"Hooniverse K" (hooniversek)
06/22/2015 at 14:02 • Filed to: None
1
19|
"Hooniverse K" (hooniversek)
06/22/2015 at 14:02 • Filed to: None | 1
| 19 |
My mother used to have a very nice 2005 Acura TL. For almost nine years she used that car to commute from her home in Edgewater, NJ, to her work in the Bronx. For those of you that have not traveled between New Jersey and New York over the George Washington Bridge, and further north over the Cross Bronx Expressway, should know that this may be the worst road in the United States. The traffic jams are constant, as is construction. Someone always breaks down or rear-ends someone else. Due to heavy truck traffic the pavement is extremely wavy. It’s bad, really bad.
The third generation Acura TL came standard with 17-inch wheels wrapped in 235/45-17 tires. The car handled very well right out of the box, while retaining a ride that was comfortable. With a 270hp engine, it was a fun car to drive, even with the ever-present torque-steer. The problem was that its wheel/tire combination did not resist road imperfections well. Bubbled-up tires and bent wheels were the norm for my mom and many other TL owners. I did my best to ensure that she always had a good set of wheels and tires on the car, which meant frequent Craigslist searches.
One day a friend who new about my endless searches sent me a CL link that seemed perfect – brand new take-offs from a brand-new, base model, fourth generation, 2010 TL. Some dude upgraded to dubs on his brand new car and wanted to ditch those stockers. Brand new wheels and brand new tires, same backspacing, same bolt patter, those things never change on same model cars.
Perfect!
I emailed the wheel dude. We planned to meet around 2pm in Queens on a Saturday. Later he emailed me says it’s got to be at 4pm.
This wasn’t a problem since I was back home in New Jersey without my wife and kids. I had all the time in the world and I was hanging out with my high school homies, all serious car guys. When I say they’re serious car guys I mean they all have done engine swaps, all kinds of modifications, they drag raced, they are Gran Turismo champions, and actually have track driving experience. They really know their shit, and the three of us together are supreme car experts extraordinaire – in our minds no one knows more, no one knows better.
Dude with tires, whose English is far from good, calls and says that something has come up and he won’t be able to meet until 7pm. However, to make up for the inconvenience, he was willing to drop the wheels off in Jersey, near the exit from the Lincoln Tunnel. Ugh, this is annoying, but fine, saves me a trip into New York City. 7pm in Weehawken it is. It’s somewhat of a busy area, especially on a Saturday evening, but there is a gas station there that has some parking and a lot of light. But it’s always busy.
As 7pm was getting closer, wheel dude informs me that he’s once again running late. I’m pissed now because I wasted the whole day waiting for him. My !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a jacked-up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master who may or may not have been raging by now, grabs my phone and goes off on the wheel dude. Wheel dude sounds nervous, apologizes, says 10:00pm for sure. My other buddy, a frequently-paranoid-but-always-ready-for-anything Marine, who also enjoys randomly raging at people, remains relatively calm and laughs at Vinny.
We decide to relax by going to a bar in nearby Hoboken. It was nice, nice views if you know what I mean , and it reminded us of when we used to hang out in this town during our high school and college years. We had a drink or two. Since Vinny and I were not driving, we had a few more.
11:00pm. Wheel guy keeps giving us the run-around. At this point we find the whole thing hilarious and are willing to play this dude’s game just because we have nothing better to do. And we’re drunk-ish. And there are college chicks around us, three married guys in their thirties.
1:00am. Bars are beginning to empty out, which is strange, because I remember how this town used to go all night long. This wheel mofo texts me that he is about to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. Halle-fucking-lujah!
We go to the gas station near the Lincoln Tunnel, but things are different there at 1:00am. The station is closed. The lights are off, and there is no one there. Not a soul. And we’re drunk, except for the Marine dude who is just under the legal limit as per his own paranoid calculations. At this point we realize that this may not be the greatest idea we’ve ever had. But whatever, we are three pretty big guys and we can all fight if we need to – what’s the worst that can happen?
So we’re at the dark gas station, waiting. A beat-up white Dodge Caravan, similar to the one pictured below, with New York plates quickly pulls in. Not the brand new Acura TL we were expecting.
!!! UNSUPPORTED LINE BREAK IN HEADER !!!
DrScientist
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:14 |
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never noticed the similarity between the honda and acura logos until i read the title of that craigslist post.
Mattbob
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:18 |
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“continue reading on hooniverse” fuck this... honestly man....
sony1492
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:30 |
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Copy paste the whole thing, Im usually too lazy for a link. Great article nonetheless.
jjhats
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:33 |
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somebody told me that the 45 or 50 part of the tire is relative to the width. so in your case with the 45 going to 50 and the 235 going to 245 might not actually change the overall diameter of the tire. idk if this is true but yea you fucked up big time assuming the bolt pattern was the same. ive learned to not assume anything when it comes to wheels bolt patterns
SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:35 |
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So you guys got sick of your Oppo boycott?
Lol
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Hooniverse K
> Mattbob
06/22/2015 at 14:39 |
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Ok, then don’t read. That’s how the internet works.
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Hooniverse K
> SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
06/22/2015 at 14:40 |
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Huh? I never boycotted anything.
What’s this all about. I browse daily.
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SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:43 |
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Ask your bosses
Think 7 years ago before they left oppo in a fury and made hooniverse.
I have no issues... No worries
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Mattbob
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 14:44 |
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it’s one thing to say “hey read this cool article about so and so over at hooniverse,” and post the title and link, but posting 75% is just an obnoxious move.
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Hooniverse K
> SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman
06/22/2015 at 14:50 |
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Yes, Hooniverse was started because some guys got annoyed with Roy Wert’s content quality, but that was a long time ago. Drinks were drank, Patrick even did podcast with us, and Travis got in the way many times.
lol @ bosses
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Hooniverse K
> Mattbob
06/22/2015 at 14:51 |
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See, I used to do that and the people got pissed and said “why don’t you paste some more of your article and not just a link”
I can’t win.
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Mattbob
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 15:02 |
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The internet is a dangerous place. People are slightly inconvenienced by voluntary activities left and right. We have the right to our unhappiness! rabble rabble rabble.
Gamecat235
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 15:06 |
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It’s a hard balance to strike. Post the whole thing and you lose out on potential clicks / traffic, post a portion of it and you incense the response you just got. post just a link and you probably get the same or maybe even more. I think this is a nice balance, personally, because you can read enough to know that if you get to the link, you’re invested and interested, whereas if you just scroll through and see a link you can choose then and there.
There is no magic bullet.
That said, it was an enjoyable post (here and there).
Cherry_man1
> DrScientist
06/22/2015 at 15:21 |
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 15:49 |
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I had hoped to find snow tires on C/L for my Miata but ended up just buying new because of the sketchiness. I feel like the shady car sellers on there are amped up to 11 when it comes to wheels. Most people are likely selling legit, non-stolen items but they sure make it difficult to believe that sometimes.
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Hooniverse K
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/22/2015 at 16:12 |
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I recently bought a set of SSR Competitions for dirt cheap for my project car. Seemed shady as heck... turned out that it was just a guy in his mid-30s, with a job and kids, like me, and he was just super busy. And the wheels didn’t fit over his new Wilwood calipers. Score, me!
TheHondaBro
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 18:06 |
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301st VIEWER LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!
TahoeSTi
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 19:20 |
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At least give us an anchor tag to the same spot in the article, That’s how the internet works bro.
Brian, The Life of
> Hooniverse K
06/22/2015 at 20:12 |
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There are no bosses anymore. Tell Tim, Mitch, Jeff, Pete, BJ and all the other folks that Brian said we really want them to come on back and be part of the Oppo community again. It’s time to truly heal the Great Schism and, besides, Maurice ain’t here no more, man.