How-to guides and other

ridiculous

automotive

thoughts

Stories from the garage and the gut.

A personal and often ridiculous lens on someone’s view of the car world.

It’s shaped into part memoir, part road trip reflections, part garage-floor confessional, and part useful guides so you can get the job done.

GO DRIVE

〰️ NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING 〰️

GO DRIVE 〰️ NOTHING BEATS THE REAL THING 〰️

Opinions & Stories

Featured

Opinion

400 Miles to Clear My Head: A Northern California Rally

Opinion

A 5 AM start, 400 miles of Northern California backroads, and a long day learning how much I still don’t know about driving a 911. Somewhere between Skaggs Springs, the coast, and trying to keep up with much better drivers, the day became less about the car and more about getting outside my own head.

Opinion

Juggling Glass: Mt. Umunhum

Opinion

Somewhere around the fourth or fifth hairpin, I said the name out loud to nobody. Umunhum. Hell of a name. What even is that?

Opinion

What GaryVee Got Wrong: Don't Whore Out Your Hobby

Opinion

When you whore out your hobby, you stop being a maker and start being a marketer. Marketers are the worst. Trust me. I’ve been one since 2014, starting in content and SEO and graduating into the rest of it: ads, email, social, the whole digital buffet. Marketers ruined the telephone with telemarketing. They ruined email with email marketing, roads with billboards, and television and social media with ads. The list goes on. I know the playbook because I’ve run it many times, and even added to a few chapters.

Opinion

BMW

Featured

BMW

BMW M50 Torque Specs: E36 & E34 DIY Engine Reference

BMW

A tightly sourced BMW M50 torque reference for E36 and E34 DIY work, with separate M50 VANOS guidance and BMW fastener-size, torque-angle and replacement-bolt caveats preserved.

BMW

BMW M52 Torque Specs: E36, E39 & Z3 Reference

BMW

A tightly sourced BMW M52 torque reference for single-VANOS E36, early E39 and Z3 applications, preserving BMW’s cast-iron versus aluminum block head-bolt procedures, fastener-size caveats and VANOS specifications.

BMW

BMW S62 Torque Specs: E39 M5 & Z8 DIY Engine Reference

BMW

A carefully sourced BMW S62 torque reference for E39 M5 and E52 Z8 engine work. Directly confirmed specifications are separated from broader BMW tables, with production-date, hardware and torque-angle caveats preserved.

BMW

Porsche

Featured

Porsche

The Complete Guide to Repairing Porsche PDK Transmission Problems

Porsche

Complete Porsche PDK repair guide for 997.2, 987.2, 991.1, and 981 owners. Learn common PDK fault codes, distance sensor failures, valve body repairs, pressure sensors, fluid service, and PIWIS calibration before replacing the transmission.

Porsche

The Porsche 996 IMS Bearing: Risk, Reality, and What to Do About It

Porsche

Every prospective 996 buyer eventually has the conversation. Sometimes it comes from a well-meaning acquaintance who once heard something about Porsches and engines. Sometimes it's the third Rennlist thread you've read at midnight before putting in an offer. Sometimes it's a PPI report with a paragraph that starts "the IMS bearing..." and suddenly the whole deal feels different.

Porsche

Best Brake Pads for Porsche 986 and 987 Boxster/Cayman: Street, Track, and Everything Between

Porsche

Stock Porsche brake pads are engineered for average use — and that means they're a compromise. If you're driving a 986 Boxster or 987 Boxster/Cayman with any enthusiasm, or planning even one track day, you owe it to yourself to upgrade. The good news: the 986/987 brake platform is well-supported by every major pad manufacturer, and the community consensus on what works is very clear.

Porsche

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