We talk a lot about cleaning/caring for our vehicles appearance but what OTHER things do you to care for your vehicle's overall performance/condition? I use Lube Control products for both the Oil and the Fuel. They're inexpensive in the doses recommended and help both the top end and bottom end of my motor for a small cost. Their fuel additive (FP60) has always given me a small improvement on fuel efficiency, even on a brand new vehicle. The oil additive (LC20) helps keep the oil from oxidizing and foaming as quickly. This means you'll usually see your oil isn't as dark when draining it off for your oil change. Oxidation is an oil killer. I found out about these products from the forums at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com, if you want to learn anything/everything about automotive oil and oil/fuel related additives this is the place to read up. So, I thought I'd pose this question to you guys. What do you do to keep your car running optimally?
So you are going to bug Phil to carry this ??:banned: I've been really happy with Seafoam and BG 44K for fuel. I don't use anything for the crankcase. Keeping up with proper maintenance and using decent fuel reduces the need for additives like the ones mentioned here. I usually keep really good track of my MPG. As soon as I see a pattern, it's time to start checking tune up items.
Nah. I get lube control right from the mfg. They are outside of Dallas. Have you ever had oil analysis done? It'll show engine wear in PPM, do one before using an oil additive and after. Most of the time you'll see wear drop off. Depeding on the metal you can determine if it's bearing wear, piston wear or whatever. For how little it costs me for added protection I don't care if it's "not needed".
I have had oil analysis done on several vehicles ... and I used to spend tons of money on external filters and all of those fancy gadgets. They weren't cost effective for me because I don't keep cars for long (3 years max) and 90% of my driving is highway.
on gdal s recommendation i got sea foam. love it and yesterday was able to tell a guy from experience that he will like his can. kinda fun
I have a 2006 Audi A4 with the 2.0T FSI motor. this motor take the best of the best oils and trashes them after 1000 miles. The molecule tend to shear and the oil loses its viscosity. Using low grade oil (syn oil only, regular oil doesn't stand a chance), you'll find premature wear of the high pressure fuel pump which is run off the intake came. the pumps tappet runs on the 3-point cam lobe, when not properly lubricated, the tappet cover wears, which in turn wears the cam lobe, leading to the cam not being able to "lift" the tappet, and reduce fuel capacity. When this happens you get a condition called fuel cut, its like the car lost its turbo. its terrible. and take some time to come back. sometimes when the fuel cut is bad enough the car will go into limp mode. So the solution right now is to use Lubro Moly's Top Tec 4200 which is designed for our cars. Also another thing, carbon deposits on the intake valves due to the direct injection. Because of the turbo charger system, pcv plumbing and crank case breather hose, oil vapor flow on the intake side, burn and stick to the valves. since there is no fuel being sprayed over the valves, there is nothing to clean the top side of the valves. its a bad issue and robs power. There are a few solutions. Install a catch can, run a second set of injectors before the intake valves (only useful on big turbo setups), or remove intake manifold and clean valves by hand. sucks but needs to be done from time to time. once clean you can maintain with BG4k or whatever its called. of course the 2nd gen motors don't have nearly as many issues.
I do everything for my rides possible saves money and you can find jsut about every instruction and howto if you search. Plus heard of way to many mess ups by mechanics so its scary - just wont chance it.
I have been using it on all my vehicles since I first started driving (16 years or so). Just find a forum that specializes in your vehicle and you'll definitively find someone that has documented a seafoam application. Unless you purr it really really fast, there's little chance of hydrolocking the engine. Make sure you purr it in the afternoon and let sit for a few hours. Go on a "spirited" drive at night and make sure you don't drive on busy roads. The car will smoke heavily for 10-15 mins I just started using BG 44k and IMO it works better than seafoam for gas tank applications. I had my mechanic run a bg throttle body and fuel injector application (with a fogger) and my new maxima is running amazing. I just filled up the tank for the 1st time after the BG treatment and my mpg has improved by 2.5 mpg. I'll keep using seafoam for my yearly fuel injector cleaning. BTW ... the BG 44k stuff should only be used every 12k-15k. You can find it cheap on ebay.
Mobil 1 synthetic every 4-5k, check all fluids at oil change, flush anything that looks dirty, rotate tires. 93 octane from a certified station. I also ordered a oil catch can to keep oil out of the intake manifold. Everything after that has been performance mods that will probably shorten engine life.
Ye m1 user here too. Does anyone notice gas station all have "10 percent ethanol" in their 93 gas... i dont know how i feel about this..
some older vehicles are experiencing issues with fuel components. My 1998 aurora fuel gauge sometimes acts up because the "sensor" gets some type of coating cause by high ethanol levels. I usually run seafoam or lucas and it acts normal again. 10% Ethanol is fine for newer vehicles, but it's not really recommended for older ones. There's nothing you can do about it though. I just hope it doesn't turn into another "nikasil engine block" fiasco that euro cars went thru during the early-mid 90's.
I'm a MB1 guy here too. You can't beat getting a 5-gallon jug for 21 bucks at wallymart. I've been using MB1 and PureOne Filters for the longest time, but I recently changed to Wix filters. I started working on Hondas when I was 16 yrs old (did a h22a swap when i was 17) and got really into LSx cars during my GM career (04 GTO and 05 CTS-V). I still enjoy wrenching a little bit more than detailing ... lol.
Hey Mindflux ... should I spend the money to get the FPPlus? I just ordered FP60 and I'm thinking about switching the order.
I haven't used the plus yet. I have a gallon of FP60 left to go through. But! The plus uses renewable resources and has UCL components. So when I do reorder it'll be the plus version.
