Michael Trew wrote:

> I'm posting from the rec.autos.tech NG which is cross-posted into this
> thread; I'm not subscribed to the other two NG's anymore (never sub'd to
> the android NG); I trimmed my list of NG's significantly.

There are five fundamental common consumer operating system newsgroups:
<http://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android>
<http://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone>
<http://groups.google.com/g/alt.os.linux>
<http://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.os.windows-10>
<http://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.mac.system>

You can ask the exact same question of all five (assuming it's relevant,
such as "does the Tor Browser work on your platform?) and you'll get an
_adult_ response to three of the five.

> I wouldn't relegate that behavior to just a specific NG, that's most of
> Usenet these days (and people in general). When the flame wars and what
> not start, I tune out; it bores me. I'm here for intelligent discussion.

Two of the five _always_ garner responses that were written by kindergarten
children (e.g., from Lewis, Jolly Roger, Alan Baker, Joerg Lorenz, et. al).

As you've seen from the likes of Alan Baker & Lewis in this thread, they're
incredibly ignorant - but - what makes them stand out is they think the
little that they know is _all_ there is to know about every topic.

The nospam iKook is different from those, as he actually knows "something",
but he will _always_ defend every Apple flaw to the death, no matter what.

>> You have LOTS of room for your tools in there. I can't tell if the floor is
>> dirt or concrete, but you can do tire changing if you can find a flat spot.
>
> There are two wide doors, as shown. It's about 64 ft wide, and 30 feet
> deep. I reckon it's easily big enough to be a 6 bay garage, plus extra
> room.

Wow. That's great. That's a garage to die for! I love it!
My brother has a professional lift which is one thing I _always_ wanted.

Do you do any woodworking? That's a hobby that also takes up floor space.

> The whole right side, I think with the junk shown in the photo,
> is a concrete floor. The left side is not; it's just dirt (but could be
> concreted).

Ah. Good for you. Once you have concrete, you can do a basic alignment.

BTW, if you want advice in what tools to get for either the alignment or
for the mounting and balancing of tires, just ask & I'll be helpful.

I'm no good with alignment yet, but I have the "drop center" stuff figured
out on tire mounting, which is a lesson learned the hard way the first time
that it matters (e.g., for my bimmber's BBS wheels, it matters a _lot_).

> Both sides are totally full of junk from the prior owners.

Junk is only something one person valued that another person with a
different set of skills, desires & needs doesn't see the value in yet. :)

> My step
> father and I bought it at sheriff's sale for back taxes for a crazy
> cheap price, and we're cleaning it out.

Good for you. Send me all the tools you don't want! :)

> I have a booth at a local
> antique mall, and what I feel like cleaning has been sold down there.
> Lots of it is fit for a dumpster though.

It's interesting how easy it is for any given person to clean out someone
else's stuff. It's due to that value thing. They place a different value on
the objects. Particularly on sentimental stuff.

>> With respect to brakes, you know what I know, which is that they're one of
>> the easiest jobs in automotive maintenance to do, and yet, I've heard of
>> people spending upwards of _thousands_ to do a typical four wheel brake
>> job!
>>
>> Are you aware of the cold/hot friction ratings printed on every passenger
>> brake pad sold in the USA? I buy mine by that, and nothing else (other than
>> fit, and price, of course). I get my rotors and calipers at CarID or
>> RockAuto and I mic the rotors and drums before replacing them.
>>
>> Do you do similarly?
>> And do you agree that, in general, brakes are pretty damn easy to do right?
>
> I was not aware of the friction ratings.

OMG. If you buy your own brake pads & shoes, you need to know this, which I
can help you learn. Bear in mind there are plenty of things that matter in
brakes (like dust, noise, durability, etc.) but there's one thing that
matters _most_, which is your cold/hot friction coefficient.
<https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/disc-brake-pad-friction-codes-explained/>

Luckily you can't get a bad brake pad (IMHO) in the USA, but you can
instantly cut through all the bullshit advertising if you know how to buy
them by their friction ratings.
<https://idpartsblog.com/2019/04/11/what-do-brake-pad-friction-ratings-mean/>

I almost always call technical support and marketing for the brake pads I
purchase (it started because I hated the dusting on the OEM Jurid/Textar so
I contacted Akebono & PBR & Centric to find better replacements.

Talking mano a mano with the technical guys was an eye opener, especially
as they _all_ told me (in effect) that they can put a single grain of dust
and if that single grain is copper or clay they instantly get to claim it's
semi-metallic or ceramic. Those are all marketing gimmicks (IMHO).

What matters most to a brake pad is the cold/hot friction rating, which is
why it's the law that it's written on every USA passenger vehicle pad.
<http://www.safebraking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/AMECA-List-of-VESC-V-3-Brake-Friction-Material-Edge-Codes-May-20112.pdf>

> I'm usually just really easy
> on the brakes, and I buy what's cheap.

Oh my! Don't do that. Buy inexpensive. Not cheap. What I mean by that is
you can _easily_ get _better_ pads for less money than worse pads if you
_know_ what you're looking for.

Examples abound in the "what brake pad should I buy", just as those answers
abound in every "what X should I buy", in that the marketing wolves prey on
the moronic sheep who think "you get what you pay for", which is just
stupid.

You get what you get.
How much you pay for it depends on how well they've marketed it to fools.

Easily, a GREAT brake pad set should cost no more than about $25 per axle.

My rule of thumb on brake pads is the same as for tires, which is I never
buy lower than the OEM specifications - and I often exceed OEM specs.

For tires, that's things like the speed range & load range and the
traction/treadwear/temperature specs, where for pads it's the cold/hot
friction rating.

Fun fact: What do you think the friction rating is of steel on steel versus
that of _many_ brake pads sold today (e.g., those with an EE coefficient)?

> Many of these cars, I tire of in
> 6 months, and sell it and buy another when I find a deal.

Wow. That's a different use model than most I would think.
I keep cars for decades (and yes, that's plural).

The great thing about bimmers is you get to learn about them right away,
while with Toyota's it takes you years before you learn how to replace
things.

> One could say
> "flipping", but it's hardly that; it's more of a car buying problem -- I
> have too much fun with it. I enjoy *not* having a car payment, and I'd
> say I at least average out (sometimes I win, other times I lose when
> buying/selling cars).

Wow. I've _never_ sold a car in my life. I've always given them away.

But of course, that's when they're decades old, so they generally go to the
people who take them away for free or to kids as their first car.

What I _love_ about owning old cars is that you don't fret when it gets a
new scratch, where I've been to junkyards with cars piled five high and I
think about how the first scratch made each owner cry when they were new.

> Unfortunately, in my cold climate, sometimes a simple brake job is a
> total PITA.

Reminds me of when I replaced my tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, and
ball joints in the dead of winter back in upper New York state. I bought
the parts by driving to the parts store, and the guy behind the counter
ended up giving me two tie rod ends of the same side.

It was my first experience with the need to check the parts _before_ you
leave the auto parts store (and of course, this was before the Internet).

I had to go back to the parts store, but this time riding a motorcycle in
the snow, but what struck me was how nonchalant the guy was behind the
counter.

He didn't care that his mistake cost me all that agony and danger.

The one nice thing about California where I live is the cast aluminum door
handles don't break off in your hands when you open the car door in the
morning!

> The Olds' wagon had the rotors *so* rusted onto the hubs
> that I couldn't get them off anyhow.

I've had drum brakes that wouldn't come off, even with heat and plenty of
banging. It happens back east a lot.

> That goodness the neighbor brought
> his welding torch over, and got 'em nice an hot until the 8 pound hammer
> got them off.

Yup. Nothing a welding torch can't solve when the oxygen hits the hot iron!
I have 220V and gas welding equipment myself, but I rarely do it nowadays.

> I can't fathom spending that kind of money on a brake
> job. A local exhaust shop chargers $265 per axle to do the brakes on
> most cars, but I still do it myself almost all times.

Great pads are about $12 or so each and rotors can be gotten for $15 to $25
each and a set of unloaded calipers can be obtained for around $30 each
(after core refund). Ask me how I know this.

Always, always, always, I buy by the specs where I _never_ get lower than
OEM specs for any brake or tire repair; but luckily, you can't get a "bad"
pad or rotor or caliper in the USA if you follow good buying practices.

Fun fact: What's the one thing that did NOT happen to brake rotors when the
average person vehemently claims that their "brakes warped"?
--
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