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I decided that the stock Sahara decals had to go as soon as I bought my Jeep. I always thought that name was inappropriate for what is included in the trim level (at least for the current JK's anyways). Here we are immediately after some liberal application of heat from my heat gun (thank you PowerFist). Peeled right off with very little effort. As expected, there was a significant amount of glue residue left over.  Nothing a little Goo-Gone can't fix.  The end result. Given that I have owned an FB, FC and there currently resides an RX-8 in the garage, I think this would be appropriate. Thanks to Jamal for the apt decals as well. I think it kind of sounds like a JDM sub model now - Oh god, what have I done?! The passenger side mirrors the drivers side.
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Dec 17, 2012 03:18
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I finally had enough of the stock Bridgestone Dueller AT RH-S (255/70/18) tires that came on the Wrangler. I cannot even begin to describe how much those pieces of vulcanized rubber did not deserve the all terrain in their name. So today was new shoes day!   New tires are 275/65/18 General Grabber A/T2's. Same overall diameter, just the maximum width I can run on the stock rim. Thanks to Jeeps infinite wisdom I now need wheel spacers since the tires rub on the swaybar up front at full lock. Time to break out the plumb-bob, masking tape and tape measure. It also needed a bath. In addition, the factory floor mats were very much not up for another winter.  Hello new Rugged Ridge molded mats. Next up - new shocks for the RX-8 and maybe an ignition upgrade. e: spelling McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Jan 29, 2014 |
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Jan 29, 2014 05:48
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I have a disease - my inner ricer will not die (it probably doesn't help that I feed him with F&F marathons and Initial D). More decals! (Since it's still under warranty.)   A new shift knob - the stock one had an obnoxious chrome trim ring that would reflect sunlight into my eyes all the drat time.   gently caress Jeep for the press fit design of the factory knob. Almost needed a full face helmet for removing it.
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Feb 15, 2014 04:58
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Finally got around to installing the trailer hitch on the wrangler. I NEVER want to have to do that again. There is zero room to get the washers and lock nuts onto the bolts. Exhibit A on why 4 bolts took two hours: 
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Jun 9, 2014 01:54
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kastein posted:
I did use grease to hold the nut to my wrench. Unfortunately I did not have pliers skinny enough and long enough to fit. That's what took so long. After an hour I ended up using a telescopic magnet that had a head just narrow enough. kastein posted:Like the rear end in a top hat who put a T55 or T60 size torx bolt tightened to a billiondy foot pounds on the oil filter adapter, located so you can't get a bit+ratchet between it and the frame rail. You have to take the tip out of the bit, then use a box wrench on the tip instead of a ratchet. It is double plus dumb. That's just plain evil.
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Jun 9, 2014 05:49
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New milestone on the Wrangler. I think I may have to update my yearly mileage estimates with my insurance company. New stubby antenna and more decals next week. Why on earth Jeep decided to equip the JK Wranglers with the largest and most flexible A pillar destroying AM/FM antenna is beyond me.
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Feb 1, 2015 22:28
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Finally got around to swapping out the stock a-pillar destroying antenna on my Wrangler and was able to take pictures of it spread over a few days. Old and paint destroying piece of flimsy garbage:  New 12" Stubby from Antenna-X. FM and AM is still crystal clear in town although I fully expect to no longer get stations 150km away from the source.  Still to cold to toss on the new Vinyl decals unfortunately.
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Feb 22, 2015 02:13
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Replaced / upgraded all the ignition coils on the RX8 with LS coils from Black Halo Racing. Didn't actually get pictures of the new ones or them going in. I do however have pictures of the old and visibly busted parts - technically the engine still ran, rather well considering the condition of the items removed so I don't think it qualifies for the other thread.   If there are any RX8 owners reading this, for the love of god, replace your coils. Those white spots on the bottom is evidence of each of them shorting/grounding out to the bottom mounting bracket. As for the plugs, well I have *proof" from Mazda that the plugs were done twice. Once at 30k km when the car was traded in by the original owner and again when the engine was replaced at 60k km (based on the service records and the condition of the vehicle - I'm blaming that one on the owner vs Mazda). At this point though, I'm almost willing to bet those plugs are originals.... 
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Sep 2, 2015 05:17
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Super Aggro Crag posted:Even tho I have the flu I decided to hard-wire my Galaxy S6 and Nexus 7 since this is probably the last nice weekend for a while. He is my Nexus 7 running Torque. Great, now I'm looking at Nexus 7 mounts for both my vehicles. Hard mounts which do not require vehicle alterations yet seem to be well built are ~$50. Not bad.... Today I finally used the Meguiars single stage headlight restoration kit. It's three pieces. A bottle of clear plastic polish, a drill cotton ball attachment and a microfibre cloth. I have no pictures of any of the components. I do however have before and after of the headlight. Before:  After three passes. There was a negligible difference between pass two and three.  I also had a box of this sitting unopened from a few years ago.  It was a three stage process. Stage one was a black pre-wax & conditioner, stage two was black carnuba wax and stage three was the black spray detailer. While it is very "zen" to wax a car effectively three times, I don't think I'll be doing it more than twice a year. It took two hours but I think it was worth it. I really really need to pick up a paint pen.  I'm also sure I should have read the detailing thread before doing any of this... Edit: I really can't spell. McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Dec 6, 2015 |
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Dec 6, 2015 04:45
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Fender mirrors are rad (also a cross post from the TM2TW thread):
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May 16, 2016 04:50
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I finally got around to replacing the failed purge valve on the RX-8. Holy poo poo do I never want to have to do that again. Mazda FSM says to remove the UIM. gently caress that. There's two bolts on the firewall side that you need presidential hands to get at. So I instead used the two millimeters of clearance and all my patience to carefully remove the old and reinstall the new one with the UIM in place. If this Doorman valve fails, I'm accelerating the purchase of the Adaptronic ECU and converting to a catch can.
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Feb 12, 2017 22:57
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Exactly, that's nothing. Wire wheel both sides. Hit both sides with a liberal coating of Corroseal and whatever top coat you want. On the underside / wheel well side, make a template using a cereal box that covers the whole affected area +20%. Cut out of slightly thicker sheet metal than the Subaru stuff. Glue that fucker on with 3M metal adhesive (they glue Loti together don't they?). Coat with etch primer and rocker guard. I've done the same thing to beater RX-7 wheel wells, cargo bins and rockers twice now.
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May 26, 2017 21:49
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That 20B officially qualifies as that turbines APU. You've officially crossed the line of bolting a turbo to an engine. loving Awesome! Is it an EFR? 9180?
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Jun 27, 2017 01:14
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Technically yesterday, but DoritoPower (who's FD is also in the shot) was kind enough to help me hit the new to the stable Audi with a properly thick coat of CQuartz. It will never be this clean again. Next up, as teased in the chat thread, are some proper glamour shots for the post your ride thread.
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Jul 9, 2017 22:59
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DropShadow posted:Yeah, but he did say Audi. It's more than somewhat. The entire chassis and engine is basically a Q5. All that's different is the transmission, skin and AWD programming (90% rear bias). Oh yeah and factory launch control. [Yes, there's actually more that's different but that's the cliff notes]. It really should just have Audi badges and a "tuned by Porsche" emblem somewhere like lotus used to do. Edit: I should see what it would cost to make some "tuned" by Porsche badges.... I've also gotten the evil eye twice for calling the car an Audi in front of Porsche employees. Edit 2: I kinda sounds like an rear end. Sorry. The car is awesome. Best of both worlds, cheaper consumables since there's no Porsche tax and we get to make all the Porsche purists mad. McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Jul 10, 2017 |
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Jul 10, 2017 04:00
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It was a very poorly placed joke. Sorry. To answer the question on SQ5 comparison. The Macans interior, full drivetrain and handling is noticably better across the board for in Canada at least, works out to less coin. Edit: Phone posting
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Jul 11, 2017 04:49
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As mentioned in the chat thread, the weather killed the battery in the RX-8 and froze the parking brake cable in my F-150. Last night I pulled the battery out of the 8, brought it inside and hooked it up to my 6A LiPo "intelligent" charger. Charger claimed the battery was fully charged this afternoon, so back in the car it went. Just took it for a spin logging battery voltage. Stopped into two parking lots and shut it off and restarted it. So far no issue. Let's see what a night in a -5C garage will do. As for the truck, Ford in their infinite wisdom decided to expose the braided metal parking brake cable underneath the cab along the frame rail for close to a metre. Thus creating two spots where it can freeze to the shielding. It froze at both ends... Doused it in methanol to melt all the ice, actuated the cable a dozen times to free it and then coated both ends in graphite lube (it's all I have at the moment). Here's hoping this will be the last of the weather related issues.
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Jan 2, 2018 04:40
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187cm tall here with an even split for height between legs and torso and I do not pass the broomstick test in the ND Miata (Soft top and RF). I fit with relative comfort however. I am looking out of the top 25% of the windshield with the seat lowered as much as possible. With the RF, I am positive that my head would make contact with the roof over any bump. Plenty of legroom though.
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May 24, 2018 20:08
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I decided to check the oil level in my RX-8 after filling up the fuel tank. This is after burning that entire tank drag racing this past weekend. It did not burn a drop of oil...this is bad. The oil metering pump is electronic and the ECU considers it healthy (no CEL). I have the oil injection rate bumped up over stock as well. So there's a blockage somewhere or the pump has failed in a way not to trip a trouble code. So I guess I have a decision to make. Tear the intake manifold off to find the source of the problem and correct it or go full premix and start wearing this hat: https://webiginc.com/collections/hats-1/products/all-y-all-need-hat I'm leaning towards full premix since the engine is a series 1 13B-MSP and Mazda through the full oil injection system redesign of the S2 agrees that it is lacking. So project thread update incoming. This may also result in a mechanical failures post sooner rather than later.
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Sep 2, 2020 15:53
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I don't think I have ever seen a rear diff with such a pronounced flat bottom before. Is that a common thing? I am assuming it is for aero and additional fluid capacity? Absolutely magnificent choice either way. Congratulations! Any trackday plans? A Touristenfahrt or two? Edit: Oh man, what a lovely snipe.
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Jan 20, 2021 15:23
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Bajaha posted:Excuse the Dutch angles and phone screenshot of the vinyl places Instagram story but I'm pretty excited. Holy poo poo, there's going to be two of us in AI?!  This is amazing. Congrats! Edit: Screw being original, Martini livery owns and you made the best choice. Hell, it was a factory option in Europe for a year or two recently. McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Feb 4, 2021 |
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Feb 4, 2021 22:53
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Suburban Dad posted:Wow, that's awesome. Can't remember, does yours have a 6 speed already? Apparently they're a good bit stronger but the ratios aren't really that good (like a 5 speed but the same overall ratios IIRC) so most dudes go with a super tall rear end to compensate. NC2 Miata 6-speed is the strongest one. Even then, I would cryo-treat the gear set and run a PWM clutch delay valve and boost by gear to prevent rapid disassembly. Edit: The NC1 6 speed is made by Aisin, is weak and also still used in the FRS and BRZ.
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Feb 10, 2021 16:25
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I fried my main ECU fuse! I was a complete idiot, zoned out and crossed my battery leads for a fraction of a second. Which was all it took. Not a great fuse to have to track down on a Sunday. Exhausted all auto parts stores. Moving on to industrial supply shops tomorrow.
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Mar 15, 2021 03:22
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Powershift posted:I have no idea how a vehicle gets through 18+ years in Edmonton without an insurance claim on it, never mind 18 years in Edmonton with the original factory windshield.  That's an awfully odd thing to sell your soul for but who am I to judge. You stole the drat thing at $1900. That's amazing.
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May 13, 2021 21:42
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The only true non-project car in the fleet rolled 50k km and is now due for it's 50k/4yr service. First component of this service: spark plugs. The VAG 2.0T in it's "worked over" by Porsche variant.  Single 10mm bolt for the coil ground strap and the coil plug for all 4 is all it takes to get the harness bracket moved away. Single 10mm bolt holds the coil to the valve cover.  New plugs from Rock Auto were $56 shipped. Ruthenium, sounds fancy.  All 4 plugs looked like this. Appear healthy enough. Although, #4 (closest to the firewall) has some oil on the threads...  Oh....great. A valve cover leak.  I cleaned everything up and I'll check #4 again in 10k km. If it hasn't gotten worse, I'll budget for a new one (all of a whopping $32 dollars. Gotta love economies of scale) when the next set of plugs are due at 100k km. All in this took 90m with me taking my time. I could do it again in 30 minutes for sure. Once again, the base model Macan was the right call. Maintenance has been stupid easy and straight forward and apart from a dumb penny pinching decision on the TPMS receiver harness by the rear drivers lower control arm, completely trouble free.  I also printed out a test wheel spacer to confirm that 20mm will work for the front wheels (well, for all 4 corners). Based on the tire/wheel/offset difference between the widest and narrowest wheel options, it should. Better to spend $2 on PLA to confirm before dropping $400 and finding out they rub / don't clear the guards. McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Jul 3, 2021 |
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Jul 3, 2021 19:50
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Bajaha posted:Going full Martini on my cars Awwww yeah. That looks fantastic! Do you have a shot with both?
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Jul 10, 2021 19:25
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This works as both support for white letters out and for the threads primary purpose. The manufacturer did not offer white letters out as an option so I had to break out the paint pens. 
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Aug 5, 2021 03:25
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STR posted:Just now noticed the Lobo badging. MXDM or just a badge swap? Just a badge swap. Although I did end up looking in Mexico for the exact specs I wanted. Came close too. There's only two '15s in 3.5EB/Ext Cab/RWD/MaxTow/MaxPayload ever made. One is in Mexico and has crank windows.
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Aug 9, 2021 14:55
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 Finally got enough time to test the new 3-in-1 quick detailer from Mike Kojima (of primarily MotoIQ fame). It doesn't handle brake dust as well as advertised. Certainly isn't a replacement for Iron-X but as a 2-in-1, hell yeah. This stuff is awesome. Link for reference: https://www.zkperformance.com/collections/automotive I am not looking forward to the sheer surface area of the F-150...
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Sep 27, 2021 16:42
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Spent a while digging it out. And no, there's not so much snow on top of it that it's compressing the suspension, that is the static ride height.
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Dec 14, 2021 21:07
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Rolled 60k km on the Macan yesterday. Which means it is oil change time. FCP Euro messed up the order and forgot to include a new drain plug. They're single use and really shouldn't be re-used.  No big deal, a bag of 10 was $19.99 locally. Since the EA888 engine (and it's variants) is used in drat near everything VAG parts are easy enough to find. Assuming the service position.  No pictures of the under/aerotray. It is huge and is held on with 16 T25 bolts and two big plastic plugs(?). This is what the underside looks like without it though.   Working on the 2.0L in a longitudinal configuration, especially in an engine bay designed for a twin turbo V6, is so very nice. There's so much room for activities. It takes longer to remove the undertray than it does to drain the oil and replace the filter. Not pictured, the  PIWIS VM used to reset the service reminder.I also have a Durametric but official support for the Macans ends at 2015 and it can therefore only reset interim and main service flags. Not oil change flags. Which is such a stupid bug. One that Durametric has refused to fix despite my annual trouble tickets. Does anyone know of a company that makes metal undertrays? Now that it's out of warranty, we want to take it to a few rally-x events and there is no way the fabric tray will survive.
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Jan 15, 2022 20:32
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Motronic posted:How and in what circumstances? Are they using a battery bank as a hybrid regen sink to recharge when less than a certain amount of engine power is being asked for and used for fill in/additional power temporarily under high loads? That seems super complicated, especially for engine management. Pretty much. Having driven one, it sure does work though. Owning one outside of warranty would make for a wonderful project thread. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a19479730/nine-things-you-must-know-about-the-new-mercedes-inline-six/ McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Feb 13, 2022 |
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Feb 13, 2022 21:20
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Cross post from my project thread. Also, because we all love Sesame Street. Old and scratched up.  New hot-ness. (Count-ness?) Ah! Ah! Ah!
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Mar 11, 2022 23:18
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RokBlokz mud flaps are pretty good for the price when they go on sale. Alternatively, owning a Subaru is like herpes. It infects all other vehicles in the fleet and sure enough, you're putting brightly colored plastic rock guards on your daily, wearing a flat bill hat and slapping vinyl decals all over. Not to mention the method rally wheels.
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Apr 21, 2022 03:25
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Finally got the right vinyl I needed to wrap the tailgate in prep of the sticker bomb. Why yes, I'm 14, why do you ask? It was way too difficult to track down a roll of anything wide and long enough that wasn't poo poo quality. This way when I do eventually replace this iteration of the rotary support vehicle, I can just peel the vinyl off and slap it on the wall of my garage.  Still ran out of stickers though. Luckily I've already got a full cart from https://www.onehellofatown.com/
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May 23, 2022 21:07
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BigPaddy posted:Still pisses me off you need a super secret dealer only machine to reset the oil change light on the Boxster. PM me if you want a link to the latest PIWIS VM, so you can reset it yourself.
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Jun 4, 2022 18:33
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Drove to the middle of nowhere British Columbia to pick up a free horse trailer (well livestock trailer). Putting the truck to work all while proving the "lowered trucks are useless" crowd wrong.
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Jul 11, 2022 02:01
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Nystral posted:Do you have horses or just using what looks like a horse trailer for other things? The wife's English equestrian hobby makes my Automotive Insanity look downright frugal. So yes and also yes. This trailer will be multi purpose should I find a motorcycle, snowmobile, hovercraft, original mini or locost.
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Jul 11, 2022 16:38
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kastein posted:I'm gonna be honest here, not once in the history of ever have I put a heat shield back on if it made a break for freedom on its own. I help them along their way to freedom and forget all about it. You've never owned a rotary. How do we fix that?
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Jul 17, 2022 17:15
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The frozen north has once again become just that. Nighttime temperatures have dropped below zero which means it's winter tire time. The summer shoes get to hibernate.  Back to the old faithful Super Advans with Gislaved Nordfrost 5's.  The rear summer tires have certainly worn down a little.   Side effect of all that Eurobeat I suppose.
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Oct 24, 2022 00:33
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