Category

Tool/Equipment Product Reviews

Category

I’ve used my BRIDJIT Curb Ramp for 5+ years now and it works really well. The quality is very good, it has held up over time, and it does exactly what it promises which is to keep your car from scrapping or bumping into the rolled curb. There are also some added features that I like, which include the channel drain that allows surface runoff to pass underneath the ramp. I also like that it is extremely heavy, as it helps to deter theft.

This Rust-Oleum Automotive Primer I purchased was from Amazon so I was able to get it within a couple of days. The one I got is a standard light gray color, although I do know it is also sold in a white and dark gray color as well. It gets a ton of great reviews online and it is intended to be used for automotive applications. However, there is one major flaw on this paint and it has to do with the spray pattern.

Some of the nicest looking floor jacks that I’ve seen are the Daytona Floor Jacks from Harbor Freight. Now, I know looks aren’t everything, but if they perform well too, I’ll be happy. I also wanted a low-profile jack as I hate it when you slide a floor jack under your car, only to find that you can’t even fit it underneath the lift point.

This is the first 2-in-1 portable jump starter and OBD2 scan tool that I’ve seen. I never really thought about this being a thing, but it does seem like a pretty good idea–especially for those of us who like to maintain our own cars. The MUCAR JS501 is such a device that provides you with emergency jump starting with the functionality of a code reader when you need it. This tool was provided to me for review for this post.

The MUCAR CDE900 OBD2 Scanner is a nice step-up from your basic code reader if you’re looking for one with a nice touchscreen and options for analytics. For the $50, it’s a good price for an OBD2 code reader. Personally, I wouldn’t fork out the additional $40 for the extra data you can pull from your vehicle unless you truly needed it. I didn’t find the special functions from the add-on particularly useful, but it’s something you might need if you’re trying to diagnose something wrong on your vehicle.

An easier alternative and one that I much prefer doing is using a battery tester. A battery tester is a tool dedicated to the job of testing your car battery’s health, as well as the charging and cranking health of your battery. It takes the guess work out of figuring out the voltage ranges and testing procedures, and puts it all into an easy-to-use tool, such as this TOPDON BT300P Battery Tester.

The TOPDON JS2000 Jump Starter is a very capable power unit with 2000-amps of peak current, which can power up to 8.0L gas engines and 6.0L diesel engines. The jump starter also acts as a power bank offering 16,000 mAH of battery output for charging your electronic devices.

TOPDON is a popular brand offering a wide range of these more-capable scan tools depending on your specific specialized needs. TOPDON sent me this unit called the AD600S (a.k.a. ArtiDiag600S) for review, which is advertised to have 8 reset services and 4 system diagnostics. Depending on what you need a diagnostic tool for, you should take close look at the capabilities of the specific unit you’re looking at, as they have many different models with differing features.

When you’re planning to touch up your car’s factory paint or do any sort of repainting, you’ll find that one of the most popular companies out there is Paintscratch. Not only are they reputable for providing you with quality automotive paint to match your factor’s paint color, they also offer relatively fast mixing and shipping (even during the COVID-19 Pandemic.)