Is There Any Manual Swap You Shouldn’t Do? — Carmudgeon w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep 211
The Carmudgeon Show
Is There Any Manual Swap You Shouldn’t Do? — Carmudgeon w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep 211
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Term
jump starter
A jump starter is a small device that helps start a car when the battery is dead by giving it a quick burst of power. You connect it to the car's battery to get it running again.
Term
tire inflator
A tire inflator is a tool that helps fill up car tires with air. It's useful when your tires are low on air and need to be pumped up.
Term
lithium batteries
Lithium batteries are a kind of battery that can be recharged and are often used in cars. They are lighter and can store more energy compared to other types of batteries.
Term
battery tender
A battery tender is a tool that keeps your car battery charged when you're not using your car for a while. It helps make sure the battery doesn't run out of power.
Car
Mercedes-Benz W140
The W140 is a model of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which is a line of luxury cars. It was made in the 1990s and is recognized for its high quality and many features that make driving comfortable and safe.
Term
W140
W140 refers to a specific generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class that was made in the 1990s, known for being very well-built and having many advanced features.
Car
Lexus LS400
The Lexus LS400 is a high-end car that was first made in 1989. It's known for being very comfortable and well-made, helping Lexus become a popular luxury car brand.
Term
tire blowout
A tire blowout is when a tire suddenly bursts and loses air, which can make it hard to control the car. This can happen if the tire is too old, damaged, or if the car is too heavy.
Car
Fiat 124
The Fiat 124 is a small car that Fiat made from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. It was well-liked for its straightforward design and was sold in many countries, including the U.S.
Car
Mercedes-Benz R129
The R129 is a model of the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, a luxury convertible sports car that was made between 1989 and 2002. It's recognized for its stylish looks and high-tech features for that era.
Car
Mercedes-Benz S500
The Mercedes-Benz S500 is a high-end luxury car that offers a smooth ride and many features. It's part of a series of cars known for being very comfortable and packed with technology.
Car
Honda S500
Car
BMW 140
The BMW 1 Series is a small luxury car that offers a fun driving experience. The '140' is a specific version of this car that has more power and features than the base models.
Term
$100,000 car
A $100,000 car is a very expensive car, usually with high-end features and performance. These cars are often luxury brands or high-performance sports cars.
Car
Volkswagen Egolf
The e-Golf is a type of car that runs on electricity instead of gasoline, making it better for the environment.
Term
limiter
A limiter is a safety feature in cars that stops the engine from going too fast. It helps prevent damage by making sure the engine doesn't rev too high.
Brand
Lexus
Lexus is a luxury car brand from Toyota, famous for making high-quality and comfortable vehicles.
Car
Mercedes-Benz 126
The Mercedes-Benz 126 is a model of a luxury car that was made from 1979 to 1991. It was known for being very high-end and had many advanced features for its time.
Brand
Alpine
Alpine is a car brand from France that makes sporty cars. They are known for being light and fast, especially the A110 model.
Part
trunk closing plinth
A trunk closing plinth is a part of the car that helps close the trunk lid automatically, so you don't have to touch it. This keeps the trunk clean and free of fingerprints.
Term
vacuum actuated
Vacuum actuated means that a part of the car works using vacuum pressure, which helps it move automatically. This makes it easier to use without having to push or pull it manually.
Term
ESP
ESP is a safety feature in cars that helps keep them stable and prevent sliding or skidding, especially when the road is slippery or when making sharp turns.
Car
7 Series
The 7 Series is a luxury car from BMW, similar to the S-Class from Mercedes-Benz. It's designed for comfort and has many advanced features.
Term
salvage title
A salvage title means the car was in a bad accident or had a lot of damage, and the insurance company decided it wasn't worth fixing. It can be risky to buy these cars because they might have hidden problems.
Part
18-inch wheels
18-inch wheels are the size of the wheels on the car. Bigger wheels can make a car look sportier and can improve how it drives, but they might also make the ride feel bumpier.
Car
Fiat 600S
Car
Fiat 500S
Car
Fiat 500e
Car
Mercedes-Benz 500E
The Mercedes-Benz 500E is a luxury car from the early 90s that has a powerful engine and sporty features. It was made with help from Porsche, which makes it special.
Car
Mercedes-Benz C43
The Mercedes-Benz C43 is a sportier version of the C-Class car, designed for better performance and handling. It has a more powerful engine than regular C-Class models.
Car
Mercedes-Benz W124
The W124 is a model of car made by Mercedes-Benz that is known for being very reliable and lasting a long time. Many people appreciate it for its comfort and quality.
Car
Rivian
Rivian is a company that makes electric trucks and SUVs. Their vehicles are designed for outdoor adventures and are environmentally friendly.
Car
Bmw I3
Part
derailleur
A derailleur is a part of a bike that helps change gears by moving the chain from one gear to another. If it doesn't work well, you can't shift gears properly.
Part
chain
The chain on a bike is what connects the pedals to the back wheel. When you pedal, the chain moves and helps the bike go forward.
Car
Mercedes-Benz SL
Car
Subaru 360S
Car
Pontiac Gtos
Car
Ferrari F40
Car
Audi R8
Car
Audi RS4
Car
Ferrari F430
Car
Lancia Stratos
Car
Honda Civic
Car
Porsche 911
Car
BMW M3
Car
BMW E39
Car
BMW M5
Car
BMW E36
LIVE
Hello.
>> Hello.
>> Happy Caragen Day to you.
>> Happy Carmeagen day to you. Today we're
going to be talking about
>> D. All of the above.
>> Yes. [sighs and gasps] So, we're talking
about electric series hybrid bicycles.
>> We're talking about shockingly Sako era
Mercedes-Benzes.
>> Derek drove one here, so we had no
choice but to put in the background.
>> And uh also manual swaps into all manner
of cars. Is there such a thing as a
manual swap that you shouldn't do?
>> That is the question.
>> That is the question which we will seek
to answer
>> on this theund 200 and something episode
of the Carmagin show which is driven by
Hagerty
>> and presented by Jason Kamisa
>> and clapped by Derek Tamcott.
[laughter]
>> [ __ ] Wow.
>> That was historic.
>> You should have done that last week when
we had a live studio audience. They
would have like blood would have
trickled down. That was Jake. [applause]
>> The funny thing is they all sound the
same on on the recording. I think
>> Yeah, I know. But the the audience
proved me right last week where they
were like and I was like that guy that
was actually an A.
>> Yeah.
>> All right.
>> Here we are.
[music]
>> You know what's happening this week?
>> SEMA.
>> Yes. Every year at SEMA, battery tender
debuts new technology.
>> This year,
>> the bobblehead.
>> Is that this year's innovation? Is this
available for purchase?
>> I don't know.
>> How does it perform in in low
temperatures?
>> It's pretty cold in here. It's
performing.
>> So, this year's innovation is a new,
more powerful charge and start unit that
combines a charger, jump starter, and
tire inflator allin one, and smart
lithium batteries.
>> I like smart lithium batteries more than
I like dumb lithium batteries. I knew
you were going to say it, so I just had
to beat you to it. Um,
I mean, I like dumb people.
>> Thank you.
>> Um, which is why I don't like you.
Anyway, SEMA will be at um, sorry,
battery center will be at the SEMA.
Visit them in the north hall booth 11125
and there will be a Hagerty vehicle in
the booth. I don't know what Hagerty
vehicle it is. Not one of mine.
>> It could be an old car, could be a van,
it could be a service vehicle,
>> could be a charge and start. Hey, you
know what I did need this past week? H
>> charge and start. I drove uh jump
started the cab with a char jump
starter. Drove it 12 miles. Everything's
totally fine. Get home, battery is stone
dead. Alternator putting out 33 volts,
>> but only to itself. The rest of the car
wasn't getting any.
>> And the wire is fine. I don't understand
how electromagnetic fields work. Either
way, um, more importantly, get 20% off
of any battery tender products um, at
with the code [email protected].
Um, they are, as Derek said, the
innovator of the charge charge and
start, which I say with
>> Detroit accent,
>> a really bad Detroit accent. Um, which
combines a battery maintainer with um, a
jump starter
>> and a tire inflator,
>> which
you probably need for that thing in the
background.
>> Why?
>> And they're notorious for killing
batteries, aren't they? Really?
>> I've sitting
>> owned two and never now I'm just not
going to start when I have to get it
home.
>> Oh, I'm gonna go turn the lights on just
to kill your battery.
>> Uh,
>> so hold on. This is why you need a
battery tender.
>> I had this one stored for probably 2 or
3 months and it just started and it
wasn't hooked up to a tender
uh or anything during that period. It's
It's actually been okay.
Uh, but yeah. Anyway,
>> that's because it's a queen bee edition.
Sure. That's not what they actually
called it, but
>> I don't know. I didn't know about this
thing. So, if you're listening as
opposed to watching this to your
incredible
Is your thingy beeping?
>> It's beeping because you left the
parking lights on. It's cross
parking lights on purpose. So, his his
control freak car in the background is
to your tremendous surprise a W41 W140
chassis Mercedes S-Class that Dererick
has bought. It is black in a black
studio, which means you can't see it.
Oh, did I not? Does your car not have
soft closed doors?
>> It's not functioning like all W140s. It
has soft closed issues.
>> I love that I just outed you for having
purchased a [ __ ] box with malfunctioning
soft closed door. What is the point of a
luxury car without soft closed door?
What is the point of living without
software?
>> I know it's really tragic.
>> Those are great looking cars still.
>> Yes. from the front
>> despite the nonfunctional soft clothes
>> and the greenhouse that's too tall.
>> Yeah. And [snorts] uh
>> I mean Sako himself said
>> yeah the car is not I I like how it
looks but it was an acquired taste shall
we say.
>> Took 20 years.
>> Yes. Maybe longer. Um it's I it's my
personal favorite generation of S-Class.
>> Is it really?
>> Yeah.
>> Of all of them.
>> Mhm.
>> Not a 126.
>> No.
>> Not a 116. O, I do like the 116 a lot.
>> You mean looks-wise or overall as a
>> Overall as a car, I think the 116 is
underrated. It was pretty like
sophisticated important car. Technically
the first S-Class, as they say, even
though the car before is very clearly
its predecessor.
>> Uh, but to me, I think the 140 is peak
S-Class.
>> It was certainly the last S-Class
designed cost no object.
>> Yes. And I think they really went to
town. Well, but they remember that they
truncated the delivery. God, [laughter]
I there is crack or alcohol or something
in these um in the show mix. They
truncated the um development process.
They had to rush the car out the door
because Lexus was to use a technical
term kicking the [ __ ] out of them with
the LS400.
>> And so this car, the 140 came out in
Germany and was immediately recalled
because they were blowing tires. They
couldn't. There existed no tire in the
world that could deal with that much
mass and that much speed. Um, and so
they were disasters at first. By the
time they came to the US,
>> by they came to the US, I don't think
any of that happened.
>> Yeah. But that's what happens when you
cut a year out of the development cycle.
>> Mhm.
>> Development process, and then you add it
back in before you send the car to the
States.
>> Uh, have you spent a lot of time with
this with these cars?
>> Oh, yeah. I remember the first time I
drove one was after I bought it. Um,
really that's not true. I drove a C a
600 a coupe 600 like 15
>> the first 140 I drove was a 600 coupe
>> and I drove it you know 15 years ago
maybe longer probably longer. I was
probably in high school. So
>> excuse me
>> that's not alcohol. That's a
>> coffee.
So, the first time I drove one, I had
driven lots of 124s and owned lots of
124s and various other Mercedes,
including R129s. And I vividly remember
pulling out the the I bought I met the
the family, the daughter of the original
owner at a police station because it was
a sketchy Craigslist deal. And so, we
met in the parking lot of a police
station
>> and um I bought the car and I was
driving it out of the parking lot. And
when I went over the little transition
between the sidewalk and the street at
the bottom of the driveway, I I audibly
aloud, even though I was inside the car
by myself, I said, "Holy shit." Like
immediately at that moment, I noticed a
huge difference compared to any other
Sako era Mercedes or any other car I had
driven. Yeah,
>> it was it's very very impressive and
singular. And so that's why it's my
favorite S-Class.
>> So this was the a 140 was the first car
I ever took delivery of new. Obviously,
I didn't buy it. This was 93, first year
in the US. 92. 92 was the first year
year.
>> Okay. But this was 1993 then.
>> Mhm.
>> I just met Mike that uh So, hold on.
Excuse me. It must have been 94. It was
July or something of 94. Um and Mike,
who we still have to do the micode. Um
this was a friend of mine who's now
gone, so I can tell all his hor horrible
stories.
>> Um was uh was always brokering cars and
and helping rich people in Palm Beach,
Florida with their cars. And there was
one of his clients was a wonderful man
named Friedrich Vafenmid.
>> And Mr. Vafenmid,
>> where was he from?
>> You might be surprised to learn Germany.
[laughter]
>> Salina, Kansas.
>> Cologne, as it turns out, and anyone who
lives in Germany, if you've ever been to
a Zatun, which is Saturn, which is an
electronics re retailer. Mr. Vagemitt
was the founder of that. It was the
largest electronics retailer in Germany.
Um, rich old [ __ ] Um, but also
a total gentleman. Um, I remember I used
to go and wash cars for him and, you
know, and help broker cars with Mike and
um, and every year he would give me a
swatch for Christmas, which was like a
big deal. Um, he was just he was a sweet
guy and he loved that I spoke German.
Um, but uh, he I don't remember what his
previous sort of luxury daily was cuz he
had six cars, which I thought was like
the most insane number of cars ever.
>> And now you have twice that.
>> Lies only 10. And uh and so Mike had
talked him into a 140 S500 or 500 SCL.
Um would have been an S500 S500 S500.
And so he was like, "Come with me down
to Fort Lauderdale cuz uh he had
brokered the deal and it was a Bob
Schmidt had a silver with blue 129 which
was the first 129 delivered in Florida."
And I remember he was offered $50,000
over what he had paid for it, which was
hundred grand
>> um at the time. That's how you know we
talk about 129s being like a wow moment.
They were genuinely that sought after.
>> And so Mike found him a silver over gray
140, ordered him a silver over gray 140.
And Mike would always do all of the
ordering for all of his clients and all
the um negotiating. And he would just
deliver the car to their the person's
house and it would all be done. And
[snorts] so we I think got a taxi down
to Fort Lauderdale. Um get in this car
at the dealership and they're like,
"Okay, sir. We're just going to give you
like a tour and he's like, "I know more
about this car than you." Takes the keys
and we hop in and the first thing he
does, he pulls a cassette tape out of
his pocket because that's what you do.
and he puts it in and he's like he turns
the volume up all the way while he's
look looking in the mirror, quickly
adjusts his hair, throws it in drive and
floors it out of out of the delivery
lane, so to speak, and [laughter]
gets it like sideways on the way out.
And I always thought that is the best
way to leave a dealership when you've
just bought a $100,000 car. For the
record, I did this in my e-Golf because
I knew you don't have to break the
engine in an electric car. And I thought
I should leave the dealership with
smoking tires.
the the rubber thing, not the podcast
playing. Um, and right as we were
leaving, going over the curb on the way
out, Amber's I'm a believer came on.
Boom. Bump
bump. And to this day, every single time
I hear that the that song. Um, and I
hope we can do a couple notes of it
without getting, hey, we don't monetize
this podcast. We should be able to put a
couple notes of this of this song in. I
hear those the opening note of that song
and I am back doing this huge bounce and
sideways out of the dealership um of
[music] the first new car delivery I
ever took part in. Um [laughter]
it was also the first time I'd ever hit
a speed limiter in the car. Was about a
week later
>> 130
>> 131.
>> Mhm.
>> Um indicated hit it like a freight
train. Yes. Mike was sleeping in the
passenger seat. We were on our way back
from some club in Fort Lauderdale or
something and I was on I9 I95 in Mexico
>> and uh and it hit the limiter so hard
that it woke him up. [laughter]
>> I was like this thing could do 170. It
was pulling so hard. Yeah.
>> Magnificent automobile.
>> They're really uh built to the standard
that Mercedes never built cars to again
since then.
>> Yeah.
>> Because of the competitive pressure from
Lexus. I mean, they misread the rumor.
Were caught off guard by Lexus by, you
know, Lexus brought in a car at $50,000
and this car was $100,000. And from the
perspective of what most consumers care
about, the Lexus was not that inferior
or was maybe even superior in some
respects. And so that Mercedes really
got their ass handed to them by in a
sales in terms of sales.
>> Part of it was timing because the LS400
came out when the 126 was nearing the
end of its life. Correct. So 1989 and
the Lexus, the LS400 absolutely did [ __ ]
all over the 126. it was a much newer
and you know groundup new product. Um I
think overall 140 would [ __ ] on a LS.
>> It depends what you're measuring in
terms of
>> not reliability but
>> Yes. or cost of maintenance.
>> But the stereo is amazing. Amber sounded
so good.
>> Yeah. [laughter] And this would have
been 94. So it would have had the
non-becker head unit would have had the
uh
>> Sony was it?
>> No, it's Alpine.
>> Oh, really? It was Alpine. Either way, I
just the the ride quality was something
I'd never seen before and no one had
ever seen double plane windows.
>> Um I'd never these cars are so wide. Um
and Sako, I think it was Sako, refused
to make the seats any wider. And so
there was a space in between the seat
and the a huge space between the seat
and the center console. And so there's
like a little velour
>> upholstered thing. Yes.
>> Uhholstered catch thing to catch your
well, we didn't have phones. um catcher
coins, packs of cigarettes, and your
secretar's lipstick or whatever it is
what people did in the '90s.
>> Yeah.
>> Um Yeah. [clears throat] Such a
>> It's really over the top, well
engineered.
>> Yeah. Soft excessively.
>> And the early sophisticated car
>> had the little middle of '95. They had
the little uh antenna things that come
out of the fender. This was before park
distance control, before the BB parking.
So that was how you knew so you could
see where the corner the distant corner
of your the back of your car was.
>> Yeah. You look back and you see the
little thing. It has a trunk closing
plinth that automatically extends so you
don't
>> It's vacuum actuated so that it's always
clean.
>> Mhm. Your you don't get your fingers
dirty or leave fingerprints on the trunk
lid.
>> Um trying to I mean it was it had ESP I
think standard. Um or might have been
>> in the six-cylinder cars.
>> Uh yeah. Um fair point. Um but who
[clears throat] who drives a
six-cylinder S-Class? I mean I mean
really.
>> And the funny thing is the six-cylinder
S-Class cost more than the 8-cylinder 7
series.
>> As it should be.
>> Yeah.
>> I mean, at that point, look, the 7
series was a hell of a sporty ride by
comparison, but it was
>> very much more sporting than this for
sure. This car does not feel in any
sense sporting, but it's very imperious.
It's the dictator car. Everyone always
calls it the Princess Diana car. It is a
>> Which, by the way, she only died in that
car because she didn't
>> she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Correct.
the only person who survived.
>> That car also had a salvage title.
>> Yeah, it had been wrecked a couple
hundred thousand times. Um, and also it
was a protection 280. I can't believe
they even got that up to a speed
>> that was able to harm anyone.
>> Um, but yeah, you think about the guy in
the death seat who took the brunt of the
impact in terms of the pillar that they
hit survived. Everyone else died and
that's why you wear your seat belt.
Especially like you got to try to, you
know, to die in an S-class,
>> right? Uh, so this one is a 99 last year
S500 grand edition was the only special
edition that was ever made of the W140.
It came with these 18-inch monlock
wheels and the dark wood interior. And
it has the seats that the 600s later on
got different seats from the rest of the
cars except for in Canada where they
also put those in 500s. God, I'm so
sorry. I know all this. Uh, anyway, so
this car has the the champagne colored
seats that were unique to the Grand
Edition. They were all this color,
metallic black with the tan interior
with the dark wood and the 18-in wheels
and a few other like u items that said
grand edition, including a lithograph
painting of the car with where the it's,
you know, going through a puddle or it's
next to a puddle and the reflection in
the puddle is a 1920s Mercedes. Uh, and
then you know, everyone, some people
framed them, some people lost them, but
anyway, my car came with it. So, I'm
pretty excited to have all that. I
bought it from the brother of the
brother. No, sorry. There were three
brothers and each of the brothers owned
this car, but I bought it from the
brother of the original owner. So, it's
was three owners, but they were all the
same. They were all related.
>> So, single family owned until now. You
put some nondescript normal California
license plate on it. You're going to do
you want to get like Grand S license
plate?
>> Well, I actually know the original
owner, it was sold in California. The
original owner had a vanity plate on it,
which was like a abbreviation of his
last name followed by the number one.
And I was thinking about doing that with
followed by the number of two. I guess
>> that's cool.
>> So it's like consistent. So I'm not one
for vanity plates, but
>> No, you could also put a historical
vehicle plate on that. That's the joke.
That car is over 25 years old, which is
terrifying.
>> I think that look I I don't there's no
reason to do it with this car, but for
some other cars. Yeah.
>> Um I would say that the the AMG
monolocks are a little bit inongruous
with the I agree
>> with the car, but the fact that these
came on the car makes it obviously
totally acceptable, but also cool. Yeah,
they I think they look nicer, but they
maybe are, like you say, in congruous.
>> I mean, there's nothing inherently
sporty about the wheels. I think we just
all associate those wheels with like a
500E or, you know, all the C43 AM
>> C43, E55. Yeah. Um, and pre merger
stuff.
>> So, anyway, uh, that's a very cool car.
I did not know the head [ __ ] and charge
edition existed.
>> Yeah.
>> Well, I uh I wanted one with a V8, the 5
liter V8. I had an S420 that I just
bought opportunistically from the
original owner and I really enjoyed it
but sold it because it was a 4.2 and it
was beige on beige and I wanted
something that was more
>> black on beige. [laughter]
>> I mean same color.
>> It's it's hard to find 500s. I really
don't care for smoke silver. I just
think the car is so geriatric as is.
>> You don't care for smoke silver overall
because I there are knives in the
[clears throat] room inside and
[laughter] I will use them.
>> I it's not it's not for me. There's no
car that I would ever choose Smoke
Silver for.
>> Excuse me. Did we not go and see the
same car at Monterey Car Week and
declare that the most amazing that the
Gordon Murray uh Special Vehicles S1 was
in basically Smoke Silver and it was
amazing.
>> Yeah.
>> And it would never just repeat after me.
That car would never be any more
beautiful in any other car. I'm kidding.
You don't have to. [laughter]
>> Um
>> uh Yes. Yes. You're a smoke silver
enthusiast. which happened entirely
coincidentally for the reason.
>> Mhm. Okay.
>> Seriously, I've never chosen a car
because it had that color.
>> How is your smoke silver Mercedes-Benz?
>> Oh, he's grunting. [groaning]
>> He's got a box.
>> I have a box.
>> Is that your smoked silver
Mercedes-Benz? That color. The box is
the cardboard box is the color of smoked
silver.
>> I just would like to say that so one I
have had this car. I didn't realize
November September of this year was 14
years ago that I bought that car. Um and
I sort of lost track of how long that
is. And in credit to this 190, it has
been, and I say this while knocking on
wood,
>> actively knocking,
>> incredibly
problem free. Um, the one thing that has
really changed since I bought it, I only
drive the car about 1,000 miles a year.
So, it had 78,000 km on it when I bought
it, and I think it's now 94. Um, so you
do the math. I don't know. I, you know,
drive it about 1,000 miles a year. The
only thing that substantively since the
two things that have changed is somebody
sat really hard on the seat and broke a
seat frame spring. Um, which happens on
those cars and I'm still trying to find
another seat frame for it 10 years
later. Um, and the steering went from
being really tight to Well, you've
driven the car. How would you describe
it?
>> Unforgivable.
>> Ruinous.
>> Yes.
>> It had about I don't know 30° of play.
>> Yeah. It's a substantial dead spot in
the steering,
>> which all Mercedes with steering boxes
do eventually, but for whatever reason,
2.316s seem to do really quickly.
>> I have noticed that, too, because I'm I
mean, I have a 264,000 mile W124, and it
has much less steering play than your
>> Well, your 16 valve also had somebody
overtighten the steering box to
compensate for what was also
>> which was also unforgivable. It It was
unpleasant for sure. But yeah, it seems
to be a causeworth thing because my
264,000 mi 124 feels perfectly
acceptable.
>> Some do, some don't. It's bizarre. I've
sort of never figured out, but the 16
valves are all worse. So, this car is
only what 57,000 mi on this car. What? I
can't do that math in my head. Um, and
so the box had just worn out to the
point where it's not even that there's
like resistance in the steering wheel to
play. Well, you turn the wheel and you
know, I I'll put a video on it uh that I
took to demonstrate the before and
after. There is nothing. There is no
resistance. Like my 400,000 mi 6.9 back
in the day had 90° of play and you just
sort of learn to pass through the play,
you know, quickly. But it you get used
to it and you don't even notice it
anymore. But anyone gets in the car and
they they go to crash it. I mean, it's
very disconcerting.
>> There's a company in Germany called RPM
Depot. Um they want they will typically
accept your steering box and then
rebuild it and give it back to you. Um,
and that's what I wanted because I don't
trust
>> You want a matching number steering box?
>> No, I don't really care about that. But
what I wanted was no one to return to me
a steering box that was three turns lock
to lock from the factory and I'll get a
4.2 turn lock to lock slow ratio out of
a 190 diesel or something.
>> So, I talked to this guy and he said,
"Yeah, just send it in and I'll get you
your own box back." And I thought, I
don't know you and I don't trust you
because I'm not a trusting person. So, I
asked him to send me one with a core.
Um, and so now I can safely say he sent
me back a So, I'm losing my original
match matching number steerings steering
box and I don't really care. Um, because
now I know he does good quality work.
The the the experience of driving this
car has been transformed.
>> It is wonderful
>> magic. Um, still have to go get it
aligned, but the and the and the other
thing that I noticed is the manufacturer
date on the box that's in my car is
confirms that it's original to the car,
but it has been moved moved or removed
or taken out or something because there
was some witness marks on some of the
bolts. And so I think what somebody did,
you can't access the adjuster on the top
of the steering box on the Cossworth
cars on in the same way that you can on
all the other 190s
>> because of the exhaust header.
>> The intake manifolds in the way and so
when I tried to adjust it, I pulled the
engine off the mounts and lifted it up
out of the way and it was a nightmare
and I cried and it was a lot of work. I
realize now it would have been much
easier to just drop it down an inch or
two. Um, so I think someone tightened it
before I bought the car and it was all
on its way to wearing out and it just
happened very quickly. Once you tight
the the tighter you make that adjustment
on those boxes, the faster you wear the
rack out
>> or the the box out. So anyway, um, I can
recommend as long as I get my core
charge back when this when this comes
back from Germany and I have no reason
to suspect I won't. This goes out today.
I will get my core charge back and the
Mercedes is fixed. Congratulations.
>> Thank you.
>> I'll let you drive the car again and you
can quit your whining about how
unforgivable my loose box is, so to
speak.
>> Yeah. I mean, mine was also unpleasant,
but in a different way because someone
had adjusted it to excess.
>> Yeah. Uh, and so then it doesn't
self-center, right? You turn left.
>> Yeah. And it keeps it it Yeah. You can
be going around a corner quite a bit of
lateral acceleration and let go of the
steering and it doesn't it stays exactly
where it is, which is also disconcerting
in a different way.
Um, okay. So, we have done the requisite
carmage show saco era Mercedes
conversation,
>> which is what not why we're here today,
>> isn't it? No,
>> no, actually we're and we're here to
talk about a bicycle and a manual. Yeah,
we we have we have many things to
discuss.
>> Okay.
>> So, this week I this is interesting to
should be interesting to car people, but
it's about a bicycle.
>> Did you know
>> that's a big lift?
>> Yeah. to make a bicycle interesting to
car people.
>> When the first real ebike came out,
there was a specialized turbo and a
specialized PR person knew that I that I
also rode bicycles and she was like,
"Hey, come out and ride this thing." I'm
like, "It's a [ __ ] bike." Like, it's
and and I didn't even know it was
electric. And when I found out it was
electric, I'm like, "This is stupid."
Turns out that ebike was my favorite
bicycle I've ever had. I just retired it
because the last part broken. It's not
fully non-functional now. Um, and it was
a prototype, so the production bikes
never So, I got a test bike from them
and I never gave it back [laughter]
because it was that good. And I kept
saying like, "You can have it back, but
please no." And they're like, "Just keep
it." Um, or just when you stop using it,
give it back to us. And now no one's
there from Specialized. So, anyone
listening from Specialized, I know where
it is. I can get it back for you. But,
um, best workouts of my life because
that was not a thro there was no way to
throttle it. There was not a Vespa or a
moped. It measured what you did. uh and
what what torque you put into the crank
and amplified it on one or one of 10
maps. And so you just basically logged
into gravity.config
and you changed gravity from 9.81
meters/s down to whatever you wanted and
you were just immune to the laws of
physics. Amazing bike. Um, and that was
interesting to car people because here
we have an electric vehicle that is just
a bike, but also helps you work out.
Um, the most popular body style of
electric vehicle on the planet is not a
car, it is actually an ebike. And ebikes
are now very common. Uh, you know, I
think we talked about this once before
where like I have no choice now but I
have to go buy an ebike because everyone
on all the trails that I ride or that I
hike on is riding an ebike and I'm going
to get [ __ ] killed going 2 miles an
hour up a big grade and all these kids
are coming up at 30
>> and scaring everyone.
Um, and Riven
uh has a well technically it's not
Rivian. So R.J. Garage, who's the CEO
and founder of Rivian, has a second
company called Also. Um,
>> you're laughing at the name.
>> Yeah, because it's a second company and
it's called Also.
>> That's actually not That's what I
thought. I know. I I can't imagine
that's why they called it that. I just
think it's funny that that's a
byproduct.
>> I thought saying we have a Rivian and
also we have a bike and that's actually
not the case. The reason why is it's it
embodies the Silicon Valley um idea. I
met the guy who named the company um and
he had a very passionate speech about
this and it sounds like good marketing.
I don't I'll let you guys decide but
it's the Silicon Valley mentality of and
also so instead of this or that, it's
this also that um meaning no compromises
built in this bike, right?
>> Um and it is interesting for for many
reasons. It's the the idea behind it is
the bike totally rethought in the world
post pedaling um or post non-electric.
Um and what they've done that no one has
done before as far as I know is make a
series hybrid
electric bike.
So there is absolutely no physical
connection between the pedals and the
wheels.
>> Uh so this is like SBC. It's it's pedal
by wire.
>> You have to bring it back to a Sako era
Mercedes. I guess it's poss uh it is it
is pedal by wire.
>> Um
>> this is how airplanes are flown now.
>> What?
>> Steer by wire but not power by wire.
Right.
>> No, everything is is goes into a a fadec
and it's a a computer that you move the
lever and then the lever tells the
computer what you want and then it moves
actuators that are located. There's just
wires. Yes, there's no cables.
>> But this would be slightly different.
This would be the difference. So that's
steer and brake and you know and flying
by wire. But this is propulsion by wire
which is really this is more like a
Chevy Volt where or a BMW i3 Rex where
the gasoline engine powers a generator
that then powers a motor that powers the
wheels. So in this sense a plane a a
propulsion by wire plane in this sense
would be one where there's a jet engine
spinning a generator that's spinning
that then makes electricity to spin a
fan or prop somewhere else on the plane
which
>> Yeah. Which is how a diesel train
locomotive works.
>> Fair point. But it would be fairly
idiotic on a plane. But um the idea is
really interesting and I immediately
thought, oh efficiency, like this is
stupid. You're going to lose 20% 30% of
what the power you're putting into the
generator with the pedals by the time it
gets to the wheels.
And then I sort of thought about it like
what actually doesn't really matter
because you have a 1 kilowatt hour
battery which is a huge amount of energy
um that you put right into the frame.
It's a beautiful elegant solution. You
take it with you, you charge it. And the
idea here isn't efficiency. It's the
ability to power the bike if you need to
and have it measure what you're doing
and then amplify it. But it provides
some really interesting benefits and I
hadn't thought about this. So the
biggest problem area on bikes and this
bike is by the way meant mo I think
predominantly for commuting but has
multiple top they're called top frames.
So the seat can be removed along with
its stem and the and the tail light and
replaced with other seats. And so you
can have like a traditional slate sport
seat. Yeah, I guess it is.
>> You have traditional sport seat. You can
have like a big banana seat like or you
know like a a beach cruiser seat with a
basket or some sort of you know cargo
carrying [ __ ] behind you. Presumably
there's one for two people, you know. Um
but the idea here is you have one bike
does everything instead of having to
have a mountain bike and then a road
bike and then an ebike commuter bike and
whatever else. Um the pedal by wire. So
the the biggest problem area on a bike,
do you know what? You you bike a lot.
What's the thing that causes you the
most aida?
>> The pedaling.
>> No, in terms of reliability, I should
say like what's the biggest
>> Oh, the drivetrain.
>> It's the derailer and the chain.
>> Um derailers and chains are apparently
the biggest problem area. We know this.
They fall out of adjustment. They'll
skip a gear, which is a pain in the ass
when you're standing up and it throws
you off the pedals. come across like
it'll altogether drop off a sprocket,
>> right? And that, you know, like that
used to happen to me a lot as a kid. You
know, when you did before you had the
the trigger shifters, you had a lever on
like these 10-speed bikes and if you
were in between gears and didn't realize
it, you put a lot of torque and it would
jump off and that would happen as you're
standing up going up a hill. You would
get a nut sack full of bar that really
hurt because you'd fly off the pedals.
Yeah.
>> Um, so if you decouple what you're
pedaling, what the pedals are doing with
what the motor is doing, you have an
infinite choice of gear ratios,
so long as obviously the motor generator
that you're attached to can apply enough
load to the pedals to stop you from
turning. That means you never have to
deal with a derailer, you never have to
deal with a chain, and you have an
infinite source of gear ratios. Mhm.
>> And it can and is programmed to be
either a CVT or some sort of automatic
that lets you choose one cadence and
keep pedaling at that one cadence and
just adjust your load. Um or it can have
fixed ratios. And obviously you want a
fixed ratio if you're like mountain
biking and you don't want a surprise of
like all of a sudden it's hard to hard
to turn. Um and I thought okay well
that's some sort of benefit. And but
wait, there's more is now it can do
things like when you come to a stop at a
stoplight. And so again, commuter bike,
one of the things that people always
have to do is kick the uh the pedals
backwards to get in position for that
pole position start when the lights on
screen again so that you know the
>> it has a button on the turn signal
stalks because it has turn signals.
>> Uh that will automatically move the
pedals back either to the left or right
to get you ready to go, which I think is
pretty cool. Um, and this idea I think
is kind of genius that if you're
decoupling all of this, it doesn't
really matter how much power you can
generate.
>> But you have a motor that is attached to
a rubber belt to the rear wheels and
that's it. No derailer, no multiple gear
ratios. Um,
>> it's kind of like a scooter
>> in that
>> in the sense that there's no pedaling,
but you're still requesting torque in
various ways. Well, yes, except that I
don't think this bike will ever let will
ever move without you pedaling. So, the
idea there is, you know, you have
different levels of assist. Um,
different maps, I guess, but it will
always multiply what you're doing. There
is a walk behind or walk mode, they
said. So, if you want to walk it up a
flight of stairs or anything because I'm
sure it weighs a lot. Um, you can just
use the throttle to there's like a
little throttle control to help it go up
the stairs. Some interesting things that
I've not seen in ebikes before. Um,
[clears throat] but we now have a series
hybrid electric bicycle,
>> which is
>> Yes. This is like uh Yeah, in a in a
train you'd call it diesel electric.
>> Yeah. So, this is human electric.
>> Yeah.
>> Or leg electric or whatever you want to
call it. Um, and I said, of course, I'm
immediately failure mode, right? I'm
like total pessimist. Like, so what
happens when the battery is dead?
>> Like, well, we have an exercise mode.
And I'm like, okay. Exercise mode is you
want to use as much power. you want to
make a miserable workout.
>> Possible.
>> So, no problem. It just takes whatever
you're generating and puts 60% of the
battery and 40% of the rear wheels.
Like, that's brutal. That's brutal.
That's like double.
>> You become a uh you become like a
hamster wheel that's hooked up to an
power generator,
>> right? Um, and then there's an hill mode
which I found was really interesting is
it it know has three axis acceler
accelerometer so it knows exactly what
pitch and it knows exactly where it is
in space obviously. Um, and so it will
level the hills up and down. So you're
pedaling it knows exactly how much
assist to add at the rear wheel to
>> Oh. So is it going to regen when you go
downhill so that you have to exercise?
Uh well, not so that you have to
exercise. You could if this is if you
put it in hill mode, it will emulate on
the ground. So you'll still
>> emulate Yeah. level [snorts] ground, but
it'll just be charging the battery.
>> Charging the battery. Uh it also has a
regenerative braking obviously, although
I don't think you use it all that much.
You know, I don't typically use my
brakes all that much. Um on bikes
usually I'm looking ahead far enough and
I lift off and you slow down pretty
quickly like on a boat. Um but
definitely use my brakes on hills in San
Francisco or in the Bay Area. Um, so why
not regen all that?
>> I loved my my specialized which also had
regen but not much. Um, this uh they
also thinks though that the regen will
cover 90% of all braking applications
>> and presumably the other one the other
10% is what I do is like slide to rear
brake lock up slide to a stop at every
light to [ __ ] with the other bikers. So
we have now gotten more Jason talking
about bicycle time on the carent show
than motorcycles.
>> Yeah, I don't do motorcycles. They're
dangerous. This thing just 28 miles an
hour. You're fine.
>> All right.
>> I don't motorcycle. I wish I did, but I
I I don't I wish I did if I knew I
wasn't going to die on one.
>> Um but I would totally I'm looking
forward to riding this. They had a
little riding demo, but I had schedule
conflict, so I had to leave. Um but I I
think that's neat.
>> Yeah.
>> And in a world of everyone's getting
lazier, like this is a way to continue
to get exercise, but also choose your
exercise appropriately. Like I'm on my
way to the office. I don't want to be a
sweaty mess when I get there. a lot of
boost. I'm on my way home from the
office and there's a shower waiting for
me when I get home. Make it a miserable
[ __ ] workout. It's beautiful out. I
want to take it for a long time. Slow me
down. Charge the [ __ ] out of the
battery. I think there's there's a lot
of benefits I can have.
>> I just want ABS on my next on my next
bike. I don't kidding.
>> I mean, it just arrived on motorcycles
as standard equipment in the last 10
years.
>> Just like they just got fuel injection
on motorcycles.
>> They could do it. I mean, the rear brake
is blended on this bike. So, it is regen
first and then uh so it could absolutely
do ABS, but I mean I genuinely do like
to [ __ ] with people red lights. So, you
got all you're one of these people who
you have a road bike and I'm sure you
have your little outfits and your little
helmet and like the whole I don't do
that [ __ ] I ride a mountain bike on the
street because I'm fat and I need
exercise when I'm biking. I don't need
to travel great distances. So, it's a
big fat heavy um comfortable sort of
mountain street hybrid that maximizes my
workout. And so, when I see all these
people who are taking life very
seriously, there's nothing I like better
than to come up at like 22 miles an hour
um sideways rear locked up and just
right cut right across them and stop
right at the line at a light. Sup guys,
[laughter]
just everyone looks at me like I'm
crazy. Um because [clears throat] I'm a
child.
>> Yes.
>> So, so I don't want ABS.
>> Okay. No ABS for you.
>> ABS for me. Um,
>> however, uh, this is a segue. We can
combine the things that we've discussed
here if we try into talking about manual
transmissions because this also bike has
a manual transmission mode and simulated
from a CVT.
>> Mhm.
>> How's that for transmission? Did that
work?
>> It was pretty feeble.
>> You want to try better? Can you do
better?
>> Um,
what are we where are we trying to go?
We're trying to talk about manual
transmissions specifically in the
context of uh
>> manual swapping.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. So, we have a mutual friend who's
interested in buying He wants one of
these. He wants a 140
>> coupe technically
>> coupe V12 and to manual swap it.
>> He also wants to manual swap his 500E
144. He also wants to manual swap his
SL. It was the red SL in the
>> Revelations
>> Revelations episode. He wants to manual
swap all the things.
>> Okay. and he also just bought a CLS 63
AMG that he would also manual swap.
>> Okay, so just it's so we're talking
about Mercedes getting manual swaps,
>> which leads the question. So right now
my whole feed is consumed. That's not
true. I often see people are manual
swapping a lot of things these days.
They're automatic swapping a lot of
stuff. I see like 8HP ZF automatic swaps
into older cars.
>> Mhm. But really, I think the thing to do
at the moment is to take a car that was
never available with a manual and swap a
manual in it.
>> Um, we've driven some Matt Quick swapped
cars,
>> um, including a a 126.
>> We have.
>> Didn't you drive that 126 with the 113
in it?
>> Oh, that one was an automatic.
>> That's also true. Um, I did drive
>> He made one.
>> He made one. I drive a P I drove a POT
with a 113 in it. that was a man swap
that he made that had no seat belts or
brakes. Um but he was in the middle of
that. Nothing against him. He did that.
But
>> CK63 Black Series,
>> that's the one,
>> right? Um and then I drove I we spoke
about it briefly. Uh I drove a C63 AMG
Black Series with manual swap and my
proclamation was it fixed everything
wrong with this car
>> much like the CLK 63 Black Series.
>> Right. So my question is, have you
driven what other cars that have manual
swapped? A master Martin that you just
told me about. And is there such a thing
as a car that is worse for it?
>> It depends what the transmission was
that maybe it doesn't. It depends how
bad the manual is and how bad the
transmission that it had that was two
pedals that came out of it. So the other
car last year we sold a 360 challenge
that had been manual swapped. That's a
particularly compelling uh one because
those cars originally came only as F1s.
So the the Challenge Tradal is the hot
rod version of the 360. The 360 regular
car was available in with both F1 or
stick. The Challenge Tradal, the hot one
was only available with the F1. Uh so
that car manual swapped was absolutely
sensational. You know, I routinely and
will happily take every opportunity to
[ __ ] on 360s and 355s and 430s.
>> Therefore, all for RV8s. Yeah. All the
modern ones that are really going crazy
right now. Those things have gotten so
expensive in the last six months by the
way. Yeah. Like asinine,
>> challenge or all like
>> all those any of the hot Ferraris
>> spales and
>> spales scutteras challengees
uh GTO's uh TDFs. They're all going
absolutely wacko
>> and they're all
>> and those are all two pedal cars.
>> None of them were available with sticks.
Anyway, the manual swap 360 CS was
sensational to me. It was like very it
was very close to being I don't know I
want to call it like F40 like uh in
terms of my driving enjoyment and and
how much I liked the car which is so
surprising to me because I was so under
I'm so underwhelmed by normal 360s. Uh
so that
>> but are you underwhelmed by normal 360
CS's?
>> No, but the transmission annoys me.
>> Okay. Anyway, so I I I adore that car.
It it was the Ferrari that I always
wanted every sort of modern fuel
injected V8 Ferrari to be. Uh so that
was a sensation. Uh I did recently drive
a Vanquish Aston uh the first
generation. So this is like 02 03 to05.
Uh that was manual swapped by the
factory. The factory has offered this
swap for years, probably at least a
decade at this point. But those cars
were originally all two pedal cars with
a very dim-witted
um transmission. And this car was is
still with its original owner and it has
3,000 miles on it. He bought it new and
just didn't drive it because the
transmission annoyed him so much. But he
liked the car and the motor and the way
it looks enough that he kept it all
these years despite the fact that the
driving experience really annoyed him.
Uh and so I drove it as a manual and it
was marketkedly improved. Uh, I would
say it was not as seamlessly brilliant
as the CLK for a couple of reasons. One
was the the the footwell of that car was
never designed to be a manual. And so
the location of the clutch pedal is
like, oh, it's very distantly over here
in a place that I was not expecting to
find it. Uh, and so the ergonomics were
a little peculiar. And I guess most of
the complaints I have are ergonomic. One
was the the pedal cluster. And I none of
these things prevent you from enjoying
the car or finding it to be superior to
the original transmission, but uh it was
a little bit weird at first. And the
other thing is the shifter location is
ever so slightly depending on your
configuration a little farther back than
you'd like. And so it's a little bit
like
>> towards the back of the car.
>> Yes.
>> And so it was like a it didn't feel like
a very natural organic like place to
look for the shifter. Like the CLK had
neither of those issues because the car
was engineered to be a manual from the
outset. And also maybe because it was
designed by Mercedes-Benz instead of
>> bunch of drunks in a shed. Yeah.
>> Uh and so the car was absolutely an
improvement and it works well. Uh but it
was you know not without ergonomic
foibless but it's I mean it's certainly
like if you have one of these cars I I
said the first thing I think I said when
I got out of the car is every single one
of these cars should be manual swapped.
>> So it was a market improvement. All of
the cars that I've driven that have been
swapped
checking. Yep. Every car that I've
driven that has that has been swapped
that like especially one of these all of
these cars are cars that didn't
originally come as manuals uh have been
marketkedly improved by being manual
swapped. Oh, another thing I've driven
was another Matt Quick car which is a
C43 wagon that was manual swapped. And
he also put the 54 in it, the E55
engine. So it's 350 naturally aspirated
horsepower instead of 302 with a
six-speed manual
>> and 100 pound feet of torque more or
something. Some enormous difference
between those engines. It certainly has
no shortage of torque. Uh, and that's
the same transmission uh that was you
that he used in the CLK63 Black Series
swap as well. So, it was that was uh the
car was slammed which I didn't you know
is not to my liking, but the power train
and the amount of thrust I mean the
thing seemed overpowered in a amusing
way in a good way. There are there are
certain engines that you never get to
chance to interact with because they're
not manuals. And remember, and you know,
look, I'm a I'm a manual snob. I don't
own any automatics. I don't want
basically any cars with an automatic.
Um, but but the one thing that's
important to remember is when if I pull
out my own personal preferences, you are
when you drive a like a
computer-controlled ma modern automatic
car, you do not have a throttle pedal.
You have a torque request pedal. And
this is you're requesting a certain
amount of torque at the at the at the
back axle and it is up to the computer
to decide how to get there. And that's a
combination of things like variable
valve timing, if you have a variable
intake length, runner length, stuff like
that, uh ignition timing, cam timing,
all of these things, mixing, right?
Pre-boosting, all of that. And then gear
selection and torque converter, open,
close status, and all these other things
that go into it. Um, and what you don't
know often is what these engines really
feel like to interact with. And so if
you drive like an Audi R8 uh with a
single clutch automated manual or the
one year that they made a dual dual
clutch, you
>> talking about the first generation 20
Yeah, this would be 2013
>> whatever. Yeah. 201
either way it doesn't matter. They you
know you're the first gen car. You don't
what you don't realize is how incredibly
different that engine is to interact in
that car with say an RS4 which is an
automatic. Uh and that's manual
>> uh which is a manual also.
>> I mean you could get that engine as a
manual in the R8 also.
>> Yes. But you wouldn't know unless you
drove the R8 manual and the 156 which is
that 6.2 L V8 motor uh from Mercedes. I
had no idea how how how quick the
throttle response is the wrong term.
[ __ ] lightning fast. Feels like
independent throttle body. Unbelievable
throttle response. Never noticed it
until I drove. You can notice it. I
guess you can lock the car in gear and
you hit the throttle, but you don't need
to in automatic. That's not what they
do.
>> Um that is the biggest shame of driving
a automatic is you don't ever get to
directly interact with the engine. And
that 156
>> was amazing.
>> Amazing in that regard. Um and so and
both in both of the swapped cars that I
drove, it's just perfectly natural.
perfectly linear um relationship between
throttle travel, the pedal travel and
output. Unbelievable.
>> Yeah, I think it's one of the greatest
internal combustion engines
ever. Maybe
>> I wouldn't have said that until I drove
the manual swap car. I mean, I like that
engine a lot, but I wouldn't have said
one of the best.
>> Um but we were missing we were missing
that interaction.
>> Uh have you ever driven an F430 swapped
to a manual?
>> No. I've driven factory manuals, but
never a swapped one.
>> Okay. How Okay. So, you've driven a
factory F430. How was it?
>> I didn't care for it that much. Uh
there's this problem and this is the
thing that I really liked about the 360
and it seems variable car to car but
what a lot of these Ferraris have is a
lot like a lot of stiction and
reluctance to to change gears and there
isn't this sort of like slick um
riflebolt action that people always talk
about being pleasurable. And for
whatever reason, the swapped 360 I drove
had that character. And it's not a
characteristic I had experienced in a
six-speed Ferrari to my recollection.
And it's that that is a a attribute that
I find frustrating and annoying because
a it feels like you're hurting the car.
And b it's difficult to get the timing
right to get the revs where you want to
be when the gear finally selects.
>> This is a swapped regular 360 you're
talking about.
>> No, it was a factory 430
>> stick. Stick. Okay. Um, interesting.
Okay. So, the only 430 swapped car that
I've ever driven was the MA2.
>> I did drive that one. Yes.
>> Did you? Okay.
>> Yeah.
>> And what did you think?
>> I remember like wrestling a little bit.
Like it was difficult to It wasn't
intuitive and it wasn't like natural
feeling to get the thing to do what it
was supposed to do. This is always a
risk with swapped cars because the OEM
parts to do the swapped cars no longer
exist and there's various people making
components or kits to to swap them to
manual. And uh I think that you not all
are created equal. And so I think if
it's been done sort of or if it hasn't
had all the bugs ironed out because I
remember that you know when I would
interact with these other swaps cars
some they would some of them would feel
quite different from others and it would
be a matter of you know the F1 gearbox
is going to be hard on the synchros when
it's just hydraulically it's a dumb
actuator that just selects a gear
>> slams it in.
>> Yeah. And so you can wear out the
gearbox. And I think that if you're
going to do a swap of a car that was a
single clutch with hydraulic actuators,
uh then you it might be worth you can
try it and see how you how the gearbox
ends up and whether it's worn out. But
there have definitely been ones that
have been swapped where you get it and
you're like this gearbox has been worn
out by the hydraulic actuators and the
computers that were doing the gear
changes in the past and we should do
synchros. Uh you know take the gearbox
apart and do synchros. So if you're in
there already and you have the whole
thing apart, it's maybe a good idea to
do synchros and like make sure that none
of the forks are bent by the act have
been bent or anything like that. Uh
>> yeah, because a computer wouldn't know,
doesn't care about feel.
>> Yeah, exactly. So that's definitely a
risk. And you know, people are 3D
printing things and either scanning the
OEM parts and 3D printing, which would
be an ideal outcome. Other people are
making or fabricating things that, you
know, don't work as well as, you know,
whatever. And there's, you know, cables
that need to be set up and adjusted.
It's not, you know, a and this is the
Ferrari way, right? Because the the
Ferrar in the Ferrari and BMW land, you
know, when you're taking off the thing
that does the automated gear changing
and replacing it with a lever that the
human controls, whereas in the Mercedes,
you're taking out the entire automatic
transmission and putting in a manual
transmission with the OEM shifter
>> and all that.
>> That's a really good point that there
are two different ways of doing this.
One is you're replacing the transmission
with a manual transmission. the other
one you're replacing a transmission or
you're replacing the actuators and
keeping the transmission as it was.
>> Yes. And it just depends on what the car
is and what kind of transmission whether
it was a single clutch, you know, F1
type gearbox or SMG or whether it was a
slush box,
>> right? And so the reason I brought the
that MAT new Stratos up is because that
swap was not done by MAT. So nothing
against MAT who built the Stratos, but
they bought that car having already been
manual swapped. And I'm not sure that
the owner of the car knew that or
anything was disclo disclosed. And the
swap itself wasn't perfect in that the
the
there were some errors that would pop up
occasionally on the on the screen, but
also the linkage just wasn't up to
typical Ferrari standards, which as you
just said is not always the best, but is
you know, this this one
>> variable car to car,
>> but the big difference was that engine
had no flywheel.
>> Mhm. And that was what I ultimately came
to like as a challenge, but it was real
work to get that car to shift smoothly
because the second you came off the
throttle, revs would drop from 4,000 to
idle in a split second.
>> Um, and so what you'd have to do is give
gas in between shifts, even on
>> like an old car when you're double
clutching.
>> So, I do this also, and I've been called
out on some some some comments on the
Revelations videos when I'm going up the
hill. I'll go from third to fourth gear
in the drive sequence at the end and
you'll hear w and that's because I'm
double clutching on the way up on my
car. I don't want to wear anything. I
want to be very gentle on everything.
You tend to be very very gentle on
transmissions also and I think more so
than me than me. Um and that's just a
technique. I'm used to doing that. So I
had no problem doing it in that stratos
but that car was a [ __ ] is the wrong
word but it was it took a lot of
concentration.
>> Yeah. a little intrigent.
>> And so I was speaking to a collector who
has a 599 599 manual, one of the very
few that Ferrari made.
>> Yeah. I think 20 or so came to the US
factory.
>> Um and I was speaking to the owner of
that car about the Stratus and he was
like, I won't drive my 599 because of
that.
>> Like it just annoys him too much. It's
it takes away too much from the
experience.
>> Stalled it. It was easy to stall. Like
every time, you know, he's backing out
of the driveway, he stalled it three
times because there's just no flywheel.
And so, you know, you reach a critical
low RPM and off. Um, and just you get
you try to blip the throttle or to get a
little bit of revs. Let's say you
want,200 to just sort of back up. And
your choice is a flare to 3500 or a
stall and it can be a pain in the ass.
>> This is what people complain about when
driving Carrera GTS. Carrera GTS have
this reputation for being like sort of
difficult and there's just if you use
the right technique, it's not that hard.
Although I will say that hill starts in
those cars are uncomfortable in San
Francisco.
>> Okay. So, the one that I did drive, um,
>> you drove on level ground.
>> I started it on a couple hills and I did
a pretty quick emergency. So, the owner
of that car, um, was in the car with me
and he was very, um, you know,
>> anxious.
>> Anxious is a word. Um, also knew
everything about everything without
knowing anything about anything. So, he
was one of these people who like owns
some amazing cars but doesn't quite know
how they work. and I don't think was a
particularly great, not great is the
wrong word, wasn't a particularly
performant driver, right? So, we're not
going to go keep up with you on a track
day that way. Um, and he was like, you
cannot get this car started. If you
touch the throttle, it will you'll stall
it. And the the sort of conventional
wisdom on a Carer GT is if you touch the
throttle, it disables the idle circuit,
but the idle circuit is the computer
watching revs and is strong enough and
has enough play in it to keep the car
from stalling. So, just bring the clutch
out, get to the engagement point, allow
it to slowly engage with the computer
managing revs, and you can hear it
straining and doing, and then once the
clutch is engaged, do your thing. I
suspect that doesn't work on a big big
hill in San Francisco, right? It's just
not going to have enough uh bandwidth in
its ability to open the throttle enough
or quickly enough or the engine won't
have enough torque to actually get
moving without a little bit of rev
assistance.
I look, it's his car. I was, you know, I
was on video. I'm like, I'm not going to
stall this thing and I'm not going to do
anything. So, I did what he told me to
do. And then it came a point where I had
to make a a a three-point turn on this
one straightaway and I had to do it very
quickly because if anyone was coming the
other way and I had been able to see
around both corners in both directions,
so I knew no one was there so long as I
pulled this off quickly. came to a stop
and did the sort of
my move that I came up with many many
years ago when I had a Kevlar racing
clutch on one of my cars with no
flywheel which is blips blips help
everything and I just came to a very
quick stop threw it in reverse and I
made a three-point turn like I was in a
Civic was nothing and he was just how
the [ __ ] did you do that and I'm like
you just have to work around it and you
have to understand the physics of the
fact that you don't have a large
flywheel helping
That was, I would say, not a challenge,
but it was something you definitely had
to work around. But the Carrera GT,
though I'm not personally a huge fan of
the way it looks or I don't and I don't
want one, was one of the most
magnificent manual transmission cars
I've ever driven. The clutch, shifter,
throttle calibration once you're was
under once you were underway was
perfect.
>> Mhm.
>> Perfect. it bested. It's one of the top
five best bested possibly only by the
911 ST the current one which you've not
driven yet, right?
>> Uh I have driven it up and down the road
up been into six gear in it. I've never
driven it in anger but I've just driven
it around.
>> Yeah. And what do you what say the
>> I' reminded me a lot of the GT3.
[laughter]
>> Really?
>> Yeah. I mean, the GT3 is near perfect.
But the ST But the ST is a double plate
clutch that's this big with no flywheel.
So, it's it's benign.
>> It's very benign.
>> Absolutely. I watched journalist after
journalist stall that car after stall
that car after stall that car after
stall because people who are used to
computers doing all the work for you.
You don't you drive old [ __ ] box. Sorry.
You drive carbured, cranky old cars that
don't want to idle, don't want to start,
don't want to move, will not accept
throttle. I mean, talking here about
your Lamborghini. Um, you can drive
around anything. People who have only
dealt with computer controlled stuff
don't know how to. I found that to be
>> Yeah,
>> I think the best car I've ever driven in
that in that regard.
>> So, um, but the the Stratos was a pain
in the ass. I would like to drive a
manual swapped V12 599 or one of the
factory because I don't think the
factory did anything differently. Um,
but throttle mapping for an automatic is
always going to be different than
throttle mapping for a manual. I mean
there are just things changing.
>> Yeah. And so when you swap a car, the
question is did the is the calibration
that they chose for the automatic does
it work when you are trying to use it
with a manual.
>> Yeah. And that's what I can't believe
about the about the
right. Unless there's unless you know
Matt and uh god I'm I feel embarrassed
that I can't remember the other guy um
who whose C63 I drove. Um, unless
there's like a check box that says
linear throttle, you know, like your
check your pull down menu says
autotragic or it says, you know, manual
linear, they're perfect.
>> They're great. They're beautiful.
They're wonderful.
>> Yeah. Even with a pretty aggressive
clutch because, you know, that car has a
fair amount of power and torque.
>> Does.
>> No.
>> Yeah. Yeah, I mean he spent a bunch of
time cuz he put in some initially some
aggressive clutch that was very
nonlinear and felt race cary and that
was annoying. And then he found one that
had a similar sort of loading ability
but was much more benign to use but
still had the, you know, was aggressive
enough to withstand the torque that that
car produces.
>> 6.208
cc's of 6,28 cc's, right? 608 whatever.
Um, big [clears throat] motor.
>> Yeah. And but still perfectly pleasant
clutch.
>> Yeah. I don't to answer that question to
answer my question. I don't think I've
ever driven anything with a manual that
was worse than the automatic. That can't
be
>> That was swapped.
>> That was swapped. I've certainly driven
cars that I prefer with the automatic,
which is really weird. And I hate to
even say this, but Golf R, for example,
last year,
>> you said this also about the G uh 80 M3
>> M3 works. I wouldn't buy it with an
automatic because I don't want an
automatic. But ultimately that that S58
engine which is an absolute monster and
is the sort of 2JZ of our era or this
era um works. So this era, not our era.
>> Yours is the 1920s. Mine was clearly the
'9s. Um 80s, whatever. Um that engine is
amazing when you couple it to an
automatic and is annoying. Yeah.
Frankly, with with a manual
>> uh Lamborghinis, have you driven any of
the swapped Lamborghinis? I don't think
I have, but I have been seeing a number
of Mercelos that are swapped now.
>> I drove a factory one
>> and I will tell you I have zero interest
in a Mercilago except for the the manual
one that I drove and that one blew my
mind.
>> What a [ __ ] gear change. What a great
I mean, what just a great experience
that we drove for that uh was one of the
cars that we market when I was bull
market. I was sick. I was so [ __ ] I
had like it was either COVID or the
bubonic plague or something. It was 103
degree fever filming. Didn't care. Loved
it. Loved it. It was I remember that and
trying to keep a Suzuki cappuccino on a
back road when I was basically
hallucinating. So sick. Um but yeah, no,
that that Mercielago manual shocked me
because I wouldn't have thought
Lamborghini was capable of that. And
I've also driven I showed up once to buy
a Gallardo. I I don't know if you
remember this. Um I don't think you were
there, but there was a
>> That's probably why I don't remember it.
>> Yeah. Well, yeah, but I I me tell I
remember telling you about it, but um it
was a silver Gallardo and I thought not
really the color I would choose, but it
was a manual. It was an early car, so it
was that that sweet even fire V8 uh V10.
Um and I drove it and I hated it. Really
dead steering, horrible ride quality,
but like I want to say like a 58 mph
first gear and then like a 90 something
mph second gear. just geared so long and
more importantly widely spaced that the
car was just you do two shifts and
you're atund and something miles an
hour.
>> Uh did you ever you've driven a 4.2
manual or first generation Audi R8?
>> Yeah.
>> You like that?
>> I I like the gated shifter. I love the
engine. I love that engine. The response
of it. Um my favorite
>> but better than the uh than the
Gallardo.
>> Oh yeah. Yeah. It wasn't geared. I don't
remember it being geared. I think it was
a 40 mph first, but I think you know
there's they're not the same
transmission, are they?
10. There's I there's no way that Audi
was geared that long.
>> No way. I would have never and I did
live in Michigan, which does have big
wide open spaces and and high-speed
roads, especially compared to the Bay
Area. Um when we had we had a long-term
Audi R8 4.2 first year at Automobile and
we all drove the [ __ ] out of it and
drove in the winter and it was just kind
of a longterm that we signed out. Um,
and I don't remember disliking it. I
remember disliking the RS4's. Um, we'll
talk a little bit more about RS4 next
week. Actually, here's a teaser. Um, the
RS4 was impossible to be smooth in,
which drove me [ __ ] crazy. Um,
>> I did not find that to be for the R8.
>> No, not at all. Totally different. That
was why I that was why I said that's
something you'd miss out if you ever got
an R8. Like, oh, I've driven an RS4.
I'll take a, you know, a automated
manual or a dual clutched R8. No, no,
no, no.
>> Then you miss out the stick on the on
the changes. Yeah.
>> Um, I don't know if I would I would want
a manual in a
>> No. In a big car, I don't know that it
makes sense. I mean, it used to be a
thing for sure. You could buy from the
factory a manual S-Class through the
126,
>> which is an absurd notion. There
>> are manual 140s, not the US.
>> That's true. There was a dog leg manual
available in the 300 SE. that I mean a
7,000 RPM twin cam variable valve timing
straight.
>> You would never get to 7,000 RPM because
it doesn't have enough power because the
thing weighs so much.
>> Come on. I would totally rock that.
There was one green on green that a
friend of ours was looking at recently.
>> Yeah, they turn up every so often in
Europe. It's a pretty cool
>> velour interior. Come on. Like it just
doesn't get
>> I would do it for the idiocy of it.
>> Yes, I would too, but not necessarily
because it would be the superior
solution. like the superior solution is
a big high displacement torquy engine
with an automatic in this car. But just
for the novelty and amusement, I could
see you know enjoying it.
>> Somebody responded to a um uh to last
week's uh episode where we roasted
people's cars and you know we can you
guys do an episode and and we can and I
think we should where we allow our
viewers to tell us what they drive and
then we can [ __ ] on the cars. What we'll
lack then is the interaction where where
we can see the owner start to cry so we
know to back off. But, uh, he had said
has he had a a E39 530i.
Um, and that was a great car to bring
up. I'm like, I there's nothing to say.
It's the best variant of the E39 because
the V8s had a steering box and the the
uh six-cylinder cars had a steering rack
and they steered better and they were
just lighter and and happier. That is a
car that I actually prefer with an
automatic.
>> Yeah, the manual in that car I never
liked. Same way I feel about E39 M5. I
don't like that manual either. Love it.
That's probably I mean I think they
might be different manuals but the same
>> No, they I mean they definitely are
because one's a 5-speed, the other is a
six-speed.
>> That's true. Um yeah, I don't
>> The BMW shifters of that era for
whatever reason. It's such a strange
fall because like the E36 shifter is
fine.
>> Fine. Yeah. E39 I think it was just too
big of a car for me and I had two of
them with automatics back in the day and
I don't think I really wanted a manual.
Wanted for a manual. I you know I still
think I'd prefer I've hustled that car
and it you you start to drive it like a
sports car and like E28s as manuals work
brilliantly and I think an R129 would
too because I enjoy hustling them on
back roads and so I think having one as
a manual I'm I'm not so averse to it as
a a big car as long as it's a big car
that I'm able to hustle. So I think to
me the the differentiator is NVH. If you
can't hear or feel the engine I don't
want a manual. Um, and so even like the
129, that that was an interesting one
after the revelations driving 300, 500,
600 together, right? I I without
question I'd buy a 300 again, even
though it was so much slower. The 500 is
the better car. Uh, it's a better match
for the chassis. The the engine is
[ __ ] brilliant. Um, but I I it the
transmission ruined it on a back road
for me because I was arguing with it and
it won the argument. It doesn't want to
give me whatever gear I wanted. But even
that car is a little bit too isolated
and that's why it feels so slow. It's
not actually that slow. Um, you know,
it's geared nice and short. The engine
makes great noises. Just sounds like
it's someone else's car making that
noise.
>> Um, but yeah, I I don't think I would
fall to anyone, especially once you're
talking about a car for a special
experience to manual swap anything.
>> I think everything should have a manual.
>> Nothing dates a car like an auto like
its transmission.
>> Yes. An automatic.
>> That's true. That is very true. You can
feel you can learn a lot about a that
like that's interesting because then it
goes back even to the pre-war era.
>> You can tell an early 30s car from a
late30s car by the gear change.
>> Manuals you're talking?
>> Yes. Even in a manual.
>> In a manual, right? But that's the
interesting thing. Nothing has changed
in manuals since other than the number
of gears and some synchro technology has
gotten maybe a little bit better but it
done in yeah I was going to say even
maybe earlier
>> ever since Porsche synchros arrived
>> Porsche and pioneered modern synchro
mesh
>> and that's it no changes have it's been
incremental so from anything from the
60s through today um there's no real
difference in
anything to do with how a manual works
whereas autom atics are continuing to
evolve and so they date the car. Even
infotainment, which I think would you
would intuitively say would date a car,
especially from the 2000s. Every time I
get into anything from the 2000s,
someone has bought a $112
Chinese knockoff infotainment system on
eBay that shows up in two days and is
plug-andplay and replaces the factory
[ __ ] with a touchcreen and CarPlay.
And so even that does isn't dating these
cars anymore. And I mean like on iDrive
cars and MMI cars, Audi MMI cars and
cars where that screen was so well
integrated with the whole car that we
all thought this will never be replaced.
10 something bucks and it's just problem
solved.
>> I wish the transmissions were that way.
So
>> yeah,
>> interesting.
>> Right. Well, that was varied this
episode in
>> with a common thread
>> of that car being in the background.
>> Okay. The only [laughter]
>> great well tune in next week for
additional carmagination.
>> Sure. I have nothing to add. [music]
About this episode
Exploring the world of manual swaps, Jason Cammisa and Derek Tam-Scott dive into whether there are any manual swaps that should be avoided. They discuss the merits of manual transmissions in various cars, including the iconic Mercedes-Benz W140, and share personal stories about their experiences with manual swapped vehicles. The episode also touches on the rise of electric bicycles, highlighting a unique series hybrid bike that eliminates traditional drivetrain issues, making it a compelling topic for car enthusiasts.
18 inch wheels
Alpine
Battery Tender
chain
derailleur
ESP
jump starter
Lexus
limiter
lithium batteries
Aston Martin Vanquish
Audi R8
Audi RS4
BMW 1 Series
BMW 3 Series
BMW 5 Series
BMW 7 Series
BMW i3
BMW M3
BMW M5
Ferrari F40
Ferrari F430
Fiat 124 GT Abarth
Fiat 500
Fiat 500e
Fiat 600
Honda Civic
Honda S500
Lamborghini Gallardo
Lancia Stratos
Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL
Mercedes-Benz 500E
Mercedes-Benz CLK
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Mercedes-Benz SL
Pontiac GTO
Porsche 911
Porsche Carrera GT
Rivian R1T
Subaru 360
Suzuki Cappuccino
Volkswagen e-Golf
Original notes
Today's episode explores an array of different tangets: most notably, Sacco-era Mercedes-Benzes, the ALSO Elecric Bike, and a broad discussion of manual swaps.
===
This episode is sponsored by Battery Tender.
Visit https://www.batterytender.com/ and use code HAGERTY20 for 20% off.
===
Derek and Jason begin the episode discussing yet another Sacco-era Mercedes-Benz fleet update - Derek's newly acquired W140 Mercedes-Benz S500 Grand Edition and the installation of a new steering box on Jason's 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth.
Jason then takes a turn to discuss the new ALSO Electric Bike, a sister company of Rivian. The first Series-Hybrid Bicycle of its kind, the ALSO draws parallels in function to road cars like BMW i3 REX, where both vehicle have a backup generator propelled by an alternate energy source (in this case, pedal power). Jason gives reason for why car enthusiasts should take an interest in this new two-wheeled technology and how it might change the future of mobility.
Naturally, conversation finds its way into the discussion of manual swaps and whether or not there is a case in which a manual swap is unfavorable vs. an automatic. Derek and Jason extrapolate on different types of manual swaps (IE: modifying a semi-automated manual in a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale vs replacing an automatic transmission in a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG).
All this and more on this episode of The Carmudgeon Show.
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