Useless Information

[iamdub]

The previous owner put LED bulbs in the stock fog light housings and then tapped into the purple wire to power a 20 inch LED light bar in the bumper cut out on the Sierra. While not a fan of adding extra lights to my vehicles anymore, the other night that light bar when turned on lit up the desolate highway we were travelling on. Little chance for a deer or hog to run out onto the road without plenty of warning with the coverage all three provided. Florida law however, does not allow for 5 lights on at once, just 4 and only two can be fogs and only two can be head lights.

Anyway, a few days later the Sierra went off-roading after it rained and the light bar gave up the ghost and one of the stock fogs was half full of water. Upon closer inspection it was discovered that these LED bulbs cooked the housings, cracking and melting them. New stock housings are at least $90 and the bulbs are about $22 each but my daughter didn't want stock as her headlights are LEDs. So Dad, me, did some googling and came across some Morimoto's and when they came in today we put them on.

We moved the mounts over from the originals and RTV'd them into place so they wouldn't move or jiggle and Julia said that they throw out a ton of light to the right and left. I disconnected the burned out light bar and mended the wiring until we replace it later on. Mission accomplished.

View attachment 351706View attachment 351707

For the Yukon, we replaced the rear end links on the sway bar the other day and went to replace the inner tie rods but the new tie rod on the driver's side was not cooperating. Heavy whacks with a 24 oz hammer failed to convince it to release from the knuckle. We looked all over for the 3lb sledge to no avail so I ordered another from Vaughan and it should be here in a few days. Then we'll persuade those tie rods to leave the knuckle for a few minutes while we attach the new inners and put it all back together.

Wisdom teeth and birthday parties and of course the girls' social lives threaten to drag this simple task out to who knows when! LOL

To follow Florida law, couldn't you tap the light bar into the high beams? You could always have an override switch (use a diode!) to operate the bar manually, regardless of the factory light status.

 

[swathdiver]

To follow Florida law, couldn't you tap the light bar into the high beams? You could always have an override switch (use a diode!) to operate the bar manually, regardless of the factory light status.

That's certainly an option. We discussed simply wiring up the new LED light bar with its own power and switch. Figure we'll use a push button switch and put it at the top of the knee bolster to the left of the steering column. Same place they put those DSP switches on the Duramax trucks. This way she can turn them on independently of the fogs when off road or on deserted roads.

 

[swathdiver]

A couple of weeks ago a cool car passed me by and when I got home I pulled the memory card out of the dash cam to show it to the kids. Well guess what? The thing hadn't been recording for months! LOL It would record for 72 seconds and then stop. Almost the same as the last one which shared the same architecture. I concluded that these two were lost by letting them run while the car was off during the summer, the temperature got to them.

So now what? Well, after much searching and procrastinating, I bought a Cobra SC201 this time around. It has all of the same features of the old ones and more like lane keep assist and collision avoidance and when connected to the phone with Cobra's app, will show you speed traps, traffic alerts, etc. Not sure we'll use all that but we'll give it a try and see.

If this thing lasts more than a year I'll hardwire it!

The previous cameras were:
February 2019 - Eachpai X9
February 2020 - Pruveeo P3

The Eachpai X9 was my favorite as far as compactness and features. It did not have IR for the rear camera, the GPS antenna was external and it was limited on storage capacity.

The Pruveeo P3 improved on all those shortcomings and while about the same footprint, was a bit thicker but still unobtrusive up there next to the rearview mirror.

The Cobra SC201 is a little wider and obviously thinner and has a much larger capacity for memory cards and can more easily hook up to the phone to view videos. I am looking to get an adapter that introduces a USB plug between the wiring connector for the rearview mirror so I can plug it into there for 5V of clean power.

Eachpai X9:


Pruveeo P3:


Cobra SC-201:

 

[gooffeyguy]

A couple of weeks ago a cool car passed me by and when I got home I pulled the memory card out of the dash cam to show it to the kids. Well guess what? The thing hadn't been recording for months! LOL It would record for 72 seconds and then stop. Almost the same as the last one which shared the same architecture. I concluded that these two were lost by letting them run while the car was off during the summer, the temperature got to them.

So now what? Well, after much searching and procrastinating, I bought a Cobra SC201 this time around. It has all of the same features of the old ones and more like lane keep assist and collision avoidance and when connected to the phone with Cobra's app, will show you speed traps, traffic alerts, etc. Not sure we'll use all that but we'll give it a try and see.

If this thing lasts more than a year I'll hardwire it!

The previous cameras were:
February 2019 - Eachpai X9
February 2020 - Pruveeo P3

The Eachpai X9 was my favorite as far as compactness and features. It did not have IR for the rear camera, the GPS antenna was external and it was limited on storage capacity.

The Pruveeo P3 improved on all those shortcomings and while about the same footprint, was a bit thicker but still unobtrusive up there next to the rearview mirror.

The Cobra SC201 is a little wider and obviously thinner and has a much larger capacity for memory cards and can more easily hook up to the phone to view videos. I am looking to get an adapter that introduces a USB plug between the wiring connector for the rearview mirror so I can plug it into there for 5V of clean power.

Eachpai X9:
View attachment 352963

Pruveeo P3:
View attachment 352964

Cobra SC-201:
View attachment 352965

Did your previous models have a rechargeable battery or capacitor for backup power?

 

[swathdiver]

Did your previous models have a rechargeable battery or capacitor for backup power?

They all have the capacitor and no batteries.

 

[swathdiver]

Well, the days of running the KO2s is over. They were replaced with 5/32 of tread left but the insides were worn due to that ball joint. They went 50,546 miles and 1,702 engine hours and 4 years and 5 months.

Boy what a difference! I thought my front ring and pinion was howling, nope, it was them tires! I could now hear the air flowing over the truck and the sound of the motor at low speeds again, it was them tires! I could hear that annoying tick from behind the dash again, it was them tires blocking out everything!

I don't have to tell you folks how nice the Michelin Defenders ride and perform as they are discussed here all the time. I chose a local GMC dealer to put them on and align the truck and for the most part am well pleased, I think!

My little brain is still trying to understand how the alignment might have been off (Caster and Camber) when the plastic inserts for the cams were still in place on all positions. Alas, she doesn't drive any different than before alignment wise. I was not provided with before and after sheet, have to make a phone call on that.

 

[swathdiver]

The dealership provided the before and after alignment sheet. Another thing to note, the KO2s wore down pretty much evenly over their lifespan, 1/32 of an inch every 8,000 miles. Some say they wore down fast and then became hockey pucks. Seemed true at times but the data doesn't lie.

If it will stop raining, we're going to replace the drip weatherstrip on both sides, there are rust bubbles on both sides above the passenger rear doors. One bubble on each side. Pics to follow when we can finally get after it.

Wife and kids have been driving the truck and as suspected they love to rev the motor. What does that mean? That means it's time to check the oil! Yep, about 3/4 of a quart down! LOL Funny how it gets good gas mileage and doesn't burn oil when I drive it but is lucky to get 200 miles on a full tank and always gets thirsty for oil!

Oh, almost forgot! A few months ago we learned that Palm Beach International Raceway was being sold and that the track would close down at the end of December. That was the original story anyway. So we took the trucks down a couple weeks ago and made some passes again. It was Julia's first time down the drag strip and of course, the first time she ever ran the Sierra at the drag strip so I knew this old man had an edge!

We lined up together and I beat her off the line but that glorious 6.2 ran me down at the end. For the next pass, I let my youngest daughter use it to make her first pass ever on the drag strip and she did great too! Her time equaled my best last time out with the fellas in 2019. Truck was down about 10 horsepower over last time. The alcohol content is off again. We put both trucks on E85 again for the track. Race weight with me in it was 6346, the guy plugged in the track scale and weighed us. The Sierra weighed in at 6072 pounds.

I have videos around here somewhere...

Well, I cannot remember where I put them or even if my wife really gave them to me. Losing your memory stinks, especially when you know it!

Anyhow, here are the timeslips, 2 passes for each truck. 579X is the Yukon XL and 8349 is the Sierra. Both trucks launched from idle on advice of Tom @gooffeyguy and it seemed to have done us good. Julia did a mini burnout on the second pass. I might have spun on the first a hair, the Sierra spun quite a bit which when found, the video will show.



Julia's 2nd pass in the Sierra is near identical to the first pass I ever made in my '85 Buick Grand National, the non-intercooled version, oh so long ago.

Would have been nice to get more runs in but the lanes were full of selfish drivers with cars not ready to race. Consequently they were dropping fluids and parts all over the track all night long.

 

[swathdiver]

Found the videos and uploaded one to my channel. This is my daughter and I racing:

 

[Geotrash]

Found the videos and uploaded one to my channel. This is my daughter and I racing:

Way to go, dad! Got your daughter interested enough in cars to want to race with you. Good parenting, there.

 

[swathdiver]

Way to go, dad! Got your daughter interested enough in cars to want to race with you. Good parenting, there.

Thanks Dave, it's not easy! She knows enough about cars to embarrass most young men now and knows enough to expose a liar. That part at least was one of my goals!