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025 | Nissan Z Cars, San Diego Car Cruise & Should You Daily Drive Your Dream Car?

025 | Nissan Z Cars, San Diego Car Cruise & Should You Daily Drive Your Dream Car?

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About this episode

Chris and Courage share their experiences from a San Diego car cruise hosted by the Avant car club, featuring a diverse group of vehicles including Porsches and Nissan Z cars. They discuss the appeal of Nissan Z models, reminiscing about past ownership and potential future purchases. The episode also explores the psychology behind daily driving a dream car versus keeping it as a weekend vehicle, weighing the pros and cons of each approach. Along the way, they highlight unique car builds, scenic routes, and the camaraderie of car enthusiasts on group drives.

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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Car

Nissan 370Z

"You might know that I had a Nissan 370Z sports car. In fact, I originally wanted to buy a 350Z sports car."

The Nissan 370Z is a sporty car made by Nissan. It's designed to be fun to drive and has a powerful engine that makes it fast and exciting.

Car

Nissan 350Z

"I originally wanted to buy a 350Z sports car. And before that, I wanted to get a 300ZX sports car."

The Nissan 350Z is an older sporty car from Nissan. It was made to be fun and fast, and many people liked it for driving on roads and tracks.

Concept

Nissan Z sports cars

"So we are also talking about Nissan Z sports cars. Both of us have owned Z sports cars in the past and possibly we might buy another one."

Nissan Z sports cars are a group of fun and fast cars made by Nissan. They have been popular for many years because people enjoy driving them.

Concept

daily driver

"Plus, speaking of cool cars and having a cool car, what is the psychology involved when it comes to daily driving your favorite car versus if you have like, say a fun weekend car that you only take out on the weekends?"

A daily driver is the car you use every day to go to work, shop, or do other regular activities. It's the car you rely on most of the time.

Car

Porsche 911

"...No. So this one was like a whole diverse group. It was, you know, some Porsches. It was a cool guy I met there with a pretty, uh, pretty new like 9 11 career four S or something. You see the price on those? I was looking at those today..."

The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that has been around for a long time. It looks similar across many years and is known for being fun to drive.

Term

sleeper build

"One dude went to full sleeper build where like on the outside you'd think like, Oh, just, it's just this guy's little drift build or something."

A sleeper build is a car that looks normal but is actually really fast or powerful because of hidden changes.

Term

E85

"there. He was put, he told me that he dino pretty much about 600 horsepower on E 85. And so it, you know, yeah, you know, going, and that was the thing they, so him and his buddy who came, they both had, you know, highly two, two 40s, and they both had to stop off the 80 E 85. So that was, there's places that have it now. A lot of stations have it now. Yeah. A lot of them do. I mean, when I was getting the 85 for my truck a lot, I was,"

E85 is a special kind of gas made mostly from plants. Some cars can use it to go faster, but not all cars can run on it.

Concept

dino (dynamometer) testing

"there. He was put, he told me that he dino pretty much about 600 horsepower on E 85. And so it,"

Dino testing is when a car is tested on a special machine to see how powerful it is without actually driving on the road.

Term

horsepower

"there. He was put, he told me that he dino pretty much about 600 horsepower on E 85. And so it,"

Horsepower is how we measure how strong a car's engine is. More horsepower means the car can go faster or pull harder.

Concept

weekend car

"I think it's why a lot of people have, when they have their cool car, it's like their weekend car or whatever, whatever. They're pride and joy, you know? Not something they drive every day,"

A weekend car is a special car that people only drive on weekends or for fun, not every day. They often take good care of it and enjoy it as a hobby.

Term

naturally aspirated

"No, no. It was the NA. If it was a twin turbo, that I would not have, that car would last as long as it did, you know, because I did a lot of work on my own, but it was mainly just because the NA is a little bit more conducive to that kind of stuff."

A naturally aspirated engine is one that breathes air on its own without help from devices like turbos. This means the power comes smoothly as you press the gas.

Term

linear power delivery

"The thing about the the NA's of the Z32s though, is that they, they, they were linear power because they were, you know, V6 is an NA,"

Linear power delivery means the car gets faster smoothly when you press the gas pedal, without any sudden jumps in power.

Part

exhaust

"It did get kind of shouty, which I did kind of like, I did have an exhaust on it, which was nice when they were kind of, when you rev it out."

The exhaust is the part of the car that lets out the gases from the engine. Some people change it to make the car sound better or go faster.

Part

brakes

"I needed, before I sold the car, I had to put on new brakes. Well, that was the first thing I did because it squeaked a lot. I put new brakes on the thing, super expensive, brand-bos, rotors, rotors, all that."

Brakes help your car stop when you press the pedal. Parts like pads and rotors can wear out and need to be changed.

Part

rotors

"I put new brakes on the thing, super expensive, brand-bos, rotors, rotors, all that."

Rotors are round metal discs that help your car stop when the brakes press on them.

Part

clutch

"but they weren't that much, but still had to pay for tires. And then it needed, oh, clutch, the clutch went out. That was the big job. It was like 3,000 for the clutch."

The clutch helps you change gears in a manual car by connecting or disconnecting the engine from the wheels.

Part

oil cooler

"Mine also didn't have an oil cooler on it either. So the oil temperatures did get hot quickly."

An oil cooler helps keep the engine oil from getting too hot so the engine works well and lasts longer.

Term

limp mode

"Your car will go limp mode. Do you know that? It'll, yeah. Like the gauge actually turns red. Like it'll show, like it'll turn the,"

Limp mode is when your car slows down by itself to stop damage if something is wrong, like if it gets too hot.

Concept

test drive

"I take it for a drive. So sure, why not? I get to give my license, take a picture, cop my license, they do that. If you take a test drive, do you want a copy of your ID?"

A test drive is when you try driving a car before buying it to see if you like how it feels and works.

Part

brake pedal

"I'm pressing the brake pedal, but why is the throttle potty? Like I hear the throttle going, but the brakes, I'm not, I'm, when I think I'm pressing the brake, I hear the throttle going"

The brake pedal is the pedal you press to make the car slow down or stop. It helps you control the car's speed safely.

Part

throttle pedal

"I'm pressing the brake pedal, but why is the throttle potty? Like I hear the throttle going, but the brakes, I'm not, I'm, when I think I'm pressing the brake, I hear the throttle going"

The throttle pedal is the pedal you press with your foot to make the car go faster. It controls how much fuel the engine gets to make the car move.

Term

e-brake

"So then I quickly grab, like I pull it into a neutral, yank the e-brake, step out of the car"

The e-brake is a special brake you use to keep the car from moving when parked. You usually pull a handle or press a pedal to turn it on.

Concept

ambient lighting

"There's like ambient lighting or something like that. Right. The guy had some kind of like lighting system that's supposed to be like right above the pedals"

Ambient lighting means special lights inside the car that make it look nice and cozy, usually colored lights around the dashboard or doors.

Term

stick shift

"it's a three, three, three 70 with a stick shift. They're hard to find and blah, blah, blah, blah,"

A stick shift means you change the car's gears yourself using a lever and a pedal. It can make driving more fun because you control when the car changes speed.

Term

smog check

"says they do smog checks and all stuff around the building. So I'm assuming they have the tools to do a lot of crap anyways and see whether or not, if they can tell me to pass the smog or not,"

A smog check is a test to see if a car's exhaust smoke is clean enough to meet government rules. It helps keep the air clean by making sure cars don't pollute too much.

Concept

roadworthy

"but I gotta make sure the car is roadworthy. If there's any issues that you worry about, like, oh, the brakes are must out or,"

Roadworthy means the car is safe enough to drive on the street without breaking any rules or putting you in danger.

Term

intake

"Like say, just get a new intake or whatever, or is it something that really would like take a lot of money to now reverse and get that."

The intake is the part of the car that pulls air into the engine so it can run. Changing it can make the car work better or worse.

Concept

buying power

"And also it gives me, it gives me a buying power. If it needs a bunch of work and they say, well, you know, if I got to spend another like two grand on whatever needs to be fixed,"

Buying power means how much you can ask the seller to lower the price if the car needs fixing or has problems.

Concept

cars and coffee

"If I do buy this car, I think that it would be the car that I would take to cars and coffee, maybe drive to work, anything that's kid related or, or on these cool grout,"

Cars and Coffee is a fun event where car lovers meet up, park their cars, and chat while drinking coffee.

Car

Ford Mustang

"I probably maybe get a Mustang because as a back seat, because it's more practical. Yeah. We're practical and things like that."

The Ford Mustang is a famous car from America that has a strong engine and back seats, so it can carry more people than small sports cars.

Car

Infiniti G37

"Or the G 37s or something like that too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I was kind of thinking that route when I, when I, when I sold the other car,"

The Infiniti G37 is a fancy car that is sporty but also has enough space for passengers and is more comfortable for everyday use.

Brand

Mitsubishi

"where's Mitsubishi right now? I don't make mini vans. I don't know what they do these days. I have no idea. They apparently are big in the aerospace realm or like somewhere like in, well, they make those trucks."

Mitsubishi is a company that makes cars and other machines like trucks and airplanes.

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