I did a thing.

[zco]

wow.. 3decibel decrease is effectively half the noise. That is a dramatic difference! Well done..

I recently installed new door trims, and its got a nice plush foam underneath the leather. Cut out road noise dramatically. Definitely time to think about the rear tunnels. Thankyou!

[— kung fu jesus —]

It’s about a 5% decrease, but yes more than I expected.

[HarryB]

db scale is logarithmic, so definitely not 5% ;)

Excellent tip; I think we have discussed this a bit before in the sound deadening thread. I was thinking of ordering something like this to stuff in the tunnels:

https://www.celticsustainables.co.uk...er-insulation/

Lightweight, not particularly flammable, zero water absorption which make it seem really nice.

[— kung fu jesus —]

db scale is logarithmic, so definitely not 5% ;)

[— kung fu jesus —]

New shift knob. It’s delrin and I got it from Shift Solitions. I deal with heat a lot, both from location and use, so I dislike metal shift knobs a_lot. I wanted white as the fourth and minimal accent color and I like the translucence white delrin has when in direct light. I had a few others I sort of liked, but the pricing was either silly or the profile wasn’t really what I wanted. Here it is next to the OE shifter:







And the weights:





Not concerned about the weight difference. This new one has a sizable relief cut out for reverse lockout collar:



This cavity is 32mm and 16mm deep. It will allow me to add weight and a trim ring at the bottom as a transition between the shift knob and the boot. This will be fun to customize.

In the meantime:

[—Bryan—]

Definitely agree on the trim ring. Personally, I like my knobs to be pretty weighty.

[— Agent☣Orange —]

I still have my 1lb TWM knob that has followed me through multiple cars. It’s the opposite of KFJ’s preferences. Heavy metal.

[—Bryan—]

I still have my 1lb TWM knob that has followed me through multiple cars. It’s the opposite of KFJ’s preferences. Heavy metal.

My black Voodoo knob was the only piece of my old NA to come over to The Tick. It will only occasionally be replaced by Moss knob #013

[— kung fu jesus —]

Have had a couple of voodoo knobs over the years either in my Miata or my wife’s. They get exceptionally hot. I have had my hand slip off them in aggressive maneuvers. I wound up punching the centerstack once, splitting my knuckles open.

[—Bryan—]

Have had a couple of voodoo knobs over the years either in my Miata or my wife’s. They get exceptionally hot. I have had my hand slip off them in aggressive maneuvers. I wound up punching the centerstack once, splitting my knuckles open.

Aside from the heat thing, I've never had a problem with mine. Beer cozy over the knob left the knob feeling pleasantly warm even after a full workday left in the sun.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Experiment time.

How cheap can you DIY oil change? Long story short, $12.30. More interesting, this is with a full-synthetic oil and a quality filter.

While replenishing house supplies, I found Costco was selling their privately-branded, full-synthetic motor oil for $22/10 quarts. It comes in 2 5 quart jugs. DEXOS and API certified:







My wife’s Toyota needs a change soon, so I wanted to give this a shot. Her car requires 6 quarts, mine 4. At $2.20/quart, why not? These aren’t billet race engines and our oil times out before they reach their recommended mileage, especially during a pandemic.

My car also sees unusual situations; track, street, dense traffic, high ambient temps. I tend to change it often.


(For reference, this was shot on 8/1/20, my car now only has 173933 miles)

The filter is the last of a K&N oil filter stash I found on Woot.com. They were $3.50 each and had bought 3 or 4 last year.


(High-end K&N filter on left, standard K&N on right)

Also allowed me to change the drain plug. I found one from my previous engine tear downs. The PO had apparently lost the original and it had a 13mm replacement. I always forget about this and automatically drag a 19mm under the car out of habit.

















20 minutes later, result!

[atlex]

cracking price on FS oil. I pay about 5x as much as that for 5l, but then, I'm buying Millers... heh.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Yeah, used to be picky about oil. Now I just stick to synthetics and watch for deals.

With both of us working from home, I think we both average 5000 miles or less each annually.

Probably the more critical selection, in my experience, is after a fresh rebuild or for an extremely harsh environment.

Temperatures here range from -5c to 40c as the extremes. Usually much milder than that and the vehicles are kept in an insulated garage. It’s a humid subtropical climate.

[—Bryan—]

I need to find one of those barrels for used oil! Where would you get one?

[— kung fu jesus —]

Lowes or Home Depot.

The bucket is for food storage, so it’s translucent. The lid is water tight, I think if was near the other lids. I have used this setup for camping and paddle sports to keep food or items dry. The lid costs more than the bucket.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Encore-Plas...t-Lid/50094688