Wednesday, October 21, 2009

No more clunkies.

Ok so 130,000 miles and oem struts don't mix. I decided to use monroe quick struts. These struts cost more than a standard strut. They however include the strut mount and a new spring. Basically one just needs to remove 5 nuts and the strut comes off (after jacking up the car and removing the wheels of course.) Then slap the new assembly in an do up 5 nuts put the tires back on and let the car down. The cost is about 3 times a normal strut (total was $155 a side) but they are so easy to install its worth it to me. So, that done ride should improve and less rattles and clunks now.

A new toy arrived in the post today. Its going to be a battery box heater. Its normally designed as a soil heater for people planting in cold climates. Little do they know it is PERFECT for heating up batteries/boxes (at least on paper.) I plan to do a full review of it when I get my new lifepos (still on track for friday they are in CO right now as I write this so all is looking well.) A bit on the heater. It has a thermostat built in that kicks on/off at 74F. That is right where a LIfepo4 cell is happiest. My plan is to line the bottom sides and perhaps even the top if theres some left (I have 48 feet.) Its power draw is 14watts at 110V every 4 feet so it should draw about 1.5 amps when on. I plugged it in and 15 seconds later the line is hot to the touch but not enough to burn me. My plan is to leave it on either all the time or put a timer on an outlet and have it kick on a few hours before I leave. I need to do some testing with the battery box full of cells and insulated to see how long it takes to heat up/cool down at various temps. Here is a picture of it unopened.

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