I’ve been wondering if the VDC (essentially traction control) on my Z works. So, since the roads are nice and wet today, I thought I’d test this by turning it off, then putting the hammer down to see what happens.
Well, I’m happy to say it works, really quite well.
Just thought you’d like to know.
I mentioned some time ago that we are doing the Dave Ramsey dance this year. I cannot tell you how many e-mails people have sent me, all saying basically the following: ”Matt! I mean, Mr. Ryan! How is the Dave Ramsey dance going? We’re dying here!”
I cannot tell you this, because, inexplicably, none of these e-mails actually arrived in my inbox.
Still, I’m sure they are out there, floating around in the interwebs, looking for a home. There are questions that need to be answered, and someone’s gonna have to do it. And since I’m the only one authorized to post on this blog, I guess I will have to do it.
Most interesting comment thusfar was when Amber said, “This really bites.” I agreed readily. But after I thought about it for a bit, I added, “The thing is, though, it’s funny how we blame the pain on getting out of debt, when that isn’t the cause of the pain. The cause of the pain is getting into debt in the first place.” Weird.
The first step for us was establishing the emergency fund. Ramsey says that once you decide to start the dance, something unkind will happen to you that will tempt you to quit. For us, it was suddenly needing to replace the tires on my Z. I really wanted to leave that emergency fund alone and I was really tempted to just put all of that expense on a credit card. But instead we used the emergency fund for what we created it for, to pay for an expense that we didn’t plan, to keep us from accumulating more debt.
I realized soon after how important the emergency fund really is. It isn’t just about avoiding more debt. As I type this, about 45 days after having bought the new tires, I can look back and see that what mattered, more than anything else, was knowing as we came through that setback that we hadn’t lost any ground on our progress toward paying off the debt. That was big for us.
I remember distinctly one day contemplating this on the way to work, wondering if this is ever going to end. We’d had a major family event in January that cost a lot of the money we would have put toward debt, then in February we had to replace the tires on the Z. I wondered if the initial progress we’d had was just an illusion; it seemed at the current rate we’d never be done.
Then I remembered Uncle Sam owed me some money.
I quickly did the math. I realized the difference the tax return would make, not only in attacking the deficit, but also in monthly cash flow. Then I went on through the rest of the year and saw the debts just falling away.
It’s too early to say, but I wonder if the first part of the dance is the hardest part. You know, the part where you think you’ll never, ever learn the steps. Then suddenly, something happens and you make some major progress. Suddenly you think maybe you’ll learn this dance after all.
Time will tell, but after gutting it out and having some recent wins, it seems like things are a bit brighter.
The game Forza Motorsport 2 took a step towards greatness tonight when it helped me answer that question you and I have both been wondering about our whole lives: What would it be like to drive a 700HP blown Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in a demolition derby?
Answering difficult questions is one of the main things that great video games do.
As far as I’m concerned, a great video game is supposed to allow you to make virtual people do things that you would never do personally in real life. By this I don’t just mean “fight aliens” either. I also mean things like “fight aliens using only a chainsaw.” Fighting aliens using only a chainsaw is not a recommended activity for a living person, because the aliens are likely to shoot you with too many fireballs before you can get close enough to saw them. But I think it is a great thing for a virtual person to do.
Some people disagree with this assertion. They want video games to resemble actual life. These are the kind of people who do not have a real life and so they obtain a Second Life. They grade games based on how “realistic” they are.
Not me. The point of playing a video game is to escape reality, not create more reality. The point of playing a video game is to answer difficult questions, the kind that cannot be answered in reality.
Here are some very key questions that, thanks to video games, we have the answers to:
I’ve said before, and reaffirm here, that some characteristics of good computer games are to a) allow user generated content and b) allow you to play the game in an alternate way. These traits, along with c) CHEAT CODES, are very helpful if a video game is going to help answer difficult questions. As examples, consider the Project Gotham Racing series. PGR3 includes a track editor. PGR4 does not. So, despite having many more tracks and cars, PGR4 will never attain the level of excellentness that PGR3 has attained. And consider The Sims, an otherwise horrible game. But it is possible to create neighborhoods with rich coeds and mass murderers and really pathetically poor people, and then run their lives in evil, twisted, masochistic ways. And Sim Survivor, don’t forget! Finally, let’s not underestimate the significance of the phrase “give us a tank” to the success of Grand Theft Auto 3!
Forza Motorsport 2 is a driving simulator, and it seems pretty intent on achieving a high degree of realism. This isn’t exactly a sin, but why would I be interested in driving a Ford Focus in a simulation? Driving a Ford Focus cannot possibly be fun in real life; how could it be fun in virtual life?
This is a major drawback, until you start winning and earning credits. Suddenly, you can do some fun things, like buy a virtual car that looks exactly like your real 2003 Nissan 350Z, but then add every upgrade so now your Z is a 215mph race car.
Or you can answer the question that’s been plaguing you for ages, “What would it be like to drive a 700HP blown Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in a demolition derby?” Since, admirably, Forza Motorsport 2 allows you to drive backwards (unlike some ultra-lame racing games), you can easily answer this question for yourself.
(If you are confused, “backwards” means “around the track in the opposite direction”, which is something that is obviously awesome, not “driving in reverse”, which is something that is only arguably awesome.)
True, it lacks cheat codes and user-generated content. I’m not allowed to really excellent things, like drive my car into the grandstands (all possible in Motocross Madness 2). So Forza Motorsport 2 may never achieve true greatness. But the ability to drive backwards is definitely a step in the right direction.
Front end alignment is a well-documented problem with 2003 Nissan 350Zs; I knew this when I bought my Z. This can be slightly exacerbated when you have a lowered suspension, like my Z has. I knew this too.
I have been intending to have an alignment done for months. Really.
Last Tuesday I was driving home from work at, uh, 66 miles per hour in that level of traffic that is just before it gets so heavy that it starts to back up. I had been noticing this slight vibration when driving over the past couple of days, and had been thinking, “I’m going to need to get that looked at pretty soon here.” I was coming through the chute into East Bay in Provo and this vibration started getting quite a bit worse. And worse. And worse. I had this feeling, “Maybe I’ll just pull off here in East Bay and take it to the Les Schwab dealer to have them take a look at it.”
So I started slowing down and pulling over into the exit lane. I kinda figured the vibration would mellow out as I slowed down, but it just kept getting worse even as I brought it down below 30 and even 20 miles per hour.
Having already taken the off-ramp and turned onto University Parkway, I felt a pretty solid thump as I crossed a tar strip and decided to just pull over and take a quick look. When I got out, I immediately noticed my driver’s side front tire was completely flat.
My Z has 19″ custom wheels so I really didn’t want to drive on the rims, even just the ½ mile down to the tire dealer. Changing the tire was a brutal ordeal, with me having had surgery on my right knee 2 months ago and surgery on my left knee less than two weeks ago.
When I pulled the wheel off, I saw the problem: Against the inside edge along the rolling surface of the tire, a two-inch-wide wear strip had worn right through the tire and threads around the entire circumference of the tire. There were several large holes, a half inch wide and up to three or four inches long, along the innermost edge of the tire.
Apparently, that is a large enough hole for the air to escape.
I put the spare on, tried to cram the wheel in the back with the subwoofer box (fail), and set out down the road toward the tire dealer. I hadn’t gone 100 yards when I heard a loud BOOOOM! in the front right corner. I pulled over again and took a look: The passenger side front tire had gone flat also. This one didn’t go flat gradually, though, like the driver’s side tire, but was a sudden burst.
I don’t carry two spares so I didn’t have much choice other than to limp in to the tire dealer on the flat front. The new 235/35ZR19 Toyo Proxes 4s will be installed tomorrow, only 220 bones apiece.
Novell Provo is right there in East Bay so I called one of my old Novell buddies who was still at work to give me a ride home. I’ve been driving the old Grand Prix in the meantime.
I dread to think what might have happened if that right front tire had blown out like that while I was still going 80-er, 66 on the freeway. With the traffic density I almost certainly would have wrecked into someone else, like the big semi that was riding along my right side at the time. I’m really grateful I listened to that prompting to slow down and pull off the freeway when I did. I’m convinced that the Holy Ghost was whispering that thought into my mind to keep me from becoming seriously injured.
Which is how I know that it is not a sin to speed. Since I was exceeding the posted limit at the time (by one mile per hour), if it were truly a sin there is no way I could have heard that still small voice.
Sweet.
A while back I challenged both of my readers to do something hard this year and mentioned that there were some important, hard things we were going to do this year. Well, I’m fessin’ up. One of the hard things we’re going to do this year is get out of debt once and for all.
Well, mostly. Hopefully.
A few months ago a friend of mine mentioned that he and his wife were reading this book by some guy named Dave Ramsey. I’ve read a lot of finance books and maybe I’ll even recommend some here one day. The book sounded interesting so I went and picked it up. Amber and I have been reading it together.
Then I had that epiphany a couple of months ago. I realized that I would thank myself for the rest of my life for being willing to tackle such a difficult challenge this year. I actually started getting excited about getting out of debt, thinking how awesome it would be to overcome this massive challenge and to have so much free cash every month. I put together a two-page spreadsheet, one containing a budget plan with a leftover total at the bottom, the other containing a list of our debts, the interest rates of each, balances of each, and a debt snowball. This way I could tweak the budget and see how it would affect the debt snowball.
With a little work and some sacrifice I could see how we could have every one of our debts, except our home, paid off in a year. Or so. And, I could even keep the Z. (Insert big sigh of relief here – whew!)
So we’re doing it. All in. We’ll have our first debt paid off within a week or so, and we’ll be moving on already to the next one.
It is really hard. That’s how I know it will be totally worth it.
(Warning: I’ve realized that when I wrote about that Ferrari before, I felt no guilt because it was not my Ferrari. Now, even though a 350Z is no Ferrari, I feel guilt writing about it because it is mine. So here’s the deal: I’m going to write about my 350Z, because this is my blog and I want to. I’m not boasting about it. Okay, maybe I am. I don’t care. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.)
I said this already, but Project CRX is dead. Or at least very, very dormant.
I had a CRX before. I loved it. Nobody else loved it but me. The faded, chipping paint with the peeling clearcoat. The black body with the contrasting white driver’s side door. The rust spots that marred every body panel, discriminating against none. The threadbare, torn seats and carpet. The 200,000+ miles. Yes, it was a car only it’s owner could love.
One of the best things about my 350Z is that it reminds me of my old CRX. Or rather, what my old CRX would have been like if it had good paint, no rust, matching body panels, nice interior, and 300 horsepower. Anyway, now that I have this 350Z, my yearning for a CRX has suddenly disappeared.
Cars are like people: You love them more when you serve them. This is why project cars are dangerous. But I’m a man in touch with my inner feelings, and I’m not afraid to love my car. So I’ve been doing some work to fix a few minor things here and there. I’ve put an amplifier and subwoofer in to fix the pathetic lack of bass. I bought an Escort Passport 8500 x50 and installed it discretely by hiding most of the wiring behind the dash and tapping directly into the stereo wiring for power. I downloaded PDF copies of the stereo owner’s manual and the 350Z owner’s manual because the car came with neither. I bought a brand new remote on the Internet to arm and disarm the security system that came with it. I found an excellent site to help me with my project quest.
But now I have a problem. My car came with some really sweet 19″ Carré CS-2 wheels, but two of the wheels are missing center caps. I’ve been looking around trying to figure out where I can get some, but I’m not finding any good leads. I finally went to a Les Schwab dealer nearby who does not sell them either, but gave me a phone number of a place that carries them. I contacted this dealer with high hopes, but they were dashed. Carré is out of business. He has no extra wheel caps and cannot get them.
So now it is up to you, dear readers. Find me my two Carré wheel caps. If you help me, I will reward you greatly by mentioning your name on my blog, which is sure to bring you fame, fortune, and an abundance of babes.
I wrapped up phase two of the second fuel mileage experiment last Friday, anticipating a trip to Roosevelt where I would have to fill with gas and forget the receipt (which I did). Luckily I ended the experiment ahead of time. Here’s the results:
This seemed pretty much the same as the fall-off I’d seen in fuel efficiency the last time I did the experiment, so I looked into it a bit further. Actually it is amazingly similar.
| 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix | 2003 Nissan 350Z | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slow Driving | Normal Driving | Slow Driving | Normal Driving | |
| Fun Level | Lame | Acceptable | Embarrassingly Lame | Fun |
| MPG | 29.05 | 27.69 | 27.25 | 25.92 |
| MPG Difference | 1.36 | 1.33 | ||
A funny thing (only sort-of related, but worth discussing): After I got my 350Z, my director decided to show me up by buying a brand new 370Z. He even let me drive it, and it is definitely a better car. But karma is real, and he got his first speeding ticket in his new 370Z only a few days after he bought it.
Anyway, he said that he really wasn’t going that much faster than anyone else on the road, but he was singled out because of his car. It appears that having a sports car will make you more inclined to get a ticket, not only because it is so easy to speed, but also because our policeman friends are more likely to pull you over in a sports car. It isn’t that they are discriminating against sports cars so much as that they are choosing to enforce the laws more stringently against sports cars simply because they are sports cars. 
Anyway, it appears that in a sad twist of fate, there’s an irony of sports car ownership, which is that I actually have to drive SLOWER than the other people in order to avoid getting ticketed, even though that lifted 4×4 that just blew by me at 85 is definitely much more poorly equipped to negotiate the freeway at those speeds than I am in my 350Z.
No matter. It’s still a blast to drive it.
Just wrapped up week one today. Week one was (trying to) drive the normal speed limit everywhere I went. Here’s the results:
Like I expected, not as good as my Grand Prix. But much better than I thought. 27.25 is not too bad for a 3.5L V6 tuned for performance.
Stay tuned for the results of week two, which is driving like a normal person, i.e. 70-ish in a 65 on the freeway, not 65, etc.
I have a new car so I guess it is time to do the fuel mileage experiment again. I filled up with gas this morning on my way to work so today is a good day to begin. I’m going to try to only go the speed limit for a whole week. I’m not sure if I can do it, but I will try. Next week I will drive like a normal person.
Mileage to begin: 74055.
It is probably worth noting that I don’t expect the mileage to be as good as in my other car, the 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. Mostly what we’re trying to figure out is how much more it costs to drive like a normal person versus driving conservatively everywhere. And also, if I can even stand to do it.
Stay tuned.
Well, nobody else would save me from myself by buying out from under me, so I had no choice but to buy it myself:
My Sweet New Ride — 2003 Nissan 350Z
I’ve wanted one of these since they first came out. And, I always wanted (and still want) a 300ZX before these. When I saw this one for sale on Autotrader for the price it was at, it was more than I could resist.
I drove this about 10 days ago for a few minutes, and then again last week. I was a nervous wreck for most of last weekend and earlier this week. Responsible Me and Fun Me were arguing back and forth in my head non-stop and it made it really hard for me to concentrate at work or be a happy daddy at home.
Finally, my friend Andy at work told me what he said was the most important lesson he had learned on finances, when he was in first grade. The lesson in a nutshell is: There’s no point in saving your money, so you might as well blow it.
Responsible Me and Fun Me wrote an e-mail to Amber requesting her input. Responsible Me outlined several key reasons why I should not get the car. I have to hand it to Fun Me. He was pretty honest about his reasons. He told her simply, “I want it.” That was the best reason he could think of to get it.
I have the world’s coolest wife. She said, “Honey, either way is fine with me. You know whether we can afford it. If you want it, go ahead and get it.”
Well, Fun Me eventually won.
The other day as I was leaving work for the day, I was riding down the elevator when Responsible Me started piping up again. ”Don’t you think you might have made a mistake?” he said. ”Don’t you think you should have used that money for something else?”
I pondered this for a bit as I walked outside. But then I came within eyesight of my new car. I couldn’t help but smile as I walked toward this sweet machine that now belongs to me.
Nah. No mistake.
(Oh, by the way: Project CRX is dead.)
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