They offered a $10 refund, but I passed so now trying to do a return. We'll see how this goes...

 

After a few days I think the speakers are breaking in and sounding better. I still need to find the time to do the tweeters and powered sub install though.

 

I rotated the General Altimax tires today at around 65K. I installed them at around 40k about 1.5 years ago and they are between 5/32nd and 6/32. I want to say they started at around 10/32 and supposed get 65K on them.

 

Mocked up the catch can. I didn't have an appropriate size nut/bolt but had something that could hold it for pictures.

 

As reference to what I used for LED lighting:



- I had tried the ones that I used in the map light, but they kept developing a flicker issue after a while. I switched to these since the LED aren't exposed and haven't had a problem since.

 

The stars aligned and the 2 year old, newborn and wife all took a nap giving me a chance to install the tweeters. They were pretty easy and I used to splice them to the existing tweeter wiring. It was pretty easy to do and it really fills in the highs of songs. I'm really digging the setup at this point and I can't wait to do the KSC-SW11 self powered subs to fill in the lack of bass.


Stock tweeters - you can see the connector I cut off.


Left tweeter. Red - positive, Black - negative


Right tweeter. Red - positive, Green - negative


Used hot glue to keep the tweeters in the stock housing.

 

Nice work and congrats on getting some "car" time.

 

Geez first "winter storm" of the season and I already need new wiper blades?! I just replaced these back in April to pass safety inspection since they were chattering. I bought these set at the local dealership since the last set went prematurely and I had bought those on eBay. I think I'll start looking at an aftermarket set at this point if I'm going to have to replace the stock set 2x a year...

Altimax RT43s handled the freezing rain/sleet/snow just fine.

 

Check RockAuto for wipers. They often have crazy cheap deals on wipers. Even after shipping they come out cheaper than just about anywhere and they have good brands.

 

Thanks for the tip. I've bought stuff from RA numerous times just recently the suspension/exhaust components for my 4Runner, but didn't think about getting the wiper blades there!

 

I try to support my local parts store but when it comes to blades I am the first to run to the internet and save 75%. 20 years of driving, years of past parts store management, and I think I have tried just about everything, or at least every price range.... I just got the Trico "Hybrid Beams" from Rock Auto. (part numbers 141HB and 281HB) I am loving these blades. They are not true beam blades but they look like them. The two combined are $11... and if I don't think they are awesome in 3-6 months, I'll order another pair for this price. I would rather do blades three times a year at this price, than deal with marginal results from something 4 times more expensive. Don't let the price make you think they are cheap, it's just that wiper blades have some of the highest mark up of any part in a store because you have to have them.

oh... can't talk about wiper life without understanding the location. Southern Indiana... we get 100 degrees and we get 0 degrees, and we get walls of insects. It's a tough life for wipers around here.

 

2X/year is not unusual. I remember Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers saying you should replace your wiper blades that often.

 

I just ordered the following Ancos from Rock Auto for about $28 shipped:
C28UB (C-28-UB)
C14UB (C-14-UB)
AR14B (AR-14B)

It's more expensive than doing the oem inserts one time, but cheaper if I have to replace them twice a year! I'll report back how they do.

Cycling Fit - I'll bookmark the Tricos you mentioned and try them the next go around. For the set of 3, it'd be cheaper than the Ancos that I went with.

I'm in Northern VA so we have a good mix of weather too. I also drive 20K a year and live in a more rural area so I get a lot of bug guts.

 

I guess I'm spoiled by my 2004 4Runner. I've been using OEM inserts in the original blades and they'll last years before needing replacement. I think I'm going on 3 years with the current ones and they passed inspection a few months ago.

 

So far I can't recommend these. The driver's side one puts some big streaks on the windshield. At least it's not chattering, but I'll be trying a different set once they wear out.

The AR14B seems to be a direct replacement of the OEM. They look identical and use the metal rib inserts too. For that, I'd probably just get the inserts.

 

I think we are in the same ugly weather belt... (latitude and not that far apart) I will report back to this thread if I see a rapid degradation of these blades.

 

I had the day off and the MM minder came on earlier this week. I changed out the oil/filter and also did a MAF cleaning. My 16QT drain pan was pretty much full, so I went to the landfill and dumped into the recycling.

When I had the CVT fuild changed out at the dealership, of course they didn't attach one of the screws in the splash shield. We have a bunch of odd and ends nuts and cage nuts at work, so I sourced a set that worked great. I'm not sure if it's SS so I just added some grease to the threads.

 

recommend on wiper blades ...... honestly .... whatever happens to be on sale on slickdeals (sometimes, its even free)

https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php...searchin=first

 

Since we've had the wettest year in the DC Metro area in a long time, I've had the time to test these and I can definitely NOT recommend these. They squeak like crazy. Not sure which side, but doesn't matter as they constantly squeak.

 

Over the weekend I finally got the Kenwood KSC-SW11 installed. Sounds good without being overpowering. Honestly I think one of these is at the limit for the size of the Fit. Some may prefer a bigger subwoofer for a harder hitting bass though but this works for my needs. Considering I paid $127 for it on Amazon, I can't really complain. I left some slack as I have plans to move it under a custom false floor in the future.


Kenwood KSC SW11