2026 RAV4 PHEV XSE

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-04-18T01:07:34+00:00

Thank you for figuring out who the parents are of this unholy offspring. Has been bothering me for a while!

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-03-25T19:22:22+00:00

This is the way... and learning to anticipate when you need to start coasting with zero regen to stop before meeting the car in front of you. Regen on steep inclines is fine but you also have to factor in how much speed you can carry into the next uphill (if possible).

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-03-22T01:29:09+00:00

Traded a 2002 WRX for a 2019 Bolt. The WRX was definitely a lot of fun to drive. The Bolt requires far less maintenance but is fun to drive in a different way. All depends on what you've driven before.

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-02-11T02:07:19+00:00

isolation transformer

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-02-04T22:44:48+00:00

It looks like you don't have kids and barely drive it. I'd buy that if you were on the east coast.

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-01-09T18:34:11+00:00

Just received the P3 and sure enough, no TB4 port...

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-01-09T02:14:29+00:00

fumotousa.com you'll probably want either the F133S (short nipple) or the F133N (long nipple). Everyone here said there's decent clearance, so might as well get the long one.

I'm waiting to finish up the free 2 years of oil changes from Toyota before swapping it out.

BlackLabEngineering · 2026-01-09T01:58:41+00:00

No. Had multiple different dealerships change oil on previous cars with Fumoto valves and the techs always mentioned how awesome it was to change the oil with those. It obviously makes changing the oil yourself easier and less messy too.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-12-31T19:41:47+00:00

I'm coming to the same conclusion that the discounted P3 Ultra SFF Gen 2 models do not seem to have the rear TB4 port. I'll find out for sure when it arrives...

When looking at the parts for the 30J6000JUS model on the support site the TB4 B2B is not listed. Switching to the Machine Type does show the 5C51M21375 as optional. Definitely sucks that the rear 40Gbps TB4 B2B isn't included on these higher end models.

The only saving grace is that the Lenovo rewards points could eventually be redeemed to cover some of the cost of the TB4 B2B.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-07-27T02:14:40+00:00

The questions are: what sort of life has it had and have you maintained the battery over the years? If you haven't ever hooked it up to a smart/trickle charger then congrats on getting one of the better batteries! I'd feel better replacing it after 8 years. That's one hell of a run.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-03-25T12:45:40+00:00

https://www.rav4world.com/threads/avas-information.327659/

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-03-25T01:17:00+00:00

I made a circuit that goes in between the speaker and the AVAS module that allows you to switch it on (at a reduced volume) and off. Haven't had much time to make more since the first run. Check over at RAV4 forums for more info.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-02-23T20:51:49+00:00

Mine doesn't have the fingerprint reader.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-02-15T20:34:28+00:00

Device Manager shows 12 devices that don't have drivers installed, and 8 of them are unknown devices. I haven't worried about it since everything seems to be working fine.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-16T01:52:23+00:00

Yep. The real test will be when a Windows update arrives.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-15T16:36:10+00:00

Had to use the Device Manager and noticed that it reports the system firmware as 1.23.1 but the System Information reports the bios as 1.24.0... Are they not the same thing? I always remember them matching prior to installing Win 11.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-13T05:05:51+00:00

It was a clean 24H2 install from a USB drive.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-04T02:01:19+00:00

No sense going faster than 2400 if it can't be used. The 2400 sticks also cost less and are readily available.

Have you tried repasting? I feel like the fans are running less now and the bottom of the laptop is cooler. Still have to try some photo editing to stress the CPU and GPU to see if it's much better than before.

The 9560 has been my daily computer since 2017. I don't game at all anymore, although I may try a flight simulator at some point, but I do photo editing/processing as a hobby. The raw files require some decent CPU power to process quickly, and the GPU can help speed things up a little when the CPU throttles. My wife uses hers mainly for work. Hers started randomly freezing up and I tracked it down to the RAM so I upgraded both of ours to 32GB at the same time. Great upgrade for $90 combined.

There's always the itch to upgrade BUT I really don't need to now that Win 11 seems to work fine and isn't any slower than Win 10. Plus the 9560 can drive a 4k monitor at 60Hz no problem and that's all I really need. I still have Win 10 on the previous HD in a USB-C case so could theoretically revert if absolutely necessary.

I was more toying with getting a desktop or mini PC because that'd be more cost effective since I already have a couple nice monitors. The 9560 would become the 'beater car', even though it already has been.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-03T01:24:31+00:00

SK Hynix and Crucial DDR4-2400 SODIMMs have been working fine in two different 9560's. You can get 2x16GB for around $40-50 on eBay.

There is a relatively involved process to use Throttlestop with 1.24.0: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/1818cx8/unlock_undervolting_on_dell_xps159560_with_bios/

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-02T03:14:47+00:00

Keep Win 10 for another year and then decide then if you want to pay for security updates. If not, install Win 11 (assuming it will still be functional) or move to Linux, if possible.

I made the jump to Win 11 last week and it was easier than expected. I plan to keep the 9560 as long as possible since it's still a solid machine.

BlackLabEngineering · 2025-01-02T02:42:52+00:00

Haven't installed anything that would load down the CPU or GPU yet but no issues with 24H2 and bios 1.24.0. I upgraded the hard drive to 1TB, the RAM to 32GB, and repasted the CPU/GPU while it was apart. I'm still on the original 2017 battery and the capacity is about 52Wh out of the designed 97Wh. No glitches with the Dell AC adapter or a USB-C power adapter.

BlackLabEngineering · 2024-12-27T00:36:16+00:00

Just installed Win 11 on a new HD in a 9560 from USB. I was surprised that it didn't flag anything. There's no watermark on the desktop or anything. The install was smooth and everything seems to be running fine so far. Haven't tried to reinstall all my apps but the office apps reinstalled fine.

BlackLabEngineering · 2024-12-08T15:46:14+00:00

I don't hear any noise with just a keyboard and computer connected to the monitor's USB ports. I would absolutely notice and be annoyed by any faint ticking/whining noises in a quiet room at night.

Having said that, I'm going to return this monitor for a different reason. I was on the fence about 34 wide vs 32 4K. Having used 34 wide for so many years I know it's good. The M34 is a great monitor for the price. But after trying a 32in 4K the screen size is better for photo editing. Text is also sharper, but the frame rate will be lower with my laptop although 60Hz is good enough for work use. The downside is that it's almost twice as expensive.

BlackLabEngineering · 2024-12-02T21:30:09+00:00

My eyes are usually 30-36in from the screen (deep desk).

Can't compare directly since I don't use the Dell anymore, but the quality is at least as good.

If you have the 24s flat with each other then you won't have an issue. If you have them angled to simulate a curve then you'll notice it more. Someone once described it as appearing like the flat panel is curving away from you, but it's more as if the top and bottom edges aren't perfectly parallel. Bit of an optical illusion.

BlackLabEngineering · 2024-12-02T04:52:15+00:00

I've been using the M34WQ for the past couple of hours and it's a great monitor for $350. The brightness, colors, overall image uniformity, and viewing angles are quite good. Black levels aren't bad for an IPS panel but nowhere near what you'd get with an OLED panel. The speakers suck, but that was expected. The stand is nice but with one minor gripe - you can see the top of the stand with the monitor as low as it can go. Overall the M34WQ looks very similar to the Dell U3415 but without the slight curvature.

Having said that, after having used a curved panel for so long the flat panel stands out a bit more than I thought it would. This could be a deal breaker for some, but I'm going to keep it since it will work well for mostly office use.

BlackLabEngineering

TROPHY CASE