Wrenchin... Adventures under the hood... Put em here.

[MontuckyFried]

Yes, but… anything ‘Pilot Sport…’, which mf was talking about, will be a high performance tire. Then there are ‘Pilot Super Sport’, ‘Pilot Sport Cup’, etc.

Exactly. The ones I'm looking at are NOT the same as those Super Sports, Sport Cups, etc. However, should be good enough to have fun around town and have decent wet/dry traction. ANYTHING's gotta be better than these garbage Hankooks tho.

[Timberridge]

Here's the funny thing about the super sticky tires that cling to the pavement like dog shit to a shoe. When they go, and they eventually go 'cause of physics, they don't squeal to let you know the pain they are feeling, they just toss you into the woods without warning.

[MontuckyFried]

Here's the funny thing about the super sticky tires that cling to the pavement like dog shit to a shoe. When they go, and they eventually go 'cause of physics, they don't squeal to let you know the pain they are feeling, they just toss you into the woods without warning.

Sounds like you may know this from experience. Is there a good story behind this?

[Timberridge]

I used to do checkouts at BMW drivers schools--signing off that novices can go out solo w/o instructor. One guy showed up with a nice M3 with high performance street tires (probably the equivalent of Pilot Sport 4's today) and after I checked him out, he was doing really well. Anyway, the bug bit him and every time I'd run into him at the track he was running better lap times and moving up in the groups...still on the h/p street tires. He eventually gets to the fastest group and decides he should get a set of really sticky tires --at the time a popular choice was the Goodrich Comp T/A Race compound which I don't think was 100% street legal but a bunch of guys ran them on the street anyway. First session out he spins into the infield. No harm, grass everywhere but he didn't hit anything. Two sessions later he's in the wall with a totaled car.
Moral of the story, the limits are higher but margin for error is tighter with the really high performance tires.

[warthog]

Sounds like something the narrator of A Christmas Story would say in the background to the father making poor decisions.

Pretty sure it is attributed to Ben Franklin, so you are kinda right?

[MontuckyFried]

I used to do checkouts at BMW drivers schools--signing off that novices can go out solo w/o instructor. One guy showed up with a nice M3 with high performance street tires (probably the equivalent of Pilot Sport 4's today) and after I checked him out, he was doing really well. Anyway, the bug bit him and every time I'd run into him at the track he was running better lap times and moving up in the groups...still on the h/p street tires. He eventually gets to the fastest group and decides he should get a set of really sticky tires --at the time a popular choice was the Goodrich Comp T/A Race compound which I don't think was 100% street legal but a bunch of guys ran them on the street anyway. First session out he spins into the infield. No harm, grass everywhere but he didn't hit anything. Two sessions later he's in the wall with a totaled car.
Moral of the story, the limits are higher but margin for error is tighter with the really high performance tires.

Oh wow. That IS a good lesson to know (secondhand). Yeah, I suppose for my non-racing purposes having some tire squeal as I approach the limits might actually be a good thing then. Now that I think about it, being able to hear that WAS always a good gauge of how much more I can go vs needing to back off. Hadn't really thought about that before.

Now how about super sticky Z rubber + rear engined cars w/ snap oversteer, a la MR2, older 911's, etc? I learned about that the hard way once when spinning out a '96 993 Turbo. I got REALLY lucky that a harmless 180 was all that happened and I didn't slide anywhere close to hitting anything, but I learned all about NOT letting off the gas mid-turn on those cars. Haha. That car also had some super fat, ultra-high performance tires that didn't talk back much either. You could go silly fast on cloverleafs and it had SO much more left in it. Car definitely exceeded my own driving capability. By a lot. That car was such a riot to hoon around in.

[Cocximus]

I like the pilot sports as3 because they feel like an 18"+ tire on my 17" wheels. I drive fairly aggressively, and I can tell a soft sidewall and hate it. I also take my car on FSRs where most wouldn't. I'm not the "Armor All" type, but I do enjoy a high performance tire. The PS AS3 was everything I wanted in a tire. Other than cost I would get the AS4 without question. I probably don't need the PS AS grip, but I want comparable road feel and sidewall support. With that in mind will I hate the general 05? I don't care about snow performance, I run winters.

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[MontuckyFried]

I like the pilot sports as3 because they feel like an 18"+ tire on my 17" wheels. I drive fairly aggressively, and I can tell a soft sidewall and hate it. I also take my car on FSRs where most wouldn't. I'm not the "Armor All" type, but I do enjoy a high performance tire. The PS AS3 was everything I wanted in a tire. Other than cost I would get the AS4 without question. I probably don't need the PS AS grip, but I want comparable road feel and sidewall support. With that in mind will I hate the general 05? I don't care about snow performance, I run winters.

I think you pretty much summed up what makes Michelins so special. They seem to be king when it comes to sidewalls.

Don't even TRY to compare a General 05 to a Michelin PS. Haha. Much squishier sidewall in comparison. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly fine for my boring XC70 which I drive super chill in, but if you drive sporty, I might look elsewhere. Right tool for the job and all that. It's why I actually really like them for my wagon, but do NOT want them for my C30.

[Cocximus]

That's for the feedback.

On the same note my winter tires are Continental Winter Contact SI Tire on 16". They are very squishy. Before I had altimax, and from what I remember they were better. I am thinking to go up to 17" for my next set.

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[MontuckyFried]

That's for the feedback.

On the same note my winter tires are Continental Winter Contact SI Tire on 16". They are very squishy. Before I had altimax, and from what I remember they were better. I am thinking to go up to 17" for my next set.

What about the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5?

[gravitylover]

Those 05s were fine on the lightweight BRZ, actually helped the car ride a smidge better than the Conti Extreme Contact DWS06 but I don't know if I'd want them on a 4k pound car unless you find them in a 104 load rating.

[bonewrenched]

New Koyo rad. GX already had the trans cooler, so just had to snip a line to complete the divorce. Currently driving around town to get any last air bubbles out, but I'll report back if I catch fire after taking her on the highway.

[unitofstuff]

Did water pump, belts and pulleys, and a valve cover gasket on the E36 this weekend, which is a car I don't drive in snow or salt. So if you're in SLC, I'm sorry/you're welcome for the snow.

[fatnslow]

Karma is a BITCH ! At one point I made fun of gravity for not being able to remove a serpentine belt on his Rover and now I find myself with a frozen tensioner on my car. Had to order a new one that will most likely require me to cut the old belt out for the new tensioner and alternator.
There is a 19 MM dummy head that releases tension and that MF'er rounded on me, many reports of people having the same issue. Of well, at this point the car owes me nothing and any sacrifice to the parts gods is just what's needed to keep the old girl happy.

[gravitylover]

[El Chupacabra]

The tires on my cargo trailer are from 2010, so overdue to replace. Ordered two from Walmart on a black Friday deal, and delivered today. They arrived compressed into a kind of cone shape, with the beads touching and way off to one side. Pulled apart the beads, tried reshaping the tires, and they're still pretty weird and uneven looking.

Google tells me this is normal for trailer and other small tires like lawn equipment. Is it? Or should I just return these things?

[El Chupacabra]

This is what the tires look like now, after I pulled the beads apart. Were much worse when they arrived.

[gravitylover]

How pliable is the casing? Does it feel like it'll "pop" into shape like a bike tire?

[El Chupacabra]

Not pliable, very stiff.

Upon closer inspection, I received bias ply tires. The web page description said radial. I'm returning these.

[simple]

I always order trailer tires mounted to rims but that's just me. My tire people won't even mount trailer tires anymore

[El Chupacabra]

I figure that if Walmart sells them, their tire shop will mount them too. Will try again when I see a sale on some radial trailer tires. I don't need them until spring - cargo trailer isn't going anywhere over winter.

[fatnslow]

Defeated for a second attempt on the serp belt tensioner. Had a bit of time this afternoon and ended up shearing off the lower hex of a hydraulic tensioner. I guess I'll be cutting the MF'ing belt and replacing it along with the alternator. Been a minute since what I thought would be an easy repair turns into this much of a challenge. My guess is it's the original unit and after 17 years and 200k miles the hydraulic cylinder or the pivot point is seized.

[Timberridge]

For Austin...(Al from Happy Days @3:30)

[MontuckyFried]

Defeated for a second attempt on the serp belt tensioner. Had a bit of time this afternoon and ended up shearing off the lower hex of a hydraulic tensioner. I guess I'll be cutting the MF'ing belt and replacing it along with the alternator. Been a minute since what I thought would be an easy repair turns into this much of a challenge. My guess is it's the original unit and after 17 years and 200k miles the hydraulic cylinder or the pivot point is seized.

Welcome to my world, bro. ...Welcome to my world. (and gravity's) Best of luck with the project.

[Art Shirk]

Fuck me. Can someone tell me how hosed I may be here before my mechanic does? Ran into town today and drove the B6 S4 Avant. It doesn’t get a lot of road time and it snowed so it was perfect for a jaunt.

No aggressive driving or anything on the trip. 15 mins into trip I stopped at a stop sign and was in neutral. Went back to shift to 1st and it basically hit a wall and couldn’t get into gear. Car has enough torque so no prob starting from 2nd and moved into 2nd no prob.

Continued driving and found that 1-3-5 were all the same and couldnt shift into them. 2-4-6 were fine.

Drove to store and back with gears I had. If it’s linkage or bushings or something does this sound like a major deal? Something far worse or dropping a tranny?

Since you basically have to remove the engine in old Audis to replace the blinker fluid, I’m expecting that I may need to raid the kids’ 529s


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