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I don’t think my oil needs extra cleaning. It’s because whenever I change my oil at home, I use a jack and so the oil drains at an angle. I feel like some old oil might still get trapped. Having the car run really clean oil just gives me a peace of mind. lol.
I also watched some videos on how small debris can cause micro damage to parts over time. And so that made me kinda cautious to taking more precautions.
What brand of oil do you use btw?
I tried to understand what you said, but I simply don’t have the background knowledge to comprehend in terms of the laws governing emissions which seems to be quite complicated and an entire subject of its own.
So I’ll just continue the theme of suvs and bigger cars. I’ve noticed that manufacturers are discontinuing a lot of their sedans offerings at an alarming rate all across the board. Whats your view on why manufacturers are taking this shift away from sedans to suvs?. I can name some of the obvious ones but wanted to see if there are other factors besides: higher ride, more weight for car to car crash safety, and extra room. Although this may be politically correct, I have a theory that as more women are taking higher positions within these companies, they are pushing their own agendas.
Dave, can you clarify what you mean when you say fuel economy is already regulated?
My thinking is this, since suvs use more energy and release more Co2 into the atmosphere, why don’t the feds place a limit on how many suvs can be sold, or at least raise the price of suvs in order dissuade people from purchasing it. I know there’s a gas guzzler tax but it doesn’t seem to be working. Because I mean if the manufacturers stop making these suvs, people will have no choice but to buy smaller and more economical sedans.
I see. Thanks for clarifying.
So does suvs/trucks, because of its weight, tend to need bearing replacement more often than sedans?
I know you said that as suvs scale up in size and take on more weight in structure. What other parts tend to scale up because of the weight on suvs?
I recently replaced the plugs on my RX400h. It was a V6 and so reaching the 3 plugs in the back was a real pain since I don’t deal with this stuff on the regular.
Is there any other general parts that you recommend to replace with OEM quality parts? I feel like what you can replace it with is also restricted to what’s available at the autopart store.
1) So marketing, electrical engineering, and computer science. I had an inkling that marketing was quite important but to hear it from you reinforces this much more. However, I don’t see how electrical engineering and computer science is a big need. I thought that a few of these engineers design the systems and then implement it across the different vehicles. Can you elaborate on this a bit more? That is, why is it a big need and why do you feel it is important?
2) I know you said that you were a supplier. But I read through all of your other post and you used a lot of math. Which made me wonder if you were an engineer or just a supplier. Btw, you said that algebra, calculus, and trigonometry were the good stuff, lol. Can you tell me more how you used this when you were still working? This gives me an idea of how important these subjects are.
3) The app I’m going to look more into and see what it does and requires.
Thanks Dave.
Hey Dave, hope you are doing well.
I have a couple of questions:
1. As you know I’m heading back to college. Right now I’m set on getting an Associates of Arts(A.A). But what areas of knowledge that you think is lacking in the automotive industry/business in general? Or what body of knowledge do you consider to be very important and should be mastered first?
2. This is question is regarding the “can you build an engine?”. When I asked that, I meant – can you build an engine entirely from scratch? That is, without ordering premade parts and putting it all together.
3. Dave, I have this idea – there is this gentleman located in California who works on EV’s and he’s testing them out. He created this app that tracks and records general data about your vehicle, such as battery health info, etc. I was thinking about collaborating with him and taking this program further and improving it. I can see this application be installed in all vehicles and gathering data for manufacturers so that they can improve their products. My question is, if I collaborate with this gentlemen, what would be the best way to get ahold of the person from the car manufacturer to implement this application in their vehicles? Or what would be the best way to get the app implemented?
Thanks Dave!
Hey Dave, how you been?
I’ve been doing some self reflection since we’ve last talked. I just want to clear some things up.
I understand what you said about getting a college education. I always knew it was important. It’s just at the time when I wrote what I did, I had a strong motivation to learn on my own and that I believed in my own skills. It was not meant to take anything away from a college education.
But I’ve made the decision to go back to school and get an associates in maybe English, Arts, or Graphics design.
I just have some basic questions for you relating to cars(I still have interest in it, lol):
(1)Can you build an entire car engine from scratch by yourself?
(2)How can I become great at mathematics?Hey Dave, I understand the importance of education and going to school for design, however, I cannot go down this path.
1. The cost of schooling is too high for me.
2. Going to school now, would not be good use of my time and skills.
3. Going to school would put me in the same caliber of those students. I am not cut from the same clothe because I am self educated. The two aspects that I proposed was meant to give you that idea – I can innovate and do things even better even without a “formal” education.If I cannot enter the automotive industry quickly through your help and connections, I will do the following:
1. Sell all of my books that has anything to do with automotive.
2. Take my skills to a different industry and be done with cars.I believe I have shown a very strong level of curiosity over the past year. Its just me and you on this forum basically. So, I feel its time that we take the relationship to the next level. If not, I won’t use anymore of mine and your time.
Hi Dave, I thought I would revisit this thread. Its been four months now. The Lexus ES I bought was sold. I didn’t make a profit but I did break even, after sitting on it for 3 months.
I want to thank you for being patience with me. Rereading your points, you are right. Old cars simply have way too many parts that are wearing out. I thought about buying all the tools needed to fix up older cars for resale but going on your advice, it doesn’t seem like its worth it to invest the time and money into a beater.
I do have a question though. What do you think about the used car pricing? Do you think most people are pricing their used cars correctly?
For example, a guy is selling his 2010 Lexus with 140k miles on it for 9K. How would you personally price that car?
Hey Dave, I been meaning to get back to this post.
1. In your estimation of car longevity, what is your definition of a failed car at the estimated 250k mark?
2. You also said time takes a toll on cars. Can you elaborate on this a bit more?
Hey Dave, So I took the car for a 1500 mile roadtrip(drove it home). The scenery was absolutely beautiful. I would do it again, but only in a good riding car! lol. The ride quality was terrible. I ended up taking the car to the Lexus dealership to get it checked out when I got home. Turns out, one of the tires had been sitting too long and had to be replaced. It turns out that some tires need more than just balancing. Hunter also has this machine called roadforce and thats what I did. The ride is much smoother now but I think thats as best as it can get with the current tires(which are pretty new and OEM)
But you are right Dave, on these older cars a lot of the rubber parts wear out and start to have a lot of vibration problems that are hard to pin point. Its just more of a headache.
My questions is this, what do you think about buying the cheapest tires possible? For example, on my SUV I had to replace the tires and I went with the cheapest ones I could find. They were made by a Chinese company(LingLong). I went with them for a few reasons:
-cheap
-tires need to be replaced every couple years anyways
-possibility of hitting nailsAre tire companies charging people way too much money if we take these other things into consideration?
