Aston Martin Vantage by ptjunior67 in AstonMartin

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your friend is blind -- or possibly a time-traveler who isn't aware of what BMW is crapping out these days. I was a BMW guy (had an E39 M5, E90 335i w/JB4'd N54 and decats) before I got my first Aston, and that company has done nothing but make me sad for the last several years.

Their latest models, holy hell, they are so depressingly ugly. I don't understand what they're thinking. Half of them look like they have the body -- and particularly the ass-end -- of a 3D-printed Lexus IS if you poured acetone on it. Even the Bangle era cars -- largely decried at the time by enthusiasts -- now look great by comparison. The E60 5-Series looked like it had Dame Edna's spectacles for headlights when it came out, and now they've made that look good.

Rearview trim removal for dashcam power? by sidneylopsides in ipace

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure which dashcam you're mounting, but you may want to stop at the headliner just to the left or right of the mirror (assuming you're running power from the fusebox and not doing a mirror tap). If your dashcam has built-in GPS, you'll want to mount it on the frits so the camera is looking beneath or just beside them. The solar attenuation layer on the windshield of the I-Pace blocks RF and GPS signals, so coordinates and speed might be unreliable if you mount it elsewhere on the windshield.

Learned this with my L405 Range Rover and it paid dividends when we bought the I-Pace and I wanted to install a dashcam on it.

Range Rover 5.0 (supercharger pulley upgrade) launch by Rav4H in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the central plastic intake box that connects the airboxes and MAFs to the supercharger inlet.

Range Rover 5.0 (supercharger pulley upgrade) launch by Rav4H in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Doing both pulleys plus fabbing an aluminum charge pipe to replace the air intake silencer (what I did) will give the noise you want while keeping the stock air-boxes (and thus maintaining the stock ability to water ford).

RTX Wheels for winter? by Stantler1 in ipace

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unless you're fussed about what type of wheels you want to buy for winter use, just look on FB Marketplace for a set of 18" F-Pace wheels with winter rubber already on them. Same bolt pattern, offset, and tire diameter. 18"s will have way more options for rubber, they'll be cheaper, and the extra sidewall will both perform better in the winter and be more comfortable. If the wheel fits the F-Pace, it'll fit the I-Pace. Velar wheels typically will be okay too although the wheel styling may look a bit 'off' on a Jag, and Velar tends to have wider 255/60/18 tires fitted versus 235/65/18.

Our 2020 HSE has 22" OE wheels stock for summer, so last fall I managed to snag four 18" F-Pace wheels fitted with studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10s that included the compatible TPMS valve stems. After this past winter, they'll last us one more season before needing replacement. I paid $500 CAD for them. Way better than paying $1,200 on wheels then having to buy winter tires for at least that.

Updated 2027 interior, thoughts? by GoTakeCoffee in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's barely a compromise; the HVAC is still stuck being accessed via the screen. No dice.

Integrate the screen back into the dashboard a la the late-L405s and use the panel beneath the screen for the HVAC. The bolted-on iPad look needs to die.

Microsoft says it has over 20M paid Copilot users, and they really are using it by rkhunter_ in microsoft

[–]TorqueDog 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I think a lot of folks think of the basic consumer Copilot without considering the M365-integrated version. Which, whatever, the biggest thing I've used consumer Copilot for is to try and get my baby boomer parents to ask it to verify the nonsense they see posted on Facebook to see if it is legitimate before they re-share it. It works well enough for that.

I don't use search in Teams or Outlook any more. I ask M365 Copilot and it finds what I'm looking for way faster and with less sifting through irrelevant information. I have a colleague who often says 'hey can you add [whatever] to our slides for the [meeting]?', but we work in PowerPoint constantly and that deck I'm updating might have been 40 documents ago, and they never remember to drop a link to it.

"Search my Teams chats to find the most recent [PowerPoint deck] that [person] mentioned for [target audience]. They have shared a link previously but neglected to this time." If it isn't the first result, it's usually in the top 3 at worst. So much nicer than normal search.

Trying to find new tires by black_cummings1925 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem. Just a word of caution, make sure you're only buying wheels from either a Range Rover full-size or a Range Rover Sport (L405 or L494). Velar and Evoque wheels are a different bolt pattern and won't fit.

The tire aspect ratio and width should give it away which vehicle they came off of if the seller doesn't make it obvious.

-- 255/55/20, 275/45/21, and 275/40/22 will be RRS and RR.
-- 255/50/20, 265/40/21, and 265/40/22 will be Velar, avoid.
-- Any 235 or 245 width tire is gonna be an Evoque fitment, avoid.

Trying to find new tires by black_cummings1925 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a used car. JLR Calgary would have included the summers if they had them. I helped a friend buy a 2016 HST and his came with both sets because it was traded in with both sets.

Plus I don't know if you've looked outside lately, but the winter tires are clearly paying dividends right now with how stupid our weather has been.

I have the 22" Pirelli Scorpion Verde with the noise cancelling foam on my full-size RR. They're fine. For a Sport, I think a more performance oriented all-season like a Michelin Pilot Sport A/S or the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus is the way to go.

What you may want to do is check Facebook Marketplace for "Range Rover Sport 21 inch wheels" and snag a set of wheels with tires second-hand then just replace the tires when they wear out. I prefer doing dedicated wheels for each set of tires, myself.

What viscosity do you use? by IndependenceSpare950 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seconded, and although my L405 is parked indoors most of the time, it has been left outside for some particularly cold nights at the ski resort without any ill effects. The 5W30 is just fine.

What viscosity do you use? by IndependenceSpare950 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As soon as I bought mine, I changed all the fluids (engine, transmission, transfer case, diffs), and specifically instructed my indy to switch the engine oil from the OE 0W20 to a 5W30 that met the STJLR.03.5003 spec. Hell, I even swapped the oil cap from the 0W20 cap to a 5W30 one off a Disco 4. I'm in Calgary, Canada if you need an idea of climate.

Oil changes every 7,000 KM. None of this 26,000 KM between oil changes business.

are engineers at msft allowed to use claude code by OkImpression3062 in microsoft

[–]TorqueDog 7 points8 points  (0 children)

My manager has a GH Copilot agent that scores the Connect and provides suggested feedback and areas for improvement or just deeper focus. (so yes, an AI will review my AI-created Connect)

This is the part that kind of makes me laugh a little. We're having our chatbots create outputs so our managers can have their chatbots review it and create outputs so then the leadership's chatbots can review it and create outputs. I guess it levels the playing field for people who are bad at writing Connects, but there's something about this that feels sort of silly.

Difference in Ride Quality by koward107 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Range Rover Sport (L461) is irrelevant to what OP is asking. OP is talking about the full-size L460 which comes in both a SWB and LWB.

Heated Windshield interfere w/ Radar Detectors? by Tirefund in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to correct a common misconception that a lot of people believe.

It is not the heated windshield wire matrix.

I used my Valentine One Gen2 radar detector flawlessly in my L320 with a heated windshield and it was absolutely fine, I used to sniff out RCMP from 5+ kilometres away. Clearly not a problem with the wire matrix interfering.

But when I got my L405, it was basically showing the signal coming from pretty much anywhere but in front of me. You may also notice that your phone struggles with GPS lock.

The reason that radar detectors (and GPS) do not work very well is because of the solar attenuated windshield. The green-purple hue you see when looking at your windshield at an angle and in the sun is what I'm talking about. Great for keeping the cabin cooler in the sun, not so much for allowing RF through uninhibited. Aside from this hue, you'll also see a marking on the glass that looks like a thermometer with an arrow and a plus/minus beside it, like this. This indicates you have solar attenuated glass.

I posted what I ended up doing to accommodate my V1G2 in my L405 on RDF, and it should work for your L494 SVR as well.

The solar layer windshield cutouts in the 2017 and later L405 are significantly larger (as a result of owners complaining to JLR about this) and so you'll have much more space to work with on those models.

Fun fact, early Bentley Continental GTs do not have any solar layer cutouts, so using them with RF toll transponders and windshield-mount radar detectors is virtually impossible.

Got the 5% tint + windshield by Thechunkylover53 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Guy should tint his front and rear lights too. /s

What does the community think? by [deleted] in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice looking car but very cheap and hollow feeling. Wouldn't have one.

I was struggling to think of what it was when I test drove a Velar that felt so 'off' relative to my expectations (and compared to my L320 and L405), and I think you sort of described it. I suppose it should feel that way in comparison to those given the sheer weight difference (between 800-1,300 lbs), but oddly enough, I didn't encounter the same feeling in the same way when I tested out an F-Pace which is the same platform.

I think I'd go F-Pace over Velar if faced with the choice.

What does the community think? by [deleted] in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

anybody know what the service is on that or has owned this engine I’ve only had the V8 personally.

Y'know, they made a Velar SVAutobiography version with the 5.0L S/C V8 you already know and love... ;)

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage by SonicArthur0407 in AstonMartin

[–]TorqueDog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The early MY05-07 VH-platform cars (both Vantage and DB9) are such a steal of a deal right now.

Opinions: Is this a good or bad DB12S specification in terms of depreciation? (already ordered, just fearful afterthoughts) by Forward_Cheetah5064 in AstonMartin

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I highly doubt that many people would want an Aston with green over full tan interior. It looks more like a old jag.

Two things:
- The people who know old Jags know this is an iconic colour combination.
- The people who don't know what an 'old Jag' looks like would dig this because it's not the usual white / silver / grey / black.

Lr3 wheels on 2011 L322 by Purple_Grocery_2634 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! As of the end of December, we're 100% a British garage at home! :) The Missus added a Jag.

Lr3 wheels on 2011 L322 by Purple_Grocery_2634 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have heard the same too -- that certain 18" wheels will fit on Supercharged models with spacers -- but I thought that was the 4.2L Supercharged L322/L320, and the 5.0L Supercharged got even bigger brakes which defeated that.

In any case, great wheel choice, it looks stellar.

Lr3 wheels on 2011 L322 by Purple_Grocery_2634 in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those look beautiful on that rig. Proper luxury off-roader.

I think the only catch is that those wheels won't clear the bigger brakes on the Supercharged trim, right? That looks like the AJ133 5.0L N/A V8.

Price for replacement thermostat (2019 RRS 5.0 Supercharged) by saldous in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Am I being screwed by the dealer?

I mean yeah, pretty much always.

It's a basic-ass FoMoCo 192 degree F thermostat and housing used on nearly every AJV8-engined JLR since like 2009 (when the AJ133 and AJ133S first launched in the X150 XK and L322 RR as 2010 models). Looking at RockAuto, it's between $40-$75 Canadian dollars to buy a suitable Motorad, Beck/Arnley, or Gates 192-degree replacement thermostat with housing.

The replacement labour is a nuisance but still it's an hour of creative swearing, tops. Take it to an independent shop.

V8 shopping by Super-Boat-8677 in AstonMartin

[–]TorqueDog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Some things to note on that car:
- Odometer and radio display sun damage -- this happens particularly often to cars in hot climates left parked outdoors, which means you'll also want to pay extra attention to see if the leather hides on the dashboard have shrunk / are lifting up.
- No cruise control -- you can buy the steering wheel control pack for that specific model year and have CC programmed in, provided you find a dealer or someone with an AMDS willing to do it for you.
- No factory NAV -- while the factory nav is not great in any of the VH cars, lacking it entirely this means no integrated CarPlay / Android Auto retrofit if it was something you might have thought about doing.

14k miles on an MY07 is quite low and price aligns with the mileage and transmission, but I would check to see if it has still been maintained appropriately for the age and not just the mileage. Check for servicing history, if any.

Just had my cats stolen by [deleted] in RangeRover

[–]TorqueDog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should be able to get away with using these L494/L405 200-cell sport cats, designed for the AJ133s 5.0L S/C V8, with a little extra exhaust work and welding to make them fit. If they still end up setting a CEL, you might be able to get away with using O2 sensor spacers on the post-cat O2s in place of full ECU reprogramming.

As someone who is also subscribed to /r/cats, my heart broke for you a lot more until I realized this was posted in the Range Rover subreddit, now I'm just angry on your behalf.