What did you do to your Mirage today?

[itschad]

Reinflated my tyres to the correct pressure. Now it's apleasure to drive again. Do not trust TPMS. Makes you lazy, should check tyre pressures regularly.

[Wallythacker]

I tossed a dual band Midland VHF/UHF magnetic mount antenna onto the roof. This $15 antenna, when compared side to side with a $100 Comet is every bit as bit as good. My VSWR is 1.01@146mhz & 1.07@440mhz!

Also, my plans for an all band radio, HF->UHF (1.8Mhz->440Mhz), have gone by the wayside. Trying to tune in a signal in the HF band while on the move is just too dicey. Since I installed Bluetooth in my Icom dual-band VHF/UHF radio I can use $5 BT headsets to more or less control the radio. Not only is it safer I also needn't worry about a $615 fine for using handheld electronics while moving.

[AtomicPunk]

Did first oil change at home. Removed and replaced the filter from the top, going in from the passenger side. I think I need a small extension (3 inch?) to make it easier to get filter wrench on it. Also, I had a little trouble spooling the new Mobile 1 filter on the block. Its a little longer than the oem filter, but maybe I just wasn't at the right angle. Anyone else encounter this? Let it drip a good long time and refilled with Castrol 0w20.

[Dirk Diggler]

Reinflated my tyres to the correct pressure. Now it's apleasure to drive again. Do not trust TPMS. Makes you lazy, should check tyre pressures regularly.

What psi you put in Chad? I do 37 all around.

[itschad]

What psi you put in Chad? I do 37 all around.

I inflated all to 35 psi, the problem is that you have to rely on the gauge you use at a petrol station being accurate. 18 months ago I had three digital tyre inflators, one broke (wiring) one went to my daughter-in-law and the other is hiding from me???
I'll be buggered if I'm going to buy another one.

[timw4mail]

What psi you put in Chad? I do 37 all around.

For winter I went a bit nuts: 45/40 PSI on the 50 PSI max tires. Sometimes I wonder about this choice, with the expansion groves and cracks on the roads around here...

[Wallythacker]

Not one to give up on a plan I mounted an all band HF antenna on Zer0 as I discovered it's legal to use HAM gear while driving. No $615 dollar fine! Another concern I had was producing a good signal for others to hear so I added the amplifier below to counter that.



One problem. The current it draws is spectacular! My HF radio draws about 23 amps@13.8v and my amplifier draws about 85A@13.8v. The Mirage really bogs down when nearly 110 Amps are demanded at once!

ETA: Crap. I hope I didn't kill my alternator or battery. I ran the amp and radio for a 5 minute chat, with the car running. Each time I talked the battery icon light up and the engine stumbled like it would quit. I cut my chat short and turned the car off. When I went to start the car it had a hard time starting, it barely turned over. My battery light was still on even running the car for a few minutes. It got late and I gave up for the night.

[Eggman]

Another concern I had was producing a good signal for others to hear so I added the amplifier below to counter that.

Hey Wallythacker, do you have any concerns sitting that close to 400 watts of radiated power?

[timw4mail]

Not one to give up on a plan I mounted an all band HF antenna on Zer0 as I discovered it's legal to use HAM gear while driving. No $615 dollar fine! Another concern I had was producing a good signal for others to hear so I added the amplifier below to counter that.



One problem. The current it draws is spectacular! My HF radio draws about 23 amps@13.8v and my amplifier draws about 85A@13.8v. The Mirage really bogs down when nearly 110 Amps are demanded at once!

ETA: Crap. I hope I didn't kill my alternator or battery. I ran the amp and radio for a 5 minute chat, with the car running. Each time I talked the battery icon light up and the engine stumbled like it would quit. I cut my chat short and turned the car off. When I went to start the car it had a hard time starting, it barely turned over. My battery light was still on even running the car for a few minutes. It got late and I gave up for the night.

~1500 W seems like an awful lot for a car to handle for any amount of time...

[Pryme]

Did first oil change at home. Removed and replaced the filter from the top, going in from the passenger side. I think I need a small extension (3 inch?) to make it easier to get filter wrench on it. Also, I had a little trouble spooling the new Mobile 1 filter on the block. Its a little longer than the oem filter, but maybe I just wasn't at the right angle. Anyone else encounter this? Let it drip a good long time and refilled with Castrol 0w20.

Not sure how you guys get the filter from the top, my forearm doesn't fit any area from the top.
Also you shouldn't need a filter wrench. Make sure to put a dab of oil on the new gasket and tighten it down hard by hand and that's all you need. Should be able to get it off by hand when needed. I get it from the bottom way better leverage