Recent content by JD!

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. I'll go for the Valvoline and update later with results.

Anyone have experience using Valvoline or any other multi-vehicle CVT oil in a newer (I believe 2020+) Subaru that specs CVTF-III? Otherwise, does anyone have any information about this fluid's properties relative to the CVTF-II spec it supersedes? Subaru owners' forum searches haven't been...

It has excellent viscosity retention (diblock VII? instead of olefin copolymer), and many people like the ester base stock used in the 0W-30 variant specifically. In my mind it's just a more "advanced" oil for the same price as the others. Kind of a sleeper product, people see "Emissions System...

IIRC, it was reporting somewhere around 3,000 miles left until service required. I'd be inclined to trust it for the next oil change; My situation is pretty much ideal for an extended drain interval. Electric driving on trips in town, and I have a 40-mile commute to work so the engine gets run...

Tuned on MGFlasher Stage 1, outputting somewhere around 350-390bhp relative to the factory 250-284bhp. Good majority of this sample was spent on the freeway. Some "spirited" canyon runs in there, but generally was an easy life for this oil. Average share of electric driving was 15%. Filled...

Redline D4 ATF should be a nice option for both, or any Dex/Merc labeled ATF if you're looking for a cheaper option (Valvoline and Walmart sell these)

2021 BMW 530e PHEV. Just finished up 4600 miles of driving in a week, mostly highway, some spirited driving through the canyons, rest of the 4000 miles on the oil commuting to work, about 8600 total. Out - ESP 5W-30, MANN filter (which looked basically brand new) In - exact same, see no reason...

In addition, if your RAV4 is anything like my BMW 530e, engine power is extremely limited at cold start with the electric motor still doing most of the work to achieve the requested torque. It gradually transitions load from the e-motor to the engine over the span of a couple of minutes. I trust...

Intake valve deposit hysteria is largely unwarranted in this age, IMO. 30k is quite excessive. Maybe put a borescope in there at 100k to check on it, but on Gen 3 and up EA888 I'm sure it won't be much. The Gen 1/2 EA888s had terrible IVD issues as far as I understand, which is where the...

How about a Toyota Camry? Good gas mileage, very spacious, very reliable. Sedans are great family cars, they're what most of us grew up with. More efficient and better driving dynamics. And you get the added "cool factor..." crossovers/SUVs are now what minivans were in the 90s and 2000s.

Putting a different injector in cleaned up the idle. Runs fantastic now. I did install a known good Index 8 from my stash, the rest of the injectors are Index 11 or Index 12s. I know they say not to mix these, but it'll be good enough to hold me off until I can grab a good deal on a junkyard...

Update on the car, new thermostat housing vs. old thermostat housing. Previous owner must've opened it and removed the thermostat.... real gem on my hands here, folks. I'm probably going to lose sleep over how much fuel dilution there was with this and the two leaky injectors.

I often wonder about E85's place in the world these days. Feels like Flex-Fuel cars were mostly a 2000s fad. Plenty of E85 pumps here in the Midwest (the four closest gas stations to my house have it), but I haven't seen a yellow pump handle in a car here in years. When I lived in Phoenix, E85...

Any station that sells E15 from a pump marked E10 would be in violation of the Clean Air Act, so yes, it would have to change. But at the end of the day, the equipment and certification is cost-prohibitive for existing gas stations to sell E15 fuels, which is why most of the stations offering...

Late to this thread, but my personal understanding is that this was a blanket statement from when your options were generally E10 or E85 (51-83% ethanol). It's simple language that avoids any sort of misunderstanding. For my 2021 BMW, the paper owner's manual that came with the car has the same...