Hey MrNickleye!
 

I did like you said and switched to Castrol High Mileage 20W50 for the summer. I get my next oil change in November and here in New York it starts getting cold. What would you suggest I use then? I thought you had said 10W 40, but someone told me 10 W 40 is not that great an oil and on some newer cars it could void the warranty.

Scruff

10w-40 is fine. It will flow easier in the winter, as your engine will be running cooler. I would use 20w-50 in the winter only if your car burns or leaks a lot of oil. That would slow it down.

Some new cars are using 5w-30 oil, for 2 reasons.
1) because of higher emmision standards
2) tighter clearances in the engine.

If you check out an owners manual for any car (and mine was still available at Toyota, $15), you will find oil specs requirements listed for different temp ranges.

I believe 10w-40 is acceptable for everything from 20* to 90*F for most cars.

Thanks
 

10W 40 for the winter it is. All these oil weights are available as both "High Mileage" or "Synthetic". I have 130,000 on my N/A engine. Which would you suggest I use. I hear such good things about the "Syntec" from Castrol, but a guy at the store told me to use High Mileage for my car. He couln't have been tryin to squeeze me for cash cuz the High Mileage is cheaper. Which do you use? Thanks.

Scruff

No syn oil in old engines
 

I don't use syn oil on an engine with lots of miles. It is great for new, or very low mile engines. It lubes better, lasts longer, and runs cooler.

But an engine with miles on it has built up petroleum based residues and varnishes on all the surfaces. These built up deposits help take up loose clearances. Remove them, and your engine will break down quicker. Can you say "rod knock"?

That is why its not a good idea to use one of those engine cleaners in one with lots of miles on it.

If you want to clean out "some" of the sludge inside you crankcase, just add 1 qt of Dextron III ATF to your oil about 10 miles before you are gonna change the oil. (1 qt overfill won't hurt for this short time).

The ATF has more detergents than motor oil, but won't remove the varnish.

Thanks
 

You always have excellent info. I have heard that one of the quickest ways to start hearing pings in your engine is to use one of those "injector cleaners".

There was a discussion here once about slick50 and u said u used STP. Is that an STP oil additive? If you find your way back to this thread let me know.

One more thing. In the owners manual, they say to use some rediculously high test fuel, like 97 or some crap. I don't think you would be able to find a fuel that high. For a non-turbo do you need to use 93-supreme or can you get away with 89-Plus?

Thanks Pal

Scruffboy

I run Normal Gas
 

Ok,

I have to ask something here. I hear alot in here that you guys are not using NORMAL gas. Meaning you are going to the plus, or premium types. My question is this:

Q: Is it just personal preference, or should I be running Premium gas in my 165,000km, 64,000 (On the engine, turbo, and exhaust), or is it fine running on the normal unleaded gas?

Also would it be ok to run 103-108 octane fuel in my supra? I was thinking about using that one day when I am cruising around town...see what kinda power is unlocked. (If this will be detramental to my engine, please let me know, before I do something that I am going to regret)

oil & gas
 

STP is an oil additive. It been around for 40 years. I use it with each oil change to leave a film on all the parts so that when I start a cold engine, they are lubed and slippery.

The most wear on an engine is at a cold start.

Here is an interesting article on oil change intervals.
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../interval.html

There was a thread on SM forum about 10k + mile oil changes. I totally disagree with that.

Because...after well over 1000 oil changes I've done (shop work of course), I go with the 3-5k change on regular oil.

Raw gasoline slips by the rings and dilutes the oil. There is NO stopping it. This happens more with stop & go driving (town).

Gasoline is a solvent. The gas in the oil will act as such, and deteriorate the lubrication abilities of the oil.

I've drained oil with 8-10k on it, and it was water thin, and smelled like pure gas. Just changing filters, and not the oil, as some have suggested in these forums, will not remove the gas.

If city is mostly what you drive, then even synthetic (10k intervals) will get overly diluted.

The PCV system, (which is REALLY GOOD for the engine), helps remove those fuel vapors from the oil as the car is driven. Out on the hwy works best, as the engine needs to be completely warmed up to 'vaporize' the gas in the diluted oil.

Thats why I would NEVER put those little 'kool looking' filter systems on my car's valve covers. That system relies solely on the engines blowby, and does not remove the fuel vapors from the crankcase. Those are great for looks, and car shows, but not for a daily driver.

As I stated in another thread, Slick 50 is teflon, and it was not designed for combustion engines. DuPont has a statement out proclaiming that info, and sued Slick 50 over their claims.
..............................................

My '89 owner's manual says (also on the back cover), to use fuel rated at 87 or higher (this is the # on the pump). And for improved performance to use 91 octane.

Here is a great article on this....
http://www.leeric.lsu.edu/bgbb/7/ecep/trans/b/b.htm

And yes, its true.

If mine were a stock turbo, I would run 89 winter, and 91 summer. A Modded turbo would be 91 or higher.

I use 89 in the summer because it gets well over 100*, and I run 15* timing (vs 10*). I don't want the pinging that might occur with 87, thus retarding my timing. I've noticed a 1 mpg increase with 89.

Injector cleaners
 

One reason an engine will 'ping' is due to carbon build up in the combustion chamber.

Injector cleaners will slowly disolve those deposits away. And will clean the injector too. A dirty injector does not allow for the proper spray pattern, or amount of fuel flow. That will cause the effected cylinder to not perform properly, and throw off the balance of power.

Also, a dirty injector can cause fuel pressure to bleed down when the engine is off, thus causing hard starts, and flooding on the effected cylinder.

I recommend Techron because I've read several studies, and it is at the top. And you can buy it at most parts stores, and Walmart.

If you've never added any cleaners, then add 2 bottle to a full tank the first ime, then 1 bottle every 3-4 months.

I would change my oil with Mobil 10w30 every 2500 miles and a filter every 5000 miles. I've done thousands of oil changes. If you dont believe me, ask me how much oil goes into any car. Lol. I do at least 40-50 cars/trucks a day.

No Utopia
 

I get free oil & filters at work, so I change mine anywhere from 1500-2000 miles. I usually change the filter every other time.

But for people that pay, I recommend 3000 miles, oil & filter.

But if you forget, then don't go longer than 5000 miles.

I always use schedule 'A' for maintenance (they extreme one).

It says 5000 miles for N/A, and 2500 miles for Turbo.

Schedule 'B', in my opinion, is not possible, as "where is Utopia"???