Author Topic: What did you do to your car today? (Read 3010243 times)

draghon · « **Reply #13700 on:** November 12, 2020, 07:03:51 pm »

Replaced the front brake pads on the Acadia.

EV Dan · « **Reply #13701 on:** November 12, 2020, 07:45:06 pm »

Deflated my winter Xice from 33 to 31.5 psi for a smooth no bump ride

They were only available in XL load rating which likely led to stiffer sidewalls. As great as Michelin tires are on my next tire purchase I will make sure not to exceed the recommended tire load rating.

jamie1 · « **Reply #13702 on:** November 14, 2020, 11:12:18 pm »

Changed the oil, new frt rotors, pads, new rear rotors, pads, calipers and replaced the fog light bulbs with LED yellow bulbs on the Acura TSX.

aquadorhj · « **Reply #13703 on:** November 17, 2020, 11:14:16 am »

Speaking of LED...

my Merc has projector Halogen H7 headlights.

lights were pretty dim, and light patterns weren't great.

so, i decided it was time for a light change on this thing.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ApwjEBqUZ5k5PA279

got some LED H7 bulbs on amazon. (supposedly 40W each)

lifted the car, took the front wheels, and wheel well liners off...

took out the old H7.. it looks original.. i mean, even though it's 15 years old, it only has 50k on it, so it's conceivable the bulbs never been replaced.

it was a gigantic pain to install the LEDs in this thing, cuz you gotta get the bulb adaptors on the LED bulb baseplates...

after much cursing, finally got it done.

turn the lights on, and voila. it's on, and no error codes... i was expecting some, nice surprise that it didn't..

only thing is,.. the light pattern seem to have dark spot in the low middle. not sure how this will look on the road, as it's snowing, and i haven't taken it out on a drive with new lights yet.

oh... also, got a tire inflator on amazon, so i could refill winter tires on the lexus. 5 lbs loss across the board on all tires during storage, so not bad at all.

Arthur Dent · « **Reply #13704 on:** November 17, 2020, 11:18:29 am »

I got a set of stock Pontiac 14" rims for $45 (for the set) with toasted tires. We are going to swap over the 14" winter tires from the Mustang spare rims to make the Fiero usable in the snow.

BWII · « **Reply #13705 on:** November 17, 2020, 03:57:16 pm »

Oldest just took the Fusion away to get it turned back into an AWD car. Exhaust leaks like a bithc...sounds cool...I thought it should be a free install (though I didn't ask) - garage tells me oh about $45. Not life or death...but c'mon, you would've put it on back in March when you took it off. When it was the ONLY thing that needed replacing in the end. Harumph...

No more burnin' the front tires off after this.

rrocket · « **Reply #13706 on:** November 17, 2020, 09:55:53 pm »

Nice!!

Gurgie · « **Reply #13707 on:** November 18, 2020, 09:22:10 pm »

Quote from: aquadorhj on November 17, 2020, 11:14:16 am

Speaking of LED...

my Merc has projector Halogen H7 headlights.

lights were pretty dim, and light patterns weren't great.

so, i decided it was time for a light change on this thing.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ApwjEBqUZ5k5PA279

got some LED H7 bulbs on amazon. (supposedly 40W each)

lifted the car, took the front wheels, and wheel well liners off...

took out the old H7.. it looks original.. i mean, even though it's 15 years old, it only has 50k on it, so it's conceivable the bulbs never been replaced.

it was a gigantic pain to install the LEDs in this thing, cuz you gotta get the bulb adaptors on the LED bulb baseplates...

after much cursing, finally got it done.

turn the lights on, and voila. it's on, and no error codes... i was expecting some, nice surprise that it didn't..

only thing is,.. the light pattern seem to have dark spot in the low middle. not sure how this will look on the road, as it's snowing, and i haven't taken it out on a drive with new lights yet.

oh... also, got a tire inflator on amazon, so i could refill winter tires on the lexus. 5 lbs loss across the board on all tires during storage, so not bad at all.

Nice work!! I noticed the light pattern is a bit weird on mine as well. The drivers side seems to point a bit lower than the passenger side one. Very noticeable on dark back country roads.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

Gurgie · « **Reply #13708 on:** November 18, 2020, 09:24:30 pm »

Quote from: Careener on November 17, 2020, 09:55:14 pm

Winter mode engaged for the first time in years.
New American Racing rims and Cooper Discoverer True North tires.

Cool! I was gonna try to grab a set of winters to run the SLK this winter as well, but then decided to store it last weekend. Meanwhile this Friday will be +14, perfect for a run with the top down.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

Davep · « **Reply #13709 on:** November 18, 2020, 10:43:08 pm »

Quote from: Gurgie on November 18, 2020, 09:22:10 pm

Quote from: aquadorhj on November 17, 2020, 11:14:16 am
Speaking of LED...

my Merc has projector Halogen H7 headlights.

lights were pretty dim, and light patterns weren't great.

so, i decided it was time for a light change on this thing.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ApwjEBqUZ5k5PA279

got some LED H7 bulbs on amazon. (supposedly 40W each)

lifted the car, took the front wheels, and wheel well liners off...

took out the old H7.. it looks original.. i mean, even though it's 15 years old, it only has 50k on it, so it's conceivable the bulbs never been replaced.

it was a gigantic pain to install the LEDs in this thing, cuz you gotta get the bulb adaptors on the LED bulb baseplates...

after much cursing, finally got it done.

turn the lights on, and voila. it's on, and no error codes... i was expecting some, nice surprise that it didn't..

only thing is,.. the light pattern seem to have dark spot in the low middle. not sure how this will look on the road, as it's snowing, and i haven't taken it out on a drive with new lights yet.

oh... also, got a tire inflator on amazon, so i could refill winter tires on the lexus. 5 lbs loss across the board on all tires during storage, so not bad at all.
Nice work!! I noticed the light pattern is a bit weird on mine as well. The drivers side seems to point a bit lower than the passenger side one. Very noticeable on dark back country roads.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

That was normal back in the day. It was to help prevent dazzling oncoming traffic, plus the right headlight lit up the road edge better. Maybe the tech who last aimed the lights is an old timer?

rrocket · « **Reply #13710 on:** November 18, 2020, 10:55:34 pm »

It's still normal.

Driver side headlight is always a bit lower.

Gurgie · « **Reply #13711 on:** November 18, 2020, 11:29:36 pm »

^thats what I suspected, just very noticeable on the SLK, never noticed it that MUCH on any of my other cars.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

BWII · « **Reply #13712 on:** November 18, 2020, 11:44:00 pm »

Got the driveshaft installed yesterday...put it on storage insurance today. Guess I'm not going anywhere, could've saved almost a grand by now had I done that in March.

Gonna try to tell the kid that it means my car has to stay in the garage...them's the rules.

Mom wants me to move mine out so he can park his inside for winter.

It is my garage, isn't it?

Maybe I'll pull the battery...can't move without a battery.

rrocket · « **Reply #13713 on:** November 18, 2020, 11:46:31 pm »

Quote from: BWII on November 18, 2020, 11:44:00 pm

Got the driveshaft installed yesterday...put it on storage insurance today. Guess I'm not going anywhere, could've saved almost a grand by now had I done that in March.
Gonna try to tell the kid that it means my car has to stay in the garage...them's the rules.
Mom wants me to move mine out so he can park his inside for winter.
It is my garage, isn't it?
Maybe I'll pull the battery...can't move without a battery.

This.

Period.

End of story.

Arthur Dent · « **Reply #13714 on:** November 19, 2020, 12:08:18 am »

I own by far the cheapest vehicle in the family. What is in the garage? My $1,200 Studebaker.

TheHire · « **Reply #13715 on:** November 19, 2020, 12:28:17 am »

Quote from: Arthur Dent on November 19, 2020, 12:08:18 am

I own by far the cheapest vehicle in the family. What is in the garage? My $1,200 Studebaker.

I'll proudly say my Mrs. Vantage's "shiny new Genesis" (and my daily crap) must sit outside so the "three used cars" can sit inside warm and away from the elements. Hard-locked the garage door for the season...

aquadorhj · « **Reply #13716 on:** November 19, 2020, 01:19:01 am »

Little unoptimal, but took the SLK out for a drive at night to check the new led bulbs.

It's foggy and snowing, so definitely wasn't optimal.... It was spooky with poor visibility for sure. Snow reflects bright white lights from LEDs so little glare-y..

But, got it to a flat-ish empty road with fence to adjust the lights, and now I can actually see what's on the side of the road!

Huge improvement in that regard, and front visibility has improved as well.

Made sure the beams pointed downward and check against fences parallel to the road, so it should be ok, glare wise for the oncoming traffic.

Looks pretty good as well, though it was entirely secondary to improving visibility for me. The dark spots I noticed in the garage was not a factor at all on the road, which was good.

Only remembered that I only tightened lug bolts with light duty impacts after I got back in the garage.... Good thing I didn't go very far.

EV Dan · « **Reply #13717 on:** November 19, 2020, 09:16:49 am »

^^^ The "perks" of DIY. If you screw up you know who did it

aquadorhj · « **Reply #13718 on:** November 19, 2020, 12:39:40 pm »

Quote from: EV Dan on November 19, 2020, 09:16:49 am

^^^ The "perks" of DIY. If you screw up you know who did it

haha. would have been super awkward if i lost a wheel out on the street in snow/fog and had to tow the car home less than 3 km.

KD · « **Reply #13719 on:** November 20, 2020, 12:13:21 pm »

New winters and steelies installed on the Frontier this morning. Tires are Hankook I-Pike RW11 and seem to have decent reviews. Purchased and installed at the local Nissan dealer. They were about $100 more than the next best price for a similar setup at another local tire place. The Nissan dealer was the only place that had hub-centric wheels so i went with them. Costco had nothing available and the staff were useless when trying to inquire about availability. No experts there for sure.

I didn't find any great deals but the rebates are a little better now. Rebate for mine was $100. Jezus the wheels/tires that came off are heavy! Luckily i could just roll them out of the box onto the ground and from there into the shed. It was hard for me getting them stacked up. I might just get someone else to change them in the spring.