Buying OEM Toyota Parts Online

There are a lot of websites that sell Toyota-made repair and replacement auto parts, but few of these companies are as qualified to sell you Toyota parts as your local Toyota dealer. While an internet website can sell you a part for a low price, there’s often no way to know if you’re buying the right part. The people at the parts department of your local Toyota dealership know their product in and out, and they can help you find exactly what you need.

The trouble is, most auto dealerships charge more than most websites. If you want the best deal, you need to go online and hope for the best…or at least that’s how it used to be. Read more…

Emerging Engine Technology – HCCI – What is it?

Engineers started fiddling around with HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) in the late 1970s. While the possibilities that HCCI offered were intriguing (especially the fuel economy savings), the technology was too complicated for the time. HCCI research was relegated to the back shelf – until recently when the search for more efficient, eco-friendly gas-sipping engines became priority number one for the auto industry.

HCCI could very well be, if not THE answer to our gas price and oil consumption woes, at least a serious transition from current technology to some sort of future non-fossil fuel engine. What it is requires a little more explanation, and that explanation starts with what HCCI isn’t.

HCCI graphic from New Science magazine 2006.

With conventional gas engines, ignition of the fuel/air mixture is achieved with a spark. Read more…

Zymol Complete Detail Kit – Absurd To The Max

It seems hard to believe, especially in the current economy, but there will always be a market for ultra-high end products targeted at those who are less interested in value and more concerned with showing off their purchasing power. Whether it’s a 200 foot yacht, a private jet airplane or a quarter-million dollar supercar, conspicuous consumption will always find a way to trump practicality and common sense.

Zymol's $300 complete detail kit - Iced Out watch sold separately.

Sometimes this attitude seeps into unexpected places. A prime example can be found in the world of detailing. While the market is certainly flooded with expensive waxes and polishes, there are some products out there that cause jaws to drop when the price tag is revealed. The Zymol Complete Kit is one of these. Read more…

GPS Tracking Devices and Countermeasures – Prudence or Paranoia?

GPS tracking is a popular buzzword, and not just in the automotive industry. Most of the public is quite familiar with General Motors OnStar service that uses Global Positioning System technology to track the location of an automobile via satellite in order to provide emergency assistance or real-time directions. However, GPS tracking is also employed in an increasingly large number of personal electronics items for both navigation and theft recovery.

While it’s hard to deny the convenience of GPS tracking systems, there is a certain creepiness associated with the idea that your position is constantly being tracked. While many argue against government mandated GPS tracking of your car or cell phone (for obvious reasons), there is a growing trade in “personal” GPS tracking devices.

These “personal” devices can be used for something as benign as tracking vehicle mileage for tax purposes, or they can be used to keep track of teen drivers, wandering spouses, etc. Many of these personal GPS tracking devices are designed to be clandestine – some are painted black and equipped with magnets that allow them to be hidden underneath or inside vehicles, for example (see the Land Air Sea GPS Tracking Key).

As a result of the popularity of these “personal” GPS tracking devices, a number of different countermeasures to GPS surveillance have sprouted up Read more…

Tundra Towing 101

Most people buy their trucks with a specific purpose in mind. Some people bought their Tundra with the intention of taking advantage of its off-road capabilities, either to hit the trails or maybe take a quiet camping trip into the wilderness. Others wanted to use the cargo bay to haul oversized items, toolboxes, or whatever their jobs might call upon them to do.

There is a third group of people who picked up a Toyota Tundra because they wanted to take advantage of its towing capacity. Pickup trucks usually make excellent tow vehicles due to their strong frames and long wheelbases – two very important aspects of safe towing. Since many of the trailers that are towed by pickup truck owners are quite large, such as boat and camping rigs, it is important to understand some of the basic theory behind proper towing technique in order to be as safe as possible out on the highway. Read more…