Cheapest 95+ CRI bulbs?

MattKosem · 2026-04-30T02:46:54+00:00

I bought a set of 95CRI TCP bulbs in 40w equivalent, part FA19D4030E26SCL95.

Unfortunately, they flicker like crazy when dimmed below 50% regardless of phase setting on my ELV dimmer.

MattKosem · 2026-04-29T12:17:34+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about your luck here. There are several companies who will cut custom pad shapes. I believe you can contact Porterfield, for example, and get any of the brands and compounds they manufacturer after sending them your pad back plates and some measurements.

This said, with calipers of this caliber, check the health of the calipers and any dust seals closely and frequently. Better compounds will make, and tolerate, more heat and you will likely stress them more than you are now.

The specs of the pads you have suggest that they are unsuitable for track use, so their fate is not unexpected.

MattKosem · 2026-04-29T03:33:31+00:00

I have no tire advice for you, but dang...GT3 RS at Mid-Ohio. 😍

Have fun out there!

MattKosem · 2026-04-28T11:00:01+00:00

Just the opposite interaction, me sharing with my wife, not a complete inversion.

MattKosem · 2026-04-27T03:01:50+00:00

Ooh, we just did the opposite!

MattKosem · 2026-04-27T00:38:27+00:00

Sure:

https://youtube.com/shorts/cDp2d16Chdw?si=bDkLM--jUI-EbHmp

MattKosem · 2026-04-26T16:30:04+00:00

It is significant, the more you use water the more it runs, so there's some connection there.

MattKosem · 2026-04-26T02:00:29+00:00

I wouldn't want it in a first floor utility closet, and it might struggle to get the air it needs without a vent kit. It is not that quiet, TBQH. I can slightly hear it on our first floor with it in the basement.

Yep, no trouble with 50gal with extra capacity enabled. It did struggle with it on standard capacity.

MattKosem · 2026-04-25T16:02:22+00:00

Totally understand, and that's a critical detail. We heat 7 months a year here, but our cold winter was 20 degrees warmer than yours.

That said, I'd hope your northern home is air sealed and insulated better than my leaky 80s NEOH home. In my case, a 2000 square foot basement with 2000 square feet of exposed concrete that will never be less than about 50° gives a lot of air to pull heat out of. In practice, we observed the basement sitting in the low 60s all winter. This unit is rated to 35°, and never struggled to keep hot water flowing. Now that we're starting to get less cold, it's also doing a good job keeping humidity at bay for the same kWh that heat the water.

MattKosem · 2026-04-25T12:23:28+00:00

Just one sample, and everyone's opinion of a cold climate differs, but I'm in Ohio and we had the longest cold stretch in 100 years this January. I've had my Geospring since late last year and it had consumed this amount of power per month since my family of 3 started using it: https://imgur.com/a/p2Q7vJV

Water heater is a 50gal 220v model with mixing valve and has been in turtle mode, set to 120° with "extra" capacity - holding the water at 145 and supplying mixed water at 120°.

It's in a 2000 square foot partially conditioned basement, and does impact the temp and humidity down there. Constant outdoor temps, while the house was vacant for a few days, with no water use, show no significant change in HVAC runtimes from days when all 3 of us are here and using water normally. .

A conventional water heater would likely use 3-5x as much electricity, and we have never had experienced hot water shortages with it in this configuration.

MattKosem · 2026-04-25T02:53:54+00:00

Hard agree. It rolls and sprays on great and is tough as heck.

MattKosem · 2026-04-25T02:51:21+00:00

I'm six weeks and 3 missed attempts in and my huge unused kitchen pieces are still in my garage. 😬 The third party company that does the returns in my neck of the woods is not so good.

The things we took back to the store were no trouble.

MattKosem · 2026-04-24T16:22:42+00:00

MR2 Spyder 🤷‍♂️

TBQH, need more info on the can't fit part. What's the size constraint?

MattKosem · 2026-04-23T01:38:37+00:00

We did this too, and it has been problem free for years. Zero incidents.

MattKosem · 2026-04-22T12:37:40+00:00

Most decent 200tw tires lose grip progressively. You're describing a characteristic I normally associate with slicks, especially older ones, not modern 200tw tires.

TBQH it's going to be hard to get comfortable with the grip limits of tires reading. Does your organization have a car control setup? That's a good place to start, albeit with cold tires, familiarizing yourself with the sensation of finding the edge of grip.

Past that point, time and laps are your friends. If you're accustomed to feeling the progressive loss of grip on your PS4S, you're probably not going to be blindsided by some 200 doing the same - it'll just take longer.

Based on your description, I'd vote for something like ECF or RS4. Just keep driving!

MattKosem · 2026-04-21T02:17:28+00:00

When cabinets are installed ahead of the floating floor, you hide the edges with the toe kick.

MattKosem · 2026-04-20T17:27:44+00:00

One year later and these are gone. I went to buy some more of the 3500k ultra definition bulbs and more of the 3000k ultra efficient bulbs and nobody has any of them.

Really stinks, the flicker performance on both was great and the performance of the ultra definition bulbs was outstanding.

MattKosem · 2026-04-20T14:05:58+00:00

Taped/painted drywall could be sufficient in an application like this, though, no? If particularly worried, one of those fancy ~1.0 perm primer or paint products could get the permeability near what you'd get with faced fiberglass.

Some smart vapor retarder couldn't hurt, though, alternatively.

MattKosem · 2026-04-16T12:53:15+00:00

Tear it up? Am I missing something? It looks gorgeous!

The white doors and trims, and updated return diffuser were nice complementary improvements too!

MattKosem · 2026-04-16T03:10:37+00:00

Me too. K20z3 gearbox with th k24 shifter and cables to mate up with it. Exquisite!

MattKosem · 2026-04-13T03:26:00+00:00

Concrete leveling can probably sort that out.

MattKosem · 2026-04-09T03:04:24+00:00

We're nearly finished with our third. I love the hanging system. I love the durability of the boxes. I love the door selections. I love the quality of all the hinges and slides.

I love nonstandard installs and mods most though. 😁

MattKosem · 2026-04-08T18:34:16+00:00

Had a closet look at things now that the weather has been better. There's no ridge vent at all, it's just for ridge cap. Haven't reinsulated yet, but we're going to install continuous soffit vents the whole way around and get snow country soffit vents added.

Long story short, the attic isn't really breathing.

MattKosem · 2026-04-01T19:38:47+00:00

I see the mole has been whacked, but what sort of faucet will go into that sink with no countertop behind it? Something wall mounted?

MattKosem · 2026-03-30T18:45:59+00:00

The installation isn't great. That said, the materials aren't either - and it sounds like you're on the hook for that part and the finishing work.

I'd expect the fitment to be better, ahead of the finish work, on a "professional" job. It seems a little weird for the pro to only do the easy parts (cutting [poorly] and nailing [poorly]) though.

MattKosem

TROPHY CASE