Switched to my silver Flatouts with the S-Drives yesterday since it’s getting colder, turns out two of them are right on the wear bars. After some research I discovered that Yokohama has discontinued that tire. Time to figure out a replacement. I also did some more autotuning, need to work on cold idle now.
I have been thinking about getting a pair of 3D printed visor blanking plates to replace the metal ones I have (don’t recall where I bought them without digging into my records). The machine screws that were used were just a little too small in diameter to hold properly so I wrapped them in Teflon tape to build them up. Not the greatest though as the driver’s side was continually loose. I ended up getting some from an Etsy seller who was close to me. My main concern with the 3D plates I saw is they seemed to be thick which I didn’t want them protruding. I’m happy to say the ones I got fit in the recess nicely. Here’s a comparison for the 3D and metal plates showing the screw difference:
Here is a shot showing the finish on the 3D plate, when it warms up I may sand them down smooth and then hit them with some paint:
Finally, a shot of it installed, you can see it’s in a good position:
I have noticed my wipers were slow, especially when using the one-sweep function. This morning I pulled my beauty plate off to access the linkage and lubed all moving points up with some PB Blaster Multi-Purpose Lube (Pro Grade, of course!). That took care of the issue.
Here is a shot showing the finish on the 3D plate, when it warms up I may sand them down smooth and then hit them with some paint:
Finally, a shot of it installed, you can see it’s in a good position:
I have noticed my wipers were slow, especially when using the one-sweep function. This morning I pulled my beauty plate off to access the linkage and lubed all moving points up with some PB Blaster Multi-Purpose Lube (Pro Grade, of course!). That took care of the issue.
Had to drive her in the snow yesterday, she’s a dirty girl now! Had an interesting moment on the way home, turning onto the road heading to my house and there was some slush piled up from the plows. Was going slow but not slow enough, she did not want to turn. I didn’t really want to kiss the front of the SUV sitting there so pumped the brakes some more and she finally bit and turned.
Since the Yoko S/drives I am running on my cold weather wheels are NLA, I decided to go with Yoko Fleva V701 in the same size (205/50-15). The $100 instant rebate for them from Tire Rack helped with that decision too. Those arrived today, will get them put on in the next few days.
Since the Yoko S/drives I am running on my cold weather wheels are NLA, I decided to go with Yoko Fleva V701 in the same size (205/50-15). The $100 instant rebate for them from Tire Rack helped with that decision too. Those arrived today, will get them put on in the next few days.
Got the Advan Fleva V701s (such a long name!) mounted today. Installer dinged up the lip of one valve stem not allowing me to put the metal cap on, I showed it to them and they are going to make it right once I get the new stem from 949 Racing. Drove them for about 50 miles, didn’t get too crazy as temps are mid-30s so a little outside their happy zone, and I was scrubbing the release agent off. They felt at least as grippy as the S/drives which isn’t a bad thing.
Used her as a truck to get my wife’s front wheel/tire home (she hit a pothole which had the rim slice through the sidewall, killing it). FYI, a 245/40-20 Camaro wheel/tire combo fits in the front seat. Probably would have slotted in without dropping the top, but that made it easier and got me some bonus looks on the way home.
Used her as a truck to get my wife’s front wheel/tire home (she hit a pothole which had the rim slice through the sidewall, killing it). FYI, a 245/40-20 Camaro wheel/tire combo fits in the front seat. Probably would have slotted in without dropping the top, but that made it easier and got me some bonus looks on the way home.
