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Javid posted:A $35 steelie and having the best of your old tires mounted on it every time you get a new set makes for a great non-donut spare if you have the trunk space for it. As for maintaining your own full size spare, I love it. On more than one occasion, I've pulled out factory spares in an emergency, only to find that it is as flat as a week old beer and my problem is further from solved. As for AAA-type responders, I've seen an increase in "emergency service techs" who rather than respond with a tow truck and tool box, they are responding in a two door Kia with a set of jumper cables and a flashlight. Dude, if i wanted that i could have just flagged someone down
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Jan 12, 2016 07:21
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When I bought my bus it came with four lovely, lovely 11-year-old tires (that I then proceeded to drive 1400-1600 miles on  ) and a brand-new, fullsize spare in the spare wheel compartment. Fucker probably pulled and sold the new tires and forgot about the spare.Anyway, point being: if you get a fullsize spare made from your best old tire, you will never need to use it. So, do that.
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Jan 12, 2016 09:32
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When I bought my '66 Corvette in 2008, it had the original spare. As far as I can tell, anyway...no DOT date stamp since the DOT didn't exist yet, but it's "correct" according to people who pay hundreds of dollars for these things. I have slime, a small 12v pump, and roadside assistance since they don't make tires in this size anymore.
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Jan 12, 2016 10:24
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CharlieWhiskey posted:As for AAA-type responders, I've seen an increase in "emergency service techs" who rather than respond with a tow truck and tool box, they are responding in a two door Kia with a set of jumper cables and a flashlight. Dude, if i wanted that i could have just flagged someone down  He did at least have a HF jack and a cordless impact. He only needed to get at my spare tools to lower the spare from under the bed.
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Jan 12, 2016 17:15
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What the hell, have they moved to a lyft/uber kind of business model?
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Jan 12, 2016 17:55
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Nah, I used AAA flatbed to take my bus to a friend's garage a few weeks back. It still exists.
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Jan 12, 2016 18:17
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H110Hawk posted:I was a passenger riding home 32 miles in a 2009 Mercedes ML320 with a flat right/rear tire, which is runflat. We took side streets the whole way to keep it under 50mph. Went flat when we hit a flooded portion of freeway at 65mph. Speaking of this, he just got his car back from Costco. While they got in a replacement tire, he said they just patched it and the tire is not de-rated. Is that correct? I assume it is not longer considered "runflat" given it's basically to 50 miles "flat." I don't know the make/model of tire unfortunately, though I could look it up Thursday.
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Jan 12, 2016 19:14
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Didn't seem to hydroplane based on how hard we plowed through it and how much water displaced onto the windshield. El Niño indeed. I feel bad for his AWD system.
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I am drawing a blank, and numerous searches haven't turned up anything (except pictures of wrong engines, and... Bodybuilders?) Does anyone remember an engine, I want to say from Volvo or Saab, mid- to late 90's, where the head was movable? It was a small amount, it pivoted approximately 3 degrees or so. I can't even remember if it was a 4 or 5 cylinder. Thanks in advance for the help.
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Jan 12, 2016 23:46
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I think that was a Saab concept, I don't think it ever entered production. nonedit: found it
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Jan 12, 2016 23:53
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Thanks for the help. Please accept this picture of AJ Foyt eating a sandwich.
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Jan 13, 2016 00:51
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Reposting here since the track day thread seems closed for the winter. I'm a tall guy (6'3", 200 lbs, 34 inch waist, 33" inseam. I have a long neck) and I'm looking for a track day seat that gives me some more headroom with a helmet on. I have a 2009 CTS-V with the base seats and I'm less than an inch from the headliner, and with a helmet on I'm either stooping or gangsta leaning. If anyone cares, tape measure says from the floor to where the seat cushion is without any weight in it is about 7". What seats would you recommend for track day time? The drag strip is an hour away, and I'm pretty sure a bucket wouldn't kill me an hour each way. There's also an affordable circuit about a half hour from here, so I'm not JUST looking for a drag strip seat. If I could find a comfortable pair of reclining sport seats I'd just as soon do that, granted I also got the headroom I need, and just put the base seats in storage until I trade the car whenever.
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Jan 13, 2016 05:49
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I am trying to learn more about basic automotive maintenance since I've come into owning an older car that drives like a loving dream but has been slowly getting small problems that I feel I might be getting gouged on if I take them to mechanics all the time. It's a 1998 Buick LeSabre with a 3.8L V6 with 228k miles on it, and just yesterday I noticed what sounded like an electrical clicking that was followed by a thudding noise that shook my car while I was idling. Check engine light came on not too long after, and I took it to AutoZone to have them get the code on it and its a cylinder misfire from a bad spark plug apparently. The guy there immediately starts trying to sell me on a full set of six iridium tipped spark plugs and the matching manufacturer's wire set, which would've come out to about 120 bucks all told. I've worked IT and I've worked retail so I had a feeling he was bullshitting me on how absolutely wonderful these plugs were, but I know so little about cars that I wanted to check on it. Is there any reason I should get iridium plugs rather than plain ol' copper? His suggestion of replacing all six plugs when one goes bad made a little bit of sense but it still seemed excessive at like 10 bucks a plug. I drive it about 10 miles a day commuting to and from work, and the most it gets driven is on holidays when I drive across the state to my family, which is about 500 miles round trip. Also, are there any suggestions on where I can go to be a bit more informed on things like this? I like to have at least some idea of what I'm being talked at about, and I've realized especially how little I actually know after I had to get the sway bar links replaced on this thing, since I had no loving idea what a sway bar was. 
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Jan 13, 2016 16:46
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99% of the time, it's best to replace plugs with the same material the manufacturer used. Copper, platinum, iridium, whatever. Yours probably came with plats (check your manual)...and stay away from the gimmick multi-prong bullshit plugs, too. The different materials have their own unique benefits (copper is cheap, plat lasts forever, I've never had a car that liked iridium, so I dunno), but it seems to me that cars really really like the ones they were designed for. As far as wires, it's not as big a deal. The manufacturer's wires will be cut to a more exact length, whereas the universals are probably a little longer, which isn't usually a problem. Just don't let it rest on the exhaust or something. But that's basically cosmetic and I've never had a problem with a universal set. He's right about replacing them all at the same time, unless they're already pretty new (ie, in six months you have to replace another one). You really do need to take longer trips more often though. You're barely getting to operating temperature (maybe) so you might not be burning off condensation in the engine, your catalytic converter might not be getting up to temp which impacts a bunch of things, and your alternator probably doesn't have enough time to fully recharge your battery so it's slowly being strangled. Edit: V gently caress YES Godholio fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Jan 13, 2016 |
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Jan 13, 2016 17:05
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Also, when you're replacing plug wires, replace them one at a time unless you want to be googling "1998 Buick LeSabre firing order".
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Jan 13, 2016 17:08
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Godholio posted:You really do need to take longer trips more often though. You're barely getting to operating temperature (maybe) so you might not be burning off condensation in the engine, your catalytic converter might not be getting up to temp which impacts a bunch of things, and your alternator probably doesn't have enough time to fully recharge your battery so it's slowly being strangled. I didn't remember how far I'm going but it turns out I'm driving it at minimum 25 miles a day. For some reason I thought my commute was shorter than it was, but going from my house to work is about 12.5 miles. I do let it idle to warm up in the mornings, but that's typically just in the winter; it's usually idling for about 5 minutes or so while I get my stuff for work and feed the cats, then probably another 5 or so if there's frost on the windows. It's about 15 - 20 minutes to drive to work depending on traffic. I work IT and sometimes head out on service calls, but that 25 miles is the bare minimum I am doing daily. Dunno if that's any better, but I don't typically have a lot of reason to drive outside of errands and work.The owner's manual I found online lists AC Type 41-921 as the spark plug it recommends; googling says it's an iridium tipped one. So I guess they weren't exactly trying to screw me over; like I said, I'm used to chain store 'experts' to just be experts on the company's teachings in the matter, not actually an expert on the subject they're talking about. Safety Dance posted:Also, when you're replacing plug wires, replace them one at a time unless you want to be googling "1998 Buick LeSabre firing order". I'll keep this in mind! Last thing I want is to make this poo poo more complicated than it already is. John Dyne fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Jan 13, 2016 |
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Jan 13, 2016 17:22
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Another thing you can do is buy a repair manual for your car. Haynes and Chilton are the most common publishers. They're nice to start out with since the first chapters are aimed at service and repairs that can be done with little experience. However, they are known to occasionally have mistakes and be downright wrong now and then. (Eg. Mine told me I had to remove my bumper to replace a headlight lens. This was untrue.) Even if you don't intend to do many repairs yourself those books have a lot of useful info and can teach you a lot about your car that can help you be more informed when getting work done. And at $20-$30 it isn't much of an investment.
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Jan 13, 2016 17:44
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John Dyne posted:I didn't remember how far I'm going but it turns out I'm driving it at minimum 25 miles a day. For some reason I thought my commute was shorter than it was, but going from my house to work is about 12.5 miles. I do let it idle to warm up in the mornings, but that's typically just in the winter; it's usually idling for about 5 minutes or so while I get my stuff for work and feed the cats, then probably another 5 or so if there's frost on the windows. This should be more than enough driving to get it warmed up fully, unless you have a stuck-open thermostat (in which case, you'd have gently caress-all for heat too). Some Googling makes it seem like the 41-921 was originally a double platinum but at some point GM started recommending iridium plugs instead. Either one would be fine in an application like that, especially since as far as I can tell you don't have a supercharger on that 3.8. The big benefit of platinum / iridium plugs is longer life compared to copper plugs. They don't necessarily work any better, they just wear much more slowly.
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Jan 13, 2016 17:56
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From a performance perspective, copper plugs are the best, but they don't last that long and on forced induction engines the added stress wears them remarkably quick. Plat or iridium should be fine, check amazon, sometimes they're surprisingly cheap for basic maintenance parts.
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Jan 13, 2016 18:07
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So, I was traveling abroad for most of 2015, and my Corolla was driven maybe only once a week by my mom to keep it in good shape. Today though, I looked up at the maintenance sticker and saw that my next scheduled maintenance was July of last year (I last got it serviced last February) or ~27k miles...I'm at ~25 now. Miles so low because I was traveling. So how much does regular maintenance by time matter vs in terms of miles? Do I need to get it serviced, even though I'm about 2,000 miles behind when the sticker says I should get it serviced? I have a 2012 Toyota Corolla.
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Jan 14, 2016 01:38
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Hi, spark plug engineer here! Go ahead and use what the manufacturer recommends. If it was 41-921 then it was originally a platinum plug. Basically, an iridium plug is a better platinum plug but cheaper (to make, anyway). Nickel (I know people call them copper but it's nickel, drat it) plugs are not as good as iridium in any way except price. However, if your car is tuned for nickel plugs, you're better off using them than a precious metal plug because the spark timings can be off (too early). But even though iridium plugs will cost 10 bucks a piece, they last 100k miles (modern turbocharged engines aside) so you don't have to replace them as often as nickel plugs (30k life).
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Jan 14, 2016 01:40
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:So, I was traveling abroad for most of 2015, and my Corolla was driven maybe only once a week by my mom to keep it in good shape. Today though, I looked up at the maintenance sticker and saw that my next scheduled maintenance was July of last year (I last got it serviced last February) or ~27k miles...I'm at ~25 now. Miles so low because I was traveling. You should be changing your oil at least once a year regardless of mileage.
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Jan 14, 2016 02:03
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totalnewbie posted:Hi, spark plug engineer here! My car runs on LPG, should I care about special plugs?
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Jan 14, 2016 02:05
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Maybe. Probably not. Plugs are steel with a plating. NGK and Champion use zinc plating with trivalent chromate. Bosch and Denso use a nickel plating. Zinc + chromate is better than nickel usually, but sometimes combustion byproducts are not so kind (e.g. E100 - but not E85!) and nickel plating is better. But, NGK (don't know about champion) makes nickel-plated (plus trivalent chromate) plugs that are better. For NGK plugs, if there is a D at the end (after the SECOND) number, then it's nickel plated. (e.g. ILTR5D is not nickel plated because the D comes after the first number) Anyway! For normal petrol, zinc + trivalent chromate > nickel + trivalent chromate > nickel and for E100, some CNG, and some LPG, nickel + trivalent chromate > zinc + trivalent chromate. The failure mode is corrosion of the metal shell and getting stuck to the head. So, if you're not having problems getting your plugs out then the straight answer to your question is no. If you are, then switch to a NGK nickel plated plug, or next Denso then next Bosch plug. In the end, order of quality pretty much goes NGK/Denso - > Bosch - > Champion - > anybody else. (this doesn't include brands like ACDELCO, MOPAR, etc because they don't actually make any pkugs)
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Jan 14, 2016 02:21
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They sell it as having a very small spark gap and very hot spark as to ignite the mixture more quickly and completely? But because of the spark gap the electrode is very thin so it has to be platinum or iridium for longevity. Or so I'm told.... But they are like €20 to €25 each so a set would cost me €100 so instead I went for factory spec NGK's and paid €20 for a set. Maybe I'll have to replace them in 10k who knows but for that money who cares?
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Jan 14, 2016 02:28
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So, there's a thing called ignitability. What this means is, after the spark occurs, how quickly the flame kernel expands. Better ignitability means it grows faster and you have better idle stability at low RPMs. Benefit at high RPMs is low/minimal. So you can do two things with this: adjust your spark timing or keep the same spark timing but reduce the gap size (lower demand voltage, better durability - more important in turbo engined). Or adjust your A/F, so more than two things. But for all those things, obviously, your car has to be calibrated to take damage of it. Otherwise, it just offers better durability over the nickel plugs (just because of the material difference). The center electrode is much smaller than nickel, which is what gives it the ignitability benefit. This benefit decreases with increased gap size. This is why multi-pronged spark plugs aren't great, but they are designed to avoid fouling anyway, it for ignitability, and in that they are great. On the ground electrode, there may or may not be a platinum pad, and of course having one is better for durability. But it doesn't affect ignitability. And what the gently caress, why are spark plugs that expensive. Nickel should be a couple euro each at most and iridium maybe 10 euro at most. totalnewbie fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jan 14, 2016 |
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Jan 14, 2016 02:39
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Thanks for the info man, appreciate it. 
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Jan 14, 2016 02:43
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Sure. But everyone should keep in mind that, because combustion in an ICE depends on so many factors, the things related to plugs are always when keeping all other things equal, and always depends on the engine. Any time the OEM asks us a question, our answer is always that it should be ultimately verified on the actual engine.
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Jan 14, 2016 02:46
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totalnewbie posted:And what the gently caress, why are spark plugs that expensive. Nickel should be a couple euro each at most and iridium maybe 10 euro at most. Idk man, you tell me. These go for that kind of money : https://www.ngk.de/en/sales/products-and-assortments/spark-plugs/lpg-laserline/
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Jan 14, 2016 02:46
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IOwnCalculus posted:This should be more than enough driving to get it warmed up fully, unless you have a stuck-open thermostat (in which case, you'd have gently caress-all for heat too). Some Googling makes it seem like the 41-921 was originally a double platinum but at some point GM started recommending iridium plugs instead. Either one would be fine in an application like that, especially since as far as I can tell you don't have a supercharger on that 3.8. Also, the iridium plugs that thing takes can probably be had for ~6 bucks through autolite or a regular iridium NGK plug. Iridium also supposedly has a hotter spark, but it should be gapped to provide the same heat as the old platinum plugs. So really, you're just buying the ability to put that next spark plug change off even longer. 
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Jan 14, 2016 04:31
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Elmnt80 posted:Also, the iridium plugs that thing takes can probably be had for ~6 bucks through autolite or a regular iridium NGK plug. Iridium also supposedly has a hotter spark, but it should be gapped to provide the same heat as the old platinum plugs. So really, you're just buying the ability to put that next spark plug change off even longer. Don't buy Autolite. Honeywell hasn't made a decent spark plug in years. Also, while the spark of a plug can have different energy levels, that's largely determined by the coils, not the plug. What it has is better ignitability (see above), which is probably what people mean when they say "hotter spark" or whatever. Iridium generally has better ignitability than platinum, because it's smaller diameter than platinum center electrodes owing to its better durability. For modern combustion chambers that are designed for turbocharged engines, you need the better ignitability because they idle like poo poo without it, and you'll need the gap smaller at high loads or you'll misfire because the demand voltage is too high with a bigger gap. Better ignitability also lets you run leaner and get better gas mileage (but obviously, your car has to be calibrated to take advantage of it). spankmeister posted:Idk man, you tell me. These go for that kind of money : That's probably the nickel (+ trivalent chromate) plating. What plug does your car take? Maybe I can find a nickel plated plug for less. Also, ngk.com is a distributor and not affiliated with NGK Spark Plugs the manufacturer, also maker of NTK sensors (not to be confused with NGK Insulators, a different company, who makes sensors under the NGK branding). Oh, oops, that's ngk.de. Looks like the actual NGK Spark Plugs company  They made this a few years ago, it's pretty neat: http://www.ngk-elearning.com/Their website is so much better than the USA branch. totalnewbie fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Jan 14, 2016 |
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Jan 14, 2016 04:45
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I seem to remember you mentioning that NGK makes a lot of AC Delco's plugs too, right? I know Delco plugs had a mail-in rebate when I bought mine, which brought them down to $4/each (shipped) for the iridium plugs. Looks like they're running the same rebate again. Though that also means the person that sparked this whole conversation will need to check to see which AC Delco plug is the current correct plug for their car, as the original part # they mentioned seems to be pretty hard to find now (and stupid expensive when you find it).
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Jan 14, 2016 06:21
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totalnewbie posted:Maybe. Probably not. Plugs are steel with a plating. Similar question from me: I have an '06 Saab that has an aftermarket LPG conversion and it is hard to find definitive answers about anything. Standard plugs are NGK PFR6T-10G (Electrode gap 0.9–1.0 mm) - should I go ahead and just get another set? And does LPG have any negative/positive affects on spark plug wear?
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Jan 14, 2016 10:43
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some texas redneck posted:I seem to remember you mentioning that NGK makes a lot of AC Delco's plugs too, right? Yes, the supplier for most of AC Delco's plugs is NGK and Denso for the V8 engines. Some of the new smaller engines is using someone else, but I don't think they'll be doing that again. spog posted:Similar question from me: I have an '06 Saab that has an aftermarket LPG conversion and it is hard to find definitive answers about anything. Durability, no, not really. The major difference is possibility of corrosion of the metal shell and it getting stuck in the head. It's a problem with some LPG engines, some CNG engines, and all engines that ever run E100 (basically Brazil). I would say that, generally for LPG, you don't need to change to a nickel (+ trivalent chromate) plated plug unless you run into problems getting the plug out. More than the normal problems, that is. And don't put neverseze on your plugs (and I know we've had this discussion before and some people think it's fine and yes, it won't make your car go boom, but it's like running your tires under or over inflated - not recommended).
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Jan 14, 2016 14:40
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totalnewbie posted:Yes, the supplier for most of AC Delco's plugs is NGK and Denso for the V8 engines. Some of the new smaller engines is using someone else, but I don't think they'll be doing that again. Not all plugs have coated threads. You can and should use antiseize on them while obviously paying attention that you'll need about a quarter less torque on them.
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Jan 14, 2016 14:50
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You're right - if the spark plug is black, it's not plated and you should use antiseize. But I'm pretty sure no one has made a non-plated spark plug (for automotive) in decades, unless you're in some third world country.
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Jan 14, 2016 15:49
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totalnewbie posted:But I'm pretty sure no one has made a non-plated spark plug (for automotive) in decades, unless you're in some third world country. You'd think that, but they still make them, and they're all of two cents cheaper at your local US chain store parts counter! I don't know why AutoZone/O'Reilly is ordering them or why anyone's buying them, but the option is there.
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Jan 14, 2016 19:26
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I have a 2002 Forester which will not start. It ran fine this morning on my way to work. I did not leave any lights on. When I turned the key, nothing happened at all - not even a click or anything. I got someone to give me a jump and the engine sounded like it was having trouble turning on. The interior lights worked while the car was being jumped. I turned off all lights when I was trying to start the car. Any ideas? Maybe just a new battery is needed?
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Jan 14, 2016 19:30
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My windshield is fogging up like crazy on the inside. Is there a common cause for that? I thought it was because my wife had left a drink inside the car, but even with it out it keeps fogging up. I do have a pretty badly cracked windshield, could that cause it? Also, if you're towing an AWD car, do you need to have all four wheels off the ground? It's a manual, if that makes a difference.
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Jan 14, 2016 19:49
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me your dad posted:I have a 2002 Forester which will not start. It ran fine this morning on my way to work. I did not leave any lights on. It is possible that a battery is so dead that it can't be easily jumped - especially with marginal jumper cables. 22 Eargesplitten posted:Also, if you're towing an AWD car, do you need to have all four wheels off the ground? It's a manual, if that makes a difference. Read your manual to be sure, but in most cases yes you want an AWD car to be flatbedded.
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Jan 14, 2016 19:56
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IOwnCalculus posted:It is possible that a battery is so dead that it can't be easily jumped - especially with marginal jumper cables. Ah god drat. I didn't think of this. The jumpers we used were pretty small-gauge. They came from some kind of roadside emergency kit a coworker had. I'll try to locate some more robust cables tomorrow.
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Jan 14, 2016 20:39
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