Loanerlopnik, final thoughts.

"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97) 05/15/2019 at 13:16 • Filed to: None

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After !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! post, I’ve got a few final thoughts. First, I’m surprised to learn how many cars still, for some reason, have a pedal operated parking brake, and that people even like them. I look at them as a problem that I thought everyone has solved long ago. That said, if you’ve got have one, I do prefer one with a handle release instead of having to push the pedal down further like this explorer. Doing this foot release push thing is awkward, but I’m sure I’d get used to it if I drove such a car regularly.

The last car I owned with a pedal parking brake was my 99 Escalade, which given the GMT400 platform dates from 1988 I considered a forgivable sin. The last time personally saw one in a modern car was on a Kia Optima rental car on a Florida trip around 2010ish. It struck me at the time as out of place on a modern car, but I chalked it up as one of the (probably now former) Korean car 90% solution compromises. I was surprised to hear from you all that still have them in newer cars. Almost every 2000+ car I’ve driven has been either a hand brake, or an E-brake with a button. I learned something new.

My overall verdict of “not bad” stands. I won’t be in the market for an explorer, but if one wanted a tall car for the family truckster there are certainly worse choices to be had.

I had a number errands to run during the work day yesterday (important stuff like procuring a large quantity of BBQ from the BBQ guy for our annual BBQ and picnic on the last working day of the semester for faculty). I came to like this small, presumably dedicated, cubby hole for the proximity key. There are a lot of newer cars I’ve been in that felt like they needed a dedicated spot for the key, since my habit of keeping my keys in my left pocket has a way of making some percentage of proximity systems unhappy that the key isn’t closer to the center console. Putting keys in my right pocket just doesn’t feel right, so I tend to put the key somewhere in the console, and taking up a whole cup holder for just the hey always feels inefficient. This cubby hole for the key makes me happy.

At the end of the day I got my truck back. Beyond not particularly caring about the two minor recalls it was in for, I had in part procrastinated on getting them done due to this being the first time since I drove it off the lot with 6 miles on it that someone other than me had touched a fastener on the truck. I’m happy to have it back, and with any luck it will be at least another two years and 34k before anyone else’s wrench but mine touches it again. Ford can also stop sending me letters about outstanding recalls.

It also got a light Svending over the weekend in the form of an interior clean and detail, wash, claybar and coat of wax and trim and tire dressing. Now that I’m done with houselopnik projects for awhile, I can go back to doing normal things like having clean vehicles.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 13:22

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I love your truck and it makes me want to go out and by a regular cab short bed truck every time you post.

For Sweden > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 13:25

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Why is the proximity key so enormous?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > For Sweden 05/15/2019 at 13:27

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That is a great question.  I’d be happy if modern key fobs were about half the size they are.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 13:35

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Your light Svending sounds like an all day affair to me. We have wildly different definitions of light ;)

I do not particularly enjoy detailing my cars, though. Light for me is a two bucket wash and blow dry. Sometimes I’ll use the wax and dry after the wash and I waxed my car once last year. Using a claybar seems out of my comfort zone. Anything where it seems like there is 10 ways to mess up your paint for every one way to make it nice, I’m probably not going to feel confident doing.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 05/15/2019 at 13:44

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It is an all day affair on the truck. I’ve become a pretty big fan of clay bar. It does a supremely good job at paint cleaning/prep (at least on a finish in generally good condition not in need of correction), and it is actually really easy to do. As you go along, you can really feel in the way the clay glides over the paint when it has done its’s thing. I find it deeply satisfying.

As long as the car is clean and you don’t drop the clay bar on the ground, there isn’t much risk of things going wrong. There’s certainly a lot less that can go wrong than traditional paint correction via machine compounding/polishing.

A less light Svending would involve paint correction and/or adding gloss via a non-abrasive polish with a glossifier , and then wax/sealing.

Overall, I think the best bang for the buck/effort return is probably just doing a car with a coat of a good cleaner wax a couple of times a year. That’ll give a pretty darn good looking car and provide a pretty decent amount of protection for not a whole lot of time or effort put into it.

functionoverfashion > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 05/15/2019 at 13:50

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lol it’s all relative. Light cleaning for me involves spraying the car with a garden hose, full stop.

functionoverfashion > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 13:54

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If only there was a place to put a key when you go t into the car... l ike, a dedicated slot for it , somewhere easy for the driver to reach, maybe right on the dash or the steering column. And then instead of a separate push-button, you could just like, rotate the key to start the car! That would be so simple! It wouldn’t even have to have the proximity chip inside, so it could be much smaller, and cheaper to replace! Maybe someday...

[/ heavy sarcasm]

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 05/15/2019 at 13:54

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Thanks. I continue to be deeply impressed by this truck. It is an odd little configuration (with a whole lot of power and short gearing), but it is perfect for I do with it. 4x4 would’ve been nice, but not actually necessary, and it certainly would’ve been more expensive.    

BigBlock440 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 13:56

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Just curious, what makes a foot-operated parking brake a problem?  And why would a hand operated one be better on something like a truck/SUV/CUV?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > functionoverfashion 05/15/2019 at 13:59

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This. Or proximity systems that don’t care if the key is in my left pocket.  Funny enough, being a lower trim level truck my 2017 F-150 actually does have the rotating place to hold the key.  I don’t mind it at all.  

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 14:12

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Cosidering that 90+% of AT drivers don’t seem to bother with the parking brake  I’m surprised that they’re even still a thing. By now I would have expected automatic parking brake actuation when putting the vehicle in park, even though that would be expensive and prone to an expensive failure.

It pains me to see a vehicle rocking back and forth on its tiny little parking pawl. I am reluctant to buy a used car with an AT if I find out that the PO didn’t use the parking brake.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > BigBlock440 05/15/2019 at 14:18

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I guess it shouldn’t be problem, per se, but it strikes me as such an outdated way to solve that problem. I don’t need an extra pedal in the footwell

I find a hand operated brake on the console to be far more convenient, and it ergonomically falls to hand right after you’ve put the gear shift in park (or whichever gear you’re going to leave a manual in). They’re also most certainly more fun (not to say that I’ve never effected a parking brake U-turn with foot operated brake in some of my former trucks , but it certainly isn’t ideal).

The real problem I see is the added weight and complexity on any mechanical parking brake. I view it  as a problem that’s been solved. Put a switch on the dash or console and put a small stepper motor on each caliper. Smaller, lighter and no cables or mechanism to freeze in the ski area parking lot. Perhaps the only disadvantage is the computer in my F-150 won’t let you activate the parking brake above a few mph. Even looking at replacement costs, I don’t see much of a down side. A new rear caliper with the motor for my truck isn’t outrageously expensive.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > functionoverfashion 05/15/2019 at 14:22

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Haha glad to know I’m not the only one here

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/15/2019 at 14:26

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This. I’d venture if most folks saw what the parking pawl was they’d feel less inclined to rely solely on it. That said, the fact most people do and don’t suffer problems must be an eventuality this is engineered into them.

Given the e-brake on my F-150 is controlled by the PCM over the canbus, programming it to automatically apply in park strikes me as they way to go. It doesn’t require any additional hardware or change the way the brake works, and you could eliminate the manual switch on the dash. If I had to guess, having the ability to manually operated a parking brake is probably something enshrined in all the various state and federal statues and regulations governing motor vehicles, even though I see it as a function that should probably be automated these days instead of left to driver discretion.

facw > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 05/15/2019 at 14:27

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I always set the parking brake in my automatic. It still rolls until it hits the pawl. The brake does something, but I think it probably should be significantly stronger.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 14:28

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That makes sense, and I’ve wanted to try it. Maybe I’ll have his stigness give me a lesson. Paint correction seems terrifying to me. I’m leaving that to the professionals. Waxing does give you a pretty good return on your time investment, so I haven’t really wanted to do much else.

It’s wild to me hearing everyone doing paint corrections on their brand new, or like new vehicles. I think the paint on my VW still looks pretty good. In 13 years, the most I’ve done was mother’s wax (or similar) and honestly not as often as I should. Is there a whole world of paint quality I’m missing out on? It looks clean and shiny, so that basically makes me happy.

However, the 348 has single stage paint and there are some swirls and light damage. I know that needs a correction.

loki03xlh > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 14:50

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“I guess it shouldn’t be problem, per se, but it strikes me as such an outdated way to solve that problem. I don’t need an extra pedal in the footwell”

That’s how most drivers feel about clutch pedals.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 05/15/2019 at 14:53

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I terms of orange peel, there is certainly room for improvement on even the most expensive of new cars. I clay bared my F-150 a few weeks after I got it. The amount of (presumably ) environmental contamination from the manufacturing/shipping/sitting on the lot for a few months process was astounding. My clay bar has never removed as much contamination as it did when the truck was brand new. Clay baring a brand new vehicle was an unexpectedly educational activity.

Minor paint cleaning/ correction via something like a modern mild polishing compound with a DA or random orbital buffer is pretty easy to get good results and unlikely to swirl as long as you don’t do anything stupid. That said, I probably wouldn’t pick your 348 as the first car to learn on. More aggressive stuff like a cutting compound with a rotary buffer certainly brings more risk of things going wrong, and wet sanding and compounding takes it to another level.  

Beyond liking the looks, my real motivation for Svending is to extend the life of the paint on my vehicles. In the high desert, the combination of more intense UV radiation at altitude and being almost perpetually bright sunny days means that most cars that spend significant time outside during the day will start having clear coat failure and peeling by the time they’re 8-10 years old without intervention.

For the effort, I really like M other’s or Meguire’s s cleaner wax (especially in paste form). Cheap, easy and quick. 

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > loki03xlh 05/15/2019 at 15:00

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Fair enough.  Despite that I love a good manual transmission, I’ll also be the first to admit they’re a technical problem that has been solved.  Modern dual clutch boxes are so very good, and even traditional automatics have gotten very, very good.  Were I buying a BRZ, I’d pick the manual, but if I were buying a cayman I’d have to think really hard about choosing the slower option over the PDK box.

BigBlock440 > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 15:01

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Ah, console shifters.  Those are a thing that shouldn’t exist in trucks/SUVs/CUVs, and just eat up interior space for no benefit.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > BigBlock440 05/15/2019 at 15:04

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I see them as a wise use of console space (I can only use so many cup holders in the center console at the same time), and a more convenient way to manually control gears in certain towing situations. I also don’t consider this explorer, or any CUV/unibody SUV, to have anything to do with trucks. That may be an old-school bias on my part.

This is actually one of the only things I dislike about my 2017 F-150. They don’t offer a full console on a regular cab truck. Mine has the large flip down console and a bunch of wasted space in front of it instead of a full console. Mine does get a few redeeming points for having a +/- thump toggle  switch toward the column shiftier for manual gear control. This is much better than the traditional moving the entire column shiftier for manual shifting.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2019 at 15:37

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I forgot about the amount of orange peel new cars have these days. I remember seeing a new Maserati that looked like shit. Paint correction makes sense now that you mention it. Maybe the fresh, soft paint, combined with shipping is the cause. I never really thought a new car would have contamination. TIL.

I can imagine your environment kills paint. We get a lot of UV here, but temps are moderate and there isn’t much sand blowing around. You are more than justified with your definition of light in that situation ;)

wafflesnfalafel > BigBlock440 05/15/2019 at 21:39

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C an’t keep the car from rolling on a hill or any other reason like any hand operated unit... same issue with the fancy new ‘lectric ones too. Turns it into nothing but strictly a parking brake.  I know many folks that prefer them, (like foot operated high beams,) but I personally don’t like them.  I had one on a 2018 Charger I rented, “where the heck is the... oh...”

functionoverfashion > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 05/16/2019 at 09:02

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Our 2012 Volvo is in proximity key purgatory where you have to stick it in the dash, but there’s a push-button start right above that. Then, once it’s running, you can take the key out completely and, though I have not tested this, I’m pretty sure you could leave it somewhere and drive away, which would be bad.

BigBlock440 > wafflesnfalafel 05/16/2019 at 10:58

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That’s an interesting use of a parking brake.  Most of my manual experience is with trucks, so that’s something I never considered.