Samantha Reed 
If you run an auto shop, manage a fleet, or wrench on your own cars at home, a brake lathe can save you hundreds of dollars per rotor compared to replacing them outright. After comparing ten machines across categories — from compact benchtop units to industrial dual-spindle floor lathes — I put together this guide … Read more
If a customer rolls in complaining about a pulsing brake pedal or a steering wheel that shimmies under hard braking, the culprit is almost always lateral runout in the rotor and the fastest way to fix it without swapping parts is a quality on-car brake lathe. Our team has spent years working in and around … Read more
My buddy Mike runs a one-bay garage out of his shed, and last month he handed me a stack of receipts from his local alignment shop. Three alignments in eight months. Two of them were redos because the shop “didn’t check the specs.” That conversation is exactly why I started hunting for the best wheel … Read more
If you have ever stepped under a barbell, set your feet, and then watched your stance shift two inches wider by your third working set, you already understand why the best toe plates for alignment exist. Toe plates for alignment are fixed foot-position cues – either bolt-on steel markers on a power rack or heel-elevated … Read more
If you’ve ever tried to set caster or SAI angles and watched the numbers refuse to settle, the culprit is almost always friction at the tire contact patch. The best turn plates for alignment solve that single, stubborn problem by giving each front wheel a near-frictionless surface to pivot on, so your alignment readings reflect … Read more
Picture this: you’re hitting your favorite back road in your lowered Mustang when a mid-corner bump kicks the steering wheel out of your hands. That unpredictable tug is bump steer, and it is the single most annoying suspension problem on a performance build. The fix starts with one tool, the right bump steer gauge, and … Read more
Replacing worn struts or installing lowering springs without a coil spring compressor is a gamble I would never take. A loaded automotive coil spring stores hundreds of foot-pounds of energy, and if that energy releases unexpectedly, the results can be catastrophic. I have spent the last two months testing and comparing the best coil spring … Read more
If you have ever laid under a car trying to wrestle a stubborn tie rod end off the steering knuckle with the wrong tool, you already know why this guide exists. I put together our annual roundup of the best tie rod separator tools after watching our shop waste an entire Saturday on a Honda … Read more
An axle nut socket is a specialized impact-rated socket, usually 6-point with a deep or extra-deep well, built to fit the large hex nuts that hold a vehicle’s wheel hub, CV axle, or half-shaft to the steering knuckle or rear axle. I keep one in my toolbox because the wrong regular socket will slip, round … Read more
A diesel injector test kit is a diagnostic tool — usually a handheld pressure gauge, flow meter, or scan tool — used to evaluate the pop pressure, return-flow rate, and cylinder balance of fuel injectors on diesel engines without pulling them out of the cylinder head. Our team spent 90 days comparing 10 of the … Read more