Recent content by RPS13

Jeez, you're dense. They'd get a trailer up to speed just fine. Controlling it would be another matter due to their lower weight and lack of suspension load capacity. They probably wouldn't do as poorly as you think they'd do though. A BMW X5 has a 6000 lb towing capacity BTW, and the 550+...

It gives a pretty good indication on how a tow rig is going to get up to speed when pushed. As in, how fast the vehicle is unhitched, then what the total tow rig weight is relative to unhitched weight. That and how it drives the other 95%+ of the time you're not towing for most people. But...

I test drove 4 4th gen V8's. They're pretty pokey, yielding about mid 7 second 0-60 times flat out. A hemi powered V8 Jeep Grand Cherokee does 0-60 a full second faster. The 4th gen V8 is the same speed as a new V6 Grand Cherokee, or a new V6 4Runner with the updated 1GR. Yea, the V8 will have a...

The V8 doesn't put out that much more torque than the V6 once they're both above 2k RPM. Yes, it puts out some more, but not a lot. The V6 is not stressed at all pulling at 70-75 mph in 4th gear. Yes, a travel trailer will have more aero load, but it should still do it with the TC locked up...

It helps get everything up to speed. An X5 will actually tow better than a 4Runner too since the hitch is placed so close to the rear axle. All the German SUVs get glowing reviews for towing as a result of this and the very good handling chassis. The 4Runner puts the hitch out a little bit, but...

IMO the V6 will do it just as well as the V8 will. You might have a little more trouble getting up to speed on onramps and stuff like that, but it's not like the V8 is a rocket ship. They're kinda both slow even when unloaded to be honest, put a load on them and they're pretty pokey. I'd...

Most cheap torque wrenches are accurate to +/- 4% FULL RANGE. So it's +/- 2.67 ft-lbs at any torque and within range. So instead of 17, you could have been right at 20. That said, beam style wrenches can sometimes introduce more inaccuracies based on out of plane loading and how you look at...

Yea, the motiv bleeder is nice. I lent mine out and never got it back. :( I've thought about buying one, but I put speedbleeders on my track car, so that makes the yearly bleed a 10-15 min affair. Harbor Freight has a cheap vacuum pump for brake bleeding that's like $20 with a 20% off coupon...

Yea, I dread when taking my vehicle to get tires put on, because they ALWAYS screw up the wheel torque even when I get them to note it on the service order. One guy actually had the gall to argue with me that when they zap the lugs on via a big 1/2" impact, then just go around and "click" the...

Open bleeder, compress pistons on the non-bleeder side. Then bleed caliper, repeat. I'd also suggest doing a pedal bleed on the front calipers - the higher fluid velocity does get more air out compared to a gravity bleed if there's trapped air in the system. 3 pumps, hold pedal, open bleeder...

The ride is rough because 4Runners have solid rear axles. So the rear sprung/unsprung weight ratio is high, which will ALWAYS ride like crap on choppy pavement. Toss some bags of water softener salt in the back, and it'll improve a tiny bit because you're improving the ratio and reducing the...

That's the transmission with its Camry-driver targeted shift pattern not keeping up on a stop. It's still in 2nd, with the 1st gear shift solenoid energized. But the transmission has to slightly move to complete the shift. If you inch forward at a stop light you'll hear it audibly clunk into...

Yep - half baked electronic driver aids are worse than none at all. It reminds me of the early versions of traction control in the 90's (on mainly expensive cars at the time - like BMW). They would detect a little wheelspin and just shut the whole party down, sometimes with a secondary throttle...

The auto LSD thing sucks. It's so slow to react it's horrible. I've driven some reasonably decent electronically controlled open diffs, and this is most definitely not one of them. It's more like a solid few tenths of a second of wheelspin on the inner tire, then horrible bogging as the rear...

You can adjust the assistance the air bags provide by pumping them with more air. So yes, you can keep off the bumpstops (within reason) in the rear. If you overload the rear with 2000+ lbs of stuff, it'll still have an issue, but for mild 400-800 lb loads that normally leave you very little...