I’ve been telling you guys since all this started.

It’s also keeping up with the times. Working on newer cars means newer tools. I picked up a set of E Torx Plus sockets because while my old set of E Torx works it’s not the tool for this particular job.

Owning old Mercedes and BMWs it’s the exact opposite.

They simply don’t care about mileage, they run the same at 40k as they do at 200k. It’s the age that kills all the rubber, bushings and vacuum lines.

In my age I’m so much more efficient than I was at 20. Like you said having a lift, heat and the budget for the right tools and the patience to do it right/wait for the right used part to show up has made wrenching much more enjoyable.

I have a new DD, wrenching is now (almost) purely for fun. I love it more than ever.

Your writing is far above what we see normally here at Jalopnik.

Please keep it up and make Jalopnik much more enjoyable.

To some extent sure but putting short ratios behind it won’t transform the engine.

For a more pedestrian example think about a Jeep 4 liter. It’ll feel peppier off the line and around town with 4.10s (using rear end ratio changes in leiu of trans ratio changes because it’s relatable) but that straight 6 won’t turn into…

A V12 should always have adequate power. By adequate I don’t mean “Meh” but truly up to the task.

I don’t need to blast through 6 gears getting on an on ramp but passing at 70 to 90 should be sportbike level effortless. Too much power makes it abrupt, far from the soothing intent of the vehicle.

People who test drive…

You don’t own a helicopter?

Get the hell off my persian rug lawn.

You’ve never owned a V12 then, they’re glorious.

Nothing so special as going to the parts store and asking for 12 BKR6EQUPs

In the Fiesta it’s a huge upgrade. In the Focus is labors a bit. However it’s not nearly as bad as people who have not driven them suggest.

In S class trim they actually drive quite differently.

The V8 is more rev happy, more sporting. The V12 is thrust without contemplation.

This is exactly why bench racing is a worthless pursuit, paper tells you nothing about differences in character.

The Sienna I had was almost 300 hp, it has their 3.5 liter in it. Google says it’s 0-60 in around 7 seconds!

You pull the parking brake.

That’s always on deck plan B.

I drove the road to Hanna in a rental minivan following a local in an old toyota truck. Puts any of the driving theatrics of Roma to shame.

Truth hurts my friend.

I’ve looked into these, the problem is every single part is gold plated. If it’s not covered under warranty even simple things like front brakes are a $1800 endeavor minimum .

To replace a single ball joint it’s $600 because you need to replace the complete control arm.

You need to drive more AWD cars with performance suspension and alignment.

You math is far far to simplified to say anything meaningful.

You don’t touch one weight transfer, torque bias (F/R) or front suspension geometry mid corner.

RWD and AWD cars, especially performance oriented are not set up the same way at all, you need to account for this. It plays a much larger role than this engine…

NASCAR only goes in circles. Idiots! My toilet goes in circles just fine!