The Truth About Cars » Product Reviews

WeatherTech®, Audi OEM Floor Mats Review

Michael Posner — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:57:47 +0000

Given half a chance, most car guys would spend big bucks pimping their wheels. Needless to say, their better half ain’t buying it. So neither are they. While aerodynamic addenda and wikkid wheels are [ultimately] a less costly ego enhancement than regular spa treatments, all car mods tend to appear fairly low on the list of financial priorities known as the family budget. But guys, it’s time to go to the mat. Literally.

NITTO Invo Ultra-High Performance Tire Review

Michael Posner — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:02:56 +0000

If you’re a pistonhead, you have people. You know, Nick the mechanic or Joe the dyno. I got a tire guy: Ernie Bello. Bello tires is a performance car hangout, with all the right equipment for mondo mods and a lounge, decorated with a map of the Nürburgring, stocked with car mags, ice cream and kick-ass Cuban coffee. When my sports car needed new tires I clicked on Tire Rack for price and advice. I then went to Ernie. Hey Ernie! Whaddayathinkin here?

Redline WaterWetter® Review

Michael Posner — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:29:28 +0000

Inexpensive products that promise significant improvements to your car’s performance are almost always fool’s gold. This is especially true for engine additives (*cough* STP *cough*). However, there’s one company with a sterling reputation for delivering on its promises: Redline Synthetic. Since 1979, the Benicia, California company has been selling coolants, fuel additives and lubricants to the automotive, motorcycle, marine and industrial markets. As part of their range, Redline offer a product called WaterWetter®. They claim their potion can reduce car coolant temperatures by as much as 30ºF. That’s hot! I mean, not.

Spike-Spider Winter Traction Package Review

Michael Posner — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:58:13 +0000

I learned to drive in Philly in the winter. Although we were always warned to watch out for the dreaded black ice, the roads where I lived were plowed, salted and gently hilled. So there was little winter drama. The only slip sliding away in my ‘hood: Paul Simon’s doleful tune and the snow-covered mall parking lot where we went for late-night donuts. Flash forward to the winter of ‘07: a family vacation to the mountains of North Carolina in our rear drive Cadillac SRX. Before embarking, I glimpsed a warning on our cabin rental website: “four wheel-drive is a must.” Ch-ch-chains. Chains for fools. Or not.

NEXTAR Snap3 3.5″ Navigation System Review

Michael Posner — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:28:09 +0000

Looking at last year’s Black Friday ads made it clear that a portable GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) satellite navigation device was the season’s most popular loss leader. Even department stores like Macys were offering a GPS device on the cheap. This strategy continues; last week our local Walgreen’s had a Nextar GPS device at the front counter for under $200, right there next to mints and quit smoking gum. I wanted to see if a cheap GPS unit could compete with the big boys. So I contacted Nextar, and they provided us with a Snap3.

Motorola HS820 Bluetooth Headset

Michael Posner — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:49:16 +0000

I know it's not PC to say so, but I hate a lot of things. For example, I hate people walking around with those stupid cell phone earpieces looking like Lt. Uhura from Star Trek. They wear them like some sort of fashion jewelry, even when they're not asking John to phone Sally to tell Jorge he needs to phone Mary. For my sake, they should put their headsets away when not in use. Meanwhile, to find out what these people see in these devices and whether they have any practical use, I tested the suddenly very cheap Motorola HS820, a small Bluetooth, wireless headset.

Sears DieHard 10/2/50 amp Automatic Battery Charger Review

Michael Posner — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:00:28 +0000

Like most middle aged men, I had a car crisis. So, after convincing my wife that an Imola Red BMW M Roadster isn’t “chick magnet red,” I bought my dream car. Of course, the dream is never the reality. I rarely drove the M. Summers were too wet and hot (real men don’t drive a convertible with the top up and the a/c on). Fall was too wet. Ah, winter in Florida! It’s the best ‘vert weather but… I just got a new daily driver. So Emily became a garage queen. And died.

Poorboy’s Spray & Rinse Wheel Cleaner Review

Michael Posner — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:19:13 +0000

Go into any parts store and you’ll see rows of products that claim to clean wheels. Just spray and rinse! After buying, spraying and rinsing, you end-up with half clean wheels that beg you to take out the scrub brush and clean them the old fashioned way. And here’s the really horrible bit: OCD pistonheads keep after the cleanliness is next to godliness spray ‘n wash wheel cleaning Holy Grail until their garages are littered-- OK, carefully arranged with half empty bottles of wheel cleaner. So, is there a genuine no-brush wheel cleaning solution?

Dinan Cold Air Intake and ECU Software Review

Michael Posner — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:39:52 +0000

Say the name Hartge or Alpina to a BMW fan and you’ll get instant nods of understanding and respect. While Dinan doesn’t get the pistonhead props afforded these German uber-tuners, they’re rightfully considered America’s foremost BMW tuner. Steve Dinan’s mob has been modifying BMW cars since 1979. His Morgan Hill California-based company offers upgrades for Bimmer engines, suspensions, brakes and wheels. Like the Germans, Dinan also sells “Signature Vehicles” and creates special Factory Works programs. We concern ourselves here with an ECU upgrade and a cold air intake.

Whalen Shift Machine Review

Michael Posner — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:49:48 +0000

Three pedals for two feet. A wheel and a shift knob for two hands-- that are supposed to be on the helm at all times. The manual transmission doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it? Never mind. For its increasingly marginalized adherents, the manual transmission makes driving a pleasure. Unfortunately, carmakers are deleting the manual option from many U.S.-spec cars. As you’d expect from “ultimate driving machine” fabricators, BMW offers a manual in all of its vehicles save the 7-Series, including the once SMG-only M5s and M6s. These manual-equipped Bimmers sport ZF-sourced six-speed transmissions crowned by a leather shift knob.

Escort Laser Shifter ZR3 Review

Michael Posner — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:14:11 +0000

It's a never-ending battle between speeders and the police. Since the e-wars began, the police have moved from simple X-Band radar-based speed detectors to sophisticated KA-band radar guns, radar detector detectors (no really) and laser speed detection devices (with charming names like Stalker LZ-1). While the best consumer radar detectors can sniff out X and KA-band signals from a long way off-- before the signal can bounce back to Officer Not So Friendly-- if your laser beam detector goes off, tag you’re it. If you’re speeding (which you probably are as you’re reading a laser jammer review), you’ve been nabbed.

General Tire Exclaim UHP Review

Michael Posner — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:23:01 +0000

Selecting a performance tire is a daunting process. Over ten different tire manufacturers offer over forty different brands in a multitude of configurations for a range of road conditions. Tire prices range from less than a single Ben Franklin to nearly three times that amount. And it’s difficult to isolate objective information about any given tire because of the number of variables and the inability for any one tire to be the best in any one category (e.g. grip, wear, wet weather traction, wheel protection, comfort, etc.) Oy vey.

OBD-II Actron 9135 Scanner Review

Michael Posner — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:59:23 +0000

Driving my new 2004 Audi with the family on a vacation to Sanibel Island, the check engine light (CEL) illuminated. We were 125 miles from home. In the past, an engine warning light would trigger panic, confusion and nameless dread. (Owners’ manuals are no help; they simply tell afflicted drivers to take the car to an official dealer.) All I could do was find, phone and visit a local dealer (if they were open) or limp home, knowing that every mile might be making an unknown situation worse. These days, I have an alternative: the OBD-II Actron 9135 scanner.

Wheelskins Cover Review

Michael Posner — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:21:04 +0000

Now that you’ve attached that cherry faux sunroof you snagged on EBay onto your econobox, it’s time to spruce up the interior. No, I’m not talking about a pine-scented Magic Tree® air freshener (review to follow). Nothing says upwardly mobile motor like a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Now you could stunt down to your local auto parts store and pick-up one of those slide-on leather covers for about twenty bucks. But unless you have hands the size of Sasquatch, you may find this to be a sub-optimal solution. Thankfully, a slimmer, higher quality alternative is available. If properly installed, it adds a tasteful touch to any tiller.

APR 93 Octane ECU Chip Modification Review

Michael Posner — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:45:36 +0000

Enthusiasts have been tuning vehicles since the first car coughed into life. Back in the day, performance-minded pistonheads could enhance their car’s fun factor by putting stiffer springs on the distributor advance, or changing the top dead center degrees. In fact, there were hundreds of relatively simple ways a clever wrench could wring more performance out of his [formerly] humble four-wheeled steed. Today’s cars are too heavily computer-dependent for such simple tricks. Enthusiast-oriented entrepreneurs have created a whole new market of electronic modifications to fill in the void.

Rotex Gold Brake Pads Review

Michael Posner — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:11:11 +0000

BMW, Mercedes, Audi and other performance-oriented manufacturers all place a high premium on providing their customers with massive stopping power, with minimal noise. To that end, they fit relatively soft brake pads. The Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) brake pads are fabricated from a combination of high tech and simple materials: carbon fibers, metal filings and a powerful adhesive to hold the pad material together. These soft brake pads help the machines achieve astounding predictability, power and control but they do make your expensive wheels look like crap.

Magellan Maestro 4040 GPS Review

Michael Posner — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 12:21:43 +0000

Given the changing pace of technology, the price of factory-fitted satellite navigation and the itinerant traveler's tendency to rent their chariot, a portable GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) navigation system is the ideal solution. When choosing an electronic pathfinder, map quality makes all the difference. Magellan (like Garmin) uses the premier map data supplier Navteq. The Magellan Maestro Series offers three models with a "just right" screen size (4.3"). The 4000 ($399) is the base model. The 4040 ($499) adds Canada (the maps, not the country) and Bluetooth, which lets you access addresses lurking inside your phone/palmtop. Although you can upgrade the 4040 to real-time traffic data for another hundred bucks, that same Franklin buys you the 4050 ($599) with a built-in traffic jam info receiver. On the road, the Magellan's 4040's geek fabulous 20-channel sirfsStarIII chipset instantly locked onto a GPS signal and updated quickly. The maps are pellucid, the voice prompts clear and the touch screen ergonomically sound. On the downside, the map disappears during recalculation and full-on sunlight is still a bugbear (a built-in visor would help). While RV-ing seniors might appreciate the AAA's TourBook info and roadside assistance (trip A members only), it would be nice to be able to choose a more (ahem) upmarket guide. Overall, the 4040 is a decent but not outstanding GPS device-- at $499. But Costco's got 'em for $349 (in store price, call ahead). For that money, you're good to go.

Stars (out of five)

Price $349

Looks 4

Ergonomics 4

Ease of Use 4

Value for Money 4

Gotta Have It 3

Overall 4

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