Piston Slap: Is The 2WD 'Burb Ready for The Snow?

Jay writes:

Professor Mehta,

I have some friends that are moving to Colorado from native South Florida. They’ve never lived in a 4 season climate let alone driven in snow. They own outright a 2007 2WD Suburban (80k miles) L33/LS1 FTW. The other car is an Acura TL he drives for work.

Since I’m the resident car guy, they’ve asked for advice. Should they trade the Suburban and get her a CPO X5 (her dream car)? Or buy an MDX, RX350 AWD?

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Piston Slap: It Ain't Easy Being on the Front Left!

Matt writes:

Hello,

I own an 06′ Hyundai Elantra GLS hatchback and tire wear on the front left tire has been much worse than the other three, despite rotating the tires. The outside of the front left tire is worn down so that it is smooth and now I can see a secondary layer of rubber being exposed. At first I thought maybe there was something wrong with the alignment but I took it to three places, one wanted to charge me a $90 “diagnostic” fee so I walked and the other two couldn’t find anything wrong. One place mentioned that since I had directional tires I couldn’t really get a proper rotation and thats probably what’s causing the wear.

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Trackday Diaries: the Long Night, Street Habits on the Track.

If you want to spend fifty days a year on-track, or even twenty, every dollar must be watched. A decent hotel can run eighty bucks or so, including tax, near most East Coast venues. Two hotel nights an event, ten events a year, will run you sixteen hundred bucks minimum. A few years ago I came up with a way to save at least eight hundred of those dollars: drive to the East Coast the night before. Playing a bit of “pickup ball”, to be coarse, can save the other eight hundred. It’s also possible to sleep in bathtubs for free if you have generous friends at the event, so pack a pillow and thick blanket along with your torque wrench and HANS device.

Sunday night passes into Monday morning and I am on the road at 12:30AM to cover the 371 miles to Summit Point’s Main Course. There’s less traffic at night anyway, making it easier to read Wikipedia whenever I have 3G signal. I’ll pick a topic and wander through. From 2AM to 5AM or so I’m reading about the late Michael Bloomfield and the story of the “Super Session” record with Al Kooper and Stephen Stills. A few reviews, a variety of technical diatribes about the ’58-’60 Gibson Les Paul. The maple top is glued to the mahogany body, which stresses the maple under most conditions of heat and humidity, causing the guitar to resonate a bit more. Fascinating stuff. Yes, I read and drive. You’re not allowed to do it in press cars, but I hold the title for the Boxster and therefore if I want to spend the whole trip playing a Martin Backpacker on my lap I’ll damn well do it. If you want me to devote my full attention to the road, raise the speed limit to 195 and give me a plastic trophy for arriving at my destination before everyone else.

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  • MaintenanceCosts If only it had a hatch. The Model S is so much more practical, has similar performance in non-Plaid form, and is $20k more - and the $20k premium seems almost worth it just for the hatch.
  • Lorenzo I'm not surprised. They needed to drop the "four-door coupe", or as I call it, the Dove soap bar shape, and put a formal flat roof over the rear seats, to call it a sedan. The Legacy hasn't had decent back seat headroom since the 1990s, except for the wagons. Nobody wants to drive with granny in the front passenger seat!
  • Analoggrotto GM is probably reinventing it as their next electric.
  • Vatchy What is the difference between a car dealer and a drug dealer? Not much - you can end up dead using what they sell you. The real difference is that one is legal and one is not.
  • Theflyersfan Pros: Stick shift, turbo wagonExtra tires and wheelsBody is in decent shape (although picture shows a little rust)Interior is in decent shapeService records so can see if big $$$ is coming upCan handle brutal "roads" in Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, although the spare wheels and tires will be needed. (See picture)Cons:Mileage is high Other Volvos on the site are going for less moneyAnyone's guess what an Ontario-driven in the winter vehicle looks like on the lift.Why wasn't the interior cleaned?Clear the stability control message please...Of course it needs to cross the border if it comes down here. She lowers the price a bit and this could be a diamond in the rough. It isn't brown and doesn't have a diesel, but this checks most TTAC wagon buyer boxes!