Houston, TX

[stephenpace]

Note: Houston Coffee and Cars this weekend has been postponed to 12/14 due to the projected weather. Here is the statement:

Everyone, due to the weather forecast our next event will be postponed for the following Saturday the 14th of December, same time and location. Coffee and Cars usually takes place rain or shine but this being the 2013 Toy Drive and the day when we together will bring many smiles to many children, it is a good move to change the date in order to collect as many toys as possible for hospitals and women shelters. Please spread the word online, social media, email and forums about the change and I look forward to seeing everyone on the 14th!

 

[flybob08]

Finally Another Green One in the Wild

Had to park next to this Green 85 at ABBA The Concert at Jones Hall tonight - Nice to have a twin!

 

[moorelin]

Maybe not quite California yet, but there were 4 at the Bellaire Whole Foods this afternoon.

 

[NICE]

I highly recommend John Gray "The Opti-Coat Guy"

I'm a huge fan of John "the Opti-Coat Guy".


He Opti-Coated all of our cars; my wife's BMW X5, my Tesla MS85, and my daughter's Nissan Juke.


Every once in awhile you find someone who works really hard to earn your money. John works all day on your car and always does an exceptional job.
Just ask others on this forum. There are dozens of satisfied Tesla owners in the Houston area by now. You can tell when someone has a passion for something and I want to help promote his part time business so he can do what he loves full time.


Anyhow, I wanted to let you know that John has added more offerings lately.


On top of the Opti-coat pro, John now does 22ple VX 1 Pro. Some people with darker cars say it has a deeper gloss than Opti-Coat Pro. The downside is 22ple will only last a couple years whereas Opti-Coat supposedly lasts a lifetime.


John also can get other services done for you for "one stop shopping"
1. Hydro Dipping (like carbon fiber nose cones)
2. Plasti-coating (like blacked out chrome trim)
3. Xpel ultimate clear bra (good for rock chip protection)
4. Wincos heat reflective window tint


Just drop it off or he can pick it up and get anything you need done. By the way, he also does mobile service.


I highly recommend you call or text John Gray at Gulf Coast Auto Shield. 832-264-0670 or email [email protected]

 

[stephenpace]

Houston Coffee and Cars:

Just a brief reminder that the Coffee and Cars is again this weekend! It was postponed from the previous week due to rain. Also, C&C is running a toy drive, so if you could bring an unwrapped toy, that would be great.

Details:

http://www.houstoncac.com/
https://www.facebook.com/coffeeandcars

We will attempt to park next to:

We Got Your Back Chiropractic - http://wegotyourbackchiropractic.com
110 Vintage Park Blvd. Suite D Building J
Houston, Texas 77070

If you think you will be coming, can you let me know by Private Message? I need to know how many spaces to block off and how many to hold for late arrivals. We will likely do the driveout at 9:30am so remember to set your active air suspension to LOW for that if you have it. Driveout is back through the main gate--if you can, try to keep the cars together so we all show up together on the videos.

We hope to see you there!!

Map (see red arrow):

 

[depeche2u]

I have broken in my 85 with my first rock chip. I ended up getting Opti Coat from John Gray ( who I will second has amazing commitment to his work ) but no XPEL yet. I just wanted to get people's thoughts on what I should do. Should I use the paint touch up pen or actually take it to a detailer or body shop. And if so, does any one have recs?

This is what happens when you are in love.

 

[stephenpace]

@depeche2u: I can't tell on this monitor--is your car white or silver? I can tell you that I tried touch up paint on Sig Red and it didn't look very good. You might have better results with a lighter color, though. In my opinion, if you drive on the highway with any frequency, I think that XPEL or equivalent on the entire hood is pretty important if you want to avoid chips. I had the Tesla factory paint armor installed (front hood) and got a chip right above it. Additionally, my previous Lexus probably had 15 chips over 10 years all over the hood. It just happens a lot in Houston.

@All:

Just a brief reminder that Houston Coffee and Cars is again this Saturday! Details above minus the toy.

 

[NICE]

Paint touch-up

@depeche2u: Expel is a good paint protectant but it looks as if your chip is on the back. You'd have to cover your entire car to avoid that.

Either a body shop or detailer should be able to touch it up cleanly.
I have my rock chip touch ups done by John Gray. It's undetectable after he's done. :biggrin:

I have broken in my 85 with my first rock chip. I ended up getting Opti Coat from John Gray ( who I will second has amazing commitment to his work ) but no XPEL yet. I just wanted to get people's thoughts on what I should do. Should I use the paint touch up pen or actually take it to a detailer or body shop. And if so, does any one have recs? View attachment 39650
This is what happens when you are in love.

- - - Updated - - -

@depeche2u: Expel is a good paint protectant but it looks as if your chip is on the back. You'd have to cover your entire car to avoid that.

Either a body shop or detailer should be able to touch it up cleanly.
I have my rock chip touch ups done by John Gray. It's undetectable after he's done. :biggrin:

I have broken in my 85 with my first rock chip. I ended up getting Opti Coat from John Gray ( who I will second has amazing commitment to his work ) but no XPEL yet. I just wanted to get people's thoughts on what I should do. Should I use the paint touch up pen or actually take it to a detailer or body shop. And if so, does any one have recs? View attachment 39650
This is what happens when you are in love.

 

[stephenpace]

I can't make Coffee and Cars this Saturday. Anyone want to volunteer to go and reserve a few spaces? However, this month is similar to last month where saving spaces is discouraged. I got there at 5:30am last time and saved 6 or so spaces until 6:45 or so and kept reducing space until we had just the three for the cars that arrived.

 

[stephenpace]

Coffee and Cars again this weekend on 1-Mar-2014. I should be able to make it. 20% chance of rain so hopefully it will just stay cloudy. Not sure about space saving this month--we'll just try to park at our usual place, details in the 12/13 post above.

 

[gnelson]

Coffee and Cars again this weekend on 1-Mar-2014. I should be able to make it. 20% chance of rain so hopefully it will just stay cloudy. Not sure about space saving this month--we'll just try to park at our usual place, details in the 12/13 post above.

I look forward to seeing you there. My Model S is filthy; so, I may park at HEB.

 

[stephenpace]

Houston Coffee and Cars again this Saturday (April 5th). We'll try to park in the usual spot (details above in thread). Try to arrive by 6:30am if you want to have any chance of parking near us. It may be crowded because the weather looks to be good and they have an impressive lineup of cars coming including a Bugatti Veyron and a Maserati MC12RaceCar. Other details here:

https://www.facebook.com/coffeeandcars

One of the new rules is no revving your engine, so please respect this rule.

 

[gregpet]

Any suggestions for a good electrician to install an 220v outlet here in Houston. Apologies if this has been discussed; I wasn't able to locate a local thread.

I did get one quote for $350 (NEMA 14-50) which would be right next to the electrical panel. He also said that there was a City of Houston permit/inspection fee on $300. So the total would be $650.

Is this consistent with what everyone is seeing/paying?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[KenEE]

I used Home Advisor and had a NEMA 14-50 installed for $150 with no other fees. Actually had a second one installed as well. Pricing is better if you approach it as adding and electrical outlet. Mention EV and their eyes get big.

 

[supersnoop]

Honestly, it's not too difficult to do it yourself if you can shut off power to the panel.
Plug - $12
Breaker - $13
Wall box - $3
Faceplate - $2
5' of 6/3 wire - $13
Add a drywall saw if you don't have one. Granted, I didn't pull any permits, and I technically should have used conduit since I wired to a subpanel (per code).

Wire up the plug first and get it mounted with your excess wire running into your breaker box. Measure it out, and wire the break to the plug. Then, shut off the power and connect the neutral and ground to the box. The breaker will snap in. Leave the breaker in the off position, and turn the power back on. Flip the breaker and measure your voltage. It should be 110v from either hot to ground or neutral. 220v is actually just two 110's out of phase.

 

[stephenpace]

@gregpet: I like Juan Medina at 281-530-6284. Husband and wife team, very neat, reasonable prices. I have also heard good things about Cheikh Gakou at Chams Electric ([email protected], 832-659-3442).

 

[TexasEV]

Greg, we had a 14-50 installed at my sister's house in Bellaire and Cheikh Gakou did it for a lower price than what you were quoted.

 

[gregpet]

Thanks for everyone's replies...So it doesn't sound like anyone else has come across this $300 "City of Houston permit & inspection"...

 

[gnelson]

When I had my Blink charger installed at my previous residence, the charger was free, but they required the wiring to be installed by a licensed electrician and required a permit before they would install it. The electrician paid for the City of Houston Permit; so, I am not sure what the cost was for the permit.

 

[q177onique]

Has anyone done a hardwire install of a radar detector? If so, how has your experience been with it? The service center claims they have had people with computer issues after installing, so I'm hesitant.