Crazy Toyota Driving; Mercedes Engine Surprise; Lawsuit Update
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Car
Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach is a famous sports car that looks very unique and is known for being very fast. It's a car that many people dream of owning.
Car
Tesla Cybertruck
The Cybertruck is a unique electric truck made by Tesla. Its unusual shape and features have made it very popular and talked about, especially regarding how much it costs.
Car
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people love. It's known for its unique shape and powerful performance, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Concept
restomod
A restomod is when someone takes an old car, fixes it up, and adds new parts to make it work better while keeping its classic style. It's a way to enjoy old cars without losing the charm they have.
Brand
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo is a car brand from Italy that makes stylish and sporty cars. They are known for their unique designs and have a long history in racing.
Term
steering feel
Steering feel is how the steering wheel responds when you turn it. It helps you understand how the car is handling and if it's easy or hard to steer.
Term
steering geometry
Steering geometry is how the parts of the steering system are arranged. It affects how well the car turns and feels when you steer.
Term
twin-turbo V6
A twin-turbo V6 is an engine with six cylinders that uses two turbochargers to make it more powerful. This helps the car go faster and use fuel better.
Term
firewall
The firewall is a wall in the car that separates the engine from the inside where people sit. It helps keep the cabin cooler and quieter.
Car
Mercedes CLE 53
The Mercedes CLE 53 is a fancy car that you can drive with the top down. It's designed for comfort and speed, making it a great choice for those who enjoy luxury driving.
Term
inline six
An inline six is a type of engine that has six cylinders lined up in a row. This setup helps the car run smoothly and efficiently.
Car
Ford Galaxys
The Ford Galaxy is a big family car that has lots of space inside for people and their stuff. It's great for families who need room for everyone.
Car
Mercedes-Benz W124
The W124 is a model of Mercedes-Benz cars made between 1984 and 1997. It's known for being well-built and has different engine types, including a smooth six-cylinder engine.
Car
Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG
The C36 AMG is a sportier version of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class made in the 1990s. It has a powerful six-cylinder engine and is designed for better performance.
Car
BMW E36
The BMW 3 Series is a small luxury car that many people like because it drives really well and feels nice inside. It's been around for a long time and is often seen as a standard for other cars in the same category.
Term
dual overhead cam
A dual overhead cam engine has two camshafts on top of each cylinder head, which helps the engine run better and can make it more powerful.
Car
BMW S54
The S54 is a powerful six-cylinder engine made by BMW, used in cars like the M3. It's known for being smooth and strong.
Car
Mercedes-Benz E 63
The Mercedes-Benz E 63 is a fast and powerful version of the regular E-Class sedan. It has a strong V8 engine that makes it fun to drive.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower tells you how powerful a car's engine is. The higher the horsepower, the faster the car can go and the better it can accelerate.
Term
inline four
An inline four engine has four cylinders lined up in a row. It's often used in smaller cars and can sometimes sound rough or noisy compared to bigger engines.
Term
luxury engine
A luxury engine is one that runs smoothly and powerfully, making the car feel nice to drive. It's usually found in expensive cars that focus on comfort and quality.
Car
Mercedes-Benz SL
The Mercedes-Benz SL is a fancy convertible sports car that looks really nice and drives smoothly. It's known for being comfortable and powerful at the same time.
Term
SL
The SL is a type of luxury sports car made by Mercedes-Benz. It's known for being stylish and comfortable while also being fun to drive.
Car
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a fast sports car that many people love. The 2026 version is the newest one, and it's designed to be exciting to drive.
Car
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people buy because it lasts a long time and doesn't use much gas. It's a great choice for anyone looking for a simple and reliable vehicle to get around.
Car
Toyota GR Corolla
The GR Corolla is a sportier version of the regular Corolla, designed for better performance and driving fun. It's made by Toyota and is part of their racing division.
Concept
Formula Drift
Formula Drift is a racing series where drivers slide their cars around corners in a controlled way, competing to see who can do it best. It's a fun and exciting sport to watch.
Term
Scandi flick
A Scandi flick is a way to make a car slide around a corner. It helps drivers control the car better when going fast on dirt or slippery surfaces.
Term
106 miles per hour
106 miles per hour is how fast the car was going. It's important in racing to go as fast as you can, especially on tricky roads.
Term
handbrake turn
A handbrake turn is when you pull the handbrake to make the back of the car slide around a corner. It's a way to turn quickly, especially in racing or when driving on slippery surfaces.
Term
PS4 tires
PS4 tires are a type of tire made by Michelin that helps cars grip the road better, especially when driving fast or in tricky weather. They're often used on sports cars.
Term
turbo lag
Turbo lag is the wait you feel when you press the gas pedal and the car doesn't respond immediately. It's because the turbocharger takes a moment to start working and give the engine more power.
Part
shocks
Shocks help make the ride in a car smoother by absorbing bumps and vibrations from the road.
Car
Audi Rs
The Audi RS e-tron GT is a fast electric car that looks really nice and has a lot of advanced features. It's made for people who want a high-performance car that is also good for the environment.
Car
Audi RS 3
The Audi RS 3 is a fast and sporty car that is designed for high performance. It has a powerful engine and handles well on the road.
Part
springs
Springs are parts of the car's suspension that help it ride smoothly over bumps. They support the weight of the car and keep it stable while driving.
Car
Toyota GR 86
The Toyota GR 86 is a fun little sports car that is designed for people who love to drive. It's light and quick, making it exciting to take on winding roads.
Car
BMW Z3
The BMW Z3 is a small convertible sports car that people enjoy for its stylish looks and fun driving experience. It became famous after being featured in a James Bond movie.
Car
BMW Z4
Car
Chevrolet C5
Car
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a faster and sportier version of the regular BMW 3 Series. It's designed for people who want a car that can go really fast and handle well on the road.
Car
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a classic American sports car that people love for its powerful engines and cool design. It's been around for a long time and is often seen as a symbol of freedom and fun driving.
Car
Rivian R1S
The Rivian R1S is a new electric SUV that is built for people who love outdoor adventures. It can go off-road and has a lot of cool features for exploring.
Car
Rivian R1T
The Rivian R1T is a new electric truck that is made for people who like to go on adventures. It has a strong build and can handle tough terrains while being eco-friendly.
Car
Nissan Skyline
The Nissan Skyline is a well-known sports car that many people admire for its speed and performance. The GT-R version is especially popular among car fans for racing.
Car
Lamborghini Gt 350
The Lamborghini 350 GT is a beautiful sports car from Italy that was one of the first cars made by Lamborghini. It's famous for its stylish looks and strong engine.
Car
Mitsubishi Lancer
The Mitsubishi Lancer is a small car that many people like, especially for its sporty versions that are fun to drive. It's known for being affordable and easy to customize.
Car
Tesla Model Y
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV that people like because it doesn't use gas and has a lot of space inside. It's known for being high-tech and safe to drive.
LIVE
What's up everybody welcome to the smoking tire podcast today's podcast is brought to you by off the record
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We love them over here at the smoking tire make sure you use them and drive safe
Alright folks on this episode of the podcast. We talk about the beauty of AMG in line
sixes
The statistical predictions for what would succeed succeed and fail in our YouTube channel have actually come
Perfectly true my wife beat Elon Musk in court and Zach got to try a
smorgasbord of fast
Toyotas on both the racetrack and a rally stage. It's the smoking tire podcast. Let's go
Shout out to miss Lala. Hi everybody. Welcome to the program
We
Have a whole bunch of things to talk about. Did you just pour like regular water into your coffee?
It's tea so I'm cooling it down so I can drink it faster so I get the energy during the show not after the show
Right, right, right gotta time this plane like it's just English breakfast. Good. Yeah, good. Is there
Is it the same amount of caffeine in a cup of tea cup of coffee? It's less. It's different. I just I'm reading Michael Pollan's book
Like plant drugs or your mind on plants or something
So the first first one was about opium poppies like it's four sections sure on the caffeine section now
So there's other things in tea that like mellow out how the caffeine feels
It's not just about how many milligrams there are got it
But there's also usually fewer milligrams roughly don't come at me bros like then in a cup of black coffee. Got it. Got it
Got it. I'm on plants
Yeah, you are I'm on you know, so you're kind of vegetarian. Sometimes I'm on plants. Yeah. Yeah, I mean sometimes I'm drinking them, right?
Sometimes I'm alcohol is made from plants smoking. I'm you know, what do you sometimes your own plants?
I'm not snorting them. I just got
Insta congestion from a sneeze that happened 15 minutes ago and despite all the nose blowing I could muster
It's not gone away yet
Thanks to everybody who bought a ticket to the willow springs event
Yeah, I see no profit sharing of any kind, but it is now sold out
There's apparently a flip market and multiple people have contacted me Wow about yo, you know where I can hook those tickets
I'm like, I don't I'm sorry
I might have actually bought extra ones. So I could did you
Bullings for a little wonky for that for me for a minute
Oh, I did have extra tickets that I gave back to them because I don't know what to deal with them
So I don't have no tickets. I'm not participating in the flip game
Cannot that's the circular economy Matt and video is doing it with open AI. We should do it
I know I you know, we could be really much richer if I was willing to just
Scam every dollar out of every little thing. You know, that's usually how people get
Richer, but no, but people are coming. We're doing a live podcast. Don't know what time yet, but during the event
We will figure gonna be there. We're gonna be there. I sure figure it out. Yeah
In the meantime
like three people emailed me and said you have to talk about the fact that this racetrack pit race outside of
Oh, yeah, Berg is
Was bought by somebody and they intend to close it and not just redevelop it
It's not like if they're putting housing or something there. I'd I'd be like, ah, it's a bummer, but we need housing
No, they're they're putting a data center. Oh, God
Like you're all your electric bills are gonna go up. What are you? That's the most insulting like
But have you seen Sora 2 map? Look at this video. It's a dolphin driving a car
And you're gonna remember it for and you forgot and it's gone and it's gone
Yeah, exactly that exactly that thing and
Yeah, I've never been there I don't have any personal connection to it
But from the emails I've gotten it's apparently like the only even moderately legit motor sports facility in the area
It's where they did that vintage Grand Prix this overhead view looks like a pretty nice place to drive a sports car
Yeah, that's so it's a very it's a real bummer, but there's also
There was a petition I sent Zach the email
There was a petition that will put in this in the notes of this show
So all you have to do is sign the petition. I don't know what the petition is gonna do
this is actually it might work because Microsoft just bailed on building a
Data center in your Minneapolis, I think because the community pushback was so really okay, so
Yeah, I mean there. Oh there it is safe pit racetrack from closure change.org
40 4,800 signatures
And that's an important part of our car culture and I think I think
I swear I'm so overloaded with news that it's hard to keep it straight, but I swear someone just proposed some
Common sense legislation that says if you move near or build or buy a house near an
Existing motorsport facility you are not allowed to complain. I saw that too. What state was that I forget what state it was but
Finally someone same kind of thing, you know, let's fucking go over here
so I
Signed it and and you guys certainly can too it doesn't cost you nothing
Let's see Iowa did it and
Land famously full of racetracks, Iowa. Oh
North Carolina just passed it. Yeah
People might be in NASCAR country. Yeah NASCAR protect the right to race act. Yeah bill
Yeah, a racing facility shall not be subject to any action brought by a surrounding property owner under any nuisance or taking cause of action if the developer
Obtained all the permits for construction
Dibba Dibba Dibba Dibba while the track was there where the facility is located. Yeah. Yeah, you can't move near a racetrack
And then complain about it. That's like fuck. Oh, yeah
It's like if they if they built the track or even got all the permits for it before
The other developer around it showed up then you can't complain aka finders keepers
That's right aka
Fucking I mean I got it's got it's very American. There's nothing more American than saying got mine. Fuck you
Well, it's funny. It's two conflicting parts of America. There's there's I was here first. Yeah, which
America didn't listen to when we first arrived and then there's actually this is ours
Can you turn this racetrack down? That's actually more American. Oh, it's actually shit. You're right
It's more American to do the shitty one
Yeah, oh, you're totally actually well
Yeah
Yeah, no
It's definitely more American to do the shittier one. You're very right
If your last name is Custer and you own a racetrack and you're mad about the neighbors getting mad at you
That's an awkward moment. Come to the final night of destruction at Custer Raceway. It's gonna be a big one
one down
So but anyway to go back to
To that that's why it's very important that Willow Springs is a success
So we don't end up in a in a place where they have to sell it and build some fucking data center
Cuz dude, that's where they would build a data center
Isn't it like just on the edge of like a smallish town probably doesn't have the power to fight them
Kind of middle of nowhere
I you know, they should build a data center at California City if they're gonna do it right like just puts no one's there
Yeah, yeah for the most part. Yeah, there's I think like 12,000 people there
Then go further east. There's no one there. Just go to the desert
Speaking of do we actually ever talk on the show because it happened while I was gone
Did we talk about it when I called in from the racetrack that about Hannah's lawsuit?
No, you texted me. I texted you. You allowed to talk about it. Yeah, okay
I'm sure you're done. All right, so I mean for for those who didn't know my wife used to work at Twitter and
There's a lot of people that like don't understand how timelines work and like to think that like I
Only don't like Elon Musk because of the Twitter layoffs
Which is a hilarious thing to think because I literally also they use the same one where I called him a fraud on Joe Rogan
They use that clip also that happened before she even worked there
So those two things can't also be true, right point being right?
It's the same to yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so point being
When she and you know, 3,000 whatever other people were fired
More than that however many it was
She didn't take this element. She fucking fought the fascist. She sued and
it took
Two years and whatever during which time she mostly was not working
But she fucking won that's off. She
She she won
Essentially, you know two years of salary she won
Her all the stock she would have gotten but at like 30 percent interest on all of it really yeah
Yeah, so it's not it's not like it's not like retirement money by any means
But like and it doesn't necessarily make up for the mental anguish of being like cast aside as
Worthless and then along with thousands of other people and then not being able to find a job for two years
But
It does more than financially make up for it and like most importantly like you fucking beat bullies by standing up to them
Totally like you don't you you know like I think I think it's it's the percentage of people that are winning their trials
Just in Hannah's the law firm that she worked with is like high 80s like like the high eight if you fight him
Like high 80s right is your percentage of winning because they didn't have grounds for firing
Because they just said it
Yeah, yeah, yeah
So anyway, she has won a fucking enormous amount of money
Which is great now we're gonna redo the landscaping in the front yard
I'm just gonna go get herself some fucking diamonds
It iced up
And we're having t-shirts made that says I beat a fascist in court and you can too
Which everybody should be wearing those yeah pretty much, but yeah, I mean look it's I guess it was
In some ways like a privilege to be able to fight
She didn't need to like live on the one month salary that they were offering in that one month and maybe other people did
But it you know
Definitely was the right move to like tell him to go fuck himself and sue another reason among so many reasons that having
Like your unemergency fund yeah
Everybody's like you should do that if you don't have one now start saving for one for so many reasons
But sometimes these companies will fire people and they'll offer them penny offer you pennies for silence or acceptance
Yeah, and to be able to say no and keep your integrity is is a privilege and a strength if you can and
I will have to see how much she's comfortable saying and
It'll not until the fucking money hits the account, but like
You know she signed the original
You know the original paperwork when she went to work there
But she did not sign the thing you know when when she was fired where it was like take this money and sign the fucking non
Disparage like she definitely did she sign the NDA in the beginning, but did not ever sign like the non
Disparage so I think she can I think she could tell some stories
Pretty sure she the printer story is too good a little bit that was reported on the printer story code
The tiny bit that was there was published in the news isn't anywhere near as funny as the entire truth of the printer story
It's fucking too good to not tell
Yeah, the tiniest bit just Google print your code
You'll find it add the search term Twitter and
That's kind of like the these things should not exist at once. It's like, you know, put this code on paper
Print your code right in cursive. Yeah, but there was a whole bunch of other reasons that print your code is really really stupid and bad
But yay for my wife
Fuck fascists
So that's a good thing but like there here's a kind of a bad thing folks this episode is brought to you by
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remember when we talked about like
Like you know like what's depressing about YouTube like things that are work things that don't work like basically what Kevin said
Hmm, like you want to be successful in YouTube talk about
Drama or like shit on something popular right talk about money
right or like
Do the like big the big risk thing right take a take a big financial risk
And I was talking to someone about our video top videos of the in the past 12 months
And I pulled it up in the in the analytics top videos
numbers one two and three are
Shitting on the Cybertruck. Mm-hmm. Yeah by a long shot. I'm sure the the zinger
Which set which the title of which is a title I hate but need
Which is it is this is the only car that's worth
$2.3 million to the credit. I can't even believe I had to write a title
Saying that because to say to an audience with a straight face this thing is worth two million dollars is like a fucking douche ass move
but it undoubtedly works and
Number three is buying a depreciated used Tycon
Those are aren't like literally the three things that he said are our number one two and three videos
One I didn't enjoy making the Cybertruck one
One I loved making but didn't I'm ashamed that I have to title it that mm-hmm and the other one
Yeah, it did. Well, I had to spend $70,000
To buy a whole ass car all you to do that is do that every two weeks
Like, you know some other insiders have done and then by the way in case you're wondering
Do you want to take a fucking whack at what all seven of the remaining top ten have in common?
Money the portion 9-11. Oh my god all seven of the remaining ones are portion 9-11 videos
They're a feverish audience. So like it begs the question
Like I mean it genuinely begs the question especially based on what I was saying to
Moto man George Notaris a couple weeks ago while Zach was gone
He shit-canned his whole channel because it was baggage and started over with a new channel
Why did he just get rid of old videos that were dragging stuff down?
Yeah, he was told by experts that his own channel was holding him back Wow, and he and he
Shit-canned it made one last video. That's like here's where I'm going here's where to find me and
You know, he was getting 25,000 35,000 views, you know his first video
He puts up at the new channel is like 90,000 using his second one is
50,000 it's still way above, you know, it's and his engagement is up his comments up
People are finding him that have never heard him before so it does beg the question like do we fucking shit-can the whole channel?
and start a new channel that's like
TST Porsches or something I mean seriously like if that's what it's gonna be like
I we didn't we've made videos about a million other cars
Yeah, but like this is where this is what people are going to hmm
I don't know I have to talk to more experts in person for sure
But that is curious that you could because we've talked before about the algorithm helping out new people
Mm-hmm, and if it thinks you're new channel might be too old might be too old
Which is our channel might be just too fucking old and like I'm pretty sure they're like with the podcast and with the Instagram
And with whatever like we probably could get a good chunk of whatever our
Million subscribers are like whatever of those are like real active people
We could probably get them and like who knows maybe we could like make more money with fewer subscribers on a new channel
Because they'd be real engaged people. I wonder if there's something in the algorithm
We're having like you know quote dead subscribers like if yeah
If so many of your views are coming from outside your subscriber base any of your views are not that high if it if the algorithm
Just goes ooh, okay. We're gonna keep bearing this. Yeah, so I mean it is entirely possible that that we could be
Getting crushed under the weight of our own channel
I've our own success. Let's let's be nice. I mean yeah, I mean well
That's the other thing is you that doesn't happen unless you first are successful
You have to have been around for a while, but we might have to go fucking Jefferson Starship
You know right I mean it doesn't mean like throwing away away the brand it literally just means a new like URL
Right, and you just call it TST. Yeah, you would call it. Yeah something, you know something
Yeah, there would be immediately identifiable as us, but just like a different fucking link
So Kevin, I know you're listening
You know he yeah, I mean like he couldn't have been more right
He would be the one two and three each an example of the three things. He said would work all of which
I don't like doing yeah
That's the hard thing for sure right. Yeah, right. It's dude, and I and I'm so like I was thinking about it this morning
like I'm really jealous of
Doug
Because Doug's car review videos are we're experiencing the same trajectory as ours bigger numbers
But still and but now he's got all this data from the auctions
And so now he's got you know his clips and his videos are like market
Analysis which God bless him he likes doing but like he has the data sure and like you can talk about money in
Sort of a non douchey way
By doing that. Yeah, that's true
Vin Vin did that a little bit on his channel
He's done some of these like used 9-eleven comparisons where it's like my friend bought this for 20 this for 30 this for 40
Yeah, so it's like approachable amounts of money and relative of course, but like compared to what 9-elevens cost new
You know it's a tenth or a fifth of that. Yeah, and it's kind of like market analysis with driving in sounds. Yeah, I
Mean there's the there's there's different ways to do things, but um it is
It was depressingly clear by looking at things like what you know
What what is going to be successful?
I should look at the click-through rate because I think I played with the titles of zinger a bit
You do an ab test or something. Yeah, they do like abc test now, which is really handy that's built into YouTube
I wonder how much is like from the the picture the craziness of the car the story is kind of exclusive
And then how much is the title? It comes together. Yeah, yeah, there's not a lot of people that have driven those cars
They are weird, you know, they immediately look different
and
And the story had just come out about them setting the track records, etc.
So like that one. Yeah, good good good storm of things
Titled in hurt. Mm-hmm. You know, I've been held in hurt
Sure, and there's other things about the tycon video other than host risk is risks huge amount of money on depreciating thing and and there's
You know, maybe something about the Cybertruck video besides it's just popular person shitting on other popular, you know thing
But but it just it brings that kind of thing into focus. Definitely. Yeah
Pretty sharp because the other end of it that was bumming me out because I now I remember why I was talking about it
Because that we did the totem GT video and I was talking to my dad up at Pebble Beach
And he was asking how videos were going and I was like it
Kind of fucking sucks because it has nothing to do with how good a job like you do
It's like it's that you could do you could make a nice video
But like I showed him this totem the totem video
Which is like such a beautiful car really interesting in theory like all the things that we want
You know analog and light and blah blah blah crazy
And it's just not done very well compared to the hypercar that everyone says they're sick of
You know and yeah, and oh by the way, here's the revenue on this one and here's the revenue on this one and yikes
Yeah, you know and and so
You know for what is effectively the same amount of work
I mean, I think that makes sense to me because the zinger is
If you're an engine if you're into any kind of car and you see that thing you're gonna
Go what the fuck is that? I'm watch it the totem is like you have to be I think into a resto mods into European
Resto mods maybe into alphas like I think it's just a smaller market even though I think the craftsmanship
You know of it appeal should appeal to everybody but to get that across in a thumbnail is really really hard. Yeah
I guess I I guess maybe zingers SEO is better than I think it is
But also it does look like alien spacecraft that that goes a long way alien spacecraft is a thing. It looks insane man
Yeah, it doesn't look like a car. Yeah
Yeah, well, it's F zero like you said the front shot straight up F zero. Yeah, they can't all be that yeah
And if they all were the audience would get bored. Yeah
And actually, you know, I read through some of the comments in the totem GT video
It seems like I'll ever everybody a lot of people were commenting about the tire rub
I mean on the one hand to give a car like that to the media to drive on video where you know
What's gonna happen is sort of?
Terminally stupid that's just a dumb thing. It's because people are gonna remember that like people are when people someone goes
Oh, did you see that video that have you seen this totem thing? Someone's gonna go. Yeah
I saw Farrah's video and like rubs everywhere like the fuck is that about and they're gonna remember that thing
It's not no one's gonna be like, oh, well, you know
If it's a magazine test and they can't hear it you could forgive it
It was basically set to like show heart show car height for quail to like look cool like they they lowered it
Essentially and they didn't raise it back up a little bit for us to drive it. That's what Ricardo said, okay?
I think I think it was that low, but I will say that
It's a new company and if that's all that's wrong with that car
Which to my opinion really was the only negative then they can change that pretty easily well
There was two negatives for me one was the the steering feel. Oh, that's right
the geometry and yeah the way that that changed and and and
Ricardo from totem pretty much said that that really can't be changed
That's because they had to bend the steering shaft around the much wider twin turbo v6
Remember there was a straight line for there. So the shaft would just go straight past it now
It's got a knuckle in it. So that and then other geometries like there's just not really a way around that got it
because they have to sort of use the
Firewall from the original car right kind of like all that's left
So yeah, okay, and then so there's that but then it also was rubbing in corners
He did he said look we set it really low
So it looked really cool at quail the normal ride height is like you know half an inch higher
And it doesn't rub which I believe I believe they said it low to look cool
And I believe they didn't take the 30 minutes or whatever however long 30 however long it takes to raise it back up
I believe they didn't do that, but I believe that the car has another option besides rubbing
I that's what I'm saying is I think that that is it's not a flaw like a fundamental flaw to the construction of the vehicle
Right something that they can get rid of right the steering. Unfortunately. It sounds like they can't get rid of so
You know if you're shopping for these test drive one first, but
Well, and I think they they they're gonna see this video and they're gonna go
we don't want this to rub and they're gonna you know make adjustments or have someone else drive it or whatever and
Like I have faith that that company will be around because I think their work is so good. Sure. Yeah
No, it's not even the steering like
It's it's it's not great, but it's like man the rest of that thing is so nice like
Maybe I wouldn't like it but like most people would live with it most people wouldn't see it as as much of a problem
I do but like it's a very beautiful car. It sounds really cool. It's clearly it looks fast on video
Which is a tough thing to do. Yeah, you know for a car like that
It's it looks fast, but like it's it's actually far faster than it looks. It's really really really nuts
So please go check out that video. It's over on the
The dead and dying YouTube channel to figure this one out
And before we get to some questions
Because we do have a lot of those some save from last episode some new ones, you know, I'm driving
I've had a revel bit of a revelation today. I'm driving this Mercedes
CLE
53 convertible and
This has the inline six in it
And I gotta say
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Also today
Smalls is coming in hot and I love smalls because smalls loves my cats like I love my cats
we are
We are one big happy family and I was just gone for two weeks. They are so happy to see me again
They are sleeping in bed with me. They're sitting by the fire
It is fabulous and I want them to live long
Luxurious happy healthy lives. That's why I feed them
Smalls my cats they can't live without it. It's so delicious
They prefer small smalls way more than the fancy fees way more than the blue buffalo
I did the side-by-side taste tests. They all went to the smalls. They've got fewer hairballs
They've got great energy
Healthier weight and they've got a very very soft coat my cats love me
And I'm I've actually done a new thing where I used to for a long time. I mean really like 25 years of owning cats
I had all my cats eating from the same bowl and
They would eat one at a time from the same bowls kind of an interesting thing and then I saw
In Jackson Galaxy's book
To do you know four separate bowls and have them feet eat at the same time every day
You know morning and night for sort of better energy flow
And I actually did this with the smalls and now the cats are not eating dry food in between the wet food
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When you head to smalls.com slash tire and now back to the show
And I gotta say
This is the motor
This is the AMG once did some pretty cool inline sixes like back in the day like the W124s had inline sixes
And they had a couple of nice inline sixes. There was like a C 36 or e
E36 AMG that was like pretty cool. I had like a hot, you know, dual ever head cam head
And it was sort of like a BMW s54 type of engine
So this has this six cylinder and man when you kind of it's smooth really nice
It's the car. I think Carl looks great actually it's and and when you rip it this thing is like
This has this real nice slick inline six like a BMW on a good day
Like a really good BMW inline six here. You're saying yeah, fuck yourself. I'm into it
Now would you take this over and four liter, you know twin-turbo like that's not like an option right now
Like I keep you know that 63 is like the four so that's right. That's gone
So this is definitely better. This is way better than that. Yeah way better and
like
Obviously that four liter V8 in the in the big E 63 is awesome
But given like what's great about AMGs is like the the real AMG engines
That feel special or like real are good and and and that's kind of what makes it and so this one is one of those
Where you go? Okay, it's not it's not the most powerful. Can you actually look at?
I don't even know how much power it makes. I'm I'll know when I need to know
I don't need to know yet. I've been driving it for one day
How much power does this make? Let's see or 29. Yeah, it feels quick
It's good. It's a it's a mild hybrid. So it's got a little bit of electric
Little bit electric assist the stop starts really nice got good seats. I actually really like the ride and
There more information
The
The convertible is a hundred grand even and it's got this one's got a bunch of options on it
You know good good paint good wheels, but oh wait, I might have been wrong might be
600 horsepower
No
That's an E. This is the CLE which is more like gonna be more like the I think the C class
Let's see
443
That's yeah, that's probably okay. Yeah, okay 443 at 5,800. Yeah, that seems right
So it's scoots. It feels it feels powerful and quick. I like this
It doesn't feel problematic the way like the inline four is so buzzy and
Yeah, that's the problem with those 45 with those four cylinders is like they're juiced up like yes
They objectively make a bunch of power, but they feel like tuned up evo motors. They don't feel like
Luxurious product. Yeah, this is a luxury engine for sure. I'm into it
Yeah, and actually my trainer who is the is the the arbiter of like is this car cool in the streets
He is he was like he saw that car and he was like how much is that like 150 160 grand and I was like no
It's a hundred flat and he was like
That's it. That's the one right there. It looks good. It looks better than the SL
It looks nice. Nice. I haven't seen the front David. I think it's parked here when I got here, but
Yeah, the engine makes sense. I love I know I'm biased but like the inline six is it's the lack of vibration
It's a smooth luxurious experience. Yeah, and a car like that. It makes a lot of sense
You know if you're gonna go lesser than the big rowdy rumbly thing don't drop to this buzzy four-cylinder
Especially like this is the 53 but that's somehow the 63 like fuck out of here. Yeah, that's not good. That's no good
Yeah, so yeah, let's go
We actually talk about toyotas for a little dude. I've completely forgotten because I went last week two weeks ago
I went to Sonoma to drive
Every Toyota available on the planet. Okay, this was this was Toyota thon and what I think it was is
I mean me being a cynical
Sarcastic asshole was like they don't have any major changes to any of the cars
So they just brought everything and like do you want to drive all these little increments at the track?
I said, yes, I would love to do that. Yeah, because the great thing they did
They had the 2026 York roll out there. They had a new the final edition Supra
GR86 yuzu edition and then use use edition like the food. Yes. It's yellow. It's got quad exhaust and
It tastes delicious when you look at the dash. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you can eat the car
You can eat the car
Snosberries tastes like snosberries a hundred percent. I mean, it's it's a very cool. It's a good yellow
It looks a lot like you know sonic yellow or anything else
And then they had the
Corolla like cross-cabrio hybrid thing and I was like, I'll drive from the racetrack, please but
Open lapping open lapping
Wait, no
Yeah, yes, open lapping once you do like orientation, but they had you had to do a pit and pit out couldn't do fly by on
Front straight into turn one
Kind of understand why also disappointing
Kind of you know why they made up for it
they let us drive a rally course like a
dirt road with
No walls. I
Was shocked in the GR Corolla. It was like two miles long. Really? Yeah
I'll tell that story first all day. I their line for it was big. So I got in line for that and
You go for a ride with Ryan Turk?
Super fun video
Putting up a little Instagram video tomorrow Ryan is not a rally driver as he stated and as we know and
What was funny about it? Formula drift driver. Yeah, if you're you're listening like yeah, he's a formula drift driver
He's a very good one. He's been doing it for a long time for Toyota and
They kind of put him in this because he's like a brand ambassador
But meanwhile, there's a gentleman who was doing
Like the Scandi flick instruction over at a dirt lot. Yeah, who's like a seven-time national rally champ in the United States
Yeah, and as I said this around like that's how you know how little money there is an actual rally
Like people do it for the love of the game and it's the most fun in the world. Yeah, but like
The champion is like champions over there because no one knows who he is
And he was such a nice guy I forgot his name
I'll remember later
And so he would just teach you the pro guy would just teach you to do a Scandi flick and a dirt lot
So Ryan takes me on this ride
We hit 106 miles per hour up in the hills above Sonoma on dirt on dirt over crest big slides
And we get done and he's like alright
You can get in line and then get in one of the other cars and I do when there's a guy sitting right seat is driving instructor
The lack of oversight was perfect man
Like it's not like the guy just didn't say anything and I was making a video so I said alright
Let's do hand gestures
So if I need to slow down or stay right just do that and he's like great. That's what we did
Mm-hmm. I didn't hit anything. He didn't feel he didn't poop
Yeah, but I mean I was sliding this car at 60 miles an hour awesome like left-hand third gear
And then there was a handbrake turn at the bottom of a hill so much room for error
Wow with use the handbrake and stock car
And this is Toyota like they automatic or manuals no manual
They were having you use the handbrake. Yeah, it was the greatest. That's fucking shocking
Shocking. How was it on? How were they on dirt? Really good? Yeah, the car. I drove under it was a 2025 and we can get into the differences
I was very impressed with how it soaked up all the little bumps and ruts
And it just felt like really composed going around thing rotated really easily
Tires I think it was on ps4's on the dirt. Yeah, so at 70 miles an hour it starts to like
Hum and skim. Yeah, I felt it much more than when Ryan was driving when he was driving
I was having a good time, but when I hit 70 I was like this feels
Up on its toes. Yeah, but do the rotation was good. I mean turbo lag is very evident after handbrake turn especially
But those those things are no balls below like four grand. Yeah, that's why the tack is like so
What if 1000 to 4000 rpm is like an inch and a half and then 4000 to 7 is like six inches
Yeah, it's very clever. Yeah of them to do that
It but the shocks did a great job the diffs did a great job
I didn't do left. I think I'd left foot brake once and of course, it's Toyota's so it kills
So you really have to be careful about that kind of on-off stuff, you know, it didn't be Audi RS 3
Oh, really RS 3 would let me left foot brake actually
I was I was kind of impressed and the golf R did too. Did you have to put it in a mode to do that?
Yeah, the maximum whatever I mean
It wasn't like a special mode, but it was like whatever the highest performance track or wouldn't I think in the golf
R was Nurburgring mode. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I wish I understand why this car doesn't do it because of you know
Little unintended acceleration thing back in the day, right? But but it did a great job on
On the dirt. It was a really good time. That's sweet and then drove it on the track
in driving generations back to back to back is so valuable because
The leap from 24 to 25 in the GR Corolla was so noticeable
They had changed they put a little there's a new spring inside the shocks
They had a softer rear sway bar firmer rear springs
They made thicker bolts in it, which they had on display
Which I thought was I made fun of it at the time and then the rest of the presentations like we also changed the bushings
The springs put a spring inside the shock change the sway bar. I was like you should focus on that
Yeah, because that was kind of while you're in there
They did the bolts for the 2024 year, but what I noticed is that the 24 car feels soft feels the steering
Just feels like a little bit too
Squishy and light and you could feel the rear inside wheel picking up on some of the tighter corners in Sonoma
25 that was like gone
And then 26 they retuned the steering even more they changed some suspension pickup points
And then the big thing was they added 46 feet of glue to the shell and there you know that was like
25 was like they did a big changes and then now they're like we added glue
We added glue which does a lot. I mean, I think they did down the Civic type R or something
That was a big story
But coming from the 25 where you could feel these huge changes the car was way more planted it rotated better
26 was like small tweaks did feel better
And how do you change the car every year though?
They are changing the car every year and it and it is improving and it was good to have that perspective
It was fun. The only 24 I drove was the merizo, which was like the crazy one and I didn't love
I mean, I liked it on the track. It was it was very stiff and abusive on the street. I thought it was kind of silly
The the 25
Premium was nice or whatever the the middle one. Yeah good bits. Is it premium? I think so whatever it is was that was nice
That's all you need. I think I had a great time driving it on the track
It felt way more like planted agile
Everything about it was better and the 26 was even better
But if you get a 2025 like you'll still be happy. Yeah, I would definitely get that over the 24
Well, what else did you drive? I drove a Supra, which that was like really small changes. Where's my note?
Super was like a lot of software stuff. They changed diff maps shock maps
They changed they quote revised the camber angle. That's called an alignment
That was in the other presentation
That's a pretty good one. I like that. I'm gonna use that. That was funny little stronger
Underbody brace and some arrow tweaks. That was harder to notice the difference and like
What it was interesting is jumping from the GR 86 to the Supra and then you notice how heavy the Supra feels
and
You know, it's a fast car
But you just don't feel like you're as I don't know like locked in it doesn't just doesn't feel as focused
You are so good. I think the the the 86 is actually the better car
Yeah, a lot in a lot of other than just speed other than speed but through the s's
I mean the GR 86 obviously changes direction more quickly. It just feels lighter and more fun. And yeah, I like that car so much
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if the downhill sections of Sonoma if your sector times are better in the Corolla
I mean obviously uphill. Yes power is gonna is gonna carry you
Although a lot of the uphill sections at Sonoma
one
two
Two of the three uphill sections of Sonoma are braking zones. That's true. Turn one is a braking zone
Turn three is a braking zone
And then whatever turn up the hill before going down the big carousel that that one's on power
But that's only one power. Oh the the the in inside
mildly uphill inner back straight the yeah almost flat nearest makes a difference kind of thing
But I mean the super was much quicker than for sure for sure. But like I think I bet the difference would be
Less than you think I mean, I think so
It was a really fun day. But um, yeah the changes to the 86 was
Brembo's and better dampers and like the yuzu gets the performance stuff that the other ones got
Yeah, but it's mostly just appearance stuff. It has quad exhaust
Which like it's a lot in one per cylinder
I know and that's I know they did it with the sti's but the the GR 86 engine
Is like a naturally aspirated. Yeah, come on. We don't need naturally aspirated for it. It's just too many exhausts
It's trying to try hard the oh man. Speaking of which the new john cooper works mini
You know, they do the the center tailpipe. Mm-hmm the new one
Is center. It's just one
Like a boxer not a double. It's just one, but it's one round
Oh
It literally looks like a bunghole. Yeah, and here's what's really crazy
It's actually a dual exhaust, but the other outlet is hidden under the fucking bumper
So there's a dual there are two outlets
But you only you have to look at the rear rear angle. I bet you no one's actually taking a picture of it
Yep, there it is. Look at the little blue bunghole
It's so weird looking weird looking that I feel like I'm looking at a specific uh species of baboon
Where oh where'd it go? I bet you mini doesn't show that angle on their website
Oh, come on dude. You're not they're not even gonna show it
But they're so ashamed of their exposed pooper. They're not gonna show it. It's quite big
Dude as soon as they pulled that car up. I was like, yo
What are you?
Doesn't it look stupid? It looks really weird. Yeah, uh, what is it reminding me of
You know, um, when you're behind like a baha book and they have that one big like boom tube thing sticking out the back
Yeah, I think that's the only time it's okay because it the body work around it is
Squarish. Yeah. Yeah, the dual it needs the dual
There's no good reason for not making that the dual thing. It's really it looks aftermarket
That's the problem
I don't know like like mini like come on. What do you guys do?
Because they're dual they're dual exhaust looked great. It's always a great symmetrical fit. Dude go
This is the jcw. Like it's always the home always mini has been base one single tip
s jcw double tip always like this is very sad looking
It looks like it's just
Got a prolapsed anus honestly, it has a busy weekend
Wow the mini poppers edition
All right, let's go to the people for a few minutes
I know they got a lot to say over at patreon.com slash the smoke entire podcast ask us questions for the show
Get the show live get the show before everybody else get the show extra
And a whole lot more. Oh schnikes. I thought I almost forgot
I got to do a shout out to uh built by base. I think it's built by basal might be basal basis
Not basos definitely not basos
built by basal by basal basal
for making me
This custom
shifter knob for my spider
It's made from old
Skateboard decks and it's a it's it's color matched for my interior with a sort of iridescent
Died red and then a black
I think it's ash of some kind a black ash with a shift pattern on top in red and a silver
Sort of a shaft to match the silver trim on my interior. I am very stoked. Yeah, I I
Don't regret getting the alcantara race text on the seats and the doors. I love that
Steering wheel and the shifter. I don't love it. I I don't grip it like I would normally grip it
It's annoying. You know, it's a precious material. I know it's precious. Yeah, so I I'm waiting for the
Eventually the alcantara or the race text on the steering wheel were wear out
And I'll just have it replaced with leather and that'll be that but the shift knob with the built by basal
We get to avoid that. This is nice. This won't wear out. I like I like I like when the shift knob
Won't like isn't affected by my palm sweat. Yeah, it's cool. I like those wooden type. Yeah, wooden shift knobs
I do too. This is very very pretty. I'm excited for this
I hope I can install it without breaking it and it comes with a little allen key. So I should be fine
Right. So the people say
Lucky man to count on both hands the one I love I
respect for just
For just using pearl jam quotes as user names
But let's try and tie it into something like I'm a lucky man to count on both
Feet the clutch I press like that kind of thing. Yeah, make it make it automotive themed
Do you remember what the aha moment was when you made the decision to leave your normal jobs to pursue a career in automotive journalism?
Yes, I was stopped on the street by a my first fan in new york
Interesting. That was it don you're good at this. Okay from like 08. Yeah, okay full time. Let's go
cool
I just when we started doing
The car show and I was able to quit waiting tables and then we lost the car show and I was like
I definitely don't want to go back to the tables like I'll just be I'll just be broke for a while
Dual-wielding chevy barrettas say
2020 k convertible challenge and see meata
Z3 or z4 m boxers c5 or something else 20 k
Uh 20
Wow, that seems like a lot from me out of regular me out of c6 manual for for 19 k
Yeah, it's a convertible that wasn't target top
Uh, that's true that that c6 did need
Seven grand to work true. Yeah convertibles are cheaper than than coups though
Yeah, okay, you can get a nicer c6 convertible than you could a c6 coop for 20 k
I would go c6 coop and then I would be a little that I would go me out of
20 k gets you a pretty nice me out of yeah, it's like not a shitty one like 20 k could probably also get you a 370 z
Yeah, but I gotta listen to it
My my thing with me out of me out of the only car that when I drive it now with the top down
I go this is great, but when I drive a corvette with the top down I go. I wish this was a coupe. Yeah, I want the top up
I'll tell you what wild card you could get a
the nicest e
46 330 ci convertible around
Like the nicest one around for 20 k. That's true. Yeah
or probably like a
Driver grade e46 m3 smg if you wanted to as well
Grounded to the ground. Do you remember a time when you saw a nice build go one mod too far?
Yes, I've seen that I've seen it a lot. You know where I see it a lot is like like in
Porsches with like specifications where they do one
One custom color thing that's like too much that fucks it up like
You know
What does they say an engineer knows how to how to build an artist knows when to stop
So people don't like know when to stop
And so I've seen people
Yeah, they get one thing custom color matched or contrast colored and the whole thing sort of fucking falls apart
I don't I don't want to name names, but
But like you could I mean with mod with it with mods like
I mean
With mods the thing that kills it is like
Fake badging like yeah
Inventing a model that doesn't exist or like or pretend badging it is something. It's not a good example
Uh
Thad sent me this like 67 Mustang for sale because he knows serenade like curious about owning a fastback
Um, and it had a good engine good transmission did a little blah blah blah
But they had stuck those three Buick holes those press on things onto the fender
Which looks done wasn't
Any ever part of Mustang and also it makes me question this person's decision making ability entirely right
I have seen cars where the car mods chosen were so bad
That you then can't
Yes, you then can't trust this person to do anything else either
Because like that's where you decided that was good. Yeah, this person used like castor oil for oil changes
You know or like peanut oil. Yeah into the void says uh, Zach
How content would you be with a g80 m4 and a rivian as your two-car garage?
Why is that specific to you? I have no idea, but I I just rode an rivian r1s when I was a button willow
Nice car ride isn't good. We've talked about this before r1t rides well the r1t is and the g80 m4
I think also rides too stiff
So I'd be stuck with two cars that I don't really like the ride of
Also, I wouldn't want the m4 because the two doors is too long. It's it seems wasteful to me. So that's not my jam. Yeah
That soon says uh started listening to the beginning from the beginning and got here
Wow, nicely job nicely done given the amount of tech and adas systems that are so common now
Beyond the mags any interest in older cars where a relay is as advanced as technology gets not really. No, I mean
I I mean
Even on the manx runs on a motec, dude
You know the manx like has an old vibe
But like is a modern engine running on a full-on like
Motorsport grade ecu like I I think I was thinking this month
I would write a column for road and track about about why it's important to like
Support these companies that are building like really nicely done like old cars
But that are designed to be done driven in like the modern era like that could be like revology
It could be manx it could be icon
It could be like who you know singer whoever the fuck, you know
And there's other people making different stuff
But like
That shit is just way more interesting to drivers than even like the newest supercars or whatever
So like I don't I don't want something that's like carbureted. I don't I don't really give a shit about that
But I just but stick shift, you know key start, you know
Simple interfaces not a lot of screens knobs levers like yeah count me in for that
But electronic controls on the engine. I like fuel injection. I like an ecu
I'm okay with those those aren't that's not too much for me
Right. Are you in that same boat? No, but I but I like old cars. We talk about like I like muscle cars
So but I want to work some cars that seems like work better with an efi system
Some cars get confused or grumpy and they work fine with carburetor
So I just want something that works, but the old simple shit is a good time
And I don't mind the existence of adas systems as long as you just turn them off once and then they stay off
I mean, I don't I don't want to have to fucking
Hunt and peck for 30 seconds every time I start my car. I fuck that dude
Um, johnny evey geerberman
Uh, do you think manual swapping an sl 500 r 129 would be worth it for a vintage gt? I think it could
I think it could potentially add some interesting flavor to that car. Yeah, definitely
Would that be better than the generation we drove? Uh
I mean, that's really just I think you'd end up I think you'd end up and feel very similar kind of the same place
Yeah, our 129s are soft. They're squishy
But they did make a factory manual camisa owned one
Six cylinder only three the 320 manual
Um 91 to 93. I think you get it, but like it brought a lot of money on brain trailer
um
but like
Yeah, I I think a manual swapped sl 500 would be very interesting
I really do and I think it probably would be a
Cool talking piece and it would probably be very nice to drive and you'd probably get your money back out of it if it was done
well
It's probably easier to do than the more than the o4 that we drove. There's probably less computers
Yeah, it makes a little less power
So you could your little less wear on the gearbox, but like it could probably be cool
I think we thought it probably feels sort of like a corvette. Honestly
Um, just like the one that we drove did
Uh de merritt parkway
excellent
Uh the merit the merit parkway in connecticut is right by new by my parents house and de merritt very nice
What is the price point crossover between a watch and a car?
As far as which you'd rather have for example, I'd rather have a 5k watch than a 5k car
But at 50k i'm probably going with the car
It's an interesting thought exercise, but but my brain doesn't really work like that
you know like
it's not
I think it's just okay. It's very relative though
So the question is really like what's the cheapest car you'd want to have?
Yeah, and uh
Well, yeah, and I guess what's the most expensive watch you'd want to have like there might be a watch out there that you know about
That's 500 grand, but I'm sure there is but if you had that money to burn
Would you spend it on that or would you spend it on?
You know an amazing car that you can drive around in yeah, so the singer deposit right so the so
I suppose it's it's a fun either or but if you have
$500,000 to spend on a toy whatever it is
Let's just
You have to have so much more than that
It's like you can't it won't be either or right so
I would say that the cheapest car in today's world that I would realistically want to spend any kind of money at all on
Is like 10 g's
So like under 10 g's
Right right like you're like yes, there's some like gems out there
There might be some super special thing for like no money, but like if you're talking about a car
You or I would want to buy 10s pretty rock bottom
Uh
Whereas a $10,000 watch is an unbelievable thing
That's the fucking you can you can
Go home. That's it. You could you can tap out right there right if you're not a fucking junkie like me right
So 10 is the number where watch beats car anything under 10
Over 10 there's a gray area right because between 10 and like
100
There's like amazing watches and amazing car and amazing cars and so now it's like
And actually in that range you're getting cars that might also be appreciating
Correct. You get both cars and watches that are investment grade. So now
We're not necessarily spending now. We're parking. We're gonna we could get that money back
And then over a hundred like i'm not uh, yes, there's one or two watches that are deep in the six figures that I think are
Amazing and if I was really rolling like that, I could somehow justify spending
grand on a mb and f
legacy machine
I would not feel comfortable wearing it outside
And not because i'm like one of those they're gonna cut off your hands people like that shit is
Not saying it doesn't happen, but that shit is way blown out of proportion
Um, but still I'd break it like yeah, you bump into a railing. I smack into something like
Yeah, I I I couldn't be trusted to wear something like that around and that's why I wouldn't buy it even if I had the money
Because I'd fucking wreck it. So I'm with watches. I'm capped out at
I own one watch that it makes that I would be uncomfortable scratching
Just one out of like 30
So and I only wear that one once in a while and I feel like a little bit of a weirdo
Even though nobody else gives a shit. Yeah, you only wear it in that room in your house. That's just all padded walls
I put it on. I jack off and then I put it
Because it's got a winder in it, right? Yeah, I call it the baller
Yeah, that's how you that's how you wind your watches
That would be someone should write a satirical
Call them about that about being addicted to fucking wanking
But it's okay because that's how I keep my perpetual calendar every day. I take a different one out of the case
um
Oh boy watch question again franco specials. What is the watch strap? You guys will always recommend. There's like
A few I like bosphorus leather out of turkey. I like the strap tailor out of england
I like under the cuff straps also out of england. Those are for nato's
um
I like rubber b and everest if you want the the rubber uh oyster flex style straps
Horus straps makes a good a good strap and uh
I did taste the and yes, I did taste the frank sinatra jack daniels. It was good. Thank you franco
Control all delorean. That's a good one. Good. Yeah
I recently had a child and I was thinking about starting to get a few watches to keep to have something to hand down to her when she's older
Uh, what would be the best investment? I mean, dude
That's this one week. I mean it's no one knows what the future's gonna be. Yeah, this is so like here's the thing
You you had a daughter something to hand down to her
Women like cardiates
So you have two you have two two schools of thought here one is
You buy yourself a watch
You wear it you make memories with her and stories and it's your watch and you eventually pass it to her as a memory of you
or
You buy a dope whatever dope cartier tank you can afford
And stuff it in a safety deposit box. It's not going to appreciate. It's just gonna be what it be
but women love cardi because another thing is
Watch that he might like that fits his wrist may not fit her may or may not
So that's another thing of like handing it down like now you can wear it and she might go that's a 42
I don't wear it for right. Yeah. Now. That's the thing
You know if you're gonna do the move where you you wear it yourself
You should pick something on the smaller side so that if a female wanted to wear it it wouldn't look insane
Hannah wears a vintage men's watch that I got her her watch is a 34 millimeter
But it was that was a normal size for the 1990s when that watch was made
Our good friend Jen has a whole collection of men's
Submariners and IWCs that are on the smaller side for men
But then they're a little big on her but like that's the vibe because they're from back when men were tiny men
My mother I gave my mother a notice canyon and she has a fucking tiny
The the number of links I had to take out of this fucking thing to fit her. I was like
Oh, I took out all the links
I took out like every but like, you know, it's a little big but she likes it
So but don't go get a fucking panorai, right, you know, unless you want her to wear it is like a necklace or something, you know
Uh brandon chin if you had 10 laps on a track of your choosing
Would you rather drive the bmwe 46 gtr or the cal sonic nissan skyline r32 gtr?
Also, what track easy?
easy easy
cal sonic
Bathurst
I'm gonna go m3 gtr
Because I know that I just want to hear the noise and have the over stream even though the cal sonic is such an important car in history
Um
Never agree. Yeah, never agree. I wouldn't even make it a lap. I'd probably crash
Um
I suffer from lotus electric
A lotus electric dysfunction electric dysfunction. That's pretty funny
You've experienced your stance against instagram handles on cars in many podcasts, but are you willing to make exceptions?
I've personally experienced two positive examples at car meets. I see someone's amazing build
Uh, but the owner is not nearby and being able to find their ig to see the build process can be enlightening
To it's easier for owners to find cool pictures of their car posted online from the car meet
If I can tag them in the post in either of these examples, they don't post any illegal driving
I mean, yes
I suppose that those are helpful situations if you did want to
Like find pictures of yourself and or find the person driving that car right look for every bad
Spiritual leader that gets caught touching a kid and gets sent to jail. There's probably one that doesn't do that
Yeah, if you don't know what I'm talking about check the news
Yeah
No, look, I think it's fucking lame. I I do. I think it's fucking lame if you're at a car meet like that guy
I'll be around eventually
Wait, I don't look. It's okay. If you don't think it's lame. It's really okay
I don't if you don't think it's lame to put your instagram on your car or to put other have
For other people to do it like that's fine. I mean, you don't have to think that
I think that I think it's fucking lame
So whatever
And that didn't hear your your reasoning while valid didn't change my mind
I don't I don't need to see pictures of my own car on instagram
I don't give a fuck and if people want to find me they can find me
But like I get it. Sure. It's either of those two things
involve
People wrapping up their personalities in their cars, which I don't think they should do
Oscar Myers manxmobile. That's fucking pretty pretty good pretty good
I just got new tires and an alignment for my daily crossover something seems off
But I can't tell if it's the tires or the alignment or a little of both
Can you describe and differentiate driving characteristics attributable to the tires versus an alignment? Man, that's tough
That's fucking tough
Okay, well, let's let's
process of elimination this one from cheapest to most expensive
Right cheapest fix is you should check your tire pressures
It's possible. Someone didn't do a good job of setting your pressures. Sure. So if your alignment is good and your tires are all brand new
Your pressures might be off. Maybe one's a little low or two a little low. So once you get that sorted
Next is make sure that I mean assuming your daily crossover
These are probably not like directional tires that are where one is mounted backwards potentially
But if they are for some reason directional tires, there'll be an arrow pointing forward
It says rotation. So you want to make sure that those are looking those are those two things cost you zero
Next I mean
Something feels off
I mean, I wish they were more specific, but I would say that if you address those things
If the car is pulling in a direction and if you're on a road that you know is flat
It's not crowned. It's not, you know cut because of semi trucks driving on it. It's not slanted at all
It's not grooved find a road that is let's just call it neutral
And I think if the car is pulling
Then it's probably an alignment issue because if you have new tread on all four tires, they're all they're all even circles
There's no reason that it should pull one direction or another. Yeah
And and yes, something seems off is a little vague
So the pulling is there is your obvious one that once the pressures are set. It shouldn't pull the last one is
Your steering wheel could be misaligned which happens sometimes a lot this it's happened
I've had to go back to alignment shops
Multiple times because my steering wheel alignment was off one or two degrees and it drove me off the fucking wall
So that's another one where your car could actually be tracking straight
But your steering wheel is off. So you're now holding your steering wheel straight creating
Misalignment. Yeah
So that's it too
But like generally like and also if you had old shitty tires and now you have brand new tires
The car will feel different. So
Something feels off. I wish was a little more descriptive, but
If the tires are new they're set to the right pressures
It and they're not facing the wrong direction. It's probably not the tires
It's probably alignment or steering wheel alignment. Yeah
Either way once you check your tires, you're gonna probably end up going back to the alignment shop. Probably. Yeah
Dray from houston, is there anything a car that you feel like you missed out on owning up to this point?
Uh, if you're talking about stuff that it was like buy it when it was new sure
I mean
I missed out on the 4 gt. I could have bought for a lot of money
But still less a lot fucking less than it cost me now and that's probably gone forever
The one thing is like
There's shit I want
And then I don't get it and my brain kind of moves on. Yeah, that's a good sign
Like the just shall be gt 350. I probably get an email once a month
Like hey, I know you said you wanted one of these and I I'm selling one with a thousand miles and like you always said you
Want it once like no, I wanted to buy one new in 2016 to use as a car
Like it that it wasn't some childhood dream that I need to circle back on right. Yeah
I think uh, I think I want to own like I want to own a mid mid engine car
I haven't owned that like there's categories I want to hit
But there's nothing that goes like I wish I'd owned that and now they're too expensive
Yeah, so there's just so many things you can get well actually skylines now they're too expensive r34s for sure
And and although I liked my 328 a lot something tells me that if I bought a testero side probably still have it
I think
Uh, they're a little more comfortable a little more refined and a little more not usable
They're the same amount of usable, but like
You don't think that would overlap with the coontosh too much like coontosh hasn't been driven this whole time
Probably not
But I think they're very they're very very solid cars testeroces are and I think I I think over time
I'd probably appreciate that a lot
Plymouth jewish space laser
nice
Would it be jewish Plymouth space laser?
I think you I think god grammatically jewish goes before Plymouth
Maybe yeah, you always want to mention that they're a jew you want to mention up front right just so everybody knows what we're talking about
Here when I talk about soros
Yeah
I've had my slk 55
Amg for a couple years rare car very interesting and rare car. You should manual swap it
Uh, I was looking into super charging it, but after watching your sl manual swap. I'm starting to think that might be more fun thoughts
Yes
100 I guarantee you
You if you s l if you manual swap that car
And you hate it
You get
75 percent of the cost of the swap back when you sell it if you market it properly
That's a car that somebody
Would see on fucking cars and bids and go
That looks awesome, and it's already done. Yeah, you know what I mean and even for you
I think if you've already liked the car don't supercharge it. That's it does not need that that's dumb
The real problem is the traction control system on those which is
Hainestly bad
You'd have to eliminate it entirely and then you'd have a little fucking hot rod to be a good time
But yes manual swap all day all day every day
Let us know how it goes bad gardener says
Numbers and income aside. How do you feel about your current place in your journalism careers?
Do you think you're as satisfied as you've ever been in kings of the world?
Are you still building? Do you miss the tv days even though they didn't pay?
I don't know. How do you feel I miss the tv stuff because we got to do
Adventures and like plan the adventures
I mean we didn't get paid a lot doing them, but the money that went into the
Production budget allowed us to do cool stuff. So that was really fun
Uh
A king of the world. No, I mean, I think I think we're all I I feel like I'm still evolving and you know finding things to do
And uh, you know exploring the different ways you can be an automotive
Journalist host wherever you want to call it
Yeah
It's when you work on youtube and doing podcasts like yeah, okay numbers go up numbers go down whatever
But you're we're just like we're just like here kind of by ourselves
And so so when I go work with the magazine on like performance car of the year or whatever and it's like
There's 30 people there and everyone's got a job
You know and someone comes up to me and goes your job
Is to send all the cars sideways now?
and I just go
That's my job like
What like a there's like fully imposter syndrome because I am not chris harris
And I can't do some of the things that chris and jethro or like one of these psycho british guys can do
But at the same time it's like
Okay, like a little bit of pressure like fucking ratchet like you could you could have an expensive day right now
So, you know, you need to like up your game as high as it goes
And like fucking do a good job here and make this look awesome
But not break the car and you know if you do it right now, you know, but still like to go back to
30 years ago or 35 years ago to go one day
Someone is going to ask you to slide a Lamborghini to look awesome for a magazine
And like that's that like that's the thing this magazine that you're reading
Someone's going to go hey matt
you
Half million dollar car
Big fucking slide 10 guys with cameras
Okay, I mean is that in a way? That's what you've been working towards. Sure. So it's cool
Yeah, I mean if you don't get to set the lap times at least get to do the slidey bits
Like it's one or the other but like
It's not it's and uh, and I do think in some ways the magazine offers a lot of what the tv show offers
But it's more fun because you don't have the bullshit stuff that goes with tv production
That makes the fun thing less fun
You know like the with the magazine a lot of ways it's like actually more pure
You have to stop down to do still photos and like whatever and you have to sit at your house and
And write it out but like you're you have the adventure
In a very pure way
Which is which is really really nice. That's fucking good and also
You know when you grow up fucking having people tell you that you're like only anywhere because you know your father and this or
And or some you know a little bit of money or blah blah blah
That didn't come from that. He can't drive for shit. He can't drive for shit. He tapped out in that mclaren after three corners
Um
Zach's manjam a pillars
Uh build a drift car from scratch. What chassis and engine would you pick and what track would you want to test at?
If I was if I was gonna build one I'd do s13
Um, or maybe e36 sit in like those work. They're known quantity
The dream build of course is the 33 like high boy for drift car
But reality I would just get an e36 or s13
Yeah, I mean, uh
I it doesn't it almost doesn't matter what the chassis is right? You're you're building the whole thing kind of anyway
Um
I thought the z was fun when I did a drift 101 that's supercharged z. I thought great made a nice drift car
Yeah, that ls e46. I thought was a fun drift car
Yeah, those those are cool like the ls 240s and stuff. Those are those are fine. Um, you know
To me a drift car is is a tool
It's not it's I don't actually care what the outside is like so I like yeah
I want to have a fox body, but like they're shitty drift car platforms actually right not that good
I'd rather have the car that actually is the good platform for that activity
Is just a just a tool to do the fun thing and and I wouldn't
Uh, I wouldn't take that as a as a style statement necessarily, you know
I want did you watch uh
grid life at laguna seca this year looked awesome. I need to go to that
I keep putting other things in the way
But uh hurt got to drift the twerk stallion like down the corkscrew and he had a 360 camera on the roof
And the whole thing looks sick did the whole course like that dude is living fours of dreams
That seems like a very good time. Yeah. Yeah
Um
What track yeah, I mean drifting laguna would would be really fun. I I got to
Do it a little bit with the 750 slide around kota. That's a that's a pretty fun place to be doing that
What's uh, I don't know what has great like back and forth s's like linking stuff like that something
Oh
Well in the road america. Yeah, I wrote it wrote a wrote Atlanta wrote Atlanta turns like three through
Five or whatever has as good s's and then that whole the at the end of the back straight
You can use with the actual formula d section. Yeah wrote Atlanta would be a good. Yeah, it'd be a good one. Yeah
Uh tim a what I ever drive the demand spider on track like at the new willow springs
I'm curious how far off a spider would feel from a gt4 on track
I mean
I mean
They shouldn't feel really any different. I mean, they're the same from the from the shoulder down. They're they're exactly the same car
Exactly the same
The roof structure and there's a wing
So I suppose you have you'd have more rear grip
On track with the with the gt4
Maybe like a little better turn in possibly from some difference in chassis rigidity. Maybe
Um, uh, my my car now has ps4 s's on it
So it wouldn't have as much grip as it wouldn't have the cup tires or if it had the the dunlops
But like it really wouldn't be like I mean to be fast because the motor but like it wouldn't it wouldn't be that much different
like there's
I don't think it would be able to
Like it's not like I wouldn't drive it on the track like
But like I'm not gonna go out of my way to because I'm not gonna learn something new. I don't really give a shit
I don't think it's a compelling video
um, the audience has
Told us a hundred types different types of ways. They don't like fucking track videos anyway
Um, so that's okay comfortable as a street car
Uh, okay, wait
What's happening here basically
Oh, I have no idea. I mean that the first half is like call paul and what's paul and todd hooked on driving
Is that what they bought? Oh, yeah, I bought hooked on driving, right? Isn't that it? I think so. Yeah
Whip cream saves lives. Where do I do track days in utah in colorado?
I don't know for sure, but hooked on driving is our friend paul and todd
They're out of utah high planes raceway has great instructional days at right east of denver go there as does
Utah motorsports campus. Yeah, and I'm pipe ppr has stuff too pike speak international raceway
um
and
Let's see and I'll be going with oem tire sizes
Would you recommend to install parts from car bond for suspension?
Such as mono ball kit and toe link or just stick with oem and stick. Okay, wait, hang on
I'm guessing
You've never done track days before which is fine. Just based on the type of questions here
This is a new track person
Don't fuck with your car, right?
Just leave it alone
Go to go to the track
See what happens leave all the systems on
listen to the instructors
eventually
Not in day one and probably not in year one
But eventually you may want to change some of the characteristics of your car
and if that time comes if
Then you can start talking about it
But like because you want to have the knowledge to understand why
That part of your car is inferior to what you want to do
So if you just go buy this mono ball kit and stuff
And put it on because the forums tell you to do so you won't know what it was beforehand
You won't really feel what it's fixing
So I would take that money that you'd spend on mods and spend it on tires track days instruction
And then you'll be a more informed buyer in the future. Yeah
Uh do the lancer evolution last one and then we're out of here
What car owner stereotype do you think holds the most truth?
Mine was when I worked at a Volvo dealer quite literally 95 percent of the customers that came in were listening to npr
It's funny. It's a pretty good way. We're just wearing a turtle necks
um, I would say here in LA
um
Tesla drivers not being not being very attentive
Tesla drivers really not being the kind of people that care about the task of driving. They're the new bmwm drivers
There are some aggressive
Model y and three drivers out there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
Though that's that's one um
What's I would say that uh pagani drivers are wearing expensive shoes
That's a
Very relatable. Yeah, everybody around the country's like yeah, they're probably tired of that example. Um, I mean like
Portia people and the color the thing with colors and options, you know being obsessed over
I did spike show earlier today
He must have said
Whatever the color is of his car
The iridium green or some for of his new spider. He must have said those words
Eight times in the one hour. I was there, which is like it's a beautiful car. It's a nice color
Great. I'm happy for them. You know spider rs with comfort seats. That's a fucking that's a choice right there
But yeah, it's Porsche people and their colors all all the time myself included. I'm not fucking
It's nice to kind of have a white Porsche because no
Thanks, everybody, uh, we love you very much our patrons are the best get in on the action at patreon.com
Slash the spoken tire. Thank you to all of you on this one and uh more podcasts coming live from willow springs this weekend
I hope you got a ticket. Uh, it is sold out
Um, but it's going to be a really fun time and uh, and zack and i'll be out there all day on saturday
So come say hello. Thanks. Bye
About this episode
A lively discussion kicks off with the beauty of AMG's inline six engines and a surprising lawsuit victory for Matt's wife against Elon Musk. The hosts share experiences from a recent Toyota driving event, featuring a variety of models including the GR Corolla and Supra, highlighting performance differences and driving dynamics. The episode also touches on YouTube analytics, the challenges of content creation, and the evolving landscape of automotive journalism, all while maintaining a humorous and engaging tone throughout.
106 miles per hour
Alfa Romeo
dual overhead cam
firewall
Formula Drift
handbrake turn
horsepower
inline four
inline six
luxury engine
Audi RS 3
Audi RS e-tron GT
BMW 3 Series
BMW M3
BMW Z3
BMW Z4
Chevrolet Corvette
Ford Galaxy
Ford Mustang
Lamborghini 350 GT
Lamborghini Countach
Mercedes-Benz E 500 (W124)
Mercedes-Benz SL
Mitsubishi Lancer
Nissan Skyline
Porsche 911
Rivian R1S
Rivian R1T
Tesla Cybertruck
Tesla Model Y
Toyota Corolla
Toyota GR 86
Toyota GR Corolla
Toyota Supra
Original notes
Matt Farah talks is being surprised by a non-V8 Mercedes AMG; Zack Klapman walks us through his back-to-back drives in 3 generations of GR Corolla (and how the cars differ) AND describes the shock and joy of driving a 2-mile rally stage; Twitter (now X) loses its lawsuit against Matt's wife; plus we answer Patreon questions including:
- The moment we decided to leave our normal jobs
- $20k convertible challenge
- What ONE mod turns a good car into a bad one?
- Should I manual-swap an R129 Mercedes?
- Which watch should be a car?
- BMW E46 GTR vs Calsonic GT-R
- Why does my car feel weird?
- Dream drift car build
- Car owner stereotypes that are true
- Are we satisfied?
- Which car did we miss out on?
- And more!
Recorded October 8, 2025
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The Smoking Tire
Zack Klapman, Matt Farah
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86:50