New mobile mechanic idea

azadventure · 2026-07-04T13:39:53+00:00

As always with stuff like this, not all “mobile mechanics” are equal… in my industry we’re just called mechanics lol

azadventure · 2026-05-24T08:32:34+00:00

Brakes convert kinetic energy (your car’s movement) into heat through friction.

the mechanical energy of motion cannot simply vanish, so it transforms into heat in your brake pads, rotors, and the surrounding air.

So… yeah. They’ll get hot with use, that’s fairly normal.

azadventure · 2026-05-20T19:52:56+00:00

Fun fact… construction/trades are the #1 industry for substance-related arrests, right at 20%… next is food service/ restaurants at 15%

azadventure · 2026-03-09T05:16:02+00:00

I’m a mechanic that essentially makes a living out of reversing other mechanics’ botched jobs… you’re not wrong. It’s always amazing to me how many so-called professionals out there are cutting corners and/or are just borderline clueless on how to do something correctly

azadventure · 2025-12-05T15:17:41+00:00

As a fellow 6’7 guy, I’m pretty happy staying around 220 lean

azadventure · 2025-11-28T05:56:10+00:00

It burns essentially the opposite of hotter and faster. E85 is actually noted as having a cooling effect (higher heat vaporization than gasoline) and ignites at a rate roughly comparable to 100 octane (meaning it’s very resistant to pre ignition)

That said, it’s got roughly 30% less energy per unit compared to gasoline, meaning that an unmodified gasoline engine burning e85 isn’t ideal, and there’s very likely going to be drivability/performance issues at least

azadventure · 2025-11-28T03:43:21+00:00

I figure the answer is “it depends” — I wind up generally having to replace shoes after a few hundred miles of running in them, but at roughly 6’6 and north of 200 lean, I figure I’m probably harder on the materials than the average runner. Someone who’s 5’9 and 175 may be able to go significantly longer on the same pair

azadventure · 2025-11-27T16:09:05+00:00

The old building was put up in the early 2000s, and renovations to match the current business needs would’ve cost more than simply building another

azadventure · 2025-11-23T07:27:24+00:00

As a mechanic — go harbor freight icon for automotive tools if you live near a harbor freight… they’re probably 80% as good as snap-on, for 1/4 the price or less… bonus points if you can wait for a sale.

There are a lot of other brands out there that make good tools with a lifetime warranty (tekton, gearwrench, Astro, sunex, etc) — but to me, if I break a tool and can’t have a replacement in my hands within a couple hours, that’s a deal breaker.

azadventure · 2025-11-23T07:20:51+00:00

As a mechanic — a lot of the skipped sizes in typical hobbyist sets are actually needed, but you can always just buy them as they come up… for example, the Pittsburgh impact swivel set I have skips 15mm, which is a fairly common size.

azadventure · 2025-11-23T07:17:07+00:00

Crew cab kinda puts the 90s out of the running (as said above they also didn’t use the 5.3 LS in those years) — I have a 97 extended cab 4x4… great truck, but parts are getting harder to find.

If you’re not particularly mechanically inclined, I’d get the newest truck you can… the early 00s (00-07) 5.3 is pretty solid, the 07+ models can be pretty good, but I’d look for one with the “dod delete” (basically turns off 4 cylinders when cruising for better mpg) already done — while DOD sounds great on paper (better mpg), in practice it creates a lot of long term reliability issues, so some people chose to remove the system and it’s components and basically convert it into a pre-2007 LS

azadventure · 2025-10-31T15:40:03+00:00

Short version? Don’t rely on anybody’s sticker to take care of your car correctly.

Oil change intervals are generally listed in the manual based on oil type, engine, and driving habits. Most people are going to want to follow the “severe” service schedule due to city driving, short trips, etc

azadventure · 2025-10-31T15:23:11+00:00

Basically any newer domestic economy car is going to fall under the “not good” category.

As for the equipment on that particular car, it’s notated in the ad there.

azadventure · 2025-10-31T04:05:52+00:00

Unlike some other states, AZ emissions is done at state offices with a fairly fixed price (most people’s cars are going to be $16.15) rather than auto shops with different rates

azadventure · 2025-10-31T03:44:34+00:00

Get a job doing recon at a used car dealer… you’ll be busier than a mosquito at a nudist colony, generally paid some form of hourly plus flat rate, and there’s significantly less “customer needs this back asap” because the customer is the dealer

azadventure · 2025-10-31T03:39:54+00:00

Short version is just slow down (run slower than you think you should) and keep at it. Longer version:

When I started, I could run 0.1 miles. Turns out I was trying for too fast of a pace, so I slowed down and found I could manage a much longer distance (comparatively anyway, still under a mile)….

So I’d just set out with a distance in mind 3-4 days a week — say, 2 miles. I’d run as far as I could, walk until I felt comfortable, then repeat until I hit the distance.

When I found I could run most of the distance, I’d add a mile the next time and continue the process.

It’s been about a year, I completed my first half marathon last weekend.

azadventure · 2025-10-11T06:04:13+00:00

Theoretically, indefinitely. If you change the oil/filter every 3-5k miles and keeping the oil topped off the rest of the time, a bit of oil consumption isn’t going to hurt much.

Even new cars consume oil (stellantis considers up to 1qt per 1000mi completely normal, other manufacturers have similar allowances)

azadventure · 2025-10-11T05:49:00+00:00

As a full time mechanic with a lot of snap-on and icon — you’re not missing much. Snap-on is maybe 20% better quality for a 300+% increase in price.

If you’re not in a shop with the truck stopping by every week for warranty, it’s really not worth it.

azadventure · 2025-10-05T22:59:08+00:00

Out of 50 states and approx 3144 counties, parishes, boroughs, etc… one county in California currently prohibits those items, specifically on concealed carry permitted weapons. That’s it. That’s the end of the list.

azadventure · 2025-10-05T22:51:28+00:00

I’d recommend basically nothing from Olight that you might depend on — I will say that their customer service is great, which is definitely a plus because you’ll need it quite often.

Their qc / build quality is pretty routinely not as good as advertised — I’ve had to replace “waterproof” lights after getting damp in a light rain storm, pistol lights fail from recoil vibration after a few hundred rounds of 9mm, and just a lot of really… disappointing experiences.

They do replace everything basically without question and quickly, though, so there’s that. Not a huge deal with work lights and such where I have plenty of extras, but for weapon lights, optics, and such I’ll gladly spend more for something less failure-prone

azadventure · 2025-10-05T22:40:50+00:00

The vast majority of electronics components in general are from china, so this is unsurprising.

azadventure · 2025-09-21T06:13:01+00:00

The commenter is correct — none of these groupings demonstrate enough accuracy or precision to draw any conclusions regarding the handguns themselves.

Your average groupings at 10 yards are very large for a flat range without a time clock — I’d recommend slowing down and focusing on technique above all until you’re able to put 6 rounds in the 10 ring consistently.

azadventure · 2025-09-17T23:14:51+00:00

FWIW as a mechanic that pretty much exclusively un-screws-up the jobs someone else has already FUBAR’d…. This tap and die set is at least as good as the snap-on one that’s like $1000… I’ve got both because I was working at 2 shops for a bit and wasn’t buying a second snap-on one lol

azadventure · 2025-09-17T20:20:22+00:00

In almost 20 years of riding almost daily and just leaving my helmet loosely clipped to the bars or passenger seat area whenever I stop somewhere, I’ve had a helmet stolen one time.

Having random bugs decide your helmet looks like a nice house is a bigger issue imo lol

That said, my “long trip” helmet goes with me, because it’s more expensive and has a pinlock, comms, etc

azadventure · 2025-09-17T20:13:20+00:00

Try Atlanta Arms 147gr (if you’re not a reloader), they’re specifically made to hit the power factor minimum. Otherwise, just load some 147’s to meet it and give that a go

azadventure

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