ArmyofOne

Yes, front, and rear. 6 total i believe...or 8, i cant remember, but its either 6 or 8. more pix, the wheels have to be replaced as well... R/R wheel R/F wheel and the door sill panel (rocker panel) is buckled... see the waves in the metal?

Meh, as you said steve, going nuts wont solve anything or get anything accomplished. I have an Insurance adjuster from USAA calling tomorrow to get the ball rolling. We decided to try to tackle this through her insurance first, then if USAA gives me ANY issues, i will call Geico (mine and meghans insurance co), get my car fixed, pay my deductible and let the ins. co's battle it out. Meghan and her friend are ok. That was my biggest concern. This car did exactly what i bought it to do, Protected my wife and its other occupants from serious harm in the event of an accident, i cant think of a better way to spend $25,000. why is blending bad?

More pix from the real camera this time... more than just cosmetic damage... ^left side front bumper got knocked off the mounts...

it was the way she had her arm sitting when they got hit, it was on the armrest and her elbow got jammed straight on impact. I looked closer and it looks like the rocker panel and part of the floorpan are crushed as well...i hope this isnt a total loss, looks to be well over $6000 in damage in person, and to top it all off, the car is pulling. Niki will be fine, they haver her arm in a sling and on pain meds for the time being. i have more pix, i will get them loaded momentarily, unfortunaely they are all from a camera phone, so not much better quality. *NEW POLICY* from now on, i will keep a disposable camera in BOTH Cars. as for what the lady had to say for herself, she felt really bad and was so sorry. she was 40, hadnt had an accident or a ticket since she was 17 years old. So i dont call her a bad driver, these things happen, and her insurance will take care of it im sure. She was cited for the accident, not meghan, so her insurance has to pay for everything. in this case, i dont even have a to pay a dedcutible, right? my ins is not fixing anything...

Well, my worst fear has happened...my wife got sideswiped yesterday IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD. She was driving down our street, and this lady in a minivan doesnt even look and backed out of her driveway, meghan turned to miss her and WHACK, nailed the right front bumper, wheel, fender, door, right rear door, right rear quarter panel, and rear wheel. Meghan is fine, but her friend niki who was in the passenger seat at the time got her arm "crushed" between the door and her body...a jolt really, but a bad enough one to tear 2 ligaments and bruise her tendons. the only pix i have are from the accident scene with my camera phone (samsung SGH T-309 haha) for now, i will take more when it stops raining...if it ever does. and it seems i cant upload those pix from my cameraphone...so give me a minute and i will have em up...

On a serious note, nearly every car available in Ford's Lineup (as well as many others) have a package available called FFV. this stands for Flexible Fuel Vehicle. They can run off of either E85 or gasoline, or ay mixture of the 2. and these have been around since 1997. So it can be done, fairly easily, i would be willing to bet that if you put E85 into your lexus it would burn with little to no trouble, minus the emissions systems being slightly different on an FFV (the O2 sensors have the ability to turn off or trim out readings according to what fuel is percieved by the computer to be in the vehicle).

Wow. Looks great Josh, especially for what you paid for it! :D LOL Blake! Call sometime man...dont be a stranger, looking liuke i will be in texas in the beginning of July with Meghan, and i know you wanna meet her so make a POINT TO COME SEE ME IN DFW BEFORE I GO TO COMBAT. LOL.

I see it now too, ill call maintenance later today and have it fixed :D ahh the wonders of living in government quarters. :)

Ill admit i dont know jack shait about the real esate industry, so if my #;s are skewed i apologize lol. I do know what the houses cost, but theres very VERY little uncleared land in the city limits, maybe 3 lots total in the whole city when i left, they built as far up the mountains and they can and theres ocean on the other side, but check into it...sometimes you can get good deals on tax repo land, where they sell the land for what is owed to the IRS, usually around fifteen hundred or so dollars. yes a 3,000 sq ft house on an acre will run 850-1 mil. and no, the house is here at ft drum, its where i live LOL. I am From alaska, i am not living there right now.

Thats for blank, undeveloped land, on the outskirts. with no building, uncleared. avg price for a 3000 sq ft home on 1 acre is about $850-$1,000,000 Go Lakefront, and it gets even more expensive... but the really high cost of living comes into play with normal everyday things... Bread: $4.99 a loaf Milk: $5.99 a gallon (for the stuff thats fresh from alaska...if you want 2 week old milk off of a truck then you pay $3.00) heh...dont get me started on energy/heating costs...

Its a piece of cake, you can do the frnt one in 20 mins, the back one will take about an hour (2 if you have never done it before). no special tools, just map/label the vaccuum hoses. make sure you have RTV.

Im not in alaska, Im FROM there. Im at Fort Drum New York, and i pay ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for this house...$0. its paid for. Its FREE, zippo, zilch, notta and nothing. Its called Army housing. But in alaska, this house with its land would run $250-$300,000 in the city of anchorage. No land is not cheaper in anchorage...an acre runs between $35-50,000, and the houses are never less than 200K for the cheapest, smallest houses around. But here in New York, its different.

This is Government US Army Quarters. about 1300 sq ft, 2bdr, 1bath...pretty big kitchen. In these pix, nothing is really moved in yet...but since then meg and i have transformed this house into our home. ^My car in its new home... :D ^her car in its new home :D ^Living room (night 1) Dining room... Master bedroom. I didnt take a pic of the other bedroom because lets face it, you have seen one, you have seen em all lol. So thats government quarters. Got the house the day after we got married. oh and 2 bonus pix, the 2 cars photo shoot together LOL. Brother and sisters first pix. :D

We all defect at one point or another. honestly, after driving the wifes Matrix XR in the snow, i think a Subaru might be on my next list of cars.

Last night, i came in the house from work and i left the screen door open, it doesnt shut all the way like it should, i think the gas cylinder is bad. Anyways, i pulled it shut behind me, but apparently not all the way. My Wife's cat, Snowball, exited...stage left. We didnt notice she was gone for about an hour. Meghan started looking for her and couldnt find her anywhere. as we were looking, Meghan glanced out the window of the house that looks into the backyard (no fence, military housing) and saw her for a split second...then the cat darted off into the darkness. Meghan and i frantically scrambled to catch her...but to no avail. she does come when called, but we havent seen her since. The neighbor saw her this morning early in the area. The cat is 7 years old...been both an indoor and an outdoor cat its whole life, but has been entirely indoors since we got her from my sister in law 2 months ago...any chance she knows her way home??? My sister in laws house is a 10 minute drive...literally right around the corner...

swing by Watertown NY if you are driving and say hi for a min, it is on your way by road. :) you can see the house and have dinner maybe.

Wasted breath ;) Not nessecarily, i understand this, and if I can get better traction out of a non directional tire, then please point me in the right direction, i just dont want to pay $200 or more a piece Welcome back Josh! B) Goodyear Triple Treads my friend, they won't be near $200 a piece if you spend a little time getting prices. Long term, that's the smart move for your Matrix. ;) yes, we intend to have this car for 7-10 years. oddly enough, i find myself driving this car VERY differently from mine. mine i drive fairly spirited when alone...but hers i find i more just want to cruise. very different cars indeed. the inside of the matrix is QUIET. very comparable to my moms 05 Camry XLE. does anyone have any more info on those TT's?, my buddy has them on a WRX and said they are one of the best tires he's ever had.

Im going to use seafoam on my engine and follow toysrme's tutorial on flushing with seafoam. Now can I add seafoam in my engine right before I change the oil and change the oil after I use it. Should I use expensive oil or cheap oil first? cheap, as log as its SAE certified.

Wasted breath ;) Not nessecarily, i understand this, and if I can get better traction out of a non directional tire, then please point me in the right direction, i just dont want to pay $200 or more a piece

Hey all, just wanted to let you know (without making a new thread to *BLEEP* off certian mods lol) I will be deployed for a month to Ft Irwin CA. No internet, a few of you will hear from me, i will have my cellular phone on me. SO until the 27th of april, i will see ya!

Why would you put MXV4s on it? They would totally be the wrong tire for that car. Thats what I've been trying to tell you, certain types of vehicles are more suited to certain types of tires. Oddly enough the Matrix is a car I would probably put those Falkens on. Not the right tire for a ES or LS Lexus, but right up the alley for a Matrix. The Triple Tred would also be a good match for this car, again not for an LS or ES Lexus probably but right up the Matrix's alley. For once sw & I are on the (semi) same page! I concur. And yes, the TT's were & are the correct tire.......at least for my gen ES no question about it. B) :whistles: I will probably put the lower profile falkens on it. the reason behind insisting on a directional tire is because i like the way they look...thats pretty much the only reason. the reason behind then only needing to last a year, is because when i come back, i will be putting new wheels on it, and PCS'ing (moving) to a warmer climate. They will give me station of choice when re-enlisting. looking more and more liek the falkens may take it again...

As promised, pix of the ceremony. The beginning of the ceremony^ ^the vows... ^the rings... ^a contract, sealed with a kiss :D ^the mode of transport And last but not least, the best man's car... a 1985 Olds Cutlass...307 V8 :D So i will bet you all are wondering...what happened to may? well, we couldnt wait, the military really woudlnt let us, they were making it so hard for us to get anything done that its just easier now. I have her enrolled in tricare, on the housing list and able to shop on post within a days time...

Josh, What is the factory size of the Matrix & are you sticking with the OE size? (I'm getting either 205 55 16 OR 215 50 17....not 205 50 16) Remember the AWD system on the Matrix is not a full time AWD system like Subaru's are. Having said that, I would stick with an OE size because of the AWD system......just my 2 cents. Why are you only concerned that the tires last a year? Why not spend a bit more & get something that will last much longer? Give me the above details & I will be better able to suggest very good choices. B) Not a huge fan of the GY RS-A's personally......but don't be overly concerned about a directional tire. On an AWD system, it's best to keep the tires on the same side of the car once they are mounted when doing rotations to begin with so it's just a front to back switch (no criss crossing). your right its the 55-16, not 50. the RS-a's are *BLEEP*ty all around. horrible wet traction and dry traction could use some help as well. Im only concerned with tires that will last a year because that sall the longer i will be deployed. I was SERIOUSLY cosidering triple treads...but the price, i just cant stomach it. literaly cannot afford it. I am concerned with a directional tire because of the grip they offer. i really dont want meghan stuck in a ditch somewhere while im gone in Iraq. the other thing is, i dont want MXV-4's...not in the snow.

and i will be honest, i dont think im gonna put the falkens on it. The falkens are fantastic on my FWD, no problems at all, but something tells me there is a better tire out there for an all around application. I was looking at the BF Goodrich Traction T/A. around 90 a piece in my size (205/50/R16) so they dont break the wallet, and my friend has them on his olds alero (FWD) and they give him FANTASTIC traction, better than the falkens, and they arent all that noisy, but i have an issue with buying a BFgoodrick tire, as they have been notorious in the past for lack of comfort and increased road noise. and while im at it, what is your opinion on the goodyear eagle RS-A's? thats whats on it now, from the factory, thats what was on my escort originally and for a FWD, i hated them, but for the matrix they arent aweful, but they arent directional, so grip isnt as good as it could be. for the facotrs: need traction road noise is an issue, thye have to be an all season, cant be a winter only tire. Safety is a 100% cocern, they are going on my wifes car. comfort is not as important as a lack of road noise. directional tire is preferred. and they have to last at least a year (15-20K)

Well thar ya have it sports fans, the war dept has spoken, it looks like no end is in sight. :D THanks all for the congrats, and the support. the road in life isnt easy, and it will be long, but that road just got ALOT smoother.