other shift is fine. It might be a delay valve in the clutch hydraulics. Feels inconsistent. But it's a lease, won't mess with it. I'll just need to get used to it. 

Otherwise it's been amazing. Interior is wonderful. Reminiscent of an 80s sports car, with the driver-centric dash and thin strip down the passenger side. Radar cruise, blind spot monitoring (including indications for cars to the sides in the HUD), a HUD, a gorgeous gauge cluster that looks old school and classy, 8.8" display with Android Auto, Bose sound system is quite good, rear cross traffic alert, seats are nice, I'm really happy. Biggest downsides are no moving guide lines in the backup camera (really? Civics and Nissans have those) and no auto dimming mirror or HomeLink. No garage door opener, dang. Small downsides compared to the Lexus are the total lack of feel in the steering (my CT had an amazing steering feel and weight, which is unusual for a Lexus), no illuminated door sills, and no footwell lighting. And of course there are small cost cutting measures everywhere, but everywhere that doesn't really matter. Also my average is a bit over 27 MPG, which sucks compared to the 40 my Lexus hybrid got... but not bad for a torquey 2.5L. 

Interesting thing is Mazda's G-Vectoring Control Plus. I think Savagegeese did an amazing technical rundown of it in his review of the Mazda3 (if you want to watch a 33 minute review of every detail of a Mazda haha). Instead of jumping in when you lose traction, it's active BEFORE you lose traction. Controlling power, brakes, everything about your car to maximize performance. I took it for a drive with a few much faster cars (Alfa 4C and a supercharged BRZ) for a spirited but not crazy run through the forest. And through some tight fast corners I felt the car... almost act on its own? It felt a little disconnected from my inputs, as if they were being ever so slightly changed. Specifically engine. But the car didn't understeer at ALL. It was kind of amazing. Savagegeese said in his review that with it off (an engineer was toggling it, consumers can't turn it off) the car would understeer bad in the snow and the traction control would cut power. With GVC+ on it would go into corners with no understeer and with confidence. This is exactly what I had noticed on my spirited drive, just not knowing what I was experiencing. It made the car shockingly capable on these all seasons, and the only thing that made it falter was rough pavement. Then it fell flat on its face, the suspension is just too soft. Either way, REALLY impressive. Prevents TCS cutting power. It has a lot easier of a time putting down power through corners than my CT did, despite both having open diffs. 

https://www.mazda-press.com/eu/news/2019/mazda-introduces-g-vectoring-control-plus-gvc-plus/

Also there are some amazing details that I've found. The DRLs are actually a mix of halos and the LED low beams. But low beams have a cutoff, so how could they be DRLs? They don't glare. So in DRL mode, they're at very low brightness... but they aim themselves up! When you turn the headlights on you can see they go full brightness and aim down automatically, to the proper level. SO COOL. 

@haloruler64

Wow that dash really does blend classic and modern design well. The red looks incredible with it.

I do like that dash setup.  It's simple but sophisticated, like a nice watch.

"Lack of feel in the steering" was the biggest turn-off for me when I test drove a Miata NC. The car also seemed to have zero body roll. I know lots of people strive for that, and maybe it wins races, but when combined with the dead steering, it made the car feel like driving a brick. No fun at all (for me).

Mazda 3 has less than no steering feel. But they're going premium, upscale. That's luxury for ya. I'm ok with it for a daily driver.

Few small updates with the Mazda, figure someone might be interested. The manual 2.5L is rated at 25 city 35 highway, 29 combined. On the way to Healdsburg for work I got a bit over 41, on the way home I got 39. So 40 average, not too bad for a big 4 banger! Right now I'm averaging 33. 

I'm getting used to the manual. Shift early into 2nd, it's smoother that way, and take advantage of the low end torque to accelerate. I'm happy I went manual. 

Android Auto is nothing short of brilliant. I love it. And the 8.8" extra wide display is nice. 

I've fallen into the rabbit hole of looking at mods. OEM ones, specifically. Autodimming mirror with Homelink is available with a wiring harness from Mazda. So are illuminated aluminum door sills. Even a full OEM lip kit called the Aero kit that actually looks quite good. But I really shouldn't... besides the autodimming mirror. Can't live without that. 

Seems about time for a Mazda puppy photo, don't you think?

You are absolutely right! I will do my best to get to that as soon as possible. 

For now, enjoy two photos. One of him being mad and one of him being mad. Dude turned 15 in June.

Applied for and accepted a new position at work last week.  50-55 hours/week are my new norm.

Congrats! Although 50-55 hours sounds tough. 

50-55 does sound tough, don't burn yourself out. 

On the topic of work.... Why do people have to be such assholes to each other?!?! I got put on a stage house build for a high school... Glad to have a couple weeks of work. Was pretty happy to log 61hrs last week. But this morning I walked in, unlocked the gear I had decided to keep on site, opened my case and found it half empty. After further inspection, they just ripped the case open to bypass the lock. Then put it all back together like it never happened. ~$400 in equipment gone. Sure glad I took most of my stuff home.... But still...

To steal a man's toys is a shit move. But to steal equipment a man uses to earn his living... I'll redact my exact thoughts. I just hope karma is real.

Posted by: @marsrock7

50-55 does sound tough, don't burn yourself out. 

On the topic of work.... Why do people have to be such assholes to each other?!?! I got put on a stage house build for a high school... Glad to have a couple weeks of work. Was pretty happy to log 61hrs last week. But this morning I walked in, unlocked the gear I had decided to keep on site, opened my case and found it half empty. After further inspection, they just ripped the case open to bypass the lock. Then put it all back together like it never happened. ~$400 in equipment gone. Sure glad I took most of my stuff home.... But still...

To steal a man's toys is a shit move. But to steal equipment a man uses to earn his living... I'll redact my exact thoughts. I just hope karma is real.

Very sorry to hear that happened to you.  Be aware that it’s only going to get worse with people returning to crime or youth picking up crime as a profession. Some people are  evil and when they continue on that path tragically bad things happen that you wouldn’t want to wish on them.  
 

Posted by: @marsrock7

50-55 does sound tough, don't burn yourself out. 

On the topic of work.... Why do people have to be such assholes to each other?!?! I got put on a stage house build for a high school... Glad to have a couple weeks of work. Was pretty happy to log 61hrs last week. But this morning I walked in, unlocked the gear I had decided to keep on site, opened my case and found it half empty. After further inspection, they just ripped the case open to bypass the lock. Then put it all back together like it never happened. ~$400 in equipment gone. Sure glad I took most of my stuff home.... But still...

To steal a man's toys is a shit move. But to steal equipment a man uses to earn his living... I'll redact my exact thoughts. I just hope karma is real.

It's not bad, I was working 60-68 hours a week back in the spring and part of last year.

Some people at work think I'm an asshole to them, but they seem to be the lazier people at my job.

Posted by: @nocoolname

It's not bad, I was working 60-68 hours a week back in the spring and part of last year.

 

Some people at work think I'm an asshole to them, but they seem to be the lazier people at my job.

Cool, you've hopefully locked in more money and less time in the same move. Can't beat that.

I have the same problem. I tend to piss off a lot of the lazier senior members of my local.... And have from the day I started with them, over a decade ago now. I figure if I'm not pissing someone off then I'm just a number, rather than a person with a brain.