treks

Absolutely.

Maybe not everyone is using synthetic winch ropes because it is so expensive, as opposed to not everyone using it because it does not really work on cranes?

I wonder if the very strong resemblance that Vlad's face has with the front end of this car is intentional, or purely coincidental?

Grease or rope oil is a bad idea in sandy conditions. The sand sticks to the grease and after a few uses of the rope, the sand/grease mixture turns into a sort of grinding paste that will destroy the rope in very short order. I agree with @desertdude though, a synthetic fiber rope is far less hassle, and if you buy the right rope, you get one that is stronger than a steel rope of a similar diameter.

These charts are very handy when the wheels/rims are in perfect condition. If the rims are slightly out of round however, it takes some experimenting to get the total weight of the beads right, but it can be done.

This "expert's" analysis can only be accurate if he had tested every automatic on the market against every comparable manual within the same model range for every manufacturer. In my experience - 400 000+ km completed in several overland expeditions through Africa - automatics are just not up to the task in these conditions; in fact, you'll be very hard pressed to find an automatic expedition-grade vehicle- anywhere. However, I do agree that (some) automatics have (some) distinct advantages over (some) manuals in the local (UAE) environment, simply because in local off-road conditions, automatics are generally not pushed as hard, or for as long as they would be in a heavy expedition vehicle. Automatics have come along way in the past two decades or so, and if the driver is experienced and knows his vehicle's capabilities and limitations, he can do pretty much everything an experienced driver with manual gearbox in a comparable vehicle can do. Having said that though, the trick in successfully comparing automatics with manuals involves comparing comparable vehicles- anything else is just stating personal preferences, which serves no purpose in a discussion of this kind.

You can rest easy- the beads do actually work, although the trick to making them work is to know how many to put in if your rims are slightly less than perfectly round. Try and try again, but I've seen beads balance tires on damaged rims that could not be balanced in any other way.

Yep, because all the molecules are the same size, which means that all the molecules in the oil share the load equally- which is not the case with even the best mineral oil.

It's not. It's distilled from hydrocarbon-rich gases like methane, carbon dioxide, and others, depending on the properties the final distillate must have. Once the gases are distilled into a liquid, the additives you also find in mineral oil are added. As a practical matter though, synthetic oil is not synthetic in the sense that it does not contain hydrocarbons- it is synthetic in the sense that it is not refined from crude mineral oil. If you find mineral oil in oil that is labelled as fully synthetic, you are being ripped off. You are right about the blends though- there are no standards to define a mineral/synthetic oil blend, so better stick with the fully synthetic stuff. However, some synthetic oils cannot be mixed with anything else, not even other synthetics- if you do mix these oils, you end up with an engine full of Jello. I have the details of this somewhere- I'll look it up and post it later. Nonetheless, it helps to know a little chemistry when you deal with lubricants.

Now if only they would sort out that equally annoying "Show notifications" pop-up. Please??

I could not help but like this response...

And then there is the "Carnity.com wants to show notifications" popup. No matter how many times you click it away, it just reappears. Can you fix this too?

What you said. Plus the fact that most old school mechanics still believe that each can and bottle of aftermarket additive/miracle cure contains a little mechanic.

The biggest problem with belt sprays is that their manufacturers have managed to convince the public that a couple of applications of the spray is equal to a belt replacement. A lot of it has to do with price too- many customers would much rather pay a few dollars for a mechanic-in-a-can, than fork out a much larger sum for a belt replacement, no matter how cheap the belt is. You also raise an interesting point about the placebo effect. If everything is as it should be on an engine, in the sense that the tensioner on a serpentine belt is operating at the correct tension, all pulleys are properly aligned, and there is no damage to any pulley, the belt should last well beyond its recommended replacement mileage, regardless of how many times it had been "treated" with some miracle spray. Then again, if say, the tensioner is not keeping the belt tight, or even one pulley is misaligned, the belt will fail prematurely, again regardless of how many times it had been treated. Gaurav said previously that the belts on his Pajero is lasting much longer since he began treating them with wd40, and while I agree that wd40 will silence an occasional squeak, repeated applications of the stuff will also build up a residue over which the belt might start to slip. Thus, the belt squeaks because it is slipping- a new application of wd40 silences the belt until it starts slipping again, more wd40, more slippage, more wd40, and so on and so forth. In the end, it might have been better just to replace the belt when it was due for replacement, even if it just to avoid having to treat slipping belt all the time.

Fault codes? It's like Barry says- a lot of things happen during a start-up, and all of these things that need to happen are interconnected. If one fails to happen, the whole procedure is aborted, so without fault codes we are just guessing. What makes it more difficult is the fact that this is an intermittent issue, so even if you have the fault codes, finding the actual fault or poor connection can be as easy as wiggling the wires, replacing the brake switch or starter relay- or pulling out large sections of the wiring to check each connector and connection individually.

Meh. I never give the advice of professional mechanics a second thought myself. They are all idiots who have no clue what they are doing.

I agree, wd40 does work on neoprene belts. However, the hydrocarbons and petroleum oil in it is pure poison to both natural and synthetic rubber, so just make sure you never use it on any belts that contain even a smidgen of rubber.

This sounds like snake oil. Unless a credible evaluation is made and published by a reputable laboratory showing that this stuff can repair a timing belt on the molecular level to restore it to the state it was in when it was new, this will always be snake oil.

In my experience, having a bit more rolling resistance beats getting stuck every time.

I don't have a favourite driver anymore since I don't follow motors sports anymore. However, I have a question that is somewhat relevant to this thread- Has there ever been a North American Formula 1 driver? I can't remember any, can you?

Not in terms of displacement, no.

Must be that, since the French can't match any Lambo in any way except for placing the seats of their cars almost next to the steering wheel, instead of directly in front of it.

Why is the driver's seat skew? Looks like it's offset from the steering wheel...

Sorry to hear that

The French have built more good cars than bad, but sadly, they have never built beautiful cars. Inside or out.