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My watch said no working out today - got around to replacing the brakes on an 05 Sienna. Machine shop molested the rotors on their lathe when I had the rotors machined and introduced run out beyond Toyota spec resulting in a shimmy during freeway speed stops. Which is a shame, there were Advics...

The same thing in roofing too - woven polypropylene is the preferred choice vs. 15-30lb felt. For the same reasons and it’s textured/coated to assist with traction on the roof deck. Around here, Tyvek or house wrap is used. Tar paper/felt is more for stucco.

I recommended the Firestone Destination AT2 for a friend. He wanted a AT tire with a 3PMSF rating but didn’t want to spend coin on Wildpeaks. KO2/3 was out of the question. He likes them. IMHO, if his Tundra wasn’t a “off-road” package, he would have been much better off with the Michelin X LT...

Flashed a friend’s Subaru to solve an intermittent long crank.

With tariffs in play, they took a big gamble. Many automakers have a captive finance arm(Ford, Toyota - Toyota Financial also works with Mazda) or work with major banks(Subaru & Chase, Ally & GM) but the subprime market is dominated by CAC and Santander(who also worked on Uber’s financing for...

Yea, I redid my headlights with the Cerakote stuff and they’re starting to haze again. I might go back to sylvania.

I was there for an hour while the car was finishing its charge - I also needed to get groceries. I did go to IKEA first and paid $3.25 to get the battery somewhat charged - it had 0 range but I got it back to 25 miles of range in two hours(I was looking at the ChargePoint app). Had lunch inside...

I used that same one to charge a Prius Prime service loaner. It worked, besides the nearby IKEA it was the only J1772 Level 2 AC charging point I found.

I think this is their first homegrown effort. VinFast was using BMW for chassis and drivetrain. It’s a lot like Hyundai using Mitsubishi platforms or Daewoo using GM’s small car platform(before GM took total control of them in the 1990s).

Give it time. Right now, besides clothes they’re expanding into tires(Kumho has a plant in Vietnam) and electronic assembly. VinFast was bootstrapped by BMW before their EV pivot. Kinda like Ssangyong was bootstrapped by Mercedes and HyunKia was dependent on Mitsu(Hyundai) and Ford/Mazda(Kia)...

Yea, if the car isn’t tuned to take advantage of the higher octane it’s a wash. And even with high octane, things aren’t equal. CA 91 being a E10 blend makes less power than “true” premium without EtOH. EtOH has less energy per gallon, so in effect blended gasoline has less BTUs per gallon vs...

Was this at the showroom in Berkeley next to Tesla and Sephora or their Richmond “dealership” next to Hanlees Toyota(who are crooks, I won’t even send my enemies over there to buy a car)? I’ve sat in one at the Berkeley showroom. Not impressed. They make Teslas feel like a Rolls-Royce and...

Bel-Ray seems to be the favorite of motorcycle techs. You’re in the UK and Silkolene, a Fuchs brand should be available. Else, look for a overbased calcium sulfonate or aluminum complex grease. Eni Autol Top 2000 is a good pick. It’s also sold by Motorex as Grease 2000 for motorbikes and...

Yea, I remember driving down PDIs to get them gassed up for the techs. It was kinda gravy work but also not. At the time, Honda wanted the TPMS initialized, idle learn performed(the radio fuse or shipping shunt was removed for transit) and paint wrap removed.

Isn’t the dealer getting paid by the OEM to do the PDI? It’s not much but still and if not done, it’s grounds for denied warranty claims.

GM has entered the chat https://www.heattreattoday.com/heat-treat-radio-117-how-gm-started-grew-fnc-for-brake-rotors/

That looks like something Royalty Auto Service was recommending to DIYers, https://a.co/d/2HPSzJ1 I might be in the market for a new brake bleeder, my Motive Products one is getting old and beat up. For air, I have a scuba tank, provided I don’t fill it with “enriched” air above 21% but less...

In modern cars, the airbag ECM will log brake/throttle events in the moments before a crash so the driver’s word might not back up digital proof. Big rigs and transit/tour/school buses have MDTs on them and they can log events as well - many of them also tie into a CCTV system or can capture...

A straight truck, as in a box truck/dump truck? I’ve seen a DUI driver crash into a newish Subaru, it was demolished and the DUI car(Infiniti) landed on its roof. I drove by a gnarly-looking crash - a box truck vs. a CR-V. Everyone in the CR-V was able to get out but it looked worse than it...

Does Hunter or Coats/Ammco come out and maintain the standard lathe? When I worked at the dealership, the techs liked used the Ammco lathe more than the on-car. I’ve never seen it serviced. The techs taught me how to use it and they never had a comeback for DTV/shimmy and I’ve had smooth brakes...