u/clump-o-trees

I'm using a Flair neo with a bottomless portafilter and a 1zpresso J-Ultra. From what I have read this combo should be capable of some really top tier coffee when used correctly. Until the last couple weeks it's been wildly hit or miss. Occasionally the coffee is great, usually it's meh and I have not been able to figure out the difference between the two. Back-to-back shots would be great then aweful. After years with the flair and maybe 6 months with the J-Ultra I think I have finally dialed in the most important part of the process... Me.

I saw a post a while back where someone was upset that their hand grinding speed had a pretty significant impact on their grind size, or at least how it flowed. I've been trying to stay consistent but obviously a couple beans would catch at once and there's a decent amount of hitching and stopping. I had a thought a couple weeks ago and started turning the crank differently. Instead of just spinning the handle so the beans made all the resistance I started pulling out away from the grinder as it goes around. Not crazy hard but enough that at least as much force is pulling the crank away from the grinder as is turning the handle and grinding the beans. Now my handle is barely slowing down when several beans catch at once and it's not speeding up when the beans run out of get caught. It takes a bit more arm strength but results suddenly got way more consistent.

I have also been trying to get my blind shaker figured out. I assumed this was not a big deal and would just shake some then use the funnel to drop it down in the portafilter. Having weird inconsistent results here too! Grounds would be stuck in clumps all around the inside and it would be all lopsided when I dropped it into the Portafilter. After running across some simple little process videos I noticed that people were not shaking thair shaker anywhere near as hard or for as long as I was. I got gentler and tried to shake in the same ways and about the same amount of time every time. Much better now. Grounds are fluffier and clumps aren't getting stuck to the inside anymore. Maybe due to the funnel into the 40mm Portafilter but grounds would still usually be higher on one side than the other. I finally got my WDT back out and stirred the ground around in the portafilter just enough to level it nicely before some gentle taps and a tamp.

Now finally I have repeatability! I can dial a few clicks courser or finer and see those results in a slightly faster or slower shot. I can make no changes and get very nearly identical results back to back.

TLDR, even the little details make a big difference. Even if you think that part of the process doesnt really matter, it probably does.

I just got a 26 atlas white DCT. Got the dual clutch so my wife could more easily drive my car. I'm 34 and have had upwards of 25 cars. Every single one before this has been a stick. Needless to say I have manual transmission habits. I would accelerate up to the speed I wanted then let off throttle a bit and up shift a few times into a cruising gear. The DCT seemed sluggish, delayed, and inconsistent. Turns out that's not how the transmission wants to work. Lifting after an acceleration would make it prepare to downshift since the throttle was released and some deceleration was happening. Then I would be off throttle slowing down a little while hitting up shift 2 or 3 times. This made it have to disengage the lower gear it thought I would want, engage the higher gear then clamp the clutch.

I finally figured out what I was doing and have started making all my upshifts with at least some throttle still in and down shifting off throttle and this thing shifts FAST. It feels basically instant now. Turns out I was using it wrong and just treating it like I would a manual. Make it easy for the car to predict what hear you will want next and this thing rips.

I am coming from a Fiesta ST. If you know that community at all there's a guy named Ron who runs a site called Woosh and you can get 99% the parts and reccomendedations from him and his website. Do we have a Ron or a Woosh for the elantra? Is it KDMTuners? The site looks good. Just curious. I got real spoiled by having the one stop shop for my last car.

I'm seriously considering a used FK8 as an upgrade from my current Fiesta ST. I love a Type R and got into cars with EF/EG civics. I'm just getting a little worried from seeing all the reviews talking about how serious of a car it is. It will be my daily. It might occasionally autocross, probably never a track day. Primarily it is going to be my commuter, grocery getter. Does the CTR feel special and engaging and fun while doing normal driving? That's something that my Fiesta is wonderful about. Quick enough but just angry and punchy and ready to go even if it's only up to 55mph. Anyone made the step from FiST to CTR?

First off, I'm about to do a timing belt. I have the kit of oem parts from woosh and the tool kit from Amazon. Service manual says new intermediate shaft bracket. What other while you're in there jobs should I do and what should I just leave if it's not leaking now? Specifically the front main seal and camshaft seals. I've heard they can be pretty tricky to put in correctly and so pulling a non leaking one might be a bad idea. Also reading through the manual for getting to the cam seals sounds like a nightmare waiting to smash my valves if a wrench slips.

Mods, remove if this isn't allowed in the main page.

Before I start going the dealership route or buy a GR-Corolla, who has a low mileage 16+ car they want to sell.

- Unmodified or lightly modified

- 18-19 preferred

- Recaros preferred

- Dream config would be 18-19 in orange with the orange recaros. Would pay a premium for it.

Edit for formatting

I've had a Neo for years. The old metal body one. For a few years I was just using the pressurized basket and a blade grinder. Then grabbed a Bottomless Portafilter and a kingrinder p2. Only in the last few months I've gotten an 1zpresso j-ultra and a pressure gauge. I've been trying to learn to actually dial in, played with different beans and different grinds and it was just never right. It was always bitter and sour and harsh. Occasionally it was ago but I could rarely make it repeatable.

Ive been aquiring gadgets to improve. Today was the first time using a preheat funnel over my kettle, a blind shaker, and a tamper other than the plastic cup that came with my flare. Also first shot with a bag of counter culture big trouble.

I guessed a rough grind size (1.6.0) to start. Poured into the blind shaker and shook for a minute. Dropped into my portafilter with a paper filter. Pulled my scalding hot brew chamber off the kettle and pulled a shot at around 6 bar (guessing on the pressure, the silly gauge just says "espresso" I was on the first s).

I stirred, took a sip, and out loud said "Oh f**k". It was actually good. Like really good. Not perfect, I could probably do a slightly longer ratio, but this was actually genuinely good.

I've been fighting a bag of black and white roasters "the calssic" and some crema roasters "Tres Banderas". 2 whole bags of coffee at roughly 1 small dose a day of repeatedly meh or bad coffee. I've been getting discouraged by trying and adjusting and it just not working. Today I get it. I think the beans and the hotter brew chamber was probably my biggest difference that got me there but damn was that good. 4 years in and I finally did it right.

I can find threads where people talk about what it would be like theoretically and why they think it is or isn't a good Idea. I want to hear from owners who have actually done the change. How is the driving experience after? How noticeable is the change and in what ways?

Edit for spelling.