Road Trip!

fintail

On the snow tire idea, a MB enthusiast friend of mine who is into accessories and having everything match wanted me to get MB center caps for the aftermarket wheels, wanted me to wax the wheels (I do this for the normal wheels, didn't think I would for these), and now wants me to get OEM mudflaps. I've done two of those anyway, car is cleaned, including wheels, and now running MB center caps, which look good on these, reminds me of the pin style axle ends on a toy car:



No real road trips on the horizon, but I'm ready if I need to.

xwesx

The center caps look good! Subtle, but they do stand out on the black. Honestly, I don't think that the mudflaps are necessary. They wouldn't fit the look of the car well without raising the ride height, and then you're just getting down a rabbit hole that is in no need of a visit.

tjc78

+1 No mud flaps!

Like the caps too.

fintail

Yeah, I am not going to do the mudflaps - they'd look a little off, and I am afraid they'd require making a hole or something. Maybe for one of the upcoming "all terrain" models, but then I might as well get a G Wagen

Now that I've done this, maybe an inch of snow in the 2 week weather model. Of course. I have noticed a huge amount of people here running winter tires, virtually unknown on the west side. Very similar car mix - endless Subarus, Jeeps, Toyota 4x4s - dare to be different.

ab348

Your comment reminded me that the other day I saw a very fancy-looking 30/40-something blonde lady driving a white w/bling G-Wagen here. Probably not uncommon in L.A. and other certain moneyed areas of the world but a very rare sighting around these parts.

fintail

I'm surprised by the number of Gs I've seen here too, even a few new style models - not like in my prior dirty money haven area, but more than a couple. I assume transplants or maybe those attached to the coddled housing industry, as there isn't a big high paying tech base here to pay for such things.

If I had one, it would have to be a non-AMG model.

fintail

On the road walking close to sunset today, a sad sight - a 94-95 E320 (W124) tangled with a late 00s Outback, and was no doubt a total loss. Hard to tell what happened, but maybe the Outback ran a stop sign or didn't otherwise yield to the MB, as from what I could tell, the MB t-boned it while on an arterial street, at maybe 20-25 mph. Front end crumpled, while the Subaru looked drivable. Not a collectible car, but old school, and that's one less - I am sure it'll be parted out anyway.

I notice a lot of studded tires on the road here, too - surprised it is allowed, given the damage they do, and how modern snow tires are apparently good by themselves.

imidazol97

I thought those studded tires had been outlawed in all states...

fintail

Legal in WA Nov 1-March 31. The state "encourages" studless winter tires.

xwesx

Ugh. Studs are so useless in that area! Now, granted, studs are invaluable during periods of freezing rain (REAL freezing rain, the likes of which eastern WA/OR gets regularly). The problem is that they are generally worn down on nothing but dry roads long before they ever get to see such conditions. For long-term solid (and consistent) traction, and also road-friendly, the studless winters are unparalleled.

Studs are much more useful in areas like mine where winter roads see snow and ice on a near-constant basis for months on end, but they still aren't nearly as good after the first winter, and the tires themselves typically do not have nearly as good of traction (as winter studless) by themselves.

fintail

So many studded tires caught my ear today, while enjoying the local roads that vary from decent to 1945 Berlin (glad I got new shocks on the fintail - I wonder how long they will last, and I am already avoiding certain routes just to help the car). These things should be taxed, and the funds used to aid in road maintenance, but I think even with the mild (compared to points much further east or north) freeze-thaw cycle here, it's probably a neverending battle.

xwesx

My wife might be in for a bit of a "road trip," or some sort of hybrid/bastardization of one. She has a family member with health issues, so she's weighing her options. Great timing with the insanity going on in the world....

fintail

We got a couple inches of snow yesterday - the difference here being I actually had to go out and do a few things this morning, so I got to drive. All arterials are clear, due to deicer and plowing, but the side streets are maybe a little treacherous - no issue with AWD and Blizzaks though, I could go up the relatively steep and completely uncleared hill I live on without issue. Car got filthy in no time.

A little driving video of one of the most scenic (and tony) arterials in my area, this area has many neighborhoods of intact period houses - with some music on the radio to fit this time of year. Timestamp is off, didn't do the "fall back" apparently:

https://youtu.be/64lY84xaSSg

ab348

Nice rolling stop there at 0:20, cowboy. :laughing:

fintail

It's the thought that counts

ab348 said:

Nice rolling stop there at 0:20, cowboy. :laughing:

imidazol97

ab348 said:

Nice rolling stop there at 0:20, cowboy. :laughing:

Over 20 km/hr.

fintail

Hey, I was speeding too

xwesx

fintail said:

Hey, I was speeding too

Exactly! It's all relative!

fintail

I'm just using discretion. This city has some weird traffic controls anyway - seems 95% of residential intersections are uncontrolled, which scares me a little in the era of distracted driving. Some goofy light timing and weird intersections too, although on some arterials, if you catch the sequence, you can go for some time without a red (although it might require speeding or slowing).

I suspect the stop sign in question above exists either as "traffic calming", or because a monied Karen/NIMBY type had the clout to have it installed after some kind of close call.

xwesx said:

Exactly! It's all relative!

andres3

Took the family up to Monterey for the week up in Pacific Grove. Couldn't do much other than eat outdoors, so that's mostly what we did; ate a lot of great seafood; mostly Salmon as I love Salmon. The clam chowder is great at Old Fisherman's Grotto on the Wharf too.

The Tiguan did the job without the need for any "lights" on the dash, nor tow truck calls. It wasn't as fun on the amazingly awesome and epic highway 198 through Coalinga though. That highway is superb; need to revisit that one in the S4 or TTS again! Don't think I had done that one before. On the way up, we did the 152 cross over that's decent through the San Luis Reservoir.

Avoided Highway 1 this time around as time was ticking, and I'm not sure my 7-year old could handle how long Highway 1 takes in a Tiguan.

Dropped off our newest family member, a 7-month old French Bulldog at the In-Laws in Tulare, CA. He wouldn't like Highway 1 either. As a little puppy, he threw up on my wife before in the Tiguan. The Tiguan holds his little cage/crate nicely in the cargo area. The S4 came up 1/4 to 1/2" short on the opening trunk size to get that in. Close, but no cigar. I think it would fit in the trunk, just barely, but the opening fell just short. This is why trunks are not as utilitarian as hatches; you are limited by the opening size.

andres3

Oh one more new thing and sighting.

I spotted a bunch of electrical charge up stations at the rest stop on the Grapevine freeway. I have a feeling CA taxpayers are subsidizing this one; not Tesla or other EV makers. Get your EV charged while you take a leak.

fintail

On the sky road this morning, the view was amazing. Looking south from the north end of Lake Washington:

fintail

A couple days driving around the south King/Pierce area of the Seattle metro juggernaut makes me not regret my move. I didn't miss the mix of overcompensator brotrucks going 80 in a 60 combined with Prius and Civrollas going 50 in a 60, along with LLCs here and there, and cities with laughable traffic controls. Fortunately, holiday traffic seems reasonable - Seatac is very quiet right now, so I didn't have to sit in a jam anyway, which is nice.

fintail

Lasting snow has been scarce this winter (of course, I move east and it is then 10F warmer than average), but had a surprise today - I went out for my Sunday morning skate, cold but dry, half way though, we started getting light snow. Cold enough where it kind of blows around on the road rather than melting or directly sticking. Very photogenic, it seems it was like this for long periods at a time when I was a kid in the Columbia Basin - I think the 80s were the end of a cold cycle. Also by now most of the windstorm damage appears to be cleared (other than damage to houses), this area was hit hard 11 days ago, some people were without power for 3-4 days. Pretty day, real winter:

https://youtu.be/Wli0s87SxB8

cdnpinhead

It's a lot of fun to go somewhere new or, better yet, actually move there, especially when you're young.

fintail

Might not be so young anymore lol, maybe compared to a mountain. I'm generally enjoying the change in climate though, reminds me of when I was a kid. Still no regrets about the move. Will be on the road more once the dirty driving season is over, and hopefully more things open up.

Michaell

Right now, anything more than 5 miles from home constitutes a road trip.

tjc78

Michaell said:

Right now, anything more than 5 miles from home constitutes a road trip.

I had to go 90 miles north for a meeting last week. It felt so good.

fintail

A friend visited weekend before last, and we went to Coeur d'Alene (he'd never been to Idaho). No more than 40 miles each way. Longest trip in my car in at least a month.

fintail

In case anyone is on the road in the PNW this weekend, many areas have snow (not yet in Spokane). I saw this funny blurb posted online, works pretty much anywhere in the region:

fintail

Here's something moronic spotted on the road today:

xwesx

Hmm... what is that... just a fake plate? Seems like a dude with a major attitude problem judging by the overall look of the car on top of that. An Edge... maybe an appropriate vehicle for him.

fintail

10x worse than that, it's apparently a Sovereign citizen moron

So yeah, attitude problem to another level.

Spokane is pretty balanced without extremes on either side, but get outside of town and it can get a little wacky.

xwesx said:

Hmm... what is that... just a fake plate? Seems like a dude with a major attitude problem judging by the overall look of the car on top of that. An Edge... maybe an appropriate vehicle for him.

fintail

Another quick snow clip while I reformat the memory card. I love this type of snow - cold outside, around 20F, some wind, so the snow doesn't firmly stick to the road, rather it blows around, reminiscent of what I recall when I was a kid. After skating outside for 2 hours, it was nice to take the slightly long way home, enjoy the heated seats/steering wheel, and just enjoy the scenery. It snowed for a couple more hours this afternoon, minor accumulation (especially compared to the 6-8" in many Puget Sound areas this weekend), but very pretty. The winter I was hoping we'd have for 3 months starting in November is here in mid February, of course:

https://youtu.be/xbM_4nNV13A

xwesx

Sometimes, just being on the road is a trip. My daughter and I had a close call on Tuesday night while driving home....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hYpgAXBF8g

ab348

Sometimes it seems like driving in Alaska is like driving in Russia.

Having said that, having a 55mph limit on a road with traffic signals seems rather unsafe.

fintail

I would have been on the horn for about 20 seconds lol. That's a thing around here, people pull out and expect you to slow down (or don't even look, because I need to show my bff on insta that a dumbed down society let me drive).

50+ roads with signals are a big thing in the PNW, thought it was normal.

xwesx

fintail said:

I would have been on the horn for about 20 seconds lol. That's a thing around here, people pull out and expect you to slow down (or don't even look, because I need to show my bff on insta that a dumbed down society let me drive).

50+ roads with signals are a big thing in the PNW, thought it was normal.

Yeah, I am terrible at using the horn. I didn't ever have a horn on a vehicle until many years after I started driving, so it just isn't something I think about until I'm already in evasive maneuvers, and at that point I need hands for operating (not poking around for the horn).

I generally use the horn in scenarios where there is more predictive time, such as someone on their phone and wandering in their lane, equipment failures, etc.

As for the SL, there is excellent sight distance on the road and really no reason for a lower limit. No matter the limit, you cannot fix stupid with people just not paying attention to what is going on around them.

fintail

I am kind of the same way. Probably never used it as a teen, but then I channeled an "inner New Yorker", as I call it. Lane wandering definitely gets a horn, along with light dawdling, turning too slow, no signal, double parking, pulling out in front/cutting off, LLCing, etc. I also have horn gradients, so to speak - a brief toot for something minor (or a "hi"), but I will lay on it for something egregious. Even more fun in the fintail, which has an impressively loud dual horn setup.

At least those lights have a warning sign, there's often a blinking light warning of an approaching red here too, but I think not always - I have a memory of approaching a light going to yellow in the fintail, where I just kept going - not going to slam on the brakes in that car for a poorly planned traffic control.

xwesx said:

Yeah, I am terrible at using the horn. I didn't ever have a horn on a vehicle until many years after I started driving, so it just isn't something I think about until I'm already in evasive maneuvers, and at that point I need hands for operating (not poking around for the horn).

I generally use the horn in scenarios where there is more predictive time, such as someone on their phone and wandering in their lane, equipment failures, etc.

As for the SL, there is excellent sight distance on the road and really no reason for a lower limit. No matter the limit, you cannot fix stupid with people just not paying attention to what is going on around them.

xwesx

fintail said:

I am kind of the same way. Probably never used it as a teen, but then I channeled an "inner New Yorker", as I call it. Lane wandering definitely gets a horn, along with light dawdling, turning too slow, no signal, double parking, pulling out in front/cutting off, LLCing, etc. I also have horn gradients, so to speak - a brief toot for something minor (or a "hi"), but I will lay on it for something egregious. Even more fun in the fintail, which has an impressively loud dual horn setup.

At least those lights have a warning sign, there's often a blinking light warning of an approaching red here too, but I think not always - I have a memory of approaching a light going to yellow in the fintail, where I just kept going - not going to slam on the brakes in that car for a poorly planned traffic control.

Yeah, the warning lights are not a universal thing, but they do tend to have them on the first light after a long stretch of open highway (or controlled access). Unfortunately, each one is a little different in terms of the timing on it. For most of them, if you are less than three seconds from passing under them when they illuminate, then you should go through the intersection. If longer, stop. However, some of them, if you see the lights flash at all (even if you're going under at that moment), you should stop or you will likely not make the light in a timely fashion (assuming you hold speed rather than the moron move of speeding up).

With the newer lights like this intersection has, you can also tell when the lights will change because the left turns, which have blinking yellow, will turn to solid yellow, then red, just before the main lanes turn yellow. That can be a little tricky of a method, though, depending on traffic, speeds, and slickness.

xwesx

I have a fun memory of driving my Econoline back in the late 90s....

When it was my summer daily driver, I would stop at a college friend's house after work (landscaping) so we could go to the gym. The turn to access the gym was a left turn at a busy intersection. There was a short dedicated arrow on the left turn (enough for three vehicles to go if none dawdle), followed by yield, but traffic on the main road there is so busy in the evening hours that you only get to go on green, or waiting in the intersection until the light turns red and traffic clears. So, this is a "no dawdling" sort of location!

After waiting a couple turns of the lights to queue up to the front of the left lane, I am second in line, behind a newer (at the time) Cadillac with an elderly lady driving. Light turns green.... nothing. A second passes... nothing. I start waving my hands in frustration, trying to honk the (nonfunctioning) horn... nothing. Finally, I flip my CB radio to PA, open the mic, and yell, "GOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The old gal jerks her head up, looking around like God himself just spoke to her, and burns rubber through the intersection... just as the light turns red.

Next cycle, green arrow, I finally get to make my turn. But, at that point, my friend and I were laughing so hard about the lady's reaction that we didn't even care about the extra minute at the light!

Michaell

xwesx said:

I have a fun memory of driving my Econoline back in the late 90s....

When it was my summer daily driver, I would stop at a college friend's house after work (landscaping) so we could go to the gym. The turn to access the gym was a left turn at a busy intersection. There was a short dedicated arrow on the left turn (enough for three vehicles to go if none dawdle), followed by yield, but traffic on the main road there is so busy in the evening hours that you only get to go on green, or waiting in the intersection until the light turns red and traffic clears. So, this is a "no dawdling" sort of location!

After waiting a couple turns of the lights to queue up to the front of the left lane, I am second in line, behind a newer (at the time) Cadillac with an elderly lady driving. Light turns green.... nothing. A second passes... nothing. I start waving my hands in frustration, trying to honk the (nonfunctioning) horn... nothing. Finally, I flip my CB radio to PA, open the mic, and yell, "GOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The old gal jerks her head up, looking around like God himself just spoke to her, and burns rubber through the intersection... just as the light turns red.

Next cycle, green arrow, I finally get to make my turn. But, at that point, my friend and I were laughing so hard about the lady's reaction that we didn't even care about the extra minute at the light!

Kind of reminds me of the scene with Handsome Rob in the remake of The Italian Job.

fintail

But isn't it green = go, red = stop, yellow = floor it?

At least someone has the sense to make the left turn yellow before the entire sequence changes, I bet that took a few gnarly wrecks to figure out. Back in my old Seattle suburb, the city went to blinking yellows many intersections, then rescinded several, as dopes would either stop and freeze at them, or blow through them and crash.

xwesx said:

Yeah, the warning lights are not a universal thing, but they do tend to have them on the first light after a long stretch of open highway (or controlled access). Unfortunately, each one is a little different in terms of the timing on it. For most of them, if you are less than three seconds from passing under them when they illuminate, then you should go through the intersection. If longer, stop. However, some of them, if you see the lights flash at all (even if you're going under at that moment), you should stop or you will likely not make the light in a timely fashion (assuming you hold speed rather than the moron move of speeding up).

With the newer lights like this intersection has, you can also tell when the lights will change because the left turns, which have blinking yellow, will turn to solid yellow, then red, just before the main lanes turn yellow. That can be a little tricky of a method, though, depending on traffic, speeds, and slickness.

andres3

ab348 said:

Sometimes it seems like driving in Alaska is like driving in Russia.

Having said that, having a 55mph limit on a road with traffic signals seems rather unsafe.

Oh yes, let's say something like "speed kills" myth even though the following happened:

1. Failure to yield (VC violation)
2. Unsafe Turn (VC violation)
3. Unsafe Lane Change (VC violation)
4. Failure to Stop/Run Red Light (highest $$$ VC violation but the least egregious of the 4).

But let's just say it's unsafe speeds.

Also, I noticed a rather slow reaction to the bad driver, but not everybody is Lewis Hamilton out there. Does the vehicle have ABS? It seemed she didn't drop enough speed, however, she didn't panic, and corrected for the bad driver's secondary and tertiary errors correctly. Overall B grade for avoiding the attempt at collision causation driver turning right.

P.S. Had she been going 25 over she'd of been past the intersection before the car turned right into her right of way

fintail

Something I noticed while on the road a bit earlier today - TPMS going nutty- maybe because of the warm weather. Drove a bit, got an alert that the left rear was about 8 PSI lower than the rest. Drove another 20 minutes, no change, figured it might be via weather or the car being idle, stopped and topped up the air. Alert went away. Half an hour later, now an alert that the front left isn't responding at all. This is on the snow tires, which are getting switched out week after next. Gotta love technology.

xwesx

fintail said:

Something I noticed while on the road a bit earlier today - TPMS going nutty- maybe because of the warm weather. Drove a bit, got an alert that the left rear was about 8 PSI lower than the rest. Drove another 20 minutes, no change, figured it might be via weather or the car being idle, stopped and topped up the air. Alert went away. Half an hour later, now an alert that the front left isn't responding at all. This is on the snow tires, which are getting switched out week after next. Gotta love technology.

I loathe TPMS. I don't use it except on the Q7, which does not use the in-wheel sensors and, therefore, seems to be less prone to nuttiness. Mostly, my cars just have the yellow warning light on the dash lit up all the time.

fintail

Surprisingly, I've never had real TPMS weirdness before today. I hope the latest light goes away - it'll drive me nuts. Fingers crossed I have normalcy once I get the stock wheels back on the car.

My traditional way of checking tires is just looking to see how "round" they look

xwesx said:

I loathe TPMS. I don't use it except on the Q7, which does not use the in-wheel sensors and, therefore, seems to be less prone to nuttiness. Mostly, my cars just have the yellow warning light on the dash lit up all the time.

Michaell

We have TPMS issues when we get cold snaps here in Colorado. I take the car to Discount Tire and they check everything out and set the pressures.

xwesx

Michaell said:

We have TPMS issues when we get cold snaps here in Colorado. I take the car to Discount Tire and they check everything out and set the pressures.

My, how responsible of you! Hahah

Nitrogen in the tires also helps to eliminate seasonal pressure issues.

fintail

Where I used to live, one could pull into the dealer service bay at random, and they'd do the tires and reset the pressures for you in no time, for free. Here, the dealer is too far away for a random trip, and I don't know their hours or policies. However, I know of a kind of old timey Chevron with free air - it'll probably be where the fintail gets fuel if I don't go to Costco.