Recent content by somenoise

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead. I just moved to the area front out of state and in looking for a new reliable honest mechanic came upon this recommendation for CarSpec. I talked to John and had a good, informative, and friendly conversation but at the end he apologized because he...

Picked mine up at the dealership. Still low quality and poorly designed on it's own for the price, and especially compared to any other oem cover I've used or owned.

I got the OEM one at a great discount...and wouldn't do it again. Really low build quality (constantly having to trim threads that come loose from the sides) and as others have said poor coverage. Also god forbid the tiniest bit of dust gets in there; no amount of cleaning can get it to not...

Used in December 2020 right before everything went nuts. From what I hear most dealerships still haven't added back the 4runner to their Costco program. Make sure to shop around dealers by plugging in different nearby zip codes on the Costco page. I had two dealers offering me the Costco price...

Modern day labor costs make it cheaper to install new calipers (and sell the old ones to be remanufactured) rather than the amount of labor it takes to rebuild them in-shop. That being the case, not worth the liability of installing a part rebuilt in-shop (versus new from manufacturer) just...

Careful with that, a couple years ago I tore a 1/2 hole in my groin muscle during a trail run. Pretty complicated hassle getting that fixed and rehabbed to resume walking normally. Should have stayed at home.

Depends on the Costco. A lot will not and store policy backs them up. A few people on here have had luck at their local one, like you, but seems to be the exception.

Where are you located? I had a dealership in Georgia swear these were superceded and could not be ordered but then called a dealership in California and they shipped them out same day. Could it be a TMS/SET/GST difference?

I put on Toyo AT3 at discount tire (America's tire locally) and they balanced no problem first time around. Only thing is mine are E load. It seems to me a larger proportion of people with the balancing issue on the AT3s are with the SL load (I could be wrong). Wonder if their SL manufacturing...

I have the Cali Raised. It sticks out 3" with full clearance but there's enough space between the slider and the bottom of the body to easily fit a boot in and use all 6". I step on it with both feet all the time to access the roof with no issue. Let me know if you'd like a pic to illustrate.

Discount Tire is no stranger to overtorqueing and breaking studs. Best is to watch as they work and be ready to jump in if they are about to cut corners. No problems since I started doing that.

What if I don't have a Highlander around to test new 4Runner mats on?

No balance issues or steering wheel shake ever on my E-load 265/70/17 and it's been over 5000 miles on- and off-road. There can be a bit of louder road noise depending on the pavement but nothing out of the norm for the type of tire. Never had an installer guarantee a period of wheel shake after...

Or arguably right audience, but not a receptive one.

Forward collision has been mandated in the EU for a while now. As of September this year all vehicles in US will have it based on an agreement between the federal government and the US auto manufacturers association. Usually "agreement" is short for "if you don't promise to implement it however...