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Cake day: June 16th, 2025

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  • With 8 or 9 speeds, you still never really leave that ideal torque band while driving, no modern engine is so peaky that you’re off peak torque after 100 rpm. The rubber banding sounds/feels weird to me too, even though it’s not inherently bad.

    Turbo cars in particular have very long flat torque curves.

    Also, what IS the sweet spot? Just like on an auto, it’s software that determines what ratio to use in a CVT. Software is not infallible. Sure they test it, but at the end of the day there’s several factors to balance. There is no “ideal”.

    Seriously. If you’re looking for a new car, don’t discount them. Research them. They swap the ZF 8HP into monstrous builds now because of its ability to take shit and its ability to put power into the wheels. ZF engineers managed to make it shift better, have more gears, be more fuel efficient… and at the same time, be more reliable AND contain fewer parts than their outgoing 6 speed. The 9G-tronic is just as good if not better, but only available in Mercedes and very few other cars (Nissan 400Z, Astons). I had one and it made my 2 liter 143kW diesel feel faster than my current remapped 3 liter diesel around 200ish kW.

    For my next automotive mishap, I’m considering either the ZF or Aisin 8 speed mated to a V8. Haven’t tried the newer Aisin box yet, but the 6 speed in my first gen Cayenne S was the most solid part of the car lol. I’ve got two terrible ideas and one great idea lined up but since the great idea is a Lexus, it means twice the fuel consumption and less comfort than the horrible ideas. The Lexy is also available as a hybrid with CVT and more power but everyone said its the worse car despite being way more expensive than the 8 speed auto non-hybrid


  • I’m in Europe, but latitude is about the same as Anchorage, Alaska.

    For winter it’s not uncommon to have auxiliary heating that starts off a remote or app. Plus you wear clothes to make up for it

    Summer is like 4-5 minutes of idling and then it’s not TOO bad to get inside. Unless you parked straight in the sun and your first drive of the day is in the afternoon.

    Best car I’ve ever owned was a rusty 2003 MB E-class. 4 zone climate went down to 12C, seats were heated and ventilated, and you could set it to run the interior fan for 30 min with ignition off. 1000 miles to a tank of diesel.

    Cost me a whopping 3k. They’re available as diesels in the US too (2005 MY only) and last about a million miles, but US did not get the diesel in the wagon body style I had, which made it the ultimate do-anything car







  • Yeah, but then you give PayPal a whole bunch of control over your bank account. IIRC they can just withdraw whenever they want?

    With card payments, there’s chargebacks for fraudulent transfers or if a vendor refuses a refund on fraudulent grounds. Those are just not a thing for bank transfers, at least not where I come from.

    Personally, most of the time I make a payment, it’s a bank transfer (they’re instant most of the time anyway between SEPA accounts and under 10k per transfer or whatever). But there are many benefits of a card payment. Others include: Collecting points (on credit cards in some countries, or something like a Revolut card on any plan other than the free one), purchase insurance, etc.

    People are always going to want to make card payments. We need better alternatives in the card company space, and standards to make sure every vendor can accept payments from every card type.











  • I can’t even stand clothes that rub against my skin the wrong way, let alone car seats lol. Maybe some sort of sensory overload issue for me.

    Where I live, it gets so cold you can’t drive away right after starting the engine anyway, you won’t see through your windows. You start the engine and heated seats and heated rear window (and front if you have a Ford) and then start clearing the ice off your windows.

    In the summer, hot car is hot regardless of seats. Start the car and AC, have a cigarette or finish your chat, then get in the car.


  • boonhet@sopuli.xyztomemes@lemmy.worldCreative Title
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    11 hours ago

    I know some of those, but they don’t count.

    Most of those are still just going to use Visa and Mastercard underneath to process payments by card… Since those are mostly all Visa or Mastercard. There are exceptions but those are regional.

    There are a lot of “payment processors” but only 2 major card companies and that’s an issue.