What's the last thing you bought?

[Pony]

Not sure yet. 1/4 mile in 11.8 at 116mph

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Thats quick

Yup, they arrived FedEx this past Tuesday. Opened them up on Saturday so I could install them. For coming direct from the factory in China, the box was actually in amazing shape and the blinds were very well packed inside the box, so that was a plus. The installation instructions are very straightforward and they were easy to install. They were a bit of a tight fit, so definitely make sure that you have the measurements exact, and if you err, make sure to be slightly long instead of short on your window size if you are doing inside installation. Still got them in without too much effort. They are hung with just two brackets, 5 inches in from each end of the blinds. I assume that if you had longer ones, there would probably be a third bracket involved. Each bracket only takes two screws, so once you measure and drill, it goes pretty easily. After that, the blinds just snap into place.

We went with the solar panel option to charge the batteries so we wouldn't need a long ass cord hanging from each blind down to an outlet. Stuck the panels up at the very top of the window and they are barely even noticeable behind the shade. You do need to order their remote at first to make sure they go up and down and to the right length and the blinds were already pre-programed to work with the remote. One remote can control up to 16 different blinds individually or they have a combined channel to control all the blinds at once. No issues here either, they worked flawlessly.

Now the issue. I couldn't get them to pair with Alexa. Neither blind would connect. You are supposed to follow their instructions to put them in discovery mode, and then you have Alexa discover new devices. I tried with both my Echo dot and the Show and neither could find the blinds. I also tried with the Alexa app on the phone and that didn't work either. But before I go and say that part is a failure, I emailed them this morning to see what the issue is and I will wait to hear back from them. At the bare minimum, they are pretty decent automatic shades. Quality seems very good and they work as advertised. But the big reason we did go with this brand is that they are advertised as working with Alexa and so far that doesn't work. I will hold off on reviewing the blinds on Amazon until it gets to the point where it's obvious that will never work. But if they can guide me through something that's missing and they finally do connect, then it will be perfect.

Will keep you posted on what we hear back from our new Chinese friends. So far I would give them 5 stars on the product and quality of the product because they are really nice, but I would only go 3-1/2 stars if we can't get them to work with Alexa because that's what we really want.

[KevinD]

For those interested, the new car is a slightly used 2020 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat-Pak Wide Body 50th commemorative edition. 485hp 6.4ltr motor, 8 speed auto transmission, 20x11" rims, and 305/35-20zr tires. Its got every option available in 2020 except the high end Harmon Kardon stereo. It has the Alpine system. Wife loves it for the auto trans, and the sun roof. It had 14,000 miles on it when I bought it, and a $2000 aftermarket Borla cat back exhaust. New 2022 versions go for 60k. They had this listed at 47k (fair, but not great) and they gave me 21k trade in on my Camaro SS 1LE with 92k miles. Got them to add an extended warranty (84,000/6 year) and with ttl,wound up financing just a bit over 31k.

It doesn't handle quite as good as the 1LE, but I didnt expect it to. Its not bad for a 4500lb car. My plans are to add some front and rear shock tower bars later on. Maybe a cold air induction intake, and that's about it.

The 1/4 times are what Road&Track tested it at. Honestly, i think its a low 12 second car. Just for S&G, I went out last evening and ripped off a few 0-60mph runs. According to the onboard performance data logger, they were all right around 4seconds on the not so great Pirelli Pzero tires.

Now I'm detailing the inside and the matte black wrap and trim. I've good buddy that details cars on the side,and later on he'll do a real detail, paint correction and ceramic coating.

[DemonGeminiX]

For those interested, the new car is a slightly used 2020 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat-Pak Wide Body 50th commemorative edition. 485hp 6.4ltr motor, 8 speed auto transmission, 20x11" rims, and 305/35-20zr tires. Its got every option available in 2020 except the high end Harmon Kardon stereo. It has the Alpine system. Wife loves it for the auto trans, and the sun roof. It had 14,000 miles on it when I bought it, and a $2000 aftermarket Borla cat back exhaust. New 2022 versions go for 60k. They had this listed at 47k (fair, but not great) and they gave me 21k trade in on my Camaro SS 1LE with 92k miles. Got them to add an extended warranty (84,000/6 year) and with ttl,wound up financing just a bit over 31k.

It doesn't handle quite as good as the 1LE, but I didnt expect it to. Its not bad for a 4500lb car. My plans are to add some front and rear shock tower bars later on. Maybe a cold air induction intake, and that's about it.

The 1/4 times are what Road&Track tested it at. Honestly, i think its a low 12 second car. Just for S&G, I went out last evening and ripped off a few 0-60mph runs. According to the onboard performance data logger, they were all right around 4seconds on the not so great Pirelli Pzero tires.

Now I'm detailing the inside and the matte black wrap and trim. I've good buddy that details cars on the side,and later on he'll do a real detail, paint correction and ceramic coating.

She's a beaut, Kev. I'm afraid Greta Thunberg will be thoroughly disappointed in you though.

[KevinD]

She's a beaut, Kev. I'm afraid Greta Thunberg will be thoroughly disappointed in you though.

Now that she's of age, ill take her for a ride and scare those pantaloons right off...lol

Actually, so far the mpg isn't too bad. I got a 24mpg average on the 200 mile trip home, mostly at 70-75mph. Around town? Not so great. Haha

[Pony]

I bought 1k worth of flooring.

I hope it goes as fast as Kevs new toy.

[lost in melb.]

Not sure yet. 1/4 mile in 11.8 at 116mph

[KevinD]

I bought 1k worth of flooring.

I hope it goes as fast as Kevs new toy.

I'm not far behind you. I need to redo the flooring in the studio/guesthouse. Around 400sqft. The lvt we decided on is $3.85/sqft

[KevinD]

Not sure what you mean...

[Hugh_Janus]

lunch

[Muddy]

11 second 1/4 mile is gettin' it..!

[Pony]

I'm not far behind you. I need to redo the flooring in the studio/guesthouse. Around 400sqft. The lvt we decided on is $3.85/software.

I went with vinyl plank, I think it was $3.49SF. There were some cheaper options out there but I either didn't like it or they didn't have it in stock. Was a bit under the gun as I'd already scheduled the van on the boat to the island, only had Sunday afternoon to get flooring.

[KevinD]

11 second 1/4 mile is gettin' it..!

Thats time I could find posted/reviewed for bone stock. I don't think its quite that quick. My best guess is 12.2-12.5. Still not shabby for a 4500lb car.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

How the blinds working out

[Teh One Who Knocks]

How the blinds working out

I got a list of things to try from the manufacturer as to how to try and connect with Alexa, but I haven't had a chance to try them yet. Otherwise, they're great.