I was at a race track this weekend for the first time with my ’97 Camaro
Z28 (completely stock) and realized that my brakes need upgrading. In
short, trying to pass a Porsche 911 at the end of a long straight before
a tight 180-turn, going about 110 – 120 mph I lost almost all braking
power and went off the track almost taking the 911 with me. Anyway, it
appeared, looking at the brakes, that the pads melted. I’ve always heard
that boiling brake fluid is the thing to worry about, but since my DOT
5.1 fluid isn’t more than one or two years old I figured I was alright.

Fortunately, both me and my Camaro survived the excursion into the leca
pellets without a scratch, but it was embarrassing that they had to
red-flag the session to get me out so I have no plans of doing it again.
Riding as a passenger in both a BMW M6 and a Mini Cooper S, driven by
professional drivers, it is clear that my brakes are one step behind
both, even the Mini’s.

So, what are my options? Is replacing the pads enough to get the brakes
to survive hard track driving?

Ulf

Do any of you have a VOM with the above feature which you would
recommend, and which would cost less than about $150??

http://bulletdownloads.info/ – this free download site is way faster
than rapid share and no limits!

To recommend a site:
http://www.hotalways.com

2001 Toyota Corolla CE, 1.8L, AT, 124,000 miles.

For the past two years or so (40 K miles worth), the car has been
eating about 1Q of oil every 1 thousand miles. So I’ve been just
checking the oil regurarly, and adding it as necessary (5W-30 dino.)
Would this kind of oil consumption be considered borderline ‘normal’?
Several months ago, I had the car looked at by an indepedendent
mechanic (Charley’s Garage in Boulder, CO – specializes in Jap autos;
highly recommended by many locals), but he didn’t find any problems.
There are no visible oil leaks, no smoke coming out of the tail pipe.
The car passed Colorado emmissions about a year ago (though I don’t
know if it would today

This is my wife’s car, she only drives it around the city, and she’s a
pretty careful and conservative driver. Usual speeds: 30-50mph.

Over this past Memorial Day weekend, we went on a road trip from
Denver to New Mexico. We did about 1,200 miles in three days, and it
was mostly highway driving at freeway speeds – 65-80mph. To my great
surprize and frustration, I had to ad 5 quarts of oil during our trip
– 1Q every 240 miles, on the average. What could have caused such a
big jump in oil consumption? Is it possible that the car eats more oil
at higher speeds/higher rpms?

I am going to have the car checked by a mechanic this week, but I
wanted to hear your opinions.

TIA

Normally, sending units (sensors) for coolant temperature, fuel
pressure, and such are connected to analog gauges. Can anyone point me
to products/kits/thingamagigs  that can be used to connect the sending
units to a computer, maybe via a USB interface. I want to collect and
analyze engine data over a period of time.

My 2002 Toyota Camry runs and starts fine except if I go away for a
few weeks, the car battery is completely dead when I return. First
time, I replaced the battery. Second time, I took it into  the dealer
who checked the electricals said it was fine and that I had tightened
the battery terminals well enough. Now it’s happened again.

Question: will the clock and security system light drain a battery in
3 weeks? Should I disconnect the battery if I go away?

Interesting. Really the "tire of the future" or a gimmick?

http://www.michelinman.com/difference/releases/pressrelease01102005a….

FUEL SAVER has multiple benifits:
Reduce CO2 Emissions DTI Sscheme
Increases horsepower (power booster)
Environmental friendly
Reduces Pollution
Smoother engine operation
Easy engine startup
Protects and Prolongs engine parts
Maintenance FREE!!!
Transferable to your new vehicle
Its like gettting Free Petrol/Diesel With Every Fill up
Installs in minutes
Pays for itself FAST!!!

http://www.fuel-saver.net/

I did a lot of research and liked the AP10SAC lift advertised at
America’s Pride Online.  I was impressed with the presentation at the
site and it seemed reputable enough.  NO SUCH LUCK.    They imediately
debited my charge card and promised shipment two weeks later.  That
was two months ago!  Now they won’t return my calls and I had to turn
the case over to my charge card company as fraud.  Now I’ll reorder
from Complete Hydraulic, which I’m hoping really does have a car lift
to deliver!