Recent content by ChrisD46

The RAV 4 is a bit small for me and now I’m a little concerned regarding the power train problems the new Highlander is having .

I tried Dawn dish soap with hot water and a scrub brush but it did nothing to remove oil stains from my cement drive way - your experiences how to best remove ?

What YZJB stated : Once per year oil change if only 3,000 miles per year usage . I believe for VRP to work best would be to try and include some longer 20+ mile interstate or highway runs in your vehicle where you have sustained speeds for longer distances after the engine has come up to...

No proof of my own , but I’ve read several times by smart guys here who state Valvoline base stocks (as well as Castrol base stocks) are not as good as Pennzoil and Mobil 1 base stocks .

Good question on the oil drain plug : I tighten by hand with a socket wrench until I feel the drain plug plus crush washer are firmly tight but I don’t go overboard and wrench it down to max strength . I always clean the oil drain plug threads as well as inside and outside the oil drain opening...

Very good oil filter - just wished the outer gasket was a little thicker / beefed up to seal better as I had to tighten mine down a bit more than my previous Fram Ultras to prevent oil leaks in the drive way .

Good place to add without starting another VRP thread : I did my first run after changing oil in my Hyundai 2.4L FI engine from M1 0W30 to VRP 5W30 . This engine runs a little better on the VRP 5W30 (HTHS 3.2) than it did with M1 0W30 ESP (HTHS 3.5) . Better throttle response , more lively...

Car dealers typically employee “bottom rung” kind of guys to perform oil changes . While some are conscientious - many just don’t care to do the job correctly (i.e. carefully installing oil drain plug and only tightening enough to snug up the crush washer . Oil filter should be tightened 3/4th...

In a new Silverado engine I would change the oil by 2,000 miles with M1 0W30 ESP or 5W30 PUP with a 4K mile / 6 month OCI schedule to check oil consumption (if any) trends first . Depending on the oil used and engine - coked up rings can happen in as little as 5,000 miles . Conversely , in a new...

A perfect storm requiring lower OCI’s and potential continued use of VRP would be : 1) Having a DI engine , 2) Low tension rings and 3) Engine compromised with a poor design (i.e. soft metal rod bearings) . In my case , having a Hyundai 2.4L DI Theta II engine qualifies me for the trifecta...

About 1 - 1.5 qrts. over my 3,500 mile OCI . My driving habits flip flopped to do 80%+ interstate and highway driving now , so I’ll get a better idea with this new oil change how the oil consumption is responding to VRP .

‘17 Hyundai Sonata 2.4L GDI 60K miles Out : M1 0W30 ESP with Fram Endurance In : R&P 5W30 with Car Quest Premium My first run of R&P on this Theta II 2.4L engine . Mainly want to check if oil consumption can be improved over the course of upcoming my 3,500 mile / 6 month OCI .

Your reply makes no sense - I’m happy if M1 EP can go 18K or any OCI a user wants to run it in their vehicles … Makes no difference to me.

Again , the Kia Sorento , or Toyota Highlander are my yardstick of measure for a mid-size SUV … Conversely the Toyota RV4 (or similar) SUV is too small thus I put them into “large compact SUV’s but not mid size like the Highlander or Sorento are.

Kids & off road sometimes .