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smuggs

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by smuggs

  1. 44 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

    If you know, you know.  This was terrifying as a young driver.

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    Also the 90 degree turn at the other end.

    My first car was this 71 Ford Econoline van. Driving this bitch across the dam at 16 years old was hair-raising to say the least.

     

     

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  2. Understanding that this guy did this for his wife.

    And then many years later, meeting my wife, and realizing I would also do something like this for her (if I was one of the greatest guitarists of all time). 


     

     

  3. In middle/highschool we would sneak onto Willie's set at night and look through the buildings. I've been gone from Austin for 12 years now- I had no idea they made it a concert venue.

     

     

  4. Tundra TRD Pros are shipping with specific Toyota-spec'd Falken Wildpeaks that aren't holding up:

    https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-toyota-tundra-trd-pro-yearlong-review-update-6-tire-test/

     

    Longcat -

     

    Spoiler

    Shortly after we took possession of a Tundra TRD Pro for our yearlong review and just ahead of the a comparison test in which a Tundra TRD Pro was going up against a 2023 Ford F-150 Tremor, a Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss, and a Ram 1500 Rebel, testing director Eric Tingwall sent me a message on Slack. "Hey! I heard you got our Tundra TRD Pro. What do the tires look like on it? Full tread/brand new? Or do they look suspiciously not knobby?" I responded: "They are brand new, 49 miles on the odometer. The tread depth is not as deep as it should be."

    I should know. In July 2021, I spent a week on the trail photographing Four Wheeler's Overland Adventure program. Prior to the event, Falken, one of the sponsors, sent a brand-new set of Wildpeak tires to all participants to mount on their vehicles. I spent hours staring at Wildpeaks as the overlanders rolled past me on the trail and parked in the camp spots each afternoon. It was this experience that told me something looked off with the new Falken Wildpeaks that came on our new Tundra TRD Pro.

    Tingwall's comment about the Tundra's looking "not knobby" hit the nail on the head. Like a new pair of blue jeans that have holes in the knees and are worn thin in areas, the tires on our Tundra TRD Pro looked "pre-distressed."

    Fast-forward four months and 9,000 miles to the summer of 2023, and our Tundra's Falkens were looking tired, with the tread almost down to the wear bars. They were also wearing unevenly, with the worst wear happening along the outer edges, despite us following the recommended rotation schedule as part of the routine maintenance.

    I was curious if I was the only Tundra TRD Pro owner experiencing premature tire wear issues. If the Toyota Tundra owner's forum, Tundras.com, is any indication, our Tundra wasn't the only one chewing through the stock Falken Wildpeaks.

    Reading through numerous pages of comments, I came across a response from a representative of the Falken Quality Assurance team with the username "Falken QA," and they had this to say in response to the many questions in one of the threads:

    "Just to chime in, the non-TRD pros can be had with the optional 20-inch all-terrains, which are the Wildpeak AT3wA. As mentioned, this is [an OEM] spec Wildpeak that is not similar to the regular, 'aftermarket' AT3w's that we show on our site. The 20-inch optionals do contain a less aggressive tread design.

    "Like any OE tire, tires have to meet goals/criteria set forth by the vehicle manufacturer. This can include acceptable noise levels, comfort levels, handling, rolling resistance [which translates to mpg], weight, and performance. Since the aftermarket tires typically don't meet OE criteria, OE-spec tires are created and tailored specifically to the vehicle it will be equipped on. As such, the OE-spec Wildpeaks come with less tread and softer compound in order to meet these criteria.

    "The TRD Pro Wildpeak AT3w 18-inch is based on our aftermarket Wildpeak AT3w, where tread design is the same. However, much like the AT3wA 20-inch, it too had to sacrifice tread depth and compound in order to meet Toyota's goals/criteria.

    "Ordering the aftermarket Wildpeak AT3w, whether it be LT size or non-LT size, will have more tread to start with in comparison to the OE-spec tires, along with Three Peak winter rating and the tread design referenced on our site."

    In response to a question about the differences between the OE and aftermarket version of the Falken Wildpeaks, the employee continued:

    "To start, the off-the-rack/aftermarket versions will have a higher tread depth (13-14/32nds on P size/non-LT, 17-20/32nds on LT, depending on size). This may [make the Tundra feel taller] and [introduce] slight squirm. However, from hearing from an employee with [Tundra] Limited and other enthusiasts, ride quality didn't change much going from the OE spec."

    Continuing after, a forum member mentioned the fact that the OE version did not have the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol that designates it as Severe Snow Service rated. The Falken representative had this to say:

    "MPG, rolling resistance, weight, handling/traction, noise, comfort, and cost are some factors that come to mind with what can be accepted for OE application. The shallower tread depth and compound, among other things, kept the OE Wildpeak from achieving the Three Peak icon."

    There were also several threads regarding the TRD Pro's alignment specifications from the factory. In response to a question regarding uneven wear, the rep said:

    "From what we have seen on the alignment specs spreading around the forum and Facebook groups, Toyota has set some positive camber to the front suspension, which causes the appearance that the tires are slanted in at the bottom, causing excessive shoulder wear on the tires. Our OE team will be addressing Toyota soon regarding this. Once we receive an update as to why this is the case, we'll chime in. In terms of speculation, it could be for suspension travel/articulation reasons (clearing fender during full compression)."

    A couple of months later, the Falken rep followed up to let members know that the Falken and Toyota teams were still working through the uneven wear issues.

    Meanwhile, if the Tundra forum is a reliable indicator, quite a few owners have brought their trucks in for service due to heavier than normal tire wear. Toyota dealers, for their part, seem to be realigning the front suspension with updated specifications and replacing the worn tires, but some of the members have had to do this multiple times.

    After absorbing all that information, I was left with a difficult decision: replace the worn OE tires with another set of identical tires, or buy a set of replacement Falken Wildpeaks that have a deeper tread depth, a more resilient rubber compound, and a snow rating. To make things even more complicated, the OE version of the tire is almost $50 more expensive per tire than the aftermarket version. On Tirerack.com, the OE tire will set you back $394.08 each, compared to $346 per tire for the A/T4W.  That means on a set of four of the OE version is $192.32 more expensive.

    If this were my personal vehicle, I would've bought the aftermarket set and called it a day. However, in the interest of keeping our Tundra yearlong test data relevant to the public (and to ensure our experience with our OE Falken tires wasn't anecdotal), we decided to order another set for $1,573.40 installed and investigate the issue further with Toyota.

    When questioned about the differences in the two versions of the tire and whether they had seen any negative impact on tire wear, Tundra engineers told us: "We develop tires to meet a variety of requirements on our vehicles. The Falken Wildpeak A/T3W work well for our requirements on the TRD Pro." Follow-up questions went unanswered.

    By December 2023 we'd put 11,000 miles on our second set of Toyota-spec Wildpeaks. Suspension tweaks the Toyota dealer made to our Tundra under warranty helped our second set of OE Falkens outlast the first by 2,000 miles, but they're still showing signs of significant wear.
    Not wanting to flush another $1,500 down the drain, we decided to give a set of aftermarket Falken Wildpeaks a try and see if there were any benefits or drawbacks. After talking with Falken reps, we decided to try a set of Falken Wildpeak A/T4Ws. Although the aftermarket version of the Wildpeak A/T3Ws is still available, the A/T4W replaces the A/T3W in the Falken tire lineup. If I were an owner looking to replace the tires on my truck, I'd buy the newest version of the tire.

    The first thing I noticed about the new Falken Wildpeak A/T4Ws is how much more aggressive they look compared to the Toyota-spec Wildpeaks. The difference in depth is significant. The OE version of the A/T3W comes with only 10/32" of tread depth, whereas the aftermarket version of both the A/T3W and the A/T4W both feature 18/32". The sidewall design of the A/T4W is also new. Purely from a visual standpoint, these are the tires the truck should have shipped with.

    Not only do the Falken Wildpeak A/T4Ws look cool, but there are also some performance benefits to the new tires. Our test team retested the Tundra with the new set of tires fitted, and the TRD Pro saw a surprising improvement in its 0-60 mph, quarter mile and figure eight times, though braking performance fell by 5 feet in 60-0 mph tests.

    Subjectively, the Falken Wildpeak A/T4Ws are a little noisier on the freeway, and the increase in tread depth makes them feel slightly less stable under hard braking and at higher than normal speeds. We've only driven the Tundra about 4,000 miles since installing the Falken Wildpeak A/T4Ws, so although we can't speak to their lifespan yet, there hasn't been any visual wear which is more than we could say for the OE version tire. We have, however, seen a drop in our average fuel economy. With the OE version of the Wildpeaks we averaged 15.3 mpg, which works put to $0.36 per mile. After the A/T4Ws were installed, that figure dropped to 13.3 mpg, with the cost per mile increasing to $0.41. Considering the Tundra's hybrid powertrain, it wouldn't be surprising if Toyota engineers decided to prioritize a more impressive EPA score at the expense of overall tire performance.

    Although the A/T4Ws may return slightly worse fuel economy if you own a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and your tires are worn thin, we'd dump the OE Wildpeaks and order a set of aftermarket ones. The aftermarket tires cost an added nickel per mile to operate, but the difference in longevity should mean it'll be cheaper in the long run. You'd have to drive the Tundra 40,000 miles before you'd make up the cost difference, and at that point we'd have replaced the OE tires at least three times. The aftermarket set will probably make both you and your wallet happier—it has for us.

     

     

  5. Off the top rope!!!

     

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-gop-congressional-candidate-and-former-wwe-wrestler-daniel-rodimer-is-wanted-for-murder


     

    Quote

    Daniel Rodimer, the disgraced GOP congressional candidate who was endorsedby Donald Trump despite a previous arrest for a Waffle House assault, is being sought by Las Vegas police in connection to a murder.

    Rodimer, 45, is accused of murdering 47-year-old Christopher Tapp during an altercation inside a hotel room at the Hilton Resorts World on the Las Vegas strip on Oct. 29, police announced Wednesday.

     

    • Hook 'Em 2
  6. On 2/18/2024 at 5:21 PM, HiggyBaby said:

    The whole dumb and dumber soundtrack was fantastic, this song was on it. The best version of the primitives crash was on there as well.

    Agreed. I always liked this one from the D&D soundtrack:

     

     

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