Spring preload and sag: what does it really do?

I was recently looking into the topic of suspension spring preload and sag, and it seems there is very little information on the internet about these topics. There is, in fact, quite a bit of misinformation on the topic.

Tire pressure balancer

A few weeks ago, while wandering around Princess Auto’s always fascinating surplus section, I found something useful among the random array of products that is that section of the store. This “Tire2Tire” is an air hose with a tire chuck on either end. Ostensibly, this product is used to reinflate a flat tire by using the air from another of your tires. The idea seems to be that a tire has some infinite amount of air and you can do fun things like inflate other tires and beach balls and air mattresses by harnessing this mystical force. I suppose, in a crowded parking lot, you could probably use the car parked next to yours to refill that flat tire with this product, as long as that car’s owner doesn’t see you.

It might not have been a realistic business model, which may be why these things are being sold as surplus. The product literature also suggests you can increase your car’s top speed by using this air hose. How could I pass that up?

Brake disc resurfacing... with an angle grinder???

In our last installment, I rebuilt my Subaru brake calipers and replaced the pads with some new Hawk HPS performance pads. I was disappointed that after all that work and money that my braking performance hadn’t changed all that much.

It was while I was posting that article that I noticed, in one of the pictures, THIS:

Rebuilding the Subaru 4-piston brake calipers

Was it really almost a year ago that I first replaced my then-new-to-me Subaru’s brake pads? When I was doing so, I noticed that one of the eight front brake pistons was hopelessly stuck. It went on my long-term to-do list to rebuild the front calipers, and I finally got around to it. With seven other pistons still working, one dud actually didn’t affect overall braking too much.

Making my cheap drill press turn slooooooowwwwwly

A few years ago I finally got tired of making holes with a hand drill and purchased a second-hand $30 Jobmate drill press (actually one of the better tools from the otherwise-crap Jobmate lineup). After a short time of ownership, I don’t think I can ever live again without a drill press in my life. Even a relatively crap drill press like this one makes drilling holes so much easier and more accurate.

New steering for the Samurai

I haven’t been entirely happy with the steering setup on my Suzuki Samurai. It had been modified from the stock setup, but I felt it could be much better and safer.

On a stock Samurai, the top steering rod (tie rod) that connects the steering box to the right wheel is a straight piece that sits on top of the leaf springs, along with the entire front axle. When the axle was relocated to the bottom of the leaf springs (a common off-road modification, called a spring-over-axle lift) the tie rod would rub on the leaf springs. You can see the old solution that I had in place in this picture - the bent rod replaced the straight piece in order to clear the leaf spring:

Offroad trail fix: car thief edition

Not long ago we had our Suzuki Samurai out for its post-rebirth maiden trail ride, joining an open run from the Calgary Jeep Association. Everything did not go well. The Samurai developed some pretty severe overheating issues. That wasn’t the worst of it, however.