What Did You Do This Weekend?

This is a garden-variety automotive thermostat. It is supposed to open and close at 190F. It actually opens and closes at 170F, which is why it is no longer in my car. I had no heat last winter, and my fuel economy has been pretty horrible. My temp gauge was all over the place, and replacing the temp sensor did nothing. So I finally trusted my gut and pulled the tstat. Not only was it one of the least dramatic repairs I’ve had to make on the wagon, it was also one of the most effective.

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Vanity Plate

Welcome to the Federal Department of Redundancies. Uninspired vanity tags make me wonder what the world is coming to: are people really that uninspired? We can all read the badges on the car, dude. We know you are driving a G8 GXP. You don’t have to tell us again. Have you seen a redundant plate? Was it unfunny, too?

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LeMons Gear: Gloves and Collar

After striking out at Summit on gloves, I was kind of at a loss. I hate the whole “order it and if it doesn’t fit, send it back” thing. So I turned my attention to collars, the foam pieces that support your helmet on your shoulders so you neck doesn’t take a serious beating. RJS Racing kept popping up as the cheap solution, and a quick search revealed that their plant is about ten minutes from my job. How cool is that? I ran over there at lunch and come home with the collar and a pair of Made in the USA gloves that fit. I spent $77, bringing me to a grand total of $275, $25 under my self-imposed limit of $300. That includes the $10 I spent on Nomex thread to “fix” my suit.

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Lemons Gear: Shoes and Gloves

Name a chick you know who isn’t crazy about shoes, and I’ll buy you a beverage. I have crazy narrow feet and shoe shopping is hugely stressful for me, so no interweb action on this front. I road-tripped over to Summit Racing to try on whatever they had in stock, and G-Force delivered with these mid-tops that actually fit. Bonus: they were a whopping $62 with tax. My budget is looking good, as I’m $38 under my estimate for shoes. Gloves weren’t as easy – with Impact losing their ratings on several products, my favorite gloves were out of the question, and Summit didn’t stock the G-Force gloves I liked in my size. So it’s back to the drawing board there.

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