eldrijt

The wheels with lots of weights are at opposite corners . 1 has 9 weights and the other has 8. The other wheels have 4 and 1 weights on them . We took the car to a Firestone tire store for possible force balance . jim

Oops wife just told me she never felt it in the steering wheel . jim

We don't really feel it in the steering wheel . Before we re rotated the new tires I believe my wife said that she could feel it in the wheel . I have lots of weights on 2 of my wheels so I assumed a bent wheel . We decided to try new method of balancing called Force Balance . We brought it in and told them the story and they said they thought it was transmission shudder in the torque converter which I don't think we have . They did not do the Force balance . jim

I thought it would go away after new tires . When I drive faster or slower it goes away . Mechanic says he suspects the transmission . jim 2014 energi

I think 44 lbs is for the 40v Kobalt. The Greenworks 80v is 62 lbs and appears to be a twin of the Kobalt 80v. Steel deck. What impressed me was the 80v batteries and charger use active fan cooling to allow 30 minute charge time which about equals the run time so it has virtually no range limit if you charge while mowing. For my steep, tiny yard though I prefer the much lighter weight of the Ryobi. Jim

That Kobalt looks really good especially the battery and 30 minute charger. Didnt see the weight though. Jim

Compare the weight of any mower to 43 lbs. My last mower was a basic MTD with large back wheels. Weighs 65 lbs and is NOT self propelled. It is very basic. So add 15 lbs for self propelled and you're looking at 80+. Remember it's not self propelled when you pull it back toward you or when you turn 180. We have such a steep lawn that for safety I wore football cleats, and worried about it backing over me if I lost footing. I had to quit mowing 6 years ago and we hired a guy. My 59 year old wife just couldn't handle the 65 lb or the pull cord. But now she can mow it with the 43 lb mower no problem. She is very excited about it and plans to tell all her girlfriends. On flat ground this mower is absolutely trivial to push by anybody. Even a 10 year old. 40 minute lawn may or may not be a range problem depending on your grass. We got 20 min/battery on very thick but dry zoysia while mulching. This grass is way way thicker than the fescue we used to have. The review mentioned above got just over an hour out of the 2 batteries on the Ryobi. Home Depot allows you to return within 30 days so try it out. Edit: I just checked- gas self propelled is 97 lbs and a Black and Decker lead acid self propelled is 72 lbs http://www.amazon.com/CM1936-19-Inch-Cordless-Electric-Removable/dp/B002YK4UZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436569509&sr=8-1&keywords=Black+%26+Decker+CM1936 Jim

I just got the Ryobi 40V mower. It got good reviews except a charger issue a year ago. Each battery lasts about 20 minutes or more in thin grass. W have thick Zorro Zoysia and it does fine. Brushless motor and 43 lb. No need for self propelled. http://www.protoolreviews.com/tools/outdoor-equipment/lithium-ion-powered-lawn-mower-round-up/13560/ Ryobi had 1 of the longest run times, weight among the lowest and did not have any trouble with thick grass. Small bag and less perfect mulching compared to our gas mower is easy for us to overlook. Jim

We have about a 1400 sq ft lawn on a very steep lot so a 45 lb mower that always starts makes sense for us. This Ryobi comes with 2 batteries so overkill for us. Somebody had returned it to Home Depot so we got it for $300. They probably had a huge lawn. Very quiet and push button start. No gas cans no fumes. Jim

I needed a heavy duty 2" hitch for a few reasons. 1st I have ALS and will be using a heavy power wheelchair in the near future. So I need to mount it on a lift on the back of my Cmax. Combined weight is about 350 lbs. 2nd I have a great 2" bike rack that doubles as a hitch hauler. My choices were a 350 lb 1.25" Curt and the 150 lb 2" Ecohitch. I probably won't carry more than 150 lbs on the rack so the Ecohitch (150 lb limit) would have been fine for that. So I ordered the 350 lb limit Curt hitch from Amazon delivered for $120, and had a welder modify the hitch to 2". I brought him the hitch and a 6" long, 2" Drawtite receiver bar from Tractor Supply ($20). He cut off the 1.25 bar and welded on the 2" bar for $75. See pics. All modifications were under the bumper so I knew it would still fit on the car. We then sanded off the heat affected paint with a drill and a paint removal poly wheel and painted with Rustoleum gloss black paint. Then I got 2 friends to come over and install the hitch which I'll cover in a separate thread. I am very happy with the result. And the difference in capacity vs Ecohitch is obvious when you look at the picture of the bolts side by side. Ecohitch uses 6 of the small bolts threaded into Cmax frame rail inserts while the Curt uses 4 small bolts into inserts and 2 large bolts with a 1"x2"x.25" steel load spreader bar up inside the frame rail which is much stronger than an insert. The big bolts go through the 2 holes you drill. These big bolts are in almost pure tension so they're also in the right place to increase capacity. Now the bad news. Nobody would install a modified hitch so if you go this route plan on installing yourself or get a welder who specializes in hitches and get him to do it all. And finally i'd like to say I'm not criticizing the Ecohitch. For most people it's a very good and easy to install hitch. I just needed more capacity than most do. Oh and btw that's an electric lawnmower on the back of my Energi. Jim

The only part of the install I'm worried about is the fish wire with a kink to keep spacer and bolt separate. Is that obvious when you get to it? I don't want to lose parts up in the frame rail. Jim

Thanks! Ah yes I forgot about the climate power draw graphic i used for heat last winter. I figured out recirc yesterday too when it was 97 outside. no sense bringing in hot air. i was surprised it stayed on after restarting the car. Now if we could just get a heat pump for winter .... Jim

Thanks! I think i'll try these. http://www.harborfreight.com/Titanium-Nitride-Coated-High-Speed-Steel-Step-Drill-Bit-Set-3-Pc-60379.html Hope they're as good. Jim

Bugbindr can you tell me where you got your drill bit? Home Depot didn't have any 15/32 bits. I just had my brand new 1.25" Curt hitch modified by a welder to 2" and hope to repaint and install this weekend. I need the 2" plus the extra capacity of the Curt to carry a very heavy electric wheelchair. Thanks, jim

I put it on Auto 75 degrees but it got uncomfortable due to low fan speed. 75 with 3rd highest fan speed is comfortable but feels like the compressor is always on. I have an Energi but I think A/C is same as hybrid. How do you get the compressor to cycle off? thanks, jim

Oh wow fully welded sounds great! I just found a shop to weld/upgrade the Curt to 2". if I was near your guy I'd be there tomorrow! Thanks, Jim

Yes i've seen the Torquelift but it only has a 200 Pound rating. That's plenty for bike racks etc but a wheelchair lift weighs 100 pounds then add the wheelchair with batteries and I'm quickly over 200. Wasn't crazy about the price either. For $265 + installation I "should" be able to get a custom hitch like the OP or have a Curt modified. I can get the Curt for $120 delivered. Jim

Excellent! I'm looking for a high capacity hitch to carry either a cargo box or an electric wheelchair (with lift). It needs to be 2" to be compatible with what I already have. The only 2" hitch available doesn't have as much strength as the Curt 1-1/4 hitch so I've been looking for a welding shop who can modify the Curt to be 2". So far no luck. Now I'm jealous of your hitch especially the extra ground clearance! How many bolts attach it to the frame? Cost? Pictures from below? Thanks, Jim

I plan to carry an electric wheelchair on a receiver mounted electric lift. The lift weighs 100 lb. and the chairs weigh in the 130 lb. range. So here is the dilemma. I need a 2" receiver with more than 230 lb. capacity. Curt only comes in the 1.25 " size. The basic difference between the hitches is 2 extra side bolts on the Curt requiring drilling. The Torquelift comes in the 2" size. I was going to drill 2 extra holes in the Torquelift to raise the capacity but then i saw a Drawtite hitch identical to the Curt but the capacity stated 200Lb. Link drawtite 24896 So is the Curt really 350? Is the 200 for the car itself no matter which hitch i use? I'd be curious to know how the Torquelift hitch behaves when a 200Lb man stands on a hitch hauler. With someone watching for flex in the car/hitch attach points. How sturdy does it feel? I bet the ratings are very conservative but I wouldn't want to trash a $4000 chair. Thanks, jim

Since the system is speed sensitive I wonder if I can trick it into thinking it's always going 8 mph? Find the speed input and give it either a set voltage or preferably a set resistance. if I had the workshop manual i could see how it works. I had a similar situation on another car. Had a 98 z28 with a skip shift "feature" that made you shift from 1st to 4th if you were driving slow with the 6 speed manual. i put a 50 cent resistor in the solenoid wiring and the solenoid "thought" i was driving hard, problem solved. if anyone has the manual maybe they can email me those pages? eldridgepj@comcast.net Thanks, jim

Hi, I just ordered a cmax energi 2014. I like how easy the electric steering is at low speed, but the speed sensitive steering effort increases with speed. i have very weak arms due to ALS (ice bucket challenge disease). So i'm wondering if I can adjust the gain on the electric power steering? Can someone check the manual for me? Thanks, Jim