Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

Stefan said:

I curbed one of the wheels on the FoRS pulling out from a side street.

Stupid curb was bumped out for ramps and I just kissed it.

I'm really angry at myself about it.

Now I really want to find some smaller diameter wheels to reduce this issue in the future, except they are all stupidly expensive (18" 5x108 PCD wheels don't exactly grow on trees).

Sigh....

$200 S60R/V70R replicas

(okay, not "cheap" like $40 Dorman wheels, but not crazy)

P2Rs have the same wheel fitment issues as the FoRS and for the same reason: uncommonish bolt pattern, huge calipers, no hub depth.  People are starting to use the FoRS winter wheel package on the Volvos because it's not easy to find wheels that fit.

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330mm rotor vs 350, so I assume the 18s will fit.  17s will fit the 330mm brakes.

volvoclearinghouse said:

Here's a helpful tip:  Anytime a product is marketed as "a great gift idea!", never, ever, ever, ever, ever consider buying it.

"Great gift idea!" Translation: "E36 M3 you'd never buy for, or use, yourself".  

Many decades ago I got a gift from the Mom of a girlfriend.  It was a little self-contained tool set with 6 screwdrivers, a magnet bar, and a sharp pointy awl.  Everything slipped into a hard case which you could drop in your pocket.  She probably bought it in NYC at some department store.   At the time, I thought, "Gee, that's a pretty lame gift, but hey, it suits me and I might be able to use it."

Fast forward thirty years and this thing is still in my desk drawer.  I've used it countless times, mostly to assemble computer systems, but I find other uses for it from time to time, and the magnet bar has retrieved a dropped screw or five. 

Something I would never buy for myself, but turned out to be a very cool gift.  Thanks Mrs. C!  (She's passed away many years ago.)

1988RedT2 said:

volvoclearinghouse said:

Here's a helpful tip:  Anytime a product is marketed as "a great gift idea!", never, ever, ever, ever, ever consider buying it.

"Great gift idea!" Translation: "E36 M3 you'd never buy for, or use, yourself".  

Many decades ago I got a gift from the Mom of a girlfriend.  It was a little self-contained tool set with 6 screwdrivers, a magnet bar, and a sharp pointy awl.  Everything slipped into a hard case which you could drop in your pocket.  She probably bought it in NYC at some department store.   At the time, I thought, "Gee, that's a pretty lame gift, but hey, it suits me and I might be able to use it."

Fast forward thirty years and this thing is still in my desk drawer.  I've used it countless times, mostly to assemble computer systems, but I find other uses for it from time to time, and the magnet bar has retrieved a dropped screw or five. 

Something I would never buy for myself, but turned out to be a very cool gift.  Thanks Mrs. C!  (She's passed away many years ago.)

I'm a huge sucker for multi-tools and tool kits like yours and their ilk. I've even got one of those "universal sockets", and I use it way more than I ever thought I would. Is it what I use when I'm doing something on the car or putting together a crib? No, of course not. But if I see a nut/bolt/random threaded thing that needs to be tightened or removed, I'll grab this and 9 times out of 10 it works. I keep it and a cheap ratchet at my desk. 

And Multi tools. I have 2 Leathermans (well, 3, but I can't find my berkeleying skeletool), one is almost always on me, then a bunch of cheap ones scattered around the house and cars. The Leathermans are obviously better than the cheapos, but multitools in general kinda suck at all things equally... but they're good enough to get you buy in 90% of situations, which is what you need. Kinda amazing how much I end up using them. 

NickD said:

I had a 2015 truck come into work two weeks ago for a noise. Rear end was screaming and it turned out the rear pinion seal had been slinging oil for an indeterminate amount of time and the rear axle had 2 or 3 tablespoons of fluid in it, tops. So I order all the parts I'm going to need, every bearing and a ring and pinion. Two weeks later, still no parts. Ask the parts guys when I'm going to see them, as the guy is in one of our dealership rentals and was supposed to be leaving for Florida. Parts guys call GM and tell me it will be another 2-3 weeks before the parts are even manufactured, with everything still being berkeleyed up from the strike. My boss calls the GM zone rep to get approval to throw a whole axle assembly in it instead, then learns that the GM catalog lists a complete rear axle as being "Discontinued". How the berkeley is the axle discontinued when there are still trucks rolling off the assembly line using that very part?!

Did I say two to three weeks? I meant "end of December"

Three different people this week have asked when we or I am having another kid. I'll have another one when we all move in together and I automatically gain a 12 year old. They don't like that answer for some reason. 

I guess there's a win in there though, one of the people is the head of the local HeadStart, who says we're the best parents she's ever had to deal with, so yay?

NickD said:

NickD said:

I had a 2015 truck come into work two weeks ago for a noise. Rear end was screaming and it turned out the rear pinion seal had been slinging oil for an indeterminate amount of time and the rear axle had 2 or 3 tablespoons of fluid in it, tops. So I order all the parts I'm going to need, every bearing and a ring and pinion. Two weeks later, still no parts. Ask the parts guys when I'm going to see them, as the guy is in one of our dealership rentals and was supposed to be leaving for Florida. Parts guys call GM and tell me it will be another 2-3 weeks before the parts are even manufactured, with everything still being berkeleyed up from the strike. My boss calls the GM zone rep to get approval to throw a whole axle assembly in it instead, then learns that the GM catalog lists a complete rear axle as being "Discontinued". How the berkeley is the axle discontinued when there are still trucks rolling off the assembly line using that very part?!

Did I say two to three weeks? I meant "end of December"

At that point, I would authorize pulling an axle from a new truck. You really do not want to piss off a customer.. even if GM is really good at that

I think I'm being trolled.

In reply to Knurled. :

Neat!  Thanks, I'd been looking at Volvo wheels, but not many on the secondary market in the proper diameter.

The original R style wheels would have been sweet, but they only came in 17 :/

1988RedT2 said:

Many decades ago I got a gift from the Mom of a girlfriend.  It was a little self-contained tool set with 6 screwdrivers, a magnet bar, and a sharp pointy awl. 

Is the awl pointy enough to de-pin connecters? The kit I had that was like that had a tool that was perfect for that.

We need a "solid gift thread"

I'll add "quality insoles in the correct size" for anybody that works on their feet.

 

Mike said:

 

I think I'm being trolled.

What the Blade Runner is that?  Did Musk hire a set designer from an 80’s sci fi movie?

Stefan said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Neat!  Thanks, I'd been looking at Volvo wheels, but not many on the secondary market in the proper diameter.

The original R style wheels would have been sweet, but they only came in 17 :/

You have to make sure they fit P2Rs.  No other Volvo wheel will fit because the spokes have to be so thin to clear the brakes.

The presence of the FoRS is kind of nice for us because the aftermarket, at least for now, is paying attention to it and making wheels that fit it.

I became a mechanical engineer because I don't get along with coding software. I can use software as a tool but hate coding.  I have been trying to code MATLAB for two weeks to make/modify analysis tools because what want to look at in data isn't extracted/calculated yet.  Yet there are tools commercially available to do this that we can't buy due to budgetary constraints. 

Has everyone given up for the rest of the year?

In the last week, I've had $20k in product delivered. Just about all of it was built wrong. The cut sheets are there for a reason. How about use them. I'm getting sick and tired of having to tell my customers that the companies I deal with are staffed by the idiots and the mentally unsound. Get it together people. 

Knurled. said:

$200 S60R/V70R replicas

Oooooh, I need those for the Longbeast.  I'm not a fan of the OE R-Design wheels, and I wouldn't mind dropping down from 19" to 18".

In reply to PMRacing :

I'm kind of on the opposite of the spectrum- I honestly LOVE when I have to code macros and such to make my life easier/work go faster. I wish I got to do it more often, but despite the ostensible emphasis on 'productivity improvement' it can be difficult to get approval to spend time on a project doing so even if I know it's going to save time on it overall. 

How the berkeley do you apply for a service technician job and not own any tools? And why the hell do you hire a guy who doesn't own any tools?

IDGAF about Tesla's truck.  Really.

All of you that are talking about incessantly about it, bought into it hook, line and sinker and are giving them free advertising.

I get it, it looks like some aborted Bertone prototype, but who cares?  Are you looking to buy an electric truck in the near future? 

No? 

Then STFU.

Yes?

Then wait and someone else will come up with something that you might like.

In reply to NickD :

Our installer puts techs w/ no access control or video experience on our tickets, which is nothing but access control and video.

Nothing like answering their call and the first thing they say is, "So I've never worked on a card reader or security panel before.."

Stefan said:

IDGAF about Tesla's truck.  Really.

All of you that are talking about incessantly about it, bought into it hook, line and sinker and are giving them free advertising.

I get it, it looks like some aborted Bertone prototype, but who cares?  Are you looking to buy an electric truck in the near future? 

No? 

Then STFU.

Yes?

Then wait and someone else will come up with something that you might like.

We talk about a lot of vehicles we have no intention of buying. Like a Focus RS. I'm not sure what the problem is? 

In reply to Appleseed :

There's like 8 different threads about it.  So STFU already.

Hmm, there may be a huge market for autocross around here because a lot of people seem to enjoy aggressively driving through parking lots for no apparent reason.

Probably can't get the berkeleyers to show up at 7am and work though...

In reply to Stefan :

It's an interesting and newsworthy vehicle. Whether or not you care about it. 

In reply to dculberson :

I agree.  But fifteen-million threads all talking about how it looks?

Folks, I thought we were better than this.  Can't the mods collapse the threads at least?

In reply to Stefan :

8 == 15 million?

There are hundreds of active threads on here right now. 8 is not a big deal and it'll die down like tomorrow.

... and now this thread is about it too.  Congratualtions?