PNW Chit Chat thread

[e30austin]

This is the best e30 in the world:



http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...=18376/url/url

http://youtu.be/QfTnzOcBbMI

http://youtu.be/2EDc9dsPrI8

Carry on.

Long live Norway!!!!

[Habla]

My dream car, no joke. C'ept with an s54

[Mlarsen]

Did anyone watch top gear the last 2 weeks? I always love the specials but this one vary good.

[ClausE30]

Fuck final projects.

Truth! Three more days then I can work on my car again..

[ethrtyiS]

I think those that have already experienced it, just told you how your first year was going to go. Sell the car, take out less of a loan, use the bus pass, study and party your ass off.

It's all optimistic thinking for you know, but those who graduate with the smallest amount of debt, wins. So, unless you have the unborrowed money in the bank, ditch as many unnecessary expenses as you can.

/old man talk

i'm not selling my car. that's out of the question. i'd like to keep her as long as i can until she ends up dying in a roll over on the track or something of the sort. i'm not entirely worried about education loan debt. i figured i'd have it paid off by the time i'm 30-35. so that's not an issue really.

I came from AZ and with two years out of state and two years in state I probably have over 60k in combined debt. What's $3k for an e30 at the end of the day?

Your first year of college (and most of the others) you won't use your car. Seattle is so walking/bus friendly that you literally just won't use it. I'd leave it at home and forget about it. That said, you can find an apartment with parking for 700-800/month in the uDistrict or rent a room with a parking space for 500+.

I fought hard when I moved up here to have a car, tooth and nail, threw everything I had at it and my first two years there were maybe a dozen times total that I even sat in one. Going from driving 40+ miles/day to zero was a total non-issue. Seattle having so many car-sharing services these days also changes everything.

You could also always dorm-park your car for like $150/month or there are a ton of places in the uDistrict that will just rent you a spot for $50/month. Realistically though, you'll regret bringing it if you do just because you'll never ever use it.

And you'll be the one guy with a car. And everyone wants to be his friend.

right, i'm still very undecided as i'd prefer driving back to cali than flying as it just complicate things and in the end ends up being roughly the same amount of money once all is said and done. plus, i'd like to still go to the picnic and the other meets in town. that, or perhaps purchase another vehicle there, although, i'd rather have a cali car. :)

Agreed. My freshman & sophomore years at UW were spent in the dorms, best two years of my life hands-down. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Live on campus or do the frat thing, whichever works best for you. But either way, enjoy the atmosphere and the experience.

yeah, that's my plan.

get a bicycle!!

...Or a scooter. Cheapest & fastest way to get around Seattle. 90mpg ruckus, fill up every 1.5 weeks for $5...

And live in the dorms, you won't ever get to do it again. I wish I could.

i was thinking of purchasing a motorcycle here for the time being until i transfer and then selling it because i figured if it snows and rains a lot, i'm not going to be riding it. however, if it seems like it will be practical, then i'll definitely bring it. either way, i'm bringing one of my bikes down for sure.

This ^1


In WA you don't have to insure motorcycles/scooters either. I bought my first for $650 just because I couldn't afford a crap car (and its maintenance/insurance). But then at $125/yr for full insurance coverage, I wised up before anything dumb happened.

yeah, i'd be getting insurance anyways.

Also, UW parking for scooters/motorcycles is like, $50 a quarter.

that's bad ass. perhaps i will get a motorcycle after all down there. any r75 cafe racers?

[mulletman]

This is the best e30 in the world:



http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/sh...=18376/url/url

http://youtu.be/QfTnzOcBbMI

http://youtu.be/2EDc9dsPrI8

Carry on.

Too much stretch-n-poke for my taste. Nice car, though!

[e30austin]

My dream car, no joke. C'ept with an s54

They're overrated, but the powerband is insane, though. US S50/52 is very similar power for a fraction of the price. Get yourself a set of Euro S50 ITB's and you're good to go!

[cg138]

hey, any of you peeps attend or have attended university of washington?

Yes, graduated this past June.

do you live off campus? will be visiting in june and wanted to see the campus before i attend and i wanted to know where the best place is to live. what would you recommend?

I've live with my parents and commuted, lived in the dorms, lived in the U-Dist, and lived slightly further from the U-Dist but still close to UW.

For the first year? Dorm (or Greek, if you're into that sorta thing). Hands down.

Living anywhere but on/near campus will completely remove you from the college experience and environment that is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Start in the dorms if you can and branch out from there. But definitely, definitely, definitely live in the uDistrict for at least a year or two if you're going to UW.

I guess much of the option of living with parents further away from campus is not really relevant to ethrtyiS since he's from out of state. He either has to live in a dorm, in U-Dist, near to U-Dist but not quite in it (Wallingford, Eastlake, Laurelhurst, etc). I guess he could live far away from campus, but I can't imagine he would do such a thing being brand new to the area.

With that said, living somewhere is a sunk cost. He's from out of state, and he's gotta live somewhere. The two real decisions for him are the trades between cheaper rent and commuting further and longer or living closer, but having a higher cost of living. And what kind of social life would he more likely have in either situations.

Beyond the social aspect, dorming the first year is just going to be easier because the hardest decision is trying to figure out what dorm you want to be in. You don't have to worry about finding a good location or a decent apartment that you like; you don't really have to worry about a landlord. However, you do lose a degree of freedom in the dorms (quiet hours, no underage drinking, etc.).

got it, thanks!


this is my biggest issue, i want to be in the udisctrict preferrably and was considering just dorming my first year or so that way i can meet people and whatnot. i want to be able to walk places and have my car parked most of the time, in a parking space.

Dorm the first year. It's part of the whole college experience. Not dorming in and of itself cannot stop someone from meeting new people and making friends, but the dorms will certainly be a catalyst in meeting new people. Most of the people who live in the dorms are freshmen and sophomores, and to almost all freshmen, it'll be a new experience of living away from parents for the first time and in a place where everyone starts virtually fresh socially. Take advantage of that; you'll have memories that you'll otherwise never experience or have. Also, by sophomore or junior year, people will have already started to get ingrained into their "group(s)" of friends, and it'll be harder to break into them. The friends that I made when I dormed are now some of my best friends.

In terms of the car, I say leave it at home for the first year. I know it sucks and you'll miss it, but it's just so expensive and such a clusterfuck parking in U Dist. Until you've lived here for a year and know the area better, I would advise against it. Plus, distance is going to make your heart grow fonder.

living near campus doesn't have anything to do with going Greek or the dorms, it is about community and shared social experience. The college experience as a whole is such a unique part of ones' life that really cant be replicated at another part of life.

Agree, though I would argue that the Greek system or the dorms are easily accessible, relatively set methods of creating that community and shared social experience. It's entirely possible to self-create similar experiences through clubs or organizations, and even classes (though classes would be very tough to do that in).

ruin is strong, it's just different. Being at the mercy of parking, busses, etc to do anything on campus is a pain. The intrinsic distance from campus separates you from a lot of stuff outside of class. There are a lot of opportunities to live one place and commute to your daytime life. How many times do you get to share something as unique as the student life with 20,000 people who are all doing the same thing within 15 blocks of you?

Personally, agreed again. In the end, it is different strokes for different folks, but when I commuted the first year of college, I took the bus to and from school everyday. I couldn't stay any later than 10pm because there weren't really any buses that would conveniently take me home, that's not considering that at that time of night, that bus was down to one trip per hour.

There are going to be numerous times when you'll want to stay late on campus for whatever reason, whether it's for late night tutoring, group projects or just to part. If you live close by, this is much less of a concern, but if you can't walk or bike the distance, you'll be constrained to using the, IMO, atrocious bus system. You'll have to check the bus schedule and worry about missing the bus. What a pain.

Talking of living a ways away from campus being a pain, one time, I forgot to bring my physics lab workbook with me to school. I had to take the bus home to get it, then bus back. Not a big deal if you're living in the dorms or close by, right? Yeah, well, I had three hours until the lab, and it took me more than three hours to take the bus, grab the workbook, and bus back. I barely made it in the lab's tardy grace period. This same commute by car would have taken 30-45 minutes.

After that, and a host of other things, I said fuck it and did whatever I had to do to dorm the next year.

I guess for my circumstance, it was either be in debt or not. I assume the guy looking at uw out of state doesn't have this issue; live around campus, just know that parking Is a nightmare if you intend on having your car nearby

If your parents are nearby, then living with them is certainly a decent option just because of the amount of dough that you save. Personally, I would still live one year on campus, then the rest of the years at home to get the experience. Yeah, it'll suck more then because you would have had a taste of freedom already, but in that case, it's kind of best of both worlds.

I have student debt, partly to be able to live on and near campus. Looking back, I would do the same thing all over again. In the grand scheme of things, the cost difference between living a little further away, living in U-Dist and living on campus is small, but you'll likely have much different experiences with the three different options, and I would argue the living on campus and in U-Dist experience is one worth having.

Parking is generally a nightmare in UW area. I wouldn't recommend having a car if you're living in the dorms. Once you know the area and move into an apartment or house, then yes, bring your car. Still a nightmare then, but one you'll have to deal with.

budget is still somewhat a concern for me, however i will be pulling out loans. i'm well aware of parking issues around campus' so i'm hoping to get a place with a parking spot. plus, i'll be doing more walking than driving, which is complete opposite of what i'm doing now.

Dorms offer parking spots, but I think they are excessively expensive. I wouldn't park my car in just some random lot. Crime is pretty bad in Udist. Like I said again, I recommend that you wait until you are out of the dorms to bring your car.


What are you looking to study?

Meet Heidi, She's a 1988 325, and shes beautiful:

IMG_1478 by Wschnitz, on Flickr

Drove her around for a good 3 hours, probably the best E30 driving experience I've had so far.

Looking nice! Glad that you finally found something you can settle on. :up:

[5Toes]

Did anyone watch top gear the last 2 weeks? I always love the specials but this one vary good.

I did the day they came out... I loved it too!

[ethrtyiS]

^^ thanks, very informative.

i'm definitely dorming my first year and then becoming a resident after that and living in an apartment/house. i guess i'll have to rent a parking spot or see if a buddy of mine will take care of the car for me while i'm gone then.

i'm going for computer engineering.

[Habla]

Too much stretch-n-poke for my taste. Nice car, though!

Some more meat would be good, I agree.

They're overrated, but the powerband is insane, though. US S50/52 is very similar power for a fraction of the price. Get yourself a set of Euro S50 ITB's and you're good to go!

Interesting. It's like 320 to 250 though, no? Similar torque maybe...

[DrJosh]

They're overrated, but the powerband is insane, though. US S50/52 is very similar power for a fraction of the price.

[e30austin]

Some more meat would be good, I agree.



Interesting. It's like 320 to 250 though, no? Similar torque maybe...

A local guy had one in his E30. I think it was 282 whp. My friend's Z3M S52 makes 280 whp with Conforti shark tune and M50 mani. YMMV, though.

[dashboardmonkey]

Last two episodes of top gear uk were awesome.

[2mAn]

I should be asleep but the hamster in my head is active. have a bunch of different ideas on what motor to swap into my car