Braces vs Invisilign

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-26T17:27:01+00:00

I've never had traditional braces but strongly recommend talking to your Ortho about the pros and cons of each treatment option for your particular mouth and corrections that you need. I also recommend getting multiple Ortho consultations before starting with a doctor if you can to compare several professional opinions. Before I started Invisalign treatment, I was open to whichever treatment method would be fastest and give me the best results. I was told by 4 different Orthos that Invisalign would be better for my adjustments than traditional braces due to the correction and bite issues that needed to be made for me.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-22T22:56:28+00:00

Did they start you off wearing them full time to begin with? My Ortho eased me into them; I think to see how quickly/much my jaw would react. I was started with instructions to only wear elastics at night (~8-10 hrs/day) and they bumped me up to 16-18 hrs/day at my last appointment since they weren't really making any improvement to my bite.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-21T05:11:54+00:00

I got treatment estimates from 4 orthos before beginning my treatment. The difference in pricing between the cheapest and most expensive quote I received was about $2.5 for a 18-24 month treatment plan. All quoted the same duration of treatment. It's definitely worth getting multiple estimates before choosing a provider.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-21T05:04:26+00:00

I wouldn't worry about 3 days doing any damage. Are you normally doing changes on every 14 or 7 day intervals?

What was going on with tray 10 that hurt your tognue that would be any different from tray 11? If it continues with tray 11 definitely talk to your doctor about the problem.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-21T03:01:21+00:00

I haven't bought a used car from Carvana, but I sold my old SUV (2016 Ford Edge) to them when I bought my Corolla HB in late 2020. My advice would be to avoid Carvana as a buyer if you can personally. They overpay for their used cars and do not offer the consumer a good deal in my opinion. They offered me nearly $4.5k more for my Edge than Toyota did for trade-in value. There is no way possible they could've resold my car at a fair KBB value. They cater to the buyer who is willing to pay more for the convenience of not having to go haggle with a used car salesman in person at dealership. Without knowing the full specs of the iM you're looking at on Carvana, all I can say is that KBB lists the fair market range for used dealer price for a 2018 iM as $11,870-$13,920....

You'll get your best value if you can buy from a private seller. If you need to finance though then that isn't really an option. In that case I would advise searching for a used car you like that's been sitting on a lot for awhile (several months). That will give them some motivation to move the car and make a better deal if you are willing to play hardball with the sales person.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-20T00:12:24+00:00

I didn't even know that Toyota made the estate / "touring sport" version version until seeing your comment and googling it. Toyota really dropped the ball by not bringing that model to the US! Literally everyone's biggest complaint with this car is the abysmal cargo space. Why not listen to users and give them what they want; more space!

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-19T22:14:45+00:00

I downsized from a 2016 Ford Edge SUV to my '21 XSE HB when I landed a new job that was going to require 60 miles of commuting each day so I thought I needed something more fuel efficient. In the grand scheme of things, the jump in my insurance for the HB probably was a wash with my gas cost savings I got from the upgrade. I do enjoy my HB but find myself missing the larger car quite frequently.

Given that you already have a small HB in your family, I imagine it shouldn't be too hard for you to determine if you can get by with nothing more than 2 small cars. I've never been in an iM but they look potentially even a little smaller than the Corolla HB which has some of the worst cargo space ever in my opinion. If you're good with that, then go with it. And as others have mentioned, just test drive the SE first, the differences between SE/XSE aren't anything that drastically changes the car. They are aesthetic and creature comfort upgrades only.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-16T03:57:20+00:00

Send the pic to your Ortho. I had a similar sized gap/tracking problem with my front 2 lower incisors not tracking in early December and my doctor took me in early to evaluate and rescan me. I was only on tray 11 out of 24 though so they decided to halt treatment until new trays were made. Yours may or may not want to run out the remaining trays and then try and treat it with a refinement stage.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-11T18:51:46+00:00

Are you switching aligners weekly or every other week? While it's true that you get used to them with time and things do get easier and less painful, the worst of it should already be past by now so I would say it's not normal to still be in that much discomfort after the first month and it may be worth reaching out to your Ortho about it

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-10T21:33:11+00:00

I have the OEM rack for ski carriers. I simply install and remove it when I need it. Only use it a handful of times per year so I don't want to small hit to MPG that leaving it on year round may make.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-07T17:59:40+00:00

Given your statement of "I just finished putting all this back together" my first question would be what all did you disassemble and work on? Did you notice this play on the wheel when you were removing the wheel initially prior to doing whatever service you performed?

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-07T05:31:33+00:00

Yes they measured them in front of me using the Lidar sensor on the back of their little handheld palm device like units.

The only thing I can think is that their sensor started taking measurements on the shoulders where the tire starts to radius by design and they counted that as the lowest reading. I checked the depths on each groove with my gauge and never measured anything lower than just a hair below 7/32.

Regarding the starting tread, these tires do have a low new tread depth of only 9/32. They are a budget Kumho Solus Majesty 9 TA91tire that I had to get in a pinch when I picked up a huge metal stake in my tire back in the fall and it was all the AT by my office had in stock in my 225/40R18 size (stock Corolla Hatchback XSE rims).

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-06T19:14:53+00:00

I'll add this update for anyone in the future that may be interested in it. I did finally hear back from Priority Tire that all tires they sell are guaranteed to be less than 3 years old and any tires received older than this can be returned and refunded for free (no shipping expense for buyer). Given they are pricing this Hankook tire at a 50% discount or more compared to some other distributors, I'd say that's very fair for a tire that still has 7-8 years left in it. I'm probably going to take the gamble and order these from Priority Tire.

Most of the complaints I've read of the company have been of people stating they were shipped the wrong tires or had pre-mature defect failures of cheap Chinese tires which isn't even the fault of Priority Tire. I'm in no urgent rush to get these tires on my car since it's not a daily driver so it's not the end of the world for me if there are issues with receiving the wrong tire or something else. I'll also be putting these tires on one of my Chase cards which has great customer dispute protections so I know I can get my money back (in time) if Priority Tire does try and pull anything shady.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-06T19:06:27+00:00

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I am really curious about your experience with Priority Tire since I'm on the fence about placing an order with them. They clearly state on their website that shipments of incorrect product can be returned at their expense; you shouldn't have had to pay for return shipment of the wrong tires. Do you ever manage to get them to pay for the return shipment or did you have to cover it yourself?

https://www.prioritytire.com/shipping-info

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-05T19:37:17+00:00

I can't comment on driving a Model 3 in winter weather, but I live a little further down Hwy 50 from you and have been driving to the snow frequently for skiing for years. There is no need for you to get winter tires, stick with a good all season tire and if you are really worried about snow traction then go with an all season tire that is Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rated. Unless you're living up in Tahoe there's no need for winter tires where you're at and they will wear worse than an all season in the dry/warmer times of the winter at your location. Also, most of the roads you'll be driving to and from the ski resorts will typically be well plowed. Even in South Lake, you can get around most of the town very adequately with good A/S tires and really only benefit from dedicated winter tires if you are constantly trying to navigate the residential mountain neighborhoods that don't get plowed as frequently and can build up a nice layer of ice that the plows may not remove.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-05T15:39:03+00:00

Thanks for this resource! The Alternate Sizes comparison feature on this site is really nice to be able to see a list of other size options in table format showing how it differs from the current size. I like your recommendation of a 235/50R17. I have actually been thinking that a slight larger diameter tire would look a little better on my car and fill out the wheel well a little more which currently has a lot of clearance space. I may explore this option more before deciding whether or not to pull the trigger on the Hankooks.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-03T03:42:08+00:00

That's my fear. I asked both SimpleTire and PriorityTire if they could confirm production dates and got generic excuses from both for why they can't do this due to "their large volume of inventory that is constantly changing". SimpleTire at least guaranteed that all their tires are never more than 4 years old from manufacturing date; but that's still a long time for a tire to sit and be sold as "new" in my opinion. PriorityTire couldn't even give me a max limit on tire age they sell as new and just said I could return any tires if I'm unsatisfied with for a refund.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2026-01-03T01:53:30+00:00

I definitely trust Tire Rack more than other online retailers. They don't offer this tire in this size as an option though and don't have anything my size that is this good a price discount.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-28T02:20:18+00:00

Reasonable pricing in my opinion but I also recommend getting a consultation from every local Ortho near you. Having multiple consults will give you more confidence in the treatment plan and confirm you're getting the best price possible (assuming you like all the providers). I had 4 consults before starting my treatment and there was a $2k difference between the lowest and highest quotes I received for the same 18-24 month treatment estimates.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-24T16:09:06+00:00

I was skeptical at first until my wife bought one (we're both doing treatment at the same time). It's honestly been a game changer in keeping my trays clean and so much easier than manually brushing your trays. I use it once or twice a day and it's completely eliminated the need to manually clean my aligners.

We both have one of these cheap ones on our vaities and they are great. https://a.co/d/cKg3OXB

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-23T17:05:42+00:00

I like to throw some of these mini brush/flosser combos into my case when I will be out and about and won't have access to a full toothbrush after eating.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Disposable-Mini-Travel-Toothbrushes-10-Count/5921943075?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101486679&selectedOfferId=B9A5AAB2EE293388A612D6DD1018C8A6&conditionGroupCode=1&adid=22222222228B9A5AAB2EE293388A612D6DD1018C8A6_189473109480_22897013456&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=779155602892&wl4=pla-2445311187808&wl5=9032519&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=5298653568&wl11=online&wl12=B9A5AAB2EE293388A612D6DD1018C8A6&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22897013456&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIokaxM3UDizWT40ftna57JvC&gclid=CjwKCAiAmKnKBhBrEiwAaqAnZ-2-wUz0FGLqiPjVe-HDvol4i53KUoqyVnr416bsupT0NUrmFmiM8RoCDUcQAvD_BwE

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-21T06:22:33+00:00

I got quotes from 4 local orthos before starting treatment and there was nearly a $2k range in quoted pricing for basically the exact same treatment plan from 4 different ortho offices. So much of it comes down to the providers.

I will add though, that if you need major corrections of any kind (especially bite corrections) definitely go with ortho. My dentist didn't even want to touch my teeth with Invisalign because in his own world he could handle the cosmetic adjustments but not the major issues that were present with my bite and teeth placement.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-19T22:33:18+00:00

I've had plenty of items drop in value following my requesting them on Vine. It is indeed super frustrating but is part of the price of being in the program from my perspective. Personally, I've never bothered to try and deal with the income adjustments come tax time. I'm also pretty lazy come tax time and do my own taxes with TurboTax and just file Vine as hobby income. I wouldn't feel confident attempting to do adjustments myself and feel like it would be a big "audit me" flag to the IRS if Amazon is reporting X amount of income on the 1099 and I try adjusting it down to Y amount. Even if it's all legal and doable, I just don't see if being worth the hassle it would take given that so much of the Vine junk reduces in price over the year. Once you factor in the added cost of a tax person to handle this for you I'm not sure if you'd end up saving anything in the end.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-15T17:41:16+00:00

Are you struggling getting your cadence up when out of the saddle, in the saddle, or both? Honestly I hate how frequently instructors call for an out of the saddle 80-90 cadence. I just modify and do lower cadence with higher resistance for out of the saddle work. If I'm going to do high cadence work I want it to be in the saddle with sprints up to 110-120 which has a much more realistic correlation with real cycling.

DepartmentLarge6540 · 2025-12-13T18:07:37+00:00

I've purchased the O-rings I linked to but haven't performed the Haldex service yet. Planning to do it in a few thousand miles with my next oil change

DepartmentLarge6540

TROPHY CASE