In the past I’ve tried unsuccessfully to completely remove salt stains and in more extreme cases hard deposits of salt build-up from my car carpets.  I tried using detergent based cleaners marketed to such an endeavour but they never worked.  I tried using brushes and hot water but that never seemed to work that well either.

I finally learned how to completely remove salt stains (and other dirt) from car carpets to the point where they look brand new.  Depending on how much salt has built up will determine how long it will take to clean but the end result is still beautiful.  I purchased a stainless spray can, the kind you might use to mist plants.  Using hot water (just under boiling) and a teaspoon of water softener I would fill the spray can and mix the solution.  I also bought a small yet powerful wet/dry shop vac that has an attachment well suited for creating a seal to the carpet to really get all the moisture out.

I would spray the area with the salt stain, not soaking it but making sure the area was damp and then use the shop vac to remove the water along with the salt residue.  I would do this repeatedly until all the salt has been removed.  The beauty of this method is it’s essentially like steam cleaning without the use of detergent which only gets stuck in the carpet anyhow drawing more dirt in.  It’s amazing just how much dirt you can get out of the car carpets using this method.

Here’s a before and after picture of my car carpets with salt stains and without.  This is after the first cleaning and I’ll probably do one more just to be thorough.

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I must say it’s very tempting to speed in the HOV lane with no one in front of you.  Even better is the fact that the HOV lane dumps into the fast lane when you hit Bayshore.  There were two OPP cars waiting for offenders off to the left of the HOV lane, thankfully they weren’t looking for speeders this time around as I would have been found very guilty.  They were checking to make sure there were at least two people in the car.  The first OPP car was situated around the Eagleson underpass on the left.  The next OPP car was situated hidden behind a large POST just before the Moodie exit.

I did find it funny while listening to the radio on the drive in and they were talking about the HOV lane and that traffic was moving well from Kanata to Merivale and it was because the HOV lane was open.  That was a bit of misinformation…if traffic was moving well it wasn’t because the HOV lane was open as next to no one was driving in it.  At any rate it’s interesting to see if more people will start using it.  I didn’t even know it was in the works so it was a bit of a surprise.

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I went out to Golden Tire this morning arriving there at 8:45 AM.  I told them I would like to get a set of the Falken ZE-912 tires put on my existing rims in the size I needed.  He told me he had them which I expected since I had already called to confirm.  So they put my car up on the hoist and took off my wheels deflating the existing tires and started to remove them.  It was only at this point that they went to get the tires I had asked for and told me they didn’t have them.  They offered me the Falken 512 tires instead which aren’t as good as the ZE-912.  They also told me they had a Nankang snow tire in the right size.  He also tried to sell me a tire in the size of 205/40/R16 telling me it was the same.  I told him it wasn’t the same and it would throw the speedometer off.  He eventually conceded that I was right.

I finally agreed to get the Nankang snow tires instead and when I asked the price I was told it was $500 for everything.  So I stated that I had been quoted $360 for everything for the all seasons.  Even though this was the same guy that I had spoken with previously on the phone he told me no way it was $360 for the all season tires.  Even after arguing with him he wouldn’t admit what he had told me on the phone.

It took these guys 2 hours straight to get the tires off my rims and put the new ones on and install and balance them.  It was obvious from watching the guy doing the work that he wasn’t even a certified mechanic.  He tried 5 times to mount the new tire on the rim and finally another guy had to come and help him.   After driving home and experiencing wheel shake the whole way it was clear that they hadn’t balanced the tires correctly.  I also checked the pressure in the tires and they were all different ranging from 33 to 37 PSI in each tire.  Even worse was the fact that these guys trashed my rims as well.  Each rim had been scratched, gouged and nicked by Golden Tire during their installation.

I had to go elsewhere to have the tires balanced properly by a professional and sure enough once that was done the wheel shake was gone and it was a smooth ride.  Out of principal I should have gone back to Golden Tire and had them re-balance the tires free of charge.  However, given the amount of damage they incurred and the fact that they weren’t able to balance my tires properly the first time going back would have been nothing less then a hassle and a waste of my time.

Needless to say I’m pissed off and am never going back there again.  If you’re thinking about going to Golden Tire I don’t recommend them AT ALL.  It may be a good deal on tires but not worth the damage to your rims and worse case your car.   In my experience with them they are definitely not honest nor do they do good work.  They’re sloppy and careless which will only cost you more money in end.  Do business with a more reputable company instead and forget about Golden Tire.

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Young Drivers of Canada (Ottawa) requires that you use your own personal vehicle (car) for teaching others how to drive.  In my case I was teaching Standard in my very own $45,000 car that was only a year old.  It was the nicest “Young Drivers of Canada” car on the road in Ottawa.  Either way, expensive or cheap the end result is the same, your car gets destroyed and you pay for it!  Certain methods that Young Drivers of Canada requires you to teach as an instructor are all designed for automatic vehicles.  Due to this there is extensive wear and tear on the vehicle when you’re teaching Standard.  Note that Standard instructors are not paid more money to compensate for this fact.

For all those who drive Standard out there, imagine this.  Over the course of six months 250+ new drivers have driven your car for 12+ hours each.  They have ridden the clutch extensively, burnt the clutch, dropped the clutch, stalled the vehicle dozens of times in one lesson and then there’s the shifting.  Perfecting a smooth down-shift is an art, especially when you’re doing it to accelerate.  Accidental down-shifting is downright idiotic and causes massive damage to the clutch and flywheel.  I had various students that would accelerate out of second gear and slam the shifter back into first and then drop the clutch like it burnt their foot.  For anyone who has never experienced this…DON’T.  Allow me to describe it to you: The car lurches hard enough that you’re thrown forward, tires squeal, and the engine revs high.  If that wasn’t bad enough you’ve now drastically dropped speed without hitting the brakes confusing the car that is tailgating you.  (Ottawa drivers love to tailgate Driver Instruction vehicles).  A mistake like this at the wrong time could cost you your car if not your life.  The thing that amazed me is that certain students would repeatedly make this mistake.  This is after hours of instruction, explanations and taking it slow in huge empty parking lots.  They already knew what they should be doing but then again these were students that never practiced

So here I am, three and a half months after leaving Young Drivers of Canada and paying out of my own pocket to fix the damage to my personal vehicle caused by their students.  I will be picking up my car today after having been without it for the past week as it’s been in the dealership.  The cost to replace my clutch and flywheel is $1600 and I have no one to thank for it but Young Drivers of Canada!

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Oh and shame on the school bus driver that was tailgating me on the Queensway this morning with a bus full of children.  You should know better then that, shessh!

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I figured I would upgrade the pads to ceramic since they’re quieter, recover faster, last longer and provide greater stopping power.  The KIA dealer wanted $120 for the pads so I shopped around and got ceramic pads at PartSource for $42 for my KIA Spectra 5 SX.

Getting brakes replaced is never cheap as it’s a labour intensive task.  It cost me about $150 in labour to get the rear pads replaced and the calipers serviced.  I didn’t have the rotors machined as there is rarely a need to do such a thing unless you’re having existing problems with the rotors.  I saved another $75 by not having the rotors machined.  Now that I think about it I never had the rotors on my Mazda machined whenever I had the pads replaced.  It’s like one of those things that make easy money for garages and dealers.  Very rarely necessary but always good for quick cash.

The ceramic brakes are awesome and work much better then the stock pads.  Can’t wait to put ceramic pads on the front too!

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I first found out where the cabin filter was located in the KIA Spectra 5 SX 2007 which is directly behind the glovebox.  Then I figured out how to access the cabin air filter which is fairly straightforward.  Once you open the glovebox you’ll notice two black latches, one on either side of the glovebox.  These have to be pushed inwards from the outer edge of the glovebox wall and then pulled forwards a little towards the front of the glovebox and then you can remove it entirely.  Then remove the dampening string and let it retract.  Now the glovebox will swing down completely on it’s hinges.

The filter frame slides right out without having to undo any clips or screws.  My current air filter was nothing short of disgusting I might add.

Now that I knew how to access the cabin air filter I started looking at different places, both online and box stores.  It’s not easy to find a replacement cabin air filter for the KIA Spectra 5 SX 2007.  I checked Canadian Tire and Parts Source, neither of which carried it.  I started looking online and found a couple places of which the best was Ebay.  I ended up buying the replacement cabin air filter for only $12 on Ebay.  Including shipping I only paid one fourth the price the dealer wanted.

The filter just arrived today and I have it installed.  Cleaner air is waiting for me the next time I go driving.

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As I was entering the intersection with the light just having turned amber there was an OC Transpo bus waiting to turn right onto St. Joseph.  The bus driver was not looking for oncoming cars even though they were still facing a red light and started to enter the intersection.  I had to brake quickly to avoid hitting the bus and while doing so checked my rearview mirror.  While checking my mirror I heard screeching tires and the car that was tailgating me was so close I couldn’t even see the hood of the car.

What I could see was the driver of that car throwing their hands up in frustration as to say, “Come on, what are you doing idiot?”.  For whatever reason that driver seemed unable to see why I had to brake so quickly.  Apparently the big bus sticking out into the intersection in front of me wasn’t obvious enough.  That besides the fact that they shouldnt’ have been tailgating and should have stopped earlier.

I see or experience situations like this everyday in Ottawa.  There are no accidents!  People make decisions, just not always the right ones.  A lot of drivers are ignorant of how they should be driving or following road rules.  Other drivers just blatantly disregard the rules and do all sorts of stupid shit that cause collisions and cost people their lives, money, time, wages etc.

Red means STOP, even if you’re turning right on a red light.  You must first STOP, yeild to oncoming cars and pedestrians and then make the turn if you are able to do so.  They didn’t paint STOP lines on the pavement just for the fun of it!

Amber means slow down and STOP if you can safely do so.

Tailgating is obviously driving an unsafe distance from the car in front of you.  Driving at city speeds a 2 to 3 second gap should exist between cars so everyone can stay safe.  Remember if you rear-end someone, you’re always at fault!

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Today I saw two collisions, the first was on Castlefrank in Kanata across from Holy Trinity high school.  One car rear-ended a Mercedes CLK 500.  The back end of the Mercedes was pretty messed up but nowhere near as bad as the car that did the rear-ending.  I’d have to say that car was a complete write off.  This is what happens if you follow too closely or aren’t paying attention and brake late.  Regardless people still tailgate all over the city.  Having said that if the Mercedes had been checking their mirror they would have seen the car coming and could have manuvered out of the way.  But hey, what the heck do we have mirrors in our car for anyways?

The second collision I saw was much worse with a car flipped over and looking worse for wear on the 174 East bound this evening around 8 PM.  All lanes of traffic were stopped with flares on the road and lots of emergency vehicles around.  No idea what caused that collision but obviously a result of someones decision or lack thereof.

One thing that is quite clear is that either drivers in Ottawa don’t understand or even know the rules of the road or they don’t care.  I would hope it’s not the latter as that would mean it’s an attitude problem as opposed to a lack of understanding.

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If your steering of the vehicle is such that you’re unable to stay between the lines and you end up driving on the shoulder of the on-ramp then it means three things.  One: You go where you look which means you’re looking at the lines too close to the vehicle.  Two: You’ve broken the law even though you don’t realize it.  Three: You’re now legally no longer in the single lane of traffic to enter the Queensway and I’m about to downshift to second gear and pass you.

Have fun and drive safe.  Make sure that before you get in your vehicle you know how to fully control it, even in emergency situations.  Be sure to know and understand all the rules of the road including signs and pavement markings.

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