November 2022 Update
The biggest announcements for this month were in my Online Store, so let's start there.
Depending on how familiar you are with it, you may or may not notice some changes to my Online Store because I've just done a major redesign. I did my best to keep the look the same, so you'll only see some slight changes there, but more importantly is that I've finally fixed a few things that have always bothered me since I first commissioned its build on the current platform. One difference worth mentioning is that the new design replaces the practically-unusable navigation menu for mobile users with a far better one. The more important change is that I've added a Search bar!
I've already noticed a few small issues with the Search bar - some product listings aren't shown when they should be, or an irrelevant listing is shown for an unrelated search. But, for the most part, it works well enough for now. I'm going to continue testing and fixing the Search bar so it should improve beyond what it's already able to do.
The Search bar is located on the left side of the main catalogue pages on computers, and at the bottom of main catalogue pages on mobile.
Next up is that Redpants Oil Catch Can Kits came in and started shipping out, but... The manufacturer had made some changes that I didn't notice so the fitment isn't right and they don't install properly. Most of the catch cans from the initial production run were sold and shipped out, so I'm scrambling to get those early orders resolved. I'm very sorry for not catching the issues before shipping them out - I was in such a rush to fulfill orders for my customers that had been waiting so patiently that I didn't fully inspect them to the point of catching the potential problems.
I've gotten a few requests for convertible roof modules (CRMs) so I've added listings for them back into my Online Store. I'd removed them after running into too many problems and found they were more trouble than they were worth. To clarify, back in the day the CMRs needed to be flashed with updated firmware in order to work in a car. If a customer wasn't near a dealership, or if a dealership wasn't willing to do the flash, then the customer would be unable to install the CRM. On top of that, even the replacement CRMs were notoriously unreliable and may not have worked when installed as a brand new part and properly flashed. Because it was such a hassle, I simply stopped carrying them. Fast forward a few years and the current version of the CRMs no longer require flashing, so they're far less problematic than the earlier ones. So, I've brought them back to my shop and I'll try to keep a couple on the shelf in the US for quick shipments. I have a super-old video on YouTube showing how to replace it and I’ll whip up a written DIY Guide as well when I get a chance.
The other new products I have are OBDII tools from Foxwell, pre-loaded with software for Aston Martins! Many people have OBDII tools (AKA "scan tools" or "OBDII readers") but not many on the market have the option to pick an Aston Martin when connecting to the car. So, I reached out to Foxwell to discuss this and they were able to supply me with their products with Aston Martin specific software already loaded! Some of the commonly-requested functions these are capable of doing include should-be-simple things that had so far required a trip to the dealership, like enabling/disabling the auto-fold door mirrors on early cars, to more specialized functions like doing a "bit count" to give an estimate for a Sportshift’s clutch life. I have both the Foxwell NT530 and the Foxwell NT710 in stock at Redpants, and their product listings help explain the differences between the two tools.
The last note for my Online Store is that Motul updated their pricing. Some products were unaffected or barely changed, but a few had fairly drastic price increases. I've already updated the listings accordingly, so what you see now is the current pricing as of this writing.
Moving on to the main Redpants website, most of the new stuff was based on braking. Brakes are always a hot topic in the Aston Martin owners community - in fact, it's one of the things that first brought a lot of attention to my website in the early days of Redpants. I've talked extensively about brake pads over the last several years and kept expanding the information I have on them more and more - and then realized that what I'd done was made so much information available that I no longer had a "simple" explanation that I could link people to for a quick answer.
So, I wrote an Article hoping to do just that. A Bit About Braking is meant to be concise and easy to understand. It's the most simplified way I could come up with (other than a list of bullet points) to explain brake squeal causes, brake pad options, and a few things related to those topics.
If you want more information about brake pads or other topics, I've compiled most of it into a much larger resource that has become my Brake System Information Guide - and I also expanded it a few weeks ago to include a Fitment Guide in the Brake Pad section.
Another new page on my website is the Brake Pad Bedding DIY Guide. It explains how to properly bed in each brake pad that I sell according to the manufacturers' actual guidance. Yes, I know plenty of people have their way of bedding brake pads (me included), and this isn't to start a debate about how to bed in brake pads. I'm just sharing manufacturer guidance.
Okay, lastly, I hit 1000 followers on Instagram a couple weeks ago. It’s far from a large following but it’s a big milestone for the account because I barely ever use it. I'm personally not a fan of social media but I'll admit it does help share info and spread the word of my company, so I'm trying to use it more. If you want to support what I'm doing, please Like/Follow/Subscribe/whatever to my Redpants pages on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Keep Current
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you know when I put out a new video.
I hate social media so I’m rarely on it. If you want to get in touch, email me or use my Contact page (they both go to the same email address). If you message me on a Redpants social media page, it should say to email me. If you try to message me on a personal page, it won’t be seen.
I notify people when I publish Monthly Updates by sending out a Newsletter. If you’re not subscribed to my Newsletter, you can do so here: