@NickC : The ultimate plan is to boost QPD and site activity. Some question may need fleshing out, like the RTV one because I'mnot sure if temperature alone differentiates between the different grades. Some questions are pretty self-explanatory and they're here just so that we don't forget about them

@Paulster2 : Yup, will do as appropriate

@Zaid - I'm wondering if on the torque converter question if you wanted to broaden it a bit to "how do they work; how do they fail?"

@Paulster2 : Yes that sounds like a great idea. Two questions or one, what do you think?

First question out in the wilderness

@Zaid - I think the spare tire question is a great one. Very pertinent and generic enough it can be used by many.

@Zaid - I think considering how closely they are related, you could make the TC question into one.

I tried to cover all bases by including space-savers (what prompted the question the VW dealership's recommendation)

Alan posted a great answer. We have a lot of people with good answers out there. rpmerf also has some excellent insights

The spares should be refreshed every so often. I really think it depends on where they are stored, personally. The one for my truck is a full sized spare and sits under the bed at the rear of the truck. It doesn't suffer from UV exposure nor wear/tear, but does suffer from the other issues mentioned.

I believe there are some great answers from them as well. Something we need to be wary of is opinion in our answers ... something I'm guilty of violating as well. We need to ensure with these guys we are seeking substantiated facts and not opinions ... again, something I need to work on.