Well, it's gotten lively in here, and that's good!
I think the discussion here has gotten to a point for me opine on it. When working on cars, the "tactical situation" is part of the consideration. Not having a garage or shop puts a crimp into the situation for sure. I lack a garage or true shop space, but I do have an unheated lean-to shed on side of the house, where all of my Grooves have been done. My buddy, the Landlord where I live, doesn't want a parade of cars coming in and out of the driveway, and I must respect that. I have a full-time day job, that often takes all of today's and some of Tomorrow's energy from me. So, I rely mostly on Mail-in Groove jobs, and I participate here in the Forum to contribute all I can.
Having said that- I gotta say, when you do a Groove job, on a car in person, and experience the before/after effect, it can get Very Exciting!!
My first dose's of that came in Ron's driveway in Mesa, Az, when I was there for training nearly 4 yrs. ago. Ron had Grooved my friend George's wife's car, a Kia or Hyundai, I forget now. After Grooving, the car blew Zero's on the 4 gas Snap-On exhaust analyzer Ron kept in his shop/garage...I watched Ron add it to the Zero List he had right there next to the analyzer. Then, I got in back and laid down right against the tailpipe, hot engine idling, and Sniffed--it had No Smell at all, just hot moist air coming out. I was already a member of Muffler Suckers Anonomous
I had already been sniffing cars' tailpipes as an analytical tool for years. so, I KNEW just how significant that was instantly!
And, I got to drive George's daily driver Subaru Turbo wagon, that Ron had Grooved for George previously, that thing was amazing! George told me of the big increase in MPG the Subaru had received from Ron's attentions. Though a high miles car, it ran Very Strong...
These in person experiences, coupled with the experience of meeting, working alongside of, and soaking in as much knowledge from Ron as I could, Grooving techniques, and a hundred other things. Well, I now had a big treble hook in my mouth. This was real Excitement. Ive since had other such experiences, taking an '89 Nissan Maxima from ~20 MPG hiway to 38 MPG on an Orange Test drive in person, an '06 Chevy Avalanche from 12 to 18 MPG in long-distance hiway driving, a Ford Super Duty V10 Triton truck from ~10 to about 13 MPG's on a demanding mountain drive w/ A/C on the whole way...OR seeing my own Subie wagon actually deliver 72MPG one summer night on the 50 mile exacting Orange Test drive.
the Power Boost you can feel while doing a computer Re-Learn drive, that's another big kick in the Rear too!
So, my friends, stick with it. Greg has done us a good amount of Service here, bringing in so much added Focus to the efforts. You have already had Validation with the sadly deceased truck of your efforts and research. The Rendezvous has shown promise too. More is to come!
And Ron, you know so much it makes my head hurt just to think of it! You have done So Much to bring this opportunity to us single hand-ed. Your efforts and work stand as a Monument of strength and Determination to advance this Cause, Thank you.
Ron- if you have any input from memory on the GM 3.5 Liter DBW TB's, I'm certain Greg would appreciate it. Greg- I'm having some confusion here for the Rendezvous. I just did another Ebay search looking for pics of the TB. Yours, pardon my sloth in not going back to read your emails- is an '08 with the 3.5 L engine? Ebav search is giving conflicting info, re 3.5 and 3.6 L engines and model years. The various DBW TB's are all quite similar, but there are differences.
Tracy G