I have personally never used FCP Euro as the time and distance for me to take advantage of their return policy far outweighs that of the total drive time and associated costs to do so. If I lived in Vancouver, that would likely be a different story.

I won a contest on Rennlist for a case of Motul 300V and ran it in my Boxster for a season and it smoked like crazy so I stopped using it and switched back to off-the-shelf oil. If Motul 300v didn’t smoke on my ghetto car, I’d take advantage of FCP Euro’s return policy.

The border guards still give me shit but I tell them I'm making a warranty return and have the documents to prove it LOL.

You don't even pay for shipping. Return shipping is covered by PayPal.

I also got Castrol SRF from FCPEuro LOL. They might ban me for abusing the policy if I warranty it every week, but I only track about 2-3x a season. Hoping to bump it up to 5 but rotors and pads are expensive with no FCPEuro support.

That's going to be a pad thing rather than something lines and fluid can solve, like my experience it's most likely going to be a consistency thing rather than bite.

You'll probably need to do more research on which pad gives you the drag profile you are looking for and even have to shell out for a few sets. I don't know how the braking system is on the FK8 (was supposed to give Cho's car a twirl but didn't happen at the end).

For my MS3, I noticed that the car is something retarded like 85% front and 15% rear brakes. I was at 100k when I finally swapped out the rears, and that was because I was taking the car to Mission and wanted to swap otherwise the original OEM bits would have probably lasted another 50k.
I did the poor man's brake proportioning by installing a more aggressive pad on the rear (Stoptech sport on the front, EBC Yellow rear) to move the brake balance rearward. It worked though the drag profile was a little off as the yellows gripped harder as I braked harder.

On a trip back from Portland, averaged 3.8 km/100 L in the Insight sans hypermiling as we were still going around 70 mph most of the way back.

This was all ICE only as the hybrid battery is disconnected (awaiting lithium conversion).

https://scontent.fcxh3-1.fna.fbcdn.n...dQ&oe=63291D78

Such cool gauges.

Reading this made me randomly remember the time Dodge produced multiple years of the Daytona with it spelled "GAGE" on the cluster's warning lights in every car lol

I washed my car today

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/atta...11-jpg.852704/

I added cf mirror caps. Easy stick on with double sided tape
Should protect this exposed plastic from rock chips
https://i.postimg.cc/DwkWwJYD/IMG-6317.jpg

And got this key enclosure from aliexpress

https://i.postimg.cc/Bbf6QRmF/07-B0-...-C1-DD5-D0.jpg

Nice Corolla

Anyone use ONR as a waterless wash?

I was thinking of something like this - use hose to spray it down, spray ONR at 16:1 dilution (quick detailer dilution), wipe dry. This is for when I don't have time to do a full on foam and two bucket wash.

People recommend Opti-Clean for it instead, but just wondering what you guys think since I received a bottle of it today after reading about how versatile it is. I just made a few bottles of it diluted for quick detailing, interior detailing/glass cleaner and as a clay lube.

Got my Figs cerakoted header heat shield and subframe braces this weekend and installed them immediately:

https://i.imgur.com/63M1W4A.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hA35tWG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uvIRSL1.jpg

Replaced these OEM stamped braces:
https://i.imgur.com/rZ306J4.jpg

with these:
https://i.imgur.com/MnrGRxw.jpg

I could feel the difference made by the braces but it was subtle.

Also measured the dimensions of the rear lower control arm in order to calculate the motion ratio, to select the appropriate spring rate when the time comes for a set of coilovers. I am aiming for a frequency of 2hz to 2.5hz… interestingly there is no reliable data on the IS300/Altezza on the internet (everyone just goes “this is too soft” without any data to back up their claims) whilst GT86’s suspension geometries can easily be found…

After a week of testing, I can conclude that the grounding kit makes a huge difference in throttle response (IS300 is 75% drive-by-wire…)

I have a bottle of ONR, used it a few times but I don't like it. I'll just drive it to Royal Oak and spray it down, I get the benefit of spray down the wheel wells too.

I've used Onr as clay lube quick detailer but never as a soap as I have so many other soaps I haven't finished. When I get lazy or if the weather is bad what I do is still with a bucket of soap. But I mist the whole car down still with a hose on mist setting inside the garage. Then I wash each panel with a mitt then mist off each panel one by one. I still haven't run into the situation where I had to wash a car with zero water and had to fully use Onr. :pokerface:

No need to hose it down unless it's really dirty just spray and wipe. Optimum's rec is 10oz to a gallon for waterless washing (https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetaili...aterless_wash/).

I do ONR rinse less with a Big Red Sponge (https://carzilla.ca/products/optimum-big-red-sponge) instead and think it's the easiest way to do an ONR wash. I can bang it out in 15-20 mins in my garage during the winter. I get maybe a litre or two of water on the ground - not so much that it annoys my wife.

re: 2 bucket - this year I switched to just using 4-5 mitts with one bucket instead and I find it saves me a bit of time and is a bit less hassle. The dirty mitts just go into another bucket.

Wait how did you get PayPal to cover the return shipping, When i used the LRG I had to pay shipping from usps.

Swapped out the test pipe/catless header on the Mini today for a Scorpion performance header with 200 cel catalytic converter.

Thank goodnes for no more exhaust leak and a more civil ride without all the cracks, bangs, awful unburnt fuel smell and check engine lights on the dash.

Pro Tip: Buying parts originating from the UK results in no duty! Eff you, NAFTA! (Or whatever it's called now.)

Installed front and rear Cusco lower arm braces today:

Stock
https://i.imgur.com/GTUmC21.jpg

Stock vs Cusco front
https://i.imgur.com/e3rXkGF.jpg

Installed
https://i.imgur.com/H709Ddg.jpg

The rear brace was a pain in the neck. No problem with 7 of the 8 bolts but the tolerance on the last bolt/hole was too tight; I had to remove the bolts and reinstalled the brace twice under the car. Now my body is sore.
https://i.imgur.com/2siBLNc.jpg

Took it for a test drive and it felt awesome; hit 215k on the odometer on the way.
https://i.imgur.com/1g5kggj.jpg

Do you feel a difference? I've always questioned the effectiveness of replacing bracing that's effectively the same. Adding bracing sure I can understand.

Yes, the chassis feels firmer with less flex, but having said that, I can’t tell whether it was mainly from the rear since I installed both at the same time. And unlike the front, the rear was an add on to the stock braces that ran from front to back only but not from side to side.

I think design-wise, with the thickness of the bar and the way the cross bar links to V at the middle instead of being closer to the top like the stock one, the Cusco front bar would have less flex (or would resist torsion better) than stock but by how much, I can’t tell.

Pieced together these at home today:

Cusco front member brace
Eibach 28mm front sway bar
Whiteline lateral locks
Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings and brackets (needed to trim the brackets for them to fit on the brace)

https://i.imgur.com/o1lARzP.jpg

I heard you like bars, so I put a bar on your bar......

Will this IS300 be even street drivable anymore after all these mods? :lol

I hope HK's roads are smooth as buttah

I still have stock springs and "mostly" stock ride height (the front sits lower than stock because Bilstein B6 had a setting that allows the spring to sit lower. :D So far the car feels great with all the chassis braces without any extra harshness; but the sway bars will change the cornering quite dramatically. I have been reluctant to put the sway bars on but mainly due to bad experiences in dealing with end links on the Solara that refused to come off and having to get new ones...


The highways which I drive mostly on, they are ok; but the streets are uneven or full of potholes similar to Vancouver. And Vancouver has trained me well lol.