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How Texas Muscle Car Clubs Compete In Bracket Racing · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:02
  unknown: Yeah.
• 0:05
  Don Armstrong: Always try to blend it on Mars.
• 0:08
  Don Armstrong: Hello and good morning from our dual city studios in Texas, USA.
• 0:12
  Don Armstrong: It's the award-winning Invil Type Car Talk Show.
• 0:14
  Don Armstrong: Just ahead.
• 0:15
  Don Armstrong: Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge finishes its spring season tomorrow, so we get an update.
• 0:21
  Don Armstrong: Plus, Jeff has engine problems, five engines giving big automakers big problems.
• 0:29
  Don Armstrong: And Mr.
• 0:29
  Don Armstrong: Mars has summer water parks in this week's driving destinations.
• 0:33
  Don Armstrong: Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars.
• 0:36
  Don Armstrong: We always need more Jeff Seek.
• 0:39
  Don Armstrong: Don Armstrong here, David Ainsley sleeping in and watching from his bed.
• 0:44
  Don Armstrong: Make sure that everything goes just the way it's supposed to.
• 0:47
  Don Armstrong: I'm sure the phone is ringing in the back office as we speak.
• 0:51
  Don Armstrong: Because nothing ever goes right.
• 0:53
  Don Armstrong: Well, so glad that you could join us on this hot Saturday from our Houston, Texas studios.
• 0:59
  Don Armstrong: And uh I will tell you that uh there's no rain in the forecast this weekend.
• 1:03
  Don Armstrong: So hope you get to have the grass cut by at least now.
• 1:10
  Don Armstrong: Either that or wait until about seven o'clock tonight when the sun goes down.
• 1:13
  Don Armstrong: That's what you're doing, yeah.
• 1:14
  Mike Marrs: Okay, it'll only be nine.
• 1:16
  Don Armstrong: Well, this is a car show, and we talk about all things automotive here, including racing, because racing is a big part of the automotive industry, and uh so many innovations have come about in the car industry through racing, so we thought we'd incorporate that into our show as well.
• 1:33
  Don Armstrong: And with that in mind, we're gonna go to Mr.
• 1:36
  Don Armstrong: Scott Stregel, and he is with the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 1:41
  Don Armstrong: What he's not here yet.
• 1:43
  Mike Marrs: He says he's gonna be a little bit more.
• 1:44
  Don Armstrong: Wait a minute, I thought that you just got off the phone with him.
• 1:46
  Mike Marrs: Well, I did, and he's saying his computer's running slow, it doesn't want to log in after.
• 1:52
  Don Armstrong: Okay, all right.
• 1:54
  Don Armstrong: Well, that's not good.
• 1:57
  unknown: Yeah.
• 1:58
  Don Armstrong: So what would you like to do, Mr.
• 2:00
  Don Armstrong: Mars?
• 2:00
  Don Armstrong: I know that you got your tap dancing shoes on, so get up and give us a little jig.
• 2:06
  Mike Marrs: What?
• 2:07
  Mike Marrs: I've got lots of tap dancing.
• 2:08
  Don Armstrong: Okay, well, take it away.
• 2:09
  Don Armstrong: It's tutu.
• 2:11
  Mike Marrs: Yeah.
• 2:12
  Mike Marrs: Well, one of the things is you know, we were talking about they're gonna take this break because of the heat.
• 2:16
  Mike Marrs: Uh it is hot down here, and you always have to wonder if it's hot, but you know, how would it affect the track and affects the cars and stuff?
• 2:26
  Mike Marrs: So let's just ask Scott that question.
• 2:28
  Don Armstrong: There you go.
• 2:29
  Don Armstrong: Is he with us now?
• 2:30
  Mike Marrs: He's Scott.
• 2:32
  Mike Marrs: Morning.
• 2:33
  Don Armstrong: Morning.
• 2:35
  Don Armstrong: Well, what yeah, what do you got?
• 2:36
  Don Armstrong: Are you still working on a cup and string over there trying to get on the air with us?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: It decided this morning that it wanted to do updates and it wasn't connecting to the internet.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, why this morning?
• 2:49
  Don Armstrong: Do you have an internet?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:51
  Don Armstrong: Who who's your internet provider?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: ATT fiber.
• 2:56
  Jeff Dziekan: Oh my goodness.
• 2:57
  Jeff Dziekan: Who do you think you are?
• 2:58
  Jeff Dziekan: In wheel time or something.
• 3:00
  Jeff Dziekan: Not getting on the air.
• 3:02
  Jeff Dziekan: What are you trying to be us?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: You are us.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: What makes me laugh is some of the people out here bought it, drank that Kool-Aid from Never Heard of that came out here and said, I can do this and it's cheaper.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And they go down the easy, easy.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Every they'll go down internet.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I went through with contest.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: We've seen offers that have ATT.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's it's funny because I see them go down and they constantly post on Facebook, we're down on internet again.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, you know, if you would have just signed up for ATT Fiber, you would never have any trouble.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: But what do I know?
• 3:38
  Don Armstrong: You know, I I will say this.
• 3:40
  Don Armstrong: But I'm when I moved into uh my new house and the new studios, um I was done with Comcast, uh, because it was always down, always a big problem.
• 3:52
  Don Armstrong: And so I went with ATT.
• 3:53
  Don Armstrong: I've not had one issue with them in the past nine, ten months now.
• 3:58
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 3:59
  Jeff Dziekan: So um so if we get on ATT, can we find out about the spring schedule for TMCCC?
• 4:04
  Jeff Dziekan: Can we find out about that?
• 4:06
  Jeff Dziekan: For what?
• 4:06
  Jeff Dziekan: Just saying the spring schedule.
• 4:08
  Jeff Dziekan: We do we really care.
• 4:10
  Jeff Dziekan: He was trying to make a segue there.
• 4:11
  Jeff Dziekan: I was trying to segue into what we're talking about.
• 4:13
  Don Armstrong: Okay, fine.
• 4:14
  Don Armstrong: As opposed to us griping about the internet.
• 4:17
  Don Armstrong: All right, well, let's talk racing then.
• 4:19
  Don Armstrong: So, how has the spring season gone?
• 4:21
  Don Armstrong: How many races have you got?
• 4:23
  Don Armstrong: Let's back up.
• 4:24
  Don Armstrong: Explain to everybody what the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge is.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, it's uh club or team on team, drag racing, uh bracket racing, if you will.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: We have uh categories from the basic street grocery getter all the way up to full-blown race cars and including electric uh vehicles, EVs.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we have a class for them that we started this year, specifically because electric vehicles have a clear advantage over fuel vehicles.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they don't care about weather where fuel vehicles do.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um anyway, we race uh pretty much all over Texas and uh southern parts of Oklahoma.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we do 10 to 14 races a year.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of that depends on weather on whether or not we're gonna get them all in or we're gonna get some in.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's a points-based system.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um you the more rounds you go, of course, the more points you garner for your team.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: And we also have individual awards for um those that sign up.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's called driver rewards, and they get points that go specifically for themselves.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the winner and the runner-up each year uh will get uh all of their races paid for for the winner, and the uh runner-up gets half the races paid for.
• 5:47
  Don Armstrong: So how many races in the spring season?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: We try to do six or seven.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this year's been a little difficult because the weather hasn't really paid uh played with us uh the right way much.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I've had to cancel a couple, I've had to postpone a couple to the fall.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not big on postponing because that kind of interrupts plans that people may have.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the tracks really like to uh make postpone races during July and August, and we're just not really into racing in July and August.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: It gets a little warm around here, you know.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, but we've uh we postponed one of the races.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing a doubleheader in the fall uh up in uh Oklahoma, where we're racing on a Saturday night and a Sunday uh morning.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: And the Mother's Day race, which we we we made special awards for and and stuff like that, got canceled at the last minute because it rained up in Wichita Falls.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: So we're kind of doing a Mother's Day in uh in August kind of thing.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: We postponed that one to August, and we'll talk more about that later, sometime um in August when we get together.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll promote that a little bit more.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: But so far we have I think four races in.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: We should have six.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we have our last race of the spring session tomorrow at Extreme Raceway Park in Ferris.
• 7:08
  Don Armstrong: Ferris, Texas.
• 7:09
  Don Armstrong: And is it eighth mile, quarter mile?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Ferris is eighth mile.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Most of our races are eighth mile.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: However, when we go up to Thunder Valley in Oklahoma, that's quarter mile.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and at uh Innis, uh, we've already been there, but we do quarter mile there.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: We we we limit it to quarter mile for the what we call the streetcar classes, which would be your street, your stock, and your king classes.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: They run on street tires, they do quarter mile.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Anything beyond that, um we limit to eighth mile mostly for the fact that it's cars are geared for eighth mile tracks.
• 7:45
  Jeff Dziekan: So you don't have quarter mile guys coming to the eighth mile races or their clubs or teams, do you?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: We do.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um because they like it.
• 7:54
  Jeff Dziekan: I didn't know if they were they were segregated because it's an eighth mile.
• 7:57
  Jeff Dziekan: They would rather run the quarter and then leave that uh the smaller race for the for the other contestants.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Given the fact that most tracks now have gone to eighth mile, most people are geared in, you know, like their rear ends are geared for eighth mile, their transmissions are geared for eighth mile.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um I like my car, my race car is is geared for eighth mile.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: I know what it'll do in a quarter mile.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: I've run a quarter mile, but I don't push it for a quarter mile because I'm not geared for it.
• 8:24
  Don Armstrong: Is it a manual or automatic transmission?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Mine's an automatic, but it was the transmission was built by Southern Hot Rod specifically for racing.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it shifts a lot harder and a lot differently and a lot higher RPMs than say your your basic street transmission.
• 8:39
  Don Armstrong: Does it shift in the eighth mile?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Three times or twice.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, twice.
• 8:44
  Don Armstrong: Twice.
• 8:45
  Don Armstrong: Twice.
• 8:46
  Don Armstrong: Wow, that's a lot.
• 8:48
  Don Armstrong: Eighth mile is not that long.
• 8:50
  Mike Marrs: No, you must have a pretty stout gear in the rear.
• 8:52
  Don Armstrong: It's like I'm at what is 700 feet or something.
• 8:54
  Don Armstrong: It's only an eighth of a mile.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's an eighth of a mile.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's not much, but I will shift from first into second, and then from second into third, and that's as far as I'll go.
• 9:07
  Don Armstrong: You know, it's funny because all I can think of is mom's Buick Skylark, and uh she never knew it, but I did put it on the quarter mile track, and I thought, well, I'll just put it into low.
• 9:19
  Don Armstrong: And and and I'll I'll do the shifting myself.
• 9:22
  Don Armstrong: Well, I I think I almost blew up the engine because I let it ride a little too long down there in first gear.
• 9:30
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, you you really need to know what you're doing if you're gonna shift an automatic transmission manually.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's these days a lot of cars are built to do that.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they'll have paddle shifters or yes, you can switch it over.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh mine was built to do that, but when I had the transmission redone, um I took that aspect out of it to where it's strictly I I put it into um drive and it like I said, it'll ship, but it doesn't shift until about 7,000 RPMs.
• 10:01
  Don Armstrong: Oh my.
• 10:02
  Don Armstrong: So what kind of car is well, yeah.
• 10:04
  Don Armstrong: What kind of transmission?
• 10:05
  Don Armstrong: What kind of car?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, my my car is a 2011 Dodge Charger, but it's not stock at all.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it runs six and a half second eighth miles.
• 10:15
  Don Armstrong: So you in other words, you've been diddling with it.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: Just a tiny bit.
• 10:20
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:21
  Don Armstrong: Uh and the transmission you said is uh custom built.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's built by Southern Hot Rods.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember what it is right off the top of my head.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, old age prevents you from remembering certain things.
• 10:34
  Don Armstrong: Everything.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:35
  Don Armstrong: Uh-huh.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I told my wife, one of these days she'll have to wear a name tag just so I can go.
• 10:41
  Jeff Dziekan: That's a good one.
• 10:42
  Jeff Dziekan: I'm gonna use that down the road, I can promise you.
• 10:44
  Jeff Dziekan: Just call her honey, that way you forgot a long time ago.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: But it's you know, the transmission's been built, it's got an aluminum drive shaft, it's got a 411 gearing uh Ford uh clone rear end in it.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the drive shafts are built by the drive shaft shop out in North Carolina um to withstand up to 1400 horsepower.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have that much, but you know just in case.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just in case.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, you know, it it takes almost 800 horsepower to generate the speed that I'm generating because I mean, let's face it, it's a charger, it's a fat ass 4,000-pound car.
• 11:23
  Don Armstrong: Yeah.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if I took that same horsepower and put it into an 1800-pound Mustang, um, yeah, I could run probably four second eighth miles.
• 11:33
  Don Armstrong: But well, let's talk about uh the classes and uh let's let's talk, let's talk about the classes, and what is the most full class that you currently have?
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: Probably right now we call it what we call competition muscle.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um that is basically any car that runs uh seven point, I think it's 7.45 or quicker, um, that has certain AIDS.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like you can have a two-stepper, you can have a um uh what do you call it?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm trying to think of what it what it's called.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um anyway, starting AIDS, it's not an airshifter.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: Air shifter has to go into a different class called electronics, but the competition muscle, um, we have everything in there from um basic race cars all the way up to small uh modifieds that go into so when when you have an event, um what obviously some guys like certain tracks, and there's probably one or two tracks that you guys go to where everybody goes.
• 12:41
  Don Armstrong: Which which tracks are those?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, our home track is Extreme Raceway Park, XRP in Ferris.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: We get more cars there, um, usually somewhere upwards in the neighborhood of 130 to 150 cars there.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 12:54
  Don Armstrong: In in in the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: In the a lot of clubs.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: I would say second would be the uh the uh motorplex up in Innis.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um we'll do about the same there.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um other than that, I would say maybe Thunder Valley and up uh up in Oklahoma.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's a quarter mile track.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: We will generate more cars at a quarter mile track.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um one of the things that I do also, and I started as president, is is every track has their own uh what we call letter designation.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: So after your car number, let's say your car number is 100, you put in your letter designation that designates what club your points go to.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I've generated lesard letter designations for every track so we can bring in local racers as well.
• 13:50
  Don Armstrong: Interesting.
• 13:51
  Don Armstrong: Uh so was this Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 13:55
  Don Armstrong: Is this your idea to put this group together?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, they've been around for 41 years.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was conceived, like I said, 41 years ago by a couple of guys that uh, and I I apologize, I can't remember their names off the top of my head, but they kind of conceived this idea of bringing clubs together to race and and giving a venue for people to race that you know didn't want to spend a whole bunch of money or or wanted something that was very much laid back, and that's what this is it's very much a family atmosphere.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I we've we've had people show up with their grandmothers and in motorhomes, and you know, they sit there and watch us race, and it doesn't cost a lot of money.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're you're talking 20 bucks to get in, and when you get in to spectate, you can see all the cars, you can walk around in the pitch, you can sit in the stands, you can do whatever you want.
• 14:50
  Don Armstrong: And you can ask Scott Striegel what's going on.
• 14:52
  Don Armstrong: So right, yeah.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: I have that all the time.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: People come up and they ask me questions, or they they uh they they see me wandering.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll tell you just real quick last year for the first time we went to uh Concho Valley in San Angelo, and we had a driver's meeting, of course, we'd never been there before, but I had people coming up to me in the pit area that were just telling me we've never seen anything like this before.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: This is fantastic.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: Are you guys coming back?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: We we generated more spectators there than we've ever generated anywhere we've ever been.
• 15:25
  Jeff Dziekan: So, this is more of a legal version of what you see on the TV, the street outlaws guys where they're in the dark in the back alley racing.
• 15:32
  Jeff Dziekan: So, this is more of bringing them out from behind the bushes and putting them on the track.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: And the other side of that coin is we're trying to get people out the street to um and you know, to be blunt, stop doing stupid things, right?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um get the kids, you know, stop being on the news because you're killing people or you're injuring people.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Come out to the track, uh, bring your car, show us what you got.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, none of us are are that uh proprietary that we're afraid to show you or talk to you or or anything about racing.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: You want to race your your your um I'm gonna date myself, but you want to race your Yugo, bring your Yugo.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: We don't care.
• 16:07
  Jeff Dziekan: You used to do that here in Houston when we had the Houston uh raceway park.
• 16:12
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, didn't you come up to yeah?
• 16:13
  Jeff Dziekan: So yeah, very familiar with them out here.
• 16:15
  Don Armstrong: Well, Scott, it's great to talk to you and uh congratulations on your success with what a great club, uh Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
• 16:22
  Don Armstrong: Uh, where can we go to learn more information on that?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: We have a website, it's tmcc.org.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, everything about TMCCC is on there.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: My phone number and email address is on there.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: So if there's some questions that uh you need answered that aren't answered or or whatever, you are welcome to get a hold of me.
• 16:44
  Don Armstrong: Well, Scott, it's great to talk to you.
• 16:46
  Don Armstrong: Best of luck uh this uh this this weekend, tomorrow in particular.
• 16:50
  Don Armstrong: And uh we hope to catch up with you sometime in August.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll see you guys in August.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk more about our fun Mother's Day in August race that we've got going on.
• 16:58
  Don Armstrong: Sounds great, man.
• 17:00
  Don Armstrong: Thanks again, man.
• 17:01
  Don Armstrong: Uh just ahead, Jeff's Car Culture, five engines that are no good.
• 17:06
  Don Armstrong: And Mars drives us to seven water parks after this break when the N-wheel time car talk show continues.
• 17:13
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• 18:50
  Don Armstrong: It's a fun ride.
• 18:52
  Don Armstrong: We hope that you'll join us.
• 18:53
  Don Armstrong: And by the way, uh next weekend we're gonna have a best of show.
• 18:56
  Don Armstrong: Yep.
• 18:56
  Don Armstrong: Uh and uh we're gonna have one of those rare weekends where we take time off for ourselves and our family.
• 19:04
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• 19:07
  Don Armstrong: All right, time now for Jeff's Car Culture Bad Engines by big brand names.
• 19:11
  Don Armstrong: Are you there, Mike?
• 19:13
  Jeff Dziekan: He's got it.
• 19:17
  Jeff Dziekan: Let me click it.
• 19:19
  Don Armstrong: Um Why don't you just go ahead and do it?
• 19:21
  Don Armstrong: Yeah, I'll just go ahead and do it.
• 19:22
  Don Armstrong: Thank you.
• 19:22
  Jeff Dziekan: All right.
• 19:23
  Jeff Dziekan: Well, uh, engines on this list were chosen because of ongoing recalls, owner complaints, clax, class action lawsuits, and government investigations over the past 12 months.
• 19:32
  Jeff Dziekan: To narrow it down, these specific choices, uh most popular vehicles from major brands, have been subject to large ongoing recalls over the last year.
• 19:40
  Jeff Dziekan: So very, very current.
• 19:42
  Jeff Dziekan: First one on the list is a Honda.
• 19:44
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh so 1.5 turbo.
• 19:45
  Jeff Dziekan: Honda generally enjoys a strong reputation for reliability, but there's some Hondas their engine buyers, uh, their engine of the engines and the buyers might want to steer clear of.
• 19:55
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh, one of these engines is the 1.5 liter turbo.
• 19:58
  Jeff Dziekan: It's a four-cylinder engine, uh, it's been around for a while and now powers some of Honda's best-selling models, including this uh Civic Accord, the CRV.
• 20:07
  Jeff Dziekan: Unfortunately, the engine's issues have also been known for a while, namely oil dilution and head gasket failures.
• 20:13
  Jeff Dziekan: A blown head gasket is not cheap for a quick repair, while Honda hasn't issued a factory recall for these problems.
• 20:19
  Jeff Dziekan: Ongoing 1.5 liter turbo issues have come continued to plague the company, including class action lawsuits.
• 20:27
  Jeff Dziekan: The next one on the books is a Nissan.
• 20:29
  Jeff Dziekan: It's a 1.5 liter uh turbo, it's a VC turbo.
• 20:33
  Jeff Dziekan: Things overall have not been great for Nissan recently, as the Japanese automakers worked to dig its way out of financial turmoil and the at the corporate level.
• 20:42
  Jeff Dziekan: The company's innovative yet often troublesome variable compression engines have been a major culprit behind recalls and owner complaints.
• 20:51
  Jeff Dziekan: The 2026 Nissan 1.5 is a three-cylinder turbo VC motor, has proven especially problematic, with the company recalling over 600,000 rogue SUVs for potentially catastrophic engine problems.
• 21:05
  Jeff Dziekan: If uh fortunate uh the fortunate sums affected by the engine will only need a throttle body replacement, so it's either one or the other.
• 21:12
  Jeff Dziekan: Very, very difficult to do.
• 21:14
  Jeff Dziekan: Here's one that we all know it's a General Motor 6.2 liter V8.
• 21:18
  Jeff Dziekan: Turns out through the simpler, naturally aspirated American V8 is not without its own problems.
• 21:24
  Jeff Dziekan: Specifically, we're talking about problems with the GM 6.2, which powers popular models like the best-selling Chevry Silverado, GMC Sierra pickups, as well as a Chevy Tahoe, GMC UConn, and the Cadillac Escalade.
• 21:39
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh well, the SUV's problem in the game Cadillac as well.
• 21:43
  Jeff Dziekan: Problems caused by defective internal components on the 6.2 has thus far led to recall over 700,000 trucks and not to mention ongoing class action.
• 21:53
  Jeff Dziekan: Lawsuits there's a theme there with class action.
• 21:55
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh GM says a possible solution is to change the recommended oil viscosity.
• 22:00
  Jeff Dziekan: Let's just start there.
• 22:01
  Jeff Dziekan: Blame it on the oil.
• 22:02
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
• 22:03
  Jeff Dziekan: However, questions remain about the effectiveness, and it hasn't really provided the L87 owners with any real peace of mind.
• 22:10
  Jeff Dziekan: And then we got one that we all know and love.
• 22:12
  Jeff Dziekan: It's been around forever, the Jeep two-liter turbo hybrid.
• 22:16
  Jeff Dziekan: This is an X4XE, is what they call it.
• 22:19
  Jeff Dziekan: Oh, four by E.
• 22:20
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, four by E.
• 22:21
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh, now the fast things can change in the auto industry back in 2021.
• 22:24
  Jeff Dziekan: The new Jeep Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee 4XE models, which use a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine combined with a plug-in hybrid electric power, were portrayed were portrayed as the future of the Jeep brand, and the 4XE powertrain has also been plagued by mechanical and electrical issues.
• 22:42
  Jeff Dziekan: Surely haven't seen help in this case for sticking around, uh, among other things.
• 22:46
  Jeff Dziekan: The 4XE had already been recalled for potentially battery fire issues, and then there was some uh another recall for possible casting sand uh left inside of the 4XE's two-liter turbo, which over 100,000 vehicles were recalled because of that.
• 23:02
  Jeff Dziekan: If the sand is inside the engine, it could lead not just to total engine failure, but also to a fire risk.
• 23:08
  Jeff Dziekan: And lastly, on the hit parade is a Toyota.
• 23:11
  Jeff Dziekan: Who would have thunk it?
• 23:12
  Jeff Dziekan: 3.4 liter twin turbo V6, traditionally one of the uh one bought new Toyota pickup, a reputation for reliability in the big selling components.
• 23:21
  Jeff Dziekan: The 3.4-liter twin turbo v6 engine powers Toyota Tundra pickups, Sequoia, uh SUVs, and has suffered significant problems since the debut in 2022.
• 23:32
  Jeff Dziekan: And they continue to put a den in Toyota's generally excellent reputation.
• 23:36
  Jeff Dziekan: As the 2026 ongoing uh catastrophes of the engine, it's an engine-bearing problems have been promoted.
• 23:42
  Jeff Dziekan: Uh Toyota's recalled over 250,000 trucks, and there's probably no remedy in sight for the near future, but uh they're still not completely immune from that's their V8.
• 23:53
  Jeff Dziekan: Yep, yep, yep.
• 23:54
  Don Armstrong: Gee whiz.
• 23:55
  Jeff Dziekan: That's it.
• 23:56
  Don Armstrong: Wait a minute.
• 23:56
  Don Armstrong: That's the same, well, basically the same engine that they race in NASCAR.
• 24:01
  Jeff Dziekan: Um, well, yeah, the 3.4.
• 24:04
  Jeff Dziekan: No, I think it's bigger than that.
• 24:04
  Jeff Dziekan: Is it twin?
• 24:05
  Jeff Dziekan: I don't know.
• 24:06
  Jeff Dziekan: They might.
• 24:07
  Jeff Dziekan: I don't know.
• 24:08
  Jeff Dziekan: I'll have to look into that.
• 24:09
  Don Armstrong: But yeah, but the 3.4, that's the V6.
• 24:11
  Don Armstrong: 3.4, yeah, V6.
• 24:13
  Don Armstrong: Oh, that's why I said V8.
• 24:15
  Don Armstrong: You said V okay.
• 24:16
  Don Armstrong: V6.
• 24:16
  Don Armstrong: Never mind.
• 24:17
  Jeff Dziekan: All right.
• 24:18
  Jeff Dziekan: There we go.
• 24:18
  Don Armstrong: Okay, we got that.
• 24:19
  Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, we got it.
• 24:20
  Don Armstrong: All right, very good.
• 24:22
  Don Armstrong: All right.
• 24:22
  Don Armstrong: Uh, time now for um our water parks driving destinations, Mr.
• 24:27
  Don Armstrong: Mars.
• 24:28
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, we went looking for something for the 4th of July for the family, thought about water parks.
• 24:33
  Mike Marrs: It's hot here.
• 24:34
  Mike Marrs: And of course, you think about Schlitterbaum, we mentioned earlier, or even Typhoon, Texas, up in uh Katy.
• 24:39
  Mike Marrs: Really large, a lot of people go there, big, large corporate parks.
• 24:43
  Mike Marrs: However, there's a few others around, like Hurricane Harbor Splashtown.
• 24:48
  Mike Marrs: Now, this is the old Splashtown.
• 24:49
  Mike Marrs: It is the oldest major water park in the Houston area.
• 24:53
  Mike Marrs: Uh, it's it's known for the variety of the slides, like the multi-lane racing slide.
• 24:59
  Mike Marrs: It's got a giant funnel ride, and there's a lot of wave pools on it, and it's very easy to get to.
• 25:04
  Mike Marrs: It's in the spring up off 45, so it's very popular with the families.
• 25:09
  Mike Marrs: The second one that we wanted to look at was Big Rivers Water Park and Adventures.
• 25:14
  Mike Marrs: Now, this is up in New Caney, a little bit further up, but it's more than a water park.
• 25:19
  Mike Marrs: You can do zip lines, you got aerial adventure courses, you got climbing attractions, there's some animal.
• 25:24
  Mike Marrs: They even got some amusement park rides along with the regular traditional water slides and the pools.
• 25:31
  Mike Marrs: It's kind of a hybrid water park and adventure park.
• 25:33
  Mike Marrs: It's a great place to take the family, and you can do a little bit of everything at this one location.
• 25:38
  Mike Marrs: The third one we want to look at is Splashway Water Park.
• 25:42
  Mike Marrs: Now, it's one of the got a reputation as being one of the cleanest and most family-friendly water parks in Texas.
• 25:49
  Mike Marrs: It's located southwest of Houston, and it's kind of a relaxed atmosphere, and it makes it more appealing for the family because it's a little more family comfortable as far as the trying to say it's a little bit more laid back for old people.
• 26:03
  Mike Marrs: Yeah.
• 26:03
  Mike Marrs: Well, or if you've got young children, it's well that's what I say.
• 26:06
  Don Armstrong: Grandpa grandma and grandpa could take the young kids there.
• 26:09
  Mike Marrs: Yeah.
• 26:09
  Mike Marrs: There you go.
• 26:10
  Mike Marrs: There you go.
• 26:10
  Mike Marrs: That'll do it.
• 26:12
  Mike Marrs: The uh the fourth one we want to talk about is, and I've never heard of it, Nestler Park Family Aquatic Center.
• 26:19
  Mike Marrs: Now, this is down in Texas City, and it's actually part of the Texas City Parking uh Parks Department.
• 26:25
  Mike Marrs: And uh it's a very community-centered atmosphere because it is part of the city parks department.
• 26:30
  Mike Marrs: It's great for parents looking for a day to get out on the water without a lot of expanse and a lot of crowds that you're going to find at the bigger commercial attractions.
• 26:38
  Mike Marrs: The fifth one, and I like the name of it, and and I've seen signs for it, but it's the Pirates Bay Water Park down in Baytown.
• 26:47
  Mike Marrs: Now it's obviously got a nautical theme, and it's got a lot of uh different things from a water park, including uh a large lazy river.
• 26:55
  Mike Marrs: It's got a wave pool, you've got lots of things you can climb on if you're a climber, and uh water slides of different sizes, and it's all part of a pirate-inspired design to give it a very different uh atmosphere, and it is another city-owned uh park, so it kind of gives it a different atmosphere.
• 27:14
  Mike Marrs: It's not quite so corporate level because it is the city park and it's for many of the Houston families that are close around.
• 27:21
  Mike Marrs: The other one I found interesting was the Strawberry Water Park.
• 27:25
  Mike Marrs: Now, this is in Pasadena.
• 27:27
  Mike Marrs: Uh it's smaller and it's much more of a neighborhood feel, so families can see the children.
• 27:33
  Mike Marrs: It's not really so big, they can get lost uh, you know, 100 yards away in some river that's going someplace.
• 27:38
  Mike Marrs: And so for a lot of the Southeast Houston residents, it's a quick, easy way to get to a water park without going all the way across town.
• 27:46
  Mike Marrs: The last one I found was Noah's Ark Park down in Houston on West Center Drive.
• 27:54
  Mike Marrs: Now it's kind of it's really unique because it combines a neighborhood water park atmosphere with a biblical arc theme.
• 28:01
  Mike Marrs: So instead of being focused on extreme thrills, it's really emphasizes family fun with the swimming and lazy rivers, that kind of thing.
• 28:09
  Mike Marrs: And and it's not every water attraction needs to have all the big towers.
• 28:14
  Mike Marrs: There's plenty of those.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_02: Will you be able to walk on water when you get done there?
• 28:18
  Mike Marrs: Sir?
• 28:18
  Mike Marrs: Will you be able to walk on water when you get done there?
• 28:21
  Mike Marrs: Well, I'm not sure, but it might be part of one of the attractions they might want to add.
• 28:26
  Mike Marrs: Sorry.
• 28:26
  Don Armstrong: I just had to go there.
• 28:28
  Mike Marrs: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 28:29
  Mike Marrs: No, it's that's uh, but that's some of the things you could do if you don't want to go to a water park that's got all the big uh commercial corporate water parks.
• 28:37
  Mike Marrs: It's got massive crowds to them.
• 28:39
  Mike Marrs: These will get you into a little bit different atmosphere.
• 28:42
  Don Armstrong: All right, time now for a quick break on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 28:45
  Don Armstrong: Back with our next half hour right after this.
• 28:48
  Don Armstrong: Your car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy dull appearance.
• 28:54
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• 29:00
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• 29:24
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• 29:27
  Don Armstrong: He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too.
• 29:31
  Don Armstrong: See the state-of-the-art shop yourself, free tours anytime.
• 29:34
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to, located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway.
• 29:40
  Don Armstrong: Gulf Coast Auto Shield, full service luxury car care today and online at gcautoshield.com.
• 29:47
  Don Armstrong: Gift giving should be meaningful, and we have an idea: a hand-painted custom illustration of your car from one of the nation's leading artists.
• 29:55
  Don Armstrong: Now you can get one or a car show poster customized for you, a friend, or a loved one.
• 30:00
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• 30:03
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• 30:10
  Don Armstrong: Call Bill today, 832-922-0963.
• 30:14
  Don Armstrong: That's 832-922-0963.
• 30:19
  Don Armstrong: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 30:22
  Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website.
• 30:32
  Don Armstrong: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
• 30:41
  Don Armstrong: Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.