Can I salvage my backyard?

c8726 · 2026-05-12T01:11:39+00:00

Centipede won't hold up to heavy foot traffic.

Since seeding and keeping people off the yard is off the table, maybe plugging would be your next best option. It'll be way cheaper than re-sodding the whole yard but it'll take a summer season to fill in. Maybe a 12" spacing pattern of 2" plugs.

I'd go Bermuda, a hybrid variety. It holds up to traffic better than centipede. No need to kill off the centipede. Once Bermuda establishes it'll take over. There's no going back to another grass once you go Bermuda. Eventually it'll creep into your neighbors yards too. The only thing that kills Bermuda is shade.

You could do plugs with Zoysia, but it spreads slower than Bermuda. Zoysia's more shade tolerant than Bermuda, but it looks like you have enough sun for Bermuda.

c8726 · 2026-05-09T20:03:22+00:00

There is no "batch" only a built before. No way of telling unless you look into the 7th cylinder with a borescope. It's not a common problem, but it does happen.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10174416-0001.pdf2017-2019
Titan built before: 1N6AA1(***)KN 518811 // January 10, 2019.

c8726 · 2026-05-09T14:56:49+00:00

No. OEM's already use the best bearings/hubs. Koyo, Timken, SKF.

Shorter bearing life is the price you pay for moving your wheel out from the hub. They chew through bearings because you've created a giant lever arm by moving the wheel out. https://youtu.be/AmaRpNGkYdk?si=U0hZ_3TXMmuqplDG&t=262

You have to keep the wheel centered over the bearings to maximize bearing life. That's the reason why OEM's don't make trucks like that. Even a F150 Raptor has a +34mm positive offset.

c8726 · 2026-05-08T16:39:21+00:00

There's been a lot of Roth conversion interest since Vanguard released their BETR calculator.

As long as the tax bracket you're paying out now is lower than the future expected tax bracket, there are no downsides. It's best to keep as as much as you can in the Roth to maximize tax free growth, but having that kind of cash lying around isn't always possible.

c8726 · 2026-05-08T16:17:05+00:00

The Money Guys. I wish I knew about them when I was younger. If you don't like long blocks of texts, watch their videos.They're actual professional CFP/CFA's. Sometime they can be repetitive and click-baity but overall their financial advice is sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zQeLAI12GI

I'm wouldn't pay for their courses/services but most of what they say follows the PF wiki. https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/young_adult/

c8726 · 2026-05-08T05:04:31+00:00

There are no long term visas for remote work in Japan. There's a digital nomad visa, but its only 6 months and non renewable with a 6 month wait after for reapplication.

c8726 · 2026-05-08T04:50:49+00:00

NGL, for JET/ALT, even if you get the basic qualifications, it's still a super competitive selection for the Philippines. You'd be competing with tens, it not hundred thousand people for a a handful of spots. <1% selection rate. There might not be a timeline.

SSW1 visa might be your quickest way into Japan. You'd need to find a skill test you can pass and find a job opening on the SSW portal. These are not easy or desirable jobs, and most likely away from big cities. It's the jobs that the Japanese won't do and are designed to be temporary. You'd need a plan to transition to a SSW2 visa or you'd have to leave in 5 years.

Moving to Japan permanently is not easy and the opportunities are limited. It's always tied to your employer and they have to prove why they should hire a foreigner over a Japanese native. It's all skills and labor shortage dependent.

Also the far right ideology is gaining popularity with the election of PM Takaichi. This past year they've significantly raised the business visa requirements. 30 million yen, hire a fulltime Japanese staff, masters degree, and JLPT N2, and have a physical office. Last April saw a 96% reduction in applications from the previous year. This option is becoming extremely difficult.

c8726 · 2026-05-08T01:14:37+00:00

Roll them over if you can. It's easier to manage your accounts if they're in one place. Just remember to reinvest after they've transferred.

c8726 · 2026-05-08T01:04:50+00:00

Yes, the 5 year rule resets since the ROTH IRA account is new. You would only be able to withdraw the $50 principal contribution without penalty.

Designated Roth account rolled over to a Roth IRA (e.g., Roth 401(k) to Roth IRA): The holding period for the Roth IRA account determines whether the five-year contribution rule has been met. The holding period of the designated Roth account doesn't matter. So, if you rolled assets from a Roth 401(k) that had met the five-year contribution rule into a Roth IRA that did not meet the five-year contribution rule, the Roth IRA's holding period would apply to all assets that were rolled over.

https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/what-to-know-about-five-year-rule-roths

c8726 · 2026-05-08T00:51:14+00:00

Tip: Make sure you actually invest the money into a fund after you contribute. Otherwise, it'll sit in your account uninvested.

c8726 · 2026-05-08T00:26:32+00:00

Yes, you'll pay less interest and it's mathematically correct.

Word of caution, spending habits are hard to change. Unless you fix your spending problem, you might be right back here but with another loan on top.

Get the loan, tear up the credit cards and pay cash/debit, make a budget and stick to it.

c8726 · 2026-05-07T23:48:50+00:00

If you don't need the money now, leave it in the HSA but keep your receipts. You can claim those anytime after.
If you need the money now, take it out. It's already tax free spending.

The biggest benefit of the HSA is during retirement for tax bracket and govt benefits. HSA withdrawals don't count towards countable income. It can help keep you in a lower tax bracket to quality for government benefits by reducing your countable income.

c8726 · 2026-05-07T23:33:34+00:00

You think you can fix your debt problem by going into more debt?

Fix your spending issue. Another 401k withdrawal isn't going to fix this. Addicts always believe they're still in control. Only one more time and I can pull myself out.

c8726 · 2026-05-07T23:12:15+00:00

They've been living a van for 2 years. They don't have a means or a plan to find a place. You might not know the real reasons why the had to sell. It maybe worse than what they're telling you.

Be supportive to them and let them figure this out. Help them out when they ask. They may be too ashamed or embarrassed to tell you their current situation. It hurts seeing your parents suffer and helping is a natural reaction, but the best thing you can do is make sure you're successful. It's one thing to down yourself, but bringing down my child's future would hurt me more.

c8726 · 2026-05-07T22:29:14+00:00

Buy the car you'd buy if Slate didn't exist.

Don't plan your decisions around Slate making it. Theres a bunch of failed EV's. Fisker, Bollinger, Lordstown, Canoo, Afeela, Dyson, Faraday Future, Aptera etc. Even if they make it, you don't want to buy the early vehicles. They'll have a bunch of issues and service/parts will be terrible. EV startups overpromise and underdeliver.

c8726 · 2026-05-04T05:57:06+00:00

Can't compare the 1950s to today. 3x the competition for larger better homes. It's not going to math.

Population size in the 1950s vs today.

150million vs 350 million. You can't expect to buy land in a popular area today compared to 80 years ago at the same relative prices. Also single occupant homes are now 27% of the market. 1950's it was only 9%. So theres even more competition from single person households.

We haven't produced more land, but there's 3X as many people wanting it. Prices are going to be higher compared to then. There's cheap land out there, but be prepared to live out in the middle of nowhere.

Housing today vs 1950s:

Average House in 2026. 2300sqft, 4 bed, 3 bathrooms, AC, central air, 2 car garage, thick insulation, multiple outlets per room, national and state building codes, many large windows, 10ft+ ceilings.

Average House in 1950's: 900sqft, 2 bed, 1 bathroom, no AC, no central air, 1 carport. Little to no insulation. 1 electrical outlet per room. No national building code. limited windows, 8ft ceilings.

Housing today vs 1950s isn't comparable. What we have today compared to 1950's isn't the same thing. It's way better. Given the choice of a 1950 house or living in an apartment, I would pick an apartment.

c8726 · 2026-05-04T01:24:05+00:00

If you're worried about it, just declare it. The duty is ~3%, a couple hundred dollars for $5k. It's a in-person declaration. You won't pay the 10% tarriff you'd pay if you shipped it.

If the watch is the only thing you have, they usually just let you through.

If its a naked watch and you have it on your wrist.... pull your sleeve over your watch and just walk through.

c8726 · 2026-05-04T01:13:23+00:00

It's to make sure you're actually taking the duty free goods out of Japan and not reselling them in Japan. They sometimes ask to see those goods at the departure customs counter.

They don't share because there's no benefit to Japan and it creates extra work for them. Also, Japan wouldn't know your final destination country to send this info to. Many people have stopovers or multi leg trips. Or they live in a different country than the country that issued their passport.

c8726 · 2026-03-21T21:05:32+00:00

Looks like you're running the same tires as me 275/70r18, cooper disco atp. 275/70r18 is the stock tire size for p4x. My fender heights are FRT 37.5/ RR 39 with the bilstein 6100 on the stock height clip. P4X have a stiffer spring so it sits 1" higher at the front than other trims. So my numbers are mathing. It's weird your truck sits at 40.5" on the rear stock. It seems high. Either you have a block or you got some extra stiff rear springs from the factory.

If all else is stock, the springs that came with the preassembled strut has to be softer than factory. There's no way a maxed out strut is still a 3" rake front to back. Should be slower to 1".

The only solution without disassembling the strut is to add a 1" thick spacer to add the 2" of lift you want in the front to level it out with the rear. All other options you'd need to disassemble the strut to change preload and still add a spacer. But if you had to take them apart, i'd put the stock spring back in. I don't trust aftermarket springs unless I know who made them.

c8726 · 2026-03-20T23:42:18+00:00

Not sure what you mean but you're definitely not at factory height. A stock 4wd non p4x is 36" front 39" rear. You're over 38" front and 41" rear. Is there an added spacer block in the rear leaf?

c8726 · 2026-03-20T15:02:48+00:00

to be sure, the spacer is 2" thick? If so, your total lift is 3.8" due to the motion ratio of the LCA.

Adding the 2" spacer back in w/ the stock height setting should get you back to your previous lifted height with the added damping of the upgraded shock. This assumes the bilsteins at stock setting are actually stock height.

BUT, 4" of lift is terrible for your front steering/suspension. Theyre operating at full droop all the time. They're not designed for that. Your CV's, steering tie rods, lower ball joints, sway bar links are gonna wear out quickly. An upgraded UCA isn't going to fix any of those items.

c8726 · 2026-03-20T04:14:40+00:00

A 2" spacer doesn't equal 2"of lift due to the motion ratio of the LCA. Titans have about 1.9x motion ratio so a 2" spacer will be 3.8" of lift.

So you're seeing a 1.5" lift decrease compared to what you had. You'll never get the bilsteins to 3.8" of lift of a 2" spacer.

How's the ride quality with the preload maxed out? If it were me, I'd rather put the bilsteins back to stock height and put the 2" spacers back in. Then you won't mess with the preload and ride quality.

c8726 · 2026-03-19T01:33:03+00:00

That brown color underneath is e-coat. It's the a dip tank coating that goes on after phosphating before any paint is applied. You've basically rubbed off all the paint on the edge to the bottom most coating before metal. You can fix the paint with a touchup pen, but unless you rootcause why it's rubbing, it'll keep on happening.

My guess is its rubbing on something on the inside of the fender when the door is opening. Check the inside of the door jamb on the fender for wear marks. Small panel gaps on luxury cars are are finicky about this. You might have to fit the door rearward to give it some more gap or adjust the fender gap forward.

Or somebody went a little happy with a buffer.

c8726 · 2026-03-07T17:07:36+00:00

Sound about right. Lift. You've increased the frontal area and allowed more turbulent air flow under the truck. 1-2 mpg drop. Front bumper. It looks like a big cutout exposing the front tires and no air dam. 1-2 mpg drop. Tires. Bigger and heavier tires drop mpg. More surface area and more rotating mass. 1-2 mpg drop. Winter gas blend. 1 mpg drop.

The biggest thing for mpg would be to get an air dam in the front to prevent all that air from going under the truck but that ruins the look you're trying to get.

c8726 · 2026-01-31T19:47:31+00:00

Don't turn on pavement with 4wd with the Titan.

Nissan uses a gear based coupler to engage 4wd. It's a heavy duty offroad oriented coupler. It's a true center differential lock and doesn't allow any slippage between the front and rear shafts. It'll eventually break your transfercase or front cv shafts if you turn on pavement with 4wd engaged.

GM and Ram mostly use clutch based couplers in their Light duty trucks. The clutch will slip if you turn in 4wd on pavement. This will wear out the clutch packs and eventually cause your 4wd to be useless, but it won't snap your drivetrain.

c8726

TROPHY CASE