Torin BIG RED Double Locking Jack Stands T43002A

June 03, 2020 in Automotive, Review

With the recent recalls, I’ve decided to move away from my Harbor Freight Pittsburg jack stands even if they are not affected. I just don’t want to take the chance in case the recall inaccurately listed the affected stands. So, I was in need of some replacements.

After some research, I’ve decided to pick up the Torin BIG RED Double Locking Jack Stands. The stands that I purchased are rated at 3 tons but 2 and 6 ton options are also available. Indicative of the Big Red name, these jack stands are only available in red for the main body with black accents.

For the most part, the Big Red has a pretty basic design that looks like many jack stands. It has a pyramid-shaped base frame, locking handle with a rubberized tip, and a ratchet bar with a curved saddle. All pretty basic stuff.

Again, I’m replacing my Harbor Freight jack stands because of a concern over safety. From what I understand about the recall, it seems like there were some inconsistencies in the molding and casting of the various parts. I’ve seen examples where the pawl was not manufacturered correctly and that resulted in it barely touching the ratchet teeth. Because of this, if there is a shift in weight while the stands are under load or if the handle is accident touched, everything could come crashing down. This can cause damage to property, injuries, or even death.

I’ve never done any research on jack stands. The Pittsburg stands are actually the first set that I ever purchased. They were just what I had readily available around here so I bought them without hesitation. That being said, I’ve always thought that jack stands have an interesting design in the sense that the ones that utilize this basic design, essentially have no fail-safe. Everything is dependent on the pawl and ratchet design. If that ever fails, like in the case of the Pittsburg jack stands, it’s game over.

This is why I went with the Big Red double locking jack stands. Along with the standard pawl and ratchet design, this stand does have a fail-safe. This comes in the form of an additional pin. With a traditional jack stand, you lift the ratchet bar up to the desired height and call it a day. With the Big Red Double Locking jack stand, that can also be the case but if you want an additional point of safety, you can insert the pin in the side of the jack stand. Now, if the ratchet teeth happen to slip past the pawl, it would also have to get past the pin.

As of right now, I’m happy with my purchase. Hopefully, I’ll never get to find out if the double-locking design actually works under load. If you’re in the market for some new jack stands and want something safe, give these Torin BIG RED Double Locking Jack Stands a try. If you own a Harborfright Pittsburg 3 or 6 ton jack, check them immediately to make sure that they were not affected by the recall. If they are, take them back to Harbor Freight immediately. They’ll give you store credit or a comparable replacement. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been using your jacks for years and they haven’t failed yet, just get rid of them. You never know what could happen.

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Toyota Supra ZL1 Addons Rock Guards

May 27, 2020 in Automotive, Review

In the few miles that I’ve put on the Supra, I’ve already managed to get a few rock chips. Many of these are in the wheel wells and this is largely because of the design of the Supra itself. If we look at the body panels near the wheel wells, we can see that they dip in and expose a portion of the tires, both in the front and the rear. This allows for rocks to get picked up and fling directly at the side panels. Luckily the damage that my Supra has received is pretty minimal but it’s time to address this issue.

After some research, I came across the Rock Guards from ZL1 Addons. This product is designed to fill in the gap and cover the exposed section of tires. The great thing is that the Rock Guards utilize OEM mounting locations so there is no need for any modifications. All the required hardware is included so the install should be pretty straight forward.

Starting at the front, we’re going to turn the wheel as far as we can in the direction of the wheel well that we’re working on. Here, there are 4 push rivets towards the outer edge of the wheel well. We will be utilizing these mounting locations to install the Rock Guards. We first have to remove the OEM rivets. This is a pretty straight forward process. All we have to do is find something that fits over the center pin and push it through the rivet. Here, I’m using a center punch. I’ve found that some rivets can be easily pushed through by hand while others are more tightly held in place. For the difficult rivets, just take a hammer or mallet and drive the punch or your tool of choice through the center pin and hole. At this point, the rivet body is loosely held in place and can be extracted. This can be done with the center punch by sticking it in the hole and wiggling the rivet out. If you have a specific rivet removal tool, that’ll be great for this step. I happen to have a trim removal tool that worked pretty well. Once the OEM rivets are removed, we can take the Rock Guards and do a dry fitting to make sure that everything fits properly. I’ve seen people install the Rock Guards two different ways. You can either put them on top of the fender liner or between it and the body panel. ZL1 Addons shows pictures of the Rock Guards between the OEM panels so that’s what I went with. I also think that this provides a cleaner look. Once everything is in place, it’s time to lock the Rock Guard down. Here’s a little tip, use your pin tool to align the holes prior to installing the new rivets. Leave the tool in one of the holes so that things don’t shift too much. Now, take the new rivets and push them into place. Don’t worry about the center pin just yet. Once you’re sure that everything is seated properly, you can go ahead and make the center pins flushed with the rivet head and lock everything in place. A mallet will be a good tool for this. Once all the rivets are properly installed, we are done with one side of the front.

Let’s move on to the back. Here, ZL1 Addons doesn’t mention that it is required to take the wheels off, but it will likely make the installation more straightforward. I felt that I could install the Rock Guards with the wheels on and I’m going to show you just how I did that. Like the front Rock Guards, we are going to have to remove some OEM hardware. Instead of rivets, in the rear we have to remove 3 bolts. There isn’t much clearance room but I was able to fit a stubby rachet in here with an 8mm socket and get the bolts out. From here, it’s just a matter of installing the Rock Guards with the new hardware. If you haven’t noticed, there is a bit of a gap between the fender liner and the edge of the wheel well. To compensate for this, ZL1 Addons provides us with some spacers. These go behind the Rock Guards and everything is held in place with the provided longer screw and washer. If you’re doing this without taking the wheel off like I am, I found that the easiest way to approach this is to hand tighten the topmost hardware first. After doing this, the Rock Guards can still easily swing back and forth. This will allow for enough clearance room to mount the hardware in the other two locations. Just get everything lined up and hand tightened. Here is going to be the hardest part of this process. We now have to fully tighten these screws down. I found that there wasn’t enough clearance room for even the stubby, a socket, and a Phillips bit. I then switched to a ratcheting wrench with the bit and although this works, the bit just moved around too much for my liking. I ultimately settled on a pair of locking pliers and the Phillips bit and this combo worked great. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a bit tedious to only have enough clearance room to be turning the screws about a quarter of a turn at a time but it’s really not that bad. The spacer takes up a lot of space and the screws realistically are not fastened very deeply. It actually did not take that long for me to tighten the screws down. I can almost guarantee that doing it my way would be faster than taking the time to jack the car up, put it on stands, take the wheels off, install the Rock Guards, then put everything back together. So, if you’re interested in this product and were worried that you’d have to take the wheels off. Have no fear, it is very possible to install the Rock Guards without doing so. At this point, all there’s left to do is to install the Rock Guards on all four corners and we are done.

I have to be honest, I was on the fence with the Rock Guards because I thought that they’d be very obtrusive and obvious. Now that I have them installed, they actually look very factory. If someone is not familiar with the Supra, they probably wouldn’t think anything of the Rock Guards. They just fit very well on the Supra. The color matches very well with the existing plastics and they are just wide enough to cover the entire tire and be functional but not wide enough to alarm anyone. They look good and will provide lots of protection. If you’re asking me, I have no absolutely no hesitation in recommending the ZL1 Addons Rock Guards for the Toyota Supra.

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Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner

May 20, 2020 in Automotive, Review

It’s wash day for the Supra. It’s been raining here in Washington pretty consistently and when we finally got a break, in came the pollen. The Supra is just caked. Since I’m washing the car, I thought I’d showcase the product that I’ll be using and that is Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner.

This is an extremely popular car shampoo. It is one of those products that is budget-friendly and actually performs really well. I purchased a one-gallon jug for only $13.80 but the price does fluctuate quite often. Check out the links below for the most up to date pricing of this product along with everything else used in my auto detailing.

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Ethos Car Care Foam Party Pre Wash

May 03, 2020 in Automotive

I recently received a package from Ethos Car Care with some samples. I figured since the Supra needs to be washed, why not try one of these new products. So today, we are going to be trying out and getting a first impression of Ethos Car Care’s Foam Party Prewash.

This product is designed exclusively for use in a foam cannon so that’s what we’ll do. The directions say to add 1-2 ounces of product into the foam cannon and fill the rest of the container with water. This obviously doesn’t account for the wide variety of foam cannons on the market, so I’m going to test this product the same way that I test every other prewash. I’m going to add 4 ounces of Foam Party to the container, then fill it up to the fourth indicator line with water. Again, this is what I do with every foam prewash so if you’re interested, you can compare for yourself Foam Party to the other products that I’ve reviewed.

The first thing that I noticed about this product is its consistency. It’s not watery like a Turtle Wax Ice Snow Foam but not as thick as Chemical Guys Honeydew or Watermelon Snow Foam. It’s somewhere in between. I prefer the more liquidy products because they tend to mix much easier in water and require less agitation. In this sense, Foam Party gets a pass. It dissolves almost immediately in the foam cannon and is very easy to clean from my measuring cup.

In use, I would have to say that right away, I’m just blown away at the amount of foam that this product produces. This is the definition of shaving cream thick foam. I can literally wipe the panel and cup a hand full of foam. Personally, this is the thickest foam that I’ve ever gotten out of my cheap electric pressure washer and cheap foam cannon. This right here is the good stuff. I can only imagine what Foam party can do in a high powered pressure washer and a high-quality foam cannon.

However, one thing that I did notice is how fast this foam moves off the panels. I was told that Foam Party does not contain cheaper salts found in other products that can leave behind residue and diminish hydrophobic effects. Foam Party is pretty much all surfactants and humectants to ensure that the foam stays wet so it produces a thick lather that clings and is slow to dissipate. I actually found that this product moves quicker off the panels than some others that I’ve tried. It’s not like it just rolls off the surface immediately, but I’ve seen other products cling better.

So here’s the crazy part. Because I was recording the video above, I had to move a lot slower than I typically would during a normal car wash. This means that there’s a much greater chance for products to start drying. On some panels, Foam Party completely rolled off the surface and started to dry but there’s no leftover residue. So, this tells me that the claim that this product doesn’t contain cheaper salts is seemingly true. I personally think that this is a HUGE plus for someone like me who often works in direct sunlight.

Now, Foam Party is pretty great but I do have two criticisms. The first is with the scent. Foam Party is advertised as having a tropical scent. I get a hint of the artificial coconut smell but the keyword there is artificial. To be honest, Foam Party smells like one of those cheap Little Trees air fresheners to me. I would’ve preferred a more neutral fruit scent but that’s just me. I’m sure there are plenty of people who love this smell.

The second criticism is the price. At $16.95 per 16 oz bottle or $64.99 per gallon, this is a pretty expensive prewash. It’s definitely the most expensive foam soap that I’ve tried but again, it does provide the best results that I’ve gotten. You can’t expect a product with higher quality ingredients than the competitors to also be the cheapest on the market. So, this is more so a case of you get what you pay for.

Overall, I would have to say that Foam Party is a great product and is the best prewash that I’ve tried so far. The foam is crazy thick and because it doesn’t easily dry out and leave behind a residue, it’s perfect for those who work outside and can’t plan around the weather. Foam Party easily gets my recommendation.

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Toyota Supra GR Cusco Tow Hook

April 26, 2020 in Automotive, Review

I recently installed the Cusco tow hooks on my A90 Supra.

This install can be extremely simple. Since these are tow hooks, they attach to the pre-tapped female threading already on the Supra. These are hidden behind the plastic covers in the front and rear bumper. To remove these covers, we just have to press the bottom of the cover and slip the top out. The cover is held in place by a plastic tether and this can be removed by giving it a little tug.

Once the cover is off, all there’s to do is screw the tow hook into place. The Cusco tow hooks come in two pieces, the main shaft which screws into the Supra and the hook itself which screws into the shaft.

If you’re satisfied with this look then the install is complete. I personally don’t like installing the tow hook this way because, without the original cover, you can see through the bumper and see the metal behind it where the tow hook installs. So, I cut out a hole in the original covers to give these tow hooks a more factory look.

To do this, I had to use some tape to find my drilling location. The goal here is to use the tape to indicate the center of the tow hook hole. Make one piece of tape run vertically down the middle of the hole. Then use another piece of tape to run horizontally across the middle of the hole. Where the tape intersects is going to be the center of the hole. Now, cut the tape on three sides and create a flap. Do your best to not lift the tape too much and make it move out of position. Now, reinstall the tow hook cover. Lay the tape back down and align the tape flap with the other pieces. At this point, you can mark the intersection or cut the final side of the tape to attach the tape intersection solely on the cover.

Remove the cover again and drill a hole where you indicated the center of the tow hook hole. This is where things get a little tricky. I drilled out a one-inch hole and this fits the shaft of the Cusco tow hook perfectly. However, I forgot that although the shaft installs parallel to the ground, this part of the bumper sits at an angle. More importantly, the tow hook cover installs at an angle. So, unless you drill out a large enough hole in the cover for the shaft to clear while reinstalling it, you’ll have to go back and forth, trimming the sides of the hole and checking fitment until everything is correct. Personally, I would recommend doing it this way anyway because drilling out a single hole would mean drilling a pretty large hole so that kind of defeats the purpose of doing this in the first place. The most precise hole is going to be more of an oval so, get your pilot hole then trim to perfect fitment.

The main difference is going to be tightening the tow hook into place. As mentioned earlier, the Cusco tow hooks come in two pieces. We first have to install the main shaft and tighten it down. At the front, there is a lot of clearance room so you can use a variety of different tools to get this done. Once it’s locked down, we screw the actual hook into the shaft. Take note of the jam nut which will allow you to adjust the spacing between the hook and the shaft. Once everything is in positioned how you want it, lock the jam nut into place. An adjustable wrench is going to be a good tool for this part of the install.

However, at the rear bumper, there is very little clearance room. An adjustable wrench is not going to fit here without damaging the bumper. To install the shaft at the rear, you pretty much have to use a six-point 24mm socket. When installing the hook into the shaft, because we can’t use an adjustable wrench to lock the jam nut down, you’ll essentially have to find a way to muscle the hook and jam it into place. I wrapped a towel around my wrench, put it in the tow hook, and just turned the entire thing. There was a lot of going back and forth, guessing and checking. This made it a bit difficult to level out the hook. Eventually, I did complete the install and the tow took was leveled enough for me to be happy with it.

And there you have it, the Cusco tow hooks installed with the OEM tow hook covers. This is a small product that adds a lot to the looks of the Supra. If you’re interested in this product, I can recommend it with a caveat. I had to order these hooks multiple times. The first time around, there were small paint chips on both hooks and the rear looked like it wasn’t prepped properly and the painter painted over something. The second set was exchanged for another and the exact same thing was present. The paint chips were still there but this time, it looked like the painter painted over some small hair fibers. So, what I’m getting at is that quality control doesn’t seem to be all that great with these tow hooks. Luckily, I ordered the hooks from Speed Industry and they were very good about making the best of the situation and getting the hooks exchanged out for me. Think about this when you go to buy the Cusco tow hooks. Can you live with some minor imperfections? If not, look elsewhere.

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