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Here's something I've never quite understood. My understanding of the way braking works is the (rolling) traction between your tyres and the ground forms a cohesive energy system whereby applying brakes will slow the car provided that traction is held and the wheels don't lock up, at which point you'll still slow due to regular friction but with a marked lack of control due to a loss of rolling resistance. My understanding is therefore that the type and condition of your tyres and the road surface is irrelevant to braking beyond that required to maintain traction. Am I correct or is there some other mechanism at work here? When roads are coated in an extra rough surface near junctions is that purely to prevent tyres breaking traction with the road or do they in some way improve braking even for normally rolling wheels? And vice versa for rain.
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Jul 23, 2017 23:13
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Deteriorata posted:Keeping the wheels turning while braking is important to maintaining control. High-traction road surfaces allow for higher braking forces without losing the grip on the road. "Grip" is defined by the coefficient of Right, great, I do understand it after all. I guess there's nuance in terms of small slips reducing effective braking, not just huge skids, but at least I understand the principle.
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Jul 23, 2017 23:37
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I think it's about time I started changing my own oil on my hatchback civic. I've got a flat paved driveway I can do it on. What's the basics I need to get going with it? My assumptions so far: - (2? 4?) jackstands - Some sort of tray/basin to catch the outgoing oil in and a sealable container to transport it - Find out where I can get rid of the old oil locally I've got a wide variety of tools including sockets and a torque wrench, but if there's anything specific that you find a must have that would be cool to know. (I'll check out a guide for my specific car beforehand).
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Sep 9, 2018 15:56
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This is all very useful info, thanks.MrOnBicycle posted:If you are only going to do oil changes, a couple of ramps would be easier. Certainly to begin with I'm focusing on the most frequent maintenance, maybe brakes later, but not just yet. MrOnBicycle posted:Saves a ton of time and (assuming you buy decent ones) are perfectly safe. What constitutes "decent ones"? Would these pass muster? MrOnBicycle posted:Rubber gloves and paper towels is a must, and a good stable funnel is gold. Don't use the paper ones that sometimes come with the oil, it's a mess waiting to happen. PainterofCrap posted:Lots of rags. Got 'em. I've also got a funnel I use for washer liquid filling. MrOnBicycle posted:I use the containers that the new oil comes in to transport the old oil in. MrOnBicycle posted:Get proper oil collection pans, that preferably have some sort of good funnel built in / look like they can be poured without making a mess. Fo3 posted:Sometimes you can't use the new oil container (like if you car needs 4 or 6L and you're buying 5L containers) Funky. I'll get one of those. Fo3 posted:Low profile so you don't need jacks, stands or ramps for most cars. Can take the old oil to the recycle depo to empty and don't need to mess around with the old type drain pan spouts and funnels trying to refill an old oil container. The car is already quite low profile so I'll want to have it lifted at least a little bit for me to get under it. MrOnBicycle posted:I'd get some of that oil spill graveldustwhatever it is in case you do spill some. MrOnBicycle posted:If you don't want your paved driveway to get stained, get a tarp. PainterofCrap posted:I recommend a large "cookie sheet" (4'x2', available at most auto parts stores) to save your driveway. Three out of four times, some oil is liable to escape, despite your best efforts. The drive as it stands is being ripped up in not too long so I won't worry too much about staining, but I'll do something like that when the new one is in. PainterofCrap posted:Wrench to remove/reinstall drain plug Got 'em. PainterofCrap posted:Band wrench, or properly-sized filter head wrench to remove the oil filter. Not got 'em, will get 'em. PainterofCrap posted:If orientation enables it, pre-fill the filter with oil. Even if it's a side-install, fill it & pour the excess out (to put in the engine). Anything that helps the filter fill quicker means less time your engine runs without a goood supply of oil. This is a bit of a question mark as I can't figure it out from internet searches, but it looks like it might be horizontal with a slight slope in the wrong direction. Invalido posted:A new crush washer for the drain plug is really nice to have. I've never used a torque wrench for that job, but if you re-use the old washer you need to tighten the plug much harder for it not to leak, sometimes to the point of being scary. They're really cheap too, like a dollar or less. Smart.
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Sep 9, 2018 16:53
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It's not *low* low, but it is hits-some-speed-bumps low.
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Sep 9, 2018 17:32
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Godholio posted:I don't think it was your plan, but don't use the same one for both. Washer talking about? Oil definitely get another one. GEEKABALL posted:I’m sure this already got mentioned, so I will repeat it, get wheel stocks and use them. Nobody did, so thanks for doing so.
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Sep 9, 2018 21:48
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It's a balmy 30ºC today and I think my AC is on the blink (in a 2004 UK Honda Civic) on account of it blowing hot air for the several minutes I could stand to wait for it to (not) cool down. My assumption is it needs a refrigerant refresh? It's a sudden development but I don't use the AC much after winter. Is that a likely diagnosis, and is this a relatively simple task for a mechanic to do? I assume it's not something I should be trying myself on account of having to buy refrigerant and correctly dispose of the old stuff.
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Jun 29, 2019 21:17
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monsterzero posted:Can you hear the compressor cycle on or off? It's usually pretty noticable on a Civic. If you pop the hood with the car running and AC off, then press the AC button you should hear a click, and the engine load (revs may dip momentarily and then go back up.) I can hear stuff moving through the pipes as usual, which only happens when the AC is on. I'm assuming that means the compressor is running but I can test that next time I use the car; as you say it's very noticeable, in a "lights dim briefly" sort of way. monsterzero posted:Anyway, sudden no AC doesn't sound like a slow leak you could bandaid with a charge kit. You should head over to Motronic's thread and ask if you need more freeon. Will do.
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Jun 29, 2019 21:58
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I've just experienced what I'm assuming is a Low Battery Situation in my 2004 Honda Civic (UK). Battery symbol lit up, struggling to turn over, that sort of thing. Recovered after leaving it alone for 20 minutes and trying again. I'll be keeping a battery booster in the car from now on, but given that I was sat for only 5-10 minutes, with some low air con on, side lights, and radio, is this an indicator that I need a new battery? To my knowledge it's never been replaced. If so, is that the sort of thing I buy on Amazon and put in myself? I'm always a little wary of DIYing anything with kill-you levels of electricity.
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Jan 9, 2020 20:08
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STR posted:That light will always be on if the key is on without the engine running. That said, if it only took 10 minutes for a fan and lights to drain it, your battery is about done. I've sat parked with the radio, interior fan, and a seat heater on in my car (a similar vintage Subaru), for half an hour, with no issue. That's what I thought, but I didn't want to assume. STR posted:The aircon isn't capable of actual cooling with the engine off on your car; it uses a belt-driven compressor. The fan inside will run without the engine on, and the AC light will still come on, but it won't run the compressor. Gotcha. I didn't know if there was some mechanism to make that work. It was in heat mode anyway. I've taken a look at battery jump packs and they seem to be either £30 or £300 with no real indication that either will actually work when you need them to. Are they bogus?
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Jan 9, 2020 23:51
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taqueso posted:I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGRN4TF/ because it seemed nicely oversized and had lots of legit looking reviews. I actually got to use it once, I was ozone treating without the car running and ran the battery down. The battery wasn't DEAD but it wouldn't turn over. Hooked it up, started the car first try and it was at 98%. Seems pretty good, but I haven't had to use it in a really ugly situation yet. Everything seems well made, it comes with a decent case, and it holds a charge a long time. Thanks for the pointer 
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Jan 10, 2020 01:46
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I've ordered a NOCO one, and I'll be heading somewhere local to pick up a battery since no online supplier can agree on which one is correct for my car. Like Amazon is showing two "compatible" batteries that have opposite poles.
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Jan 10, 2020 16:15
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The UK may be different, but I almost always wind up buying from https://www.blackcircles.com/ as a) they have cheaper prices, b) that's where the fitters buy from, c) my local fitter prefers that you book through blackcircles for both the tyres and the fitting. Personally I'm a fan of continental sport contact tyres, they give really good turning grip in the rain (UK country roads), but they are quite expensive.
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Jan 10, 2020 16:56
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How does compatibility work with car batteries? It's the first time I'm buying one and a couple of sites are claiming to filter for my car but returning batteries with exact opposite poles to each other. Not helped by some sites only having front views of the battery so I can't tell whether the poles are towards the front or back. What are the criteria I need to look at to make sure it's compatible?
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Jan 25, 2020 19:38
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Colostomy Bag posted:Group number should be adequate. What is said vehicle? 2004 Civic, the "EP3" type. Edit: This is apparently the OEM one: https://www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/honda-shop/genuine-honda-civic-2-0-type-r-petrol-battery-2001-2005/ Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 19:44
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Colostomy Bag posted:You might get free health care across the pond, but my god I can get 20% off on a car battery. Looks like your condition is... terminal.
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Jan 25, 2020 20:00
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My car (2004 6-speed manual petrol Honda Civic) has been for maybe the last year or two slowly showing its age. It's at around 60-70k miles, the vast majority of which will have been ~10 minute drives. Apart from smaller stuff that I can potentially fix myself (like sticking electric windows and central locking), I'm worried about the drivetrain; the engine sounds a little more diesel-y than it should, shifting into first and reverse is slowly getting more difficult, "that doesn't sound good" gear noise when coasting with the clutch engaged, stuff like that. I am broadly up for the challenge of tearing the whole car down and rebuilding it, but not while I've got so much to do on the house and not while it's my only car. It would be at least a year or two before I would be positioned to take on something like that. Is there anything specific I might be able to check and/or fix/mitigate without making things worse or spending twice what the car's worth at a repair place? I keep up with its regular services but it's not like they're busting open the transmission to poke around for wear. Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Feb 12, 2020 |
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Feb 12, 2020 19:11
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Krakkles posted:stay in gear with the clutch not depressed That's what I meant by "coasting with the clutch engaged", my terminology may be off. Might be referred to as "engine braking" except I'm not really using it to slow down per se. If I really want to coast then yeah I put it in neutral, though not often and usually only when actively braking with the actual brakes.
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Feb 12, 2020 19:42
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IOwnCalculus posted:Have you ever changed the gear oil in the transmission? 60-70k miles is relatively low mileage but it's also 16 years old. If it's had any seepage over the years it could be low, and it could also be that the fluid is just worn out. I haven't personally done this, I'd have to check what's in the standard services its been getting. There's been no leaks or seeps to my knowledge, but I definitely acknowledge that simple age can do a number on things. It's way past any age-based maintenance marks in the workshop manual. While changing fluids is not something I've done before, I'm planning on starting doing so for the engine oil, so I could take a shot at the transmission oil at the same time. (for avoidance of doubt I'm aware they're probably different oils and will check the manual first).
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Feb 12, 2020 20:05
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IOwnCalculus posted:Gear oil on most manual transmissions is about as easy to replace as engine oil, with the exception being you don't usually have great access to the fill plug - so you'll end up using long hoses or a pump or some bullshit like that.  I hate trying to find anything in this manual so I can't find a layout diagram for the car as a whole, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.
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Feb 12, 2020 20:44
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Krakkles posted:If you find that you can't get the fill plug open, your options are a great deal less limited with fluid in your transmission. Wise. Mildly annoyed that the guide doesn't specify the type of replacement washer needed *before* I open it and take a look. Perhaps it's somewhere else in the specs.
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Feb 12, 2020 20:50
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IOwnCalculus posted:Washers for things like that aren't what you'll find at most hardware stores, since it's probably soft aluminum. Honda will sell you one for a ridiculous marked up price. Can probably find the Official Honda Part Number through https://estore.honda.com/honda/customer-home.asp and then search around the usual scumbags until you find someone who will sell you a bag of five or ten generics for the same price as one Honda washer. 3 of your English pounds for OEM, it seems. https://www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/honda-shop/genuine-honda-transmission-gearbox-fill-drain-washer-set/
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Feb 12, 2020 21:13
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Alright so you've all been very helpful so far, and I've gone back to when I asked about gear for oil changes and reviewed that, and this is my buy list: - trolley jack - rubber jack pad(s) - 4x cheap but well-reviewed jack stands - cheap import creeper - 2x small but well-reviewed wheel chocks - cheap replacement funnels 1/2 - cheap replacement funnels 2/2 - generic oil filter pliers - 10 litre oil pan/container (car contains 5ltr) - cheap wrench set (I have a socket set and torque wrench) - OEM oil filter and washer - 10x extra OEM oil drain plug washers (as backup and/or for future oil changes) - OEM filter removal tool - OEM transmission washers (for when I get round to that) Is there anything I'm missing or any red flags? I'm buying OEM consumables for this first go-around, and I'll be better placed to buy aftermarket after that. The OEM filter tool makes the generic filter pliers redundant but they're low cost so I'm keeping the redundancy. I'll also replace the really cheap stuff with more expensive as and when it feels necessary.
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Feb 14, 2020 14:58
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MrOnBicycle posted:Looks good, but I started to replace using the mechanics creeper with just throwing gym mats (those that are put together like a puzzle) and crawling in under the car on them. Very comfortable. Good suggestion. I have a decent number of those mats and also proper kneepads (along with stacks of other PPE) so I have that covered it seems.
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Feb 14, 2020 17:48
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Alright so I like to at least read the safety instructions on something that's safety-related, but the safety rules on these axle stands have me asking some questions. Namely, DO NOT use four axle stands on one vehicle DO NOT lift one end of a vehicle if the other end already rests on an axle stand DO NOT work under lifted vehicles Is this just rear end covering lawyer rules? Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Feb 16, 2020 |
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Feb 16, 2020 18:11
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Alright cool. It'll be on a level or pretty close to level paving slab drive. I could also knock up some wooden blocks and lower the wheels onto them if that's yet more safe.
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Feb 16, 2020 19:04
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I had to use my battery booster for the first time today and it worked flawlessly. Thanks for the advice I received here when looking around for one.
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Feb 20, 2020 20:00
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I need to restore my headlights as they're pushing the limit of legal here. Am I going to be safe using a random orbital sander while they're still on the car, masked off, or do I need to fully remove them? I've looked at the removal procedure and it's a pain in the rear end. The headlights look like this (not my car, but same era): 
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May 25, 2020 15:37
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taqueso posted:Leaving them on the car seems really common, but I took mine out (it's easy to do on my car so why not?) Recommended grit seems to be anything from 400 to 6000, what did you wind up using?
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May 25, 2020 17:03
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IOwnCalculus posted:I've done it on two vehicles leaving them in. Use multiple layers of masking tape and check it regularly, it is really easy to burn through. This was my worry. Since spelling it out here I've decided it's too much trouble right now, so I'll probably just give them a really solid clean and leave it at that for a while. I was going to just give in and take it to my local place but they're all shut down, and MOTs have been extended 6 months anyway, so I have until 2021 to get it sorted.
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May 25, 2020 17:09
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taqueso posted:I'm actually just getting ready to spray clearcoat over 600 grit today. There was some discussion in the detailing thread*. As I understand it, 4-600 grit is great for paint to stick to and it will fill in the sanding marks. If you don't want to clearcoat, then I would go all the way to a plastic polish. My assumption was it's just a sand and polish operation, surely they don't clear coat the headlights?
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May 25, 2020 18:34
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Huh. TIL
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May 25, 2020 18:55
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Hmm. The car could do with a proper clean and polish, maybe I'll mask off the lights enough to chuck a similar solvent on and then buff them along with the rest of the car. I've got a buffing pad for the ROS so that would remove (or reduce) the risk of burning through the paintwork.
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May 25, 2020 20:07
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Autoexec.bat posted:You can also sometimes tape on some cardboard tucked into the gap between the headlight/bodywork depending on the car if you are worried about burning through a tape-only mask. 
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May 25, 2020 22:02
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Hey folks. I've been talking to some shops about retrofitting cruise control to my car, because while I typically use it for short drives here and there, occasionally I do 6+hr drives which absolutely destroy my already hosed knee when holding the pedal at motorway speeds for hours. The general information I'm getting back is that my specific car (the manual petrol 2004 Honda Civic Type R) still has a cable-driven throttle, which perhaps explains why the PO didn't get CC from the factory when I had it on my old Type S (which is apparently electronic). It's beginning to look like these shops no longer want to deal with aftermarket CC on cable throttles, so I may need to do it myself, which is something I've been hoping to avoid since I generally don't like to DIY things that have a high capacity to kill me, and a stuck throttle seems like one of those things. That said, this appears to be the go-to aftermarket kit. http://www.avsgemini.com/liteon-ap500-aftermarket-cruise-control.html Does that seem even vaguely reasonable for a competent amateur to attempt? What do I look for to see if it is indeed cable? Do you have any other safe option to save my knees on rare long treks? Doesn't have to be convenient, just safe. Edit: If it helps at all, from some extra digging I've found some cruise-control related info in the shop manual:  Note that the R has a 6-speed gearbox while the others were all a 5-speed. Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 14:11 on May 19, 2021 |
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May 19, 2021 13:56
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Motronic posted:shouldn't kill you because it defaults to disengaging if there' a problem I guess my paranoia with these things is that they're safe if you do it right, but reassuring nonetheless. Motronic posted:And yeah, it's probably DIY-able for just about anyone. Considering the work you've done on your house you can definitely do it. Cool, also reassuring. Motronic posted:Post a pic of under the bonnet and you'll immediately have at least 6 goons confirming if it is in fact cable driven. Will do.
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May 19, 2021 17:00
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Motronic posted:With the old school units you'd have to add or tap into an existing brake and clutch switch. That could absolutely be screwed up/badly adjusted. But this unit attaches to the canbus of the car and is taking data directly from your ECU. That probably makes it near completely failsafe. Hm. I'm not sure if that's the case with this one. I'm not sure this model of car has a CAN bus (at least there's no mention of it in the workshop manual) and the AP500 seems to very much be one of the old school ones: https://imgur.com/a/qizuZx9 (first two images are from what I think is the correct install manual) Looks like maybe the AP900 is the first one that behaves like you describe? Based on the image not having any obvious cable linkage:  but presumably I can't use that on a car without an electronic throttle.
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May 19, 2021 17:41
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Motronic posted:Ohhhhhh...I was look at the 900C feature list, not the 900. OK cool. Motronic posted:Post a pic of under the bonnet and you'll immediately have at least 6 goons confirming if it is in fact cable driven. Click for (very) big  Not sure if relevant, but some shots near the firewall:   For anyone kind enough to investigate, it's a RHD car so some things may be moved. Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 18:46 on May 19, 2021 |
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May 19, 2021 18:41
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IOwnCalculus posted:Your throttle body is this thing here: Alright, I'll assume it's cable for now, but I'll check again when it stops raining. Also something tells me I used too much copper grease in the past.
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May 19, 2021 18:55
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kastein posted:JB, there is a really good chance that instead of loving around with an aftermarket kit you can roll on over to the closest breakers that has one in stock with your engine and factory cruise control and simply buy all the parts that are different and plug them in on your car. This is usually possible because most oems use the same harness for with and without cruise models now to reduce inventory SKU count and assembly line complexity. Check the Honda specific forums and see if this is correct for your model, then you can probably buy like 100 worth of factory parts, plug it all in and it'll be like it had it from the factory. Given that the other models of the era apparently had electronic throttles I'm beginning to wonder if it was even an option on the Type R. But a good lead to investigate. Edit: From digging around it looks like fewer than 10k of these still exist so they're not super common on scrap yards, and with further digging I'm 80% sure cruise control was never a factory option for this one, only aircon. Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 21:40 on May 19, 2021 |
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May 19, 2021 21:23
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