Catch…
Finally installed a catch can in an effort to keep my rear bumper clean.
I need to find a nicer way to route this but the twin intake makes it difficult with the fitting facing the fitting on the valve cover.
M3…
I’ve had sloppy shifter in this car for a long time. I finally got the time and energy to try to sort it.
I also had to fix a few other small issues like a loose oil cooler, exhaust leak, missing sideskirt hardware, loose, oil change, right front suspension, and a pollen full engine bay.
I didn’t take many pictures because I was under the car trying to reach things I could barely see.
The shifter is now better but still sloppy. I need to get this pack from Garageistic.
Tired…
My relationship with tire shops is as old as my time playing with cars. I’ve slowly become more independent with modifications and repairs as my skill and tools have grown. The one thing I’ve not become independent with is mounting and balancing tires. I just have never had the space for it. The style of modification I am particular to involves tire stretching which limits the places I can go for the service. The best deals and most flexibility are at small owned shops in the hood.
On the east coast most of these shops are Latin owned, specifically Mexican or Dominican. The relationship between Black folk and Latin folk on this side of the country is interesting. For the most part we get along but in some instances there is a clear seperation, sometimes condescention boardering on bigotry. I was not aware of the latter until after years of patronizing these types of businesses.
In drifting keeping extra wheels makes your life much easier. I like wheels so I started to accumulate many. I noticed as I came back more and more with nicer and nicer things the attitude of the people got colder, Spanish was spoken more in my presence, and the prices increased. So I started to move around and use multiple shops. Sometimes when I would show up I would be ignored, or they would put other customers ahead of me, or even hold my wheels for days. I always paid cash and tipped. Was very respectful and friendly so I was unsure of what was happening.
It got so bad I started to go to friends who worked at dealerships or chains after hours, waiting til a Club Loose day to use the tire machines, or even mounting tires by hand in my living room.
Then I met a black shop owner Collins. We became friends and I used him for all my tires and even some other mechanical things I would normally do myself. Eventuality he closed his shop and moved to Ghana so I was back to square 1.
I moved down south for a job opportunity and was able to start over again. I hoped things would be more relaxed than in Philly. I quickly found the hood and my go to tire shop. But the same things started to happen again, but this time even faster. At this point I had a truck and could take the wheels to the shop and leave the car at home.
I eventually found a shop owned and run by a Japanese guy who was super friendly. He was far but he was great at not scratching wheels and had reasonable prices, and I could text him to find good times to drop off. I started taking him all my wheels. This lasted for a few years then I started to feel a shift in our interactions. I thought maybe it was his personal life or the stress of the shop. But then there was less and less eye contact and small talk. My texts started to go unanswered. I would show up for pickup and find my wheels and tires untouched, wheels stated to get damaged, and of course prices started to go up.
So I started to use a Mexican owned spot about a mile from my house. However my truck was hit by a bus and I had to start driving my cars until it was fixed or replaced. I took the G35 with wheels and tires to be mounted and I saw a major shift in how I was recieved. A LOT of Spanish was spoken around me some, of which I recognized as derogatory and the price doubled. But for having to only travel a mile I was willing to suck it up.
I had taken 3 sets of brand new wheels and tires to the Japanese shop a while back and discovered instead of being balanced, a whole row of weights were just put on one spot of the wheel. The front of the SC was vibrating so bad the tires with less than 80 miles on them had about 3mm of cupping. I could not drive over 80mph.
So this weekend I drove the SC to the tire shop. Big mistake. When I pulled up the workers all stopped and stared but no one came to speak. I took the front bumper off, jacked the car up and put it on jack stands, removed the front wheels and rolled them into the tire shop. I asked only for balancing. They spoke in spanish for about 2 minutes before informing me the cost would be $20 per tire. High I thought but I agreed. I was 4th in line, but the head tech walked past everyone ahead of me to look at my wheels. He studied the back, front, tire size, read the manufacturer labels on the barrells and then rubbed his hands over the tire.
He finally stood up and said “Who tire?”
I hesitated because he knew they were mine. I had never seen anyone else with anything like this in the shop. “Mine I said. “
“These can’t be balanced.” He said barely looking at me. “Too bumpy. “
Confused I looked at the tires. They had such little cupping you could barely see or feel it. I had balanced way worse and driven the tires smooth. I tried to explain to him the tires were brand new and the previous shop had not balanced them properly, but he just got angry and walked away. I was shocked. They had put a 225 on an 11j and balanced it for me with no issue before. This was literally the easiest thing I was asking of them. But I wasn’t going to force them to take my money. Obviously they didn’t want my business. So I took my wheels, put the car back together, and left.
I had met a guy who had just gotten into drifting and was running a corperate lube and tire place, so I decided to try him. I pulled up and saw 4 black guys and one white. They all stopped working just like the Mexican cats did at the last spot. But they came out and got a closer look at the car and spoke and joked around with me. I showed them the front tires and pointed out the cupping and asked if they could balance them. The manager said “Yeah that’s no problem but we can’t get your car in the air. Its too low. I told him I would get the tires off myself. I just need them balanced.
“Oh! Then I won’t even ring you up!”
I took the bumper off again and the techs came and took them from me before I could even roll them in the shop. I asked the guys what they were drinking. Someone shouted Don Julio 1800 and everyone started laughing. I walked next door to the supermarket and bought a few cases of Corona. By the time I got back the wheels were bolted to my car.
I handed the beer to the manager, dapped him and the tech who did my wheels, and thanked everyone. We cracked a few more jokes and put my car together and left.
It seems that with other “minorities” if a black person has more than they think they should or seem to be prospering beyond themselves the relationship sours even if professional.
The car now rides smooth over 100mph.
#joyofpoo 
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