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Uhho. When ARCOgraphite sees that this guy put PU ahead of M1HM 10w30, there's gonna be aitch-eee-double-hockey-sticks to pay.

a fellow member (Art_Vandelay) holds the position that the PAO based formulas are those with a -54 pour point. Look for that and you know you're not in Grp III land. I'd love to hear from the Sr. Tribologists here on that theory. It sure would make identifying PAO oils much easier. Based on my...

@sicko Yearly mileage has been about 8-9K, but recently less, but with fewer freeway miles, as well, to get up to temp. I haven't overseen the MTC on this car long enough to have a trend ~ I've only made her get one OC done, but I want to get what's in it out now, it's got about 5K on it. I'd...

Ask a dealer if he'd rather have a A3 rated oil with a warmer pour point or a A1 or non ACEA oil with a colder pour point.* When he gives that dog-cocked-to-the-side-of-its-head look, then say -- "Right. I forgot. Dealers sell cars -- they don't understand them."

@Beast3300 Thanks, but AA doesn't have stores in SoCal. (I wish, I liked them when I lived in ATL). Thanks for the rec, tho!

My wife's "beloved" POS 2004 Civic (base model) is due for a change soon. Spec oil is 5w20. We're in So Cal, so temps are generally 20-25c, year round. Her driving is mostly short ( Add in she's not a gentle driver. Hard stops and starts, doesn't wait for warm up, leaves AC button in the whole...

Am I wrong to remember that BMW LL-04 approved oils are susceptible to fuel dilution when used with "lesser" fuels found in North America, e.g. the ethanol blends? Wouldn't that make the ESP 5w30 less attractive for those of us driving in the USofA? Side note: Is BMW LL-04 a required approval...

I had a 2004 Sonata with the V6, bought new, and the paperwork about the required maintenance interval made mention of some exotic oil additive they put in the refill at the dealer. I thought it was weird to have a OEM using an oil additive. I don't know if that same stuff was in the factory...

I was in Kragen (soon to be O'Reilly) last week seeing if they stocked GC. (They don't but that's another story). While I was still at the oil rack a younger guy came in, picked a bottle of some Castrol Syntec and rang out. On my way out I saw in him the car park, driving a BMW 3-series, E46...

Could it be as simple as the fact that GTX doesn't meet VW specs? (Sorry, I don't have time right now to go find the PDS on the GTX line, but are any VW approved?)

I had to make this same choice (or maybe I chose to have to make this choice...). In the end both are super oils, with stout HTHS numbers. The FullSyn Maxlife is ACEA A3, HTHS=3.5 I read here in some post. The M1 HM 10w30 is supposed to be stout as well, and all PAO, from what I hear. I chose...

@Beancounter This reminds me of a story told by one of my friends who is/was a huge NASCAR fan (well before I ever was). His 'guy' was (the late) Davey Allison, some may remember he drove the Havoline #28 car. Well my friend had a garage pass this time (maybe it was at 'Dega?) and he looked...

I tank Shell almost exclusively, mainly because I have a Shell mastercard that gives me 5% off fuel purchases. With 3$/gal being average, that's a big savings -- especially when my daily driver is a pushrod V8 (12 mpg city). I rarely drive it below 1/4 tank, so I am not forced to make ad hoc...

I'm going to make little stickers that say "This is the best oil for HM cars" and stick them on the rack under the Ashland part number VV155. Signed, The UrbanDriver (really, too early to tell..) (full disclosure: ex-M1 5w30 guy).

@mechtech2 I came in to complain of poor brake pedal feel and softness. We drove in a back alley, he put it in reverse, and while under medium power cycled the parking brake handle about 5 or 6 times. I took the wheel, and the brakes were at least 50% firmer than before. Apparently that...

@bepperb That's a valid question, but my guess is this: there are lots of private garages in this town that focus on high end European cars, so there is a good sales channel for parts to match, including, and even, particularly, consumables. The guy with the cherry, low mileage M-B SL probably...

@ARCOgraphite Thanks for the warning, but I didn't mean to imply I'd run that specific type in my truck, at least not w/o knowing that it would be AOK to do so. I looked at Total's site and found the same info you gave; that the Quartz Energy 9000 looked like the right fit for a gasoline V8 like...

I took my wife's POS Honda Civic in for a diagnostics check and to look at the brakes (serviced < 3000 miles ago by her mechanic). While I was waiting for my man to finish what he was doing, I was just pacing around the garage. I was very interested to find some jugs of oil I'd never seen...

I have one quart of Valvoline FullSyn Maxlife in my truck cab for topping off. Land is *expensive* where I live, and we don't have any Wallyworlds.

I saw that Ashland has new part numbers for their Full Syn Maxlife. The quart bottle used to be VV179, but their site now shows it as VV155. Seeing this, I wrote them a note- === I use Maxlife Full Synthetic 5w30 in my 1995 GMC Sierra pickup (216,000 mi). The part number for the quart bottles...