Cup Cake Meet 19 March 15 2014

Dallas Auto Show - February 2014 (part 2/2) March 05 2014

All the major manufacturers showed up in force at the Dallas Convention Center to show off their latest and greatest cars. From convertibles to grocery haulers there was a wide variety of vehicles present. Check out our second installment of our coverage on the Dallas Auto Show.

Dallas Auto Show - February 2014 (part 1/2) March 04 2014

All the major manufacturers showed up in force at the Dallas Convention Center to show off their latest and greatest cars. From convertibles to grocery haulers, from Kia to Bentley, there was a wide variety of vehicles present. These are our favorite photos from the show.

Red Eye Garage meets Jack's Garage January 30 2014

Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood, you wouldn't notice anything unusual if you drove past, but if you knocked on the right door, you'd uncover one of the most epic garages in Dallas...

Project E46 M3 - Front Pads and Rotors January 27 2014

Our BMW E46 M3 is fitted with the competition package, which includes brakes that will rip your face off if you get on the pedal too hard. The calipers are the same as the standard E46 M3's, but the rotor has grown substantially from 12.8 to 13.7 inches in diameter. We were getting a weird wear pattern on the front left rotor, so it was time to change the rotors and pads. It is recommended to change both sides at the same time. We'll take you through what it takes to replace the rotors and pads. It is not too difficult, and it took us about 40 minutes per side at a leisurely pace. So let's get started.

Project E46 M3 - Replacing Front Wheel Bearings January 19 2014

We have a friend that had a bad wheel bearing, but kept driving on it for a while. Finally, the bearing seized up and the wheel locked up while the car was at speed. There was lots of tire smoke and plenty of steering correction, and a soiled pair of underwear later, the car came to a stop in the middle of the busy road. Luckily, no one was hurt, and no damage was incurred, but it could have been bad.

When our E46 M3 had started to make a whirring sound at certain speeds, we suspected a bad wheel bearing and wanted nothing to do with a seized wheel bearing. We had recently tackled this same job on our E36 M3, and the process is very very similar. Basically, you strip off all the brake components, pull off the wheel bearing, and then put new parts back in. With the right tools, it's not a difficult job, so let's get started.

Scion Wrapped by Already Been Chewed January 12 2014

Music flowed out of the door and onto the streets where customized skateboards hung on display. The smell of Tacos wafted over the street from an idling food truck. In the middle of it all was a wrapped Scion. I was outside Already Been Chewed, an advertising and graphic design outfit that does work for big name clients like Nike and Malibu Boats. They designed a custom wrap for a Scion dealership in McKinney, Texas, and they were displaying it at their show.

Dallas Cars and Coffee - January 2014 (part 2/2) January 08 2014

It was the coldest Cars and Coffee we'd been to but it was well worth it. The parking lot was to filled with cars from every genre. Here's the second portion of our favorite rides from the meet.

Dallas Cars and Coffee - January 2014 (part 1/2) January 07 2014

The BMW inline 6 gulped down the cold, morning air, as it propelled me down the dark, empty tollway. It was the coldest Cars and Coffee I had been to, but the engine was loving it. Arriving at Cars and Coffee, the turnout was meager at first, but as the sun bled across the horizon, the parking lot started to fill up with cars from every genre. Here are our favorite photos from the meet.

Guide to Burning Money, Gas and Rubber in Las Vegas December 30 2013

On a Saturday night in a dimly lit Las Vegas casino, a man in his early 20's wearing sunglasses and high on drugs walks up to the roulette table. Plopping down a crumpled $20 bill, he receives some chips in exchange.

High as a kite, sunglasses man couldn't even figure out what his favorite number was, but after some help from his table mates, he finally picked 35 and the marble began to orbit the roulette wheel. The marble landed on the number 4, and the dealer scooped up all of sunglasses man's chips. Indignant, sunglasses man put another $20 on the table, which he quickly lost on the next spin. He repeated this many times, pulling out a new $20 bill each time. After emptying his wallet, he finally left the table.

In a matter of 15 minutes, sunglasses man had lost about $200. Throwing money down a gambling money pit might be rationalized as an entertainment cost, but before you get high and go gambling, might I suggest a few other highly entertaining ways to burn money in Vegas?

Octane 101 December 17 2013

We've seen people put 87 octane gas in their premium-fuel-only $70,000 car to save a buck. We've seen people pour octane booster into their car that only calls for 87 octane. What are the facts about octane? Is it safe to save a couple of bucks by switching to a octane level lower than the factory recommended level? Do you get more power out of higher octane gas?

Holiday Gift Guide for Car Guys December 13 2013

Who better to write a gift guide for car guys, than the gear heads at Red Eye Garage? We're preaching to the choir, but here are our top 12 picks for the automotive enthusiast on your list.

Project E36 M3 - Guibos and Driveshaft Bearings October 29 2013

I remember watching a show called the Forza Motorsport Challenge, where several competitors raced in a series of challenges and winners got credits for mods to be used in subsequent challenges. It was a pretty cool concept of bringing the Forza Motorsport video game into reality. I remember watching the final race. The battle was heated, and everyone was in contention for the top step of the podium. One of the muscle cars was powering down the straight when the sound of a thousand Riverdancers on bath salts erupted and instantly the inside of the car was filled with a violent swirl of debris. I was sure the engine had exploded. When the car finally came to a rest on the side of the track and the cloud of debris subsided, it was revealed that the drive shaft had snapped. In the process it had thrashed around so violently that it ripped out a huge portion of the floor pan. The car was done for the day.

That's what I think of when I think of drive shaft failures, so when I saw a small crack in the drive shaft coupling (aka guibo) of our E36 M3, I didn't waste much time attending to it. The job took several hours performing it solo and documenting every step, but there wasn't anything too difficult.

Project BMW E30 318iS - Custom Racing Seat Mounts October 11 2013

It is a little known fact that the diminutive BMW E30 318iS can be configured to have seating for 7. I was driving away from a Craigslist purchase with two racing seats riding along in the back seat. They were Italian OMP "Record" seats that were expired per FIA regulation and were no longer of any use to the owner. They had a couple of tears in a few places, but were in otherwise great condition. The seller included the accompanying mounting brackets to sweeten the deal. The seats bounced around the back of the car as I drove back home. With the windows open and the 16 valve 4 cylinder at full song, I couldn't help but be in a good mood. Our project car was going to take one step closer to being a track car.

Hitting the Easy Button: Miata Heater Core Replacement DIY October 09 2013

I put this one off for quite some time, and frankly it was because I loathe these kinds of projects. The heater core went out sometime in mid December and spewed deliciously sweet, steaming hot, coolant all over my legs. Since then I've simply removed the heater from the cooling system as a sort of punishment for her bad behavior and frankly, it didn't get cold enough to need a heater in Texas. But enough was enough, and after fighting off the desire to just strip out the HVAC system (she's a sophisticated lady) I finally decided to bite the bullet and just get it over with. Just in time for spring, but hopefully this DIY will be much more useful to you now that the weather is actually cooling down.

Most of the other write ups involve the torturous process that is removing the entire dash; nightmares of broken plastic tabs kept me turning in bed at night. But I figured out I could do it without pulling a single tab, and I was right.

Cars and Coffee Dallas - October 2013 October 05 2013

Sunlight had just started to seep into the dark morning sky as I accelerated through a sweeper onto the tollway. I was on my way to Dallas Cars and Coffee  - a monthly gathering of automotive enthusiasts from all corners of the automotive world. As the sun began to rise through the cloudy horizon, it revealed ominous rain clouds that moments ago had been too dark to see. It was doubtful that the event was going to be a dry one, but the turnout was strong nonetheless. Here are the people and cars that stood defiant or indifferent to the looming rain clouds.

Project E36 M3 - Replacing the Window Motor and Regulator October 04 2013

The officer didn't seem pleased as I tried to talk to him through the sunroof. "I don't mean to be rude, but my window doesn't roll down," I explained. "Can I open my door instead?" "NO," was his emphatic response. Apparently, he really didn't like open doors. He walked around to the passenger side of the car. Sensing the tension of the moment, I choose not to be a smart ass and lie about the passenger window not being able to roll down either. A few minutes later, I took my ticket through the fully functional passenger side window and continued on my merry way.

The defunct window motor on our E36 M3 was making it difficult to speak with the friendly local law enforcement officers, and paying tolls with coins was awkward. It was time to replace the window motor. A lot of people go ahead and replace the window regulator at the same time, since it is easy to mess it up when drilling out the rivets.

Red Eye Garage Tip #4 September 30 2013

Don't you hate it when there is a stubborn bolt and while you're cranking hard on the wrench, the bolt suddenly decides to loosen? Usually your knuckles end up smashing into whatever was in front of them and the neighborhood kids receive an impromptu vocabulary lesson. An easier way to do this is to create a ghetto impact wrench with a wrench and a mallet. I like to put the box end of the wrench on the bolt and then hammer repeatedly on the other end with a mallet. I prefer to use a rubber-coated dead blow hammer over a metal hammer because it doesn't bounce after striking, doesn't shoot off metal splinters, and is easier on the wrench. It works well on allen wrenches too, since it is usually hard to get leverage on them. I don't recommend using this technique with ratchets or ratcheting wrenches because the gears inside will get chewed up.

8-Bit Rush Wallpaper September 27 2013

While we've yet to see if Rush stands up against classic racing movies like LeMans and Grand Prix, the battle between these two men will outshine any lackluster Hollywood production. Freshen up your desktop and mobile devices with these wallpapers we cooked up.

1280x800 • 1440x900 • 1680x1050 • 1920x1200 • 2560x1600 • 2880x1800 • iPhone • iPad

Project E36 M3 - Rebuilding Brake Calipers September 24 2013

During our squealing brake project, we noticed that the rubber dust boot on one of our brake calipers had deteriorated. Since this can allow moisture into the brake system, which can cause corrosion, we decided to replace all the seals before problems could occur. We set out to take everything in the caliper apart, clean everything up, respray some paint, put in some new seals and then put everything back together.

Project E36 M3 - Changing the Fuel Filter September 21 2013

If your car is down on power or sputters when starting, this may be a sign of low fuel pressure. That could mean a leaky injector, a failing pump or a dirty fuel filter. Since the filter is so cheap and easy to replace, it's usually the first thing to try. The fuel filter removes the dirt that would otherwise make its way down the fuel system where it can clog injectors or accelerate wear in your engine. If the fuel filter gets too clogged with contaminants, fuel has a hard time getting through, and you may have reduced fuel pressure at the engine. This means your engine will be running lean and not getting all the fuel it needs. Our E36 M3 didn't experience any of those symptoms, but it has been about 40,000 miles since the last fuel filter change, so it was time to swap it out with a new one. Before we started this job, we ran the gas tank down to nearly empty in case we sprang a leak that we couldn't stop. We also moved the car out of the garage. It's bad if your car catches on fire, but it is worse if your garage goes up in flames too. Good ventilation is important too, since there is going to be spilled fuel. As a good measure, we removed the fuse to the fuel pump and ran the engine until it died to bleed fuel pressure from the system.

Red Eye Garage visits T1 Race Development September 18 2013

Tucked away in a suburb of Dallas in a light industrial complex hides one of the most potent tuning shops in the world. Forget 800 horsepower supercars. Forget the 1000 horsepower Bugatti Veyron. Some of this shop's builds reach 1500 horsepower. 

Project E36 M3 - Front Wheel Bearings September 15 2013

A nasty whirring sound had started to develop on the front wheel, and it sounded like the wheel bearing was on its last legs. I placed an order for a wheel bearing kit, and when they came in, I went to work. With the right tools, it is not a difficult job. In a nutshell, the process involves stripping the brake caliper and brake rotor off, which gives us access to the wheel bearing. Keep in mind that there are a few uncommon tools that you will need. In regular Red Eye Garage fashion, this was a nighttime wrenching session.

Introducing Mia - Project NB Mazda Miata September 12 2013

We were beckoned outside with the sound of the wimpiest horn you could imagine. It was Pops with the top down and beaming with joy. His mid-life crisis had kicked into gear (no pun intended) and this was the product of that transformation. After he took Mum around the block, I hopped in and we went for a cruise around town. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. A sensory overload, the wind, the sound, the smells, and the sky became the headliner. It was as if I had never ridden in a car until that day, and all other drives up to that point were just transportation.

I still hadn't learned how to drive, but I was pining for that day when I would be able to take her for a spin. I would wash and polish her to a mirror shine, and then sit in the cockpit, rowing through the gears imagining the two of us cruising through the forest, or dropping down into the corkscrew at Laguna Seca.

When I started to learn how to drive, it was in our big mammoth of a Jeep. Nothing at all like the Miata, and a somewhat excruciating experience because I was so close, but yet so far from actually driving her. The time finally came though and expectedly, I stalled. It was nothing like what I imagined. There were no smokey sideways drifts to be had, nor was there any wind in my hair that day, but I got better. She was as patient and forgiving as could be, and pretty soon rev matched, double clutch downshifts became second nature.

Fast forward to college, and was in need of a car. I started looking around for a beater, but when Dad casually suggested I take Mia, I was ecstatic to say the least. Spoiled, would also be another descriptor of me, and it wasn't just because I had been given this screaming red convertible. Everything about her was amazing, but I didn't have a clue. The chassis, light, balanced, and extremely communicative, paired with that amazing gearbox. She set the bar, and it's in the freakin' stratosphere.

Since I've had her, we've diced through cones at autocrosses, hit apexes at Texas World Speedway, and all without missing a beat. It's not just that she's only fun on the track, but I really can't have a bad day whenever the top's down (and it's always down).