Have some questions!

[sp00ln]

Hey,

Well, I just got back from Japan the other day, and I want to perform a tune up on my car. I dont think my car has been driven for 5 months or so. I want to replace the trans fluid and oil. What would you suggest that I buy and what other things would you suggest that I do to the car as far as maintenance goes? Thanks guys.

Sp00ln

[Dean]

Red Line and Mobile 1 are the only petrolium fluids I would use in any car I expect performance from.

My F150 is another story... What's cheap?

[Kevin M]

What Dean said. Good synthetics are where it's at for a vehicle you actually care about.

[dayofpain]

my imput

change all fluids.

motul 300v is my new brand of choice.

word

[sp00ln]

Motul 300v? What about that "purple" motor oil that I sometimes hear about?

Thanks guys for the help.

[dayofpain]

yeah i run it in my race bikes, 300v comes in normal weights too. really good stuff.

royal purple? i think summit sells it, never messed with it.

[MikeSTI]

Welcome back!!!!! does this mean I will get to whoop you at air hockey again?

[sp00ln]

I was thinking about that mike... im going to go practice, buy you some beers, then whoop your ass.

Does redline make a motor-oil too? Hows that for quality?

[sperry]

Originally Posted by sp00ln

Does redline make a motor-oil too? Hows that for quality?

Just as good as Mobil 1, for only twice the price!

...Actually that's how I feel about most motor oil brands. Sure some of them are a little bit better than Mobil1, but considering it's a "wear item" that gets changed frequently and the difference probably isn't noticable unless you're really running your motor on the ragged edge, I'd just stick to good ol' Mobil1 5-30. Best bang for the $$ IMO.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

If you change it often, just pick a decent priced synthetic (hah) and go with it. There's no need to use $30/qt. jiggy-fly super mystery oil, it's probably not doing anything but draining your wallet faster.

My mechanic neighbor Doug has recycled the 3000mi-used expensive oil out of other people's cars into his own before because it's still useable...

[Dean]

Originally Posted by sperry

Just as good as Mobil 1, for only twice the price!

...Actually that's how I feel about most motor oil brands. Sure some of them are a little bit better than Mobil1, but considering it's a "wear item" that gets changed frequently and the difference probably isn't noticable unless you're really running your motor on the ragged edge, I'd just stick to good ol' Mobil1 5-30. Best bang for the $$ IMO.

I can't compare Red Line to Mobil 1, but Red Line has some of the smartest oil guys on staff who will actually talk to you about your application and make reccomendations. It is all I ever ran in my Stealth, and unlike countless other people, I have yet to spin a bearing under extreme loads at the track including high lateral G corners that starve the pickup. I know spun bearings are an issue with that car and don't want it to happen, so I choose to pay the premium for that car.

The WRX gets Mobil1.

[sp00ln]

I bought the light shockproof redline today. I have yet to put it in my car, but is it ok to use for my transaxle, trans case and diff?

[Dean]

Originally Posted by sp00ln

I bought the light shockproof redline today. I have yet to put it in my car, but is it ok to use for my transaxle, trans case and diff?

I do not beleive it should be used anywhere but the trans.

[Kevin M]

Well, I would recommend asking that question prior to plunking down cash. Check the owner's manual. It's fine in the gearbox if you don't require GL-5 there, although we're all running it in our GL-5 requiring Subaru gearboxes with no known ill effects, and several very pleasing ones.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Dean

It is all I ever ran in my Stealth, and unlike countless other people, I have yet to spin a bearing under extreme loads at the track including high lateral G corners that starve the pickup. I know spun bearings are an issue with that car and don't want it to happen, so I choose to pay the premium for that car.

My car's "issue" probably had nothing to do with oil starvation... that was just my 1st guess.

The latest theory is: 16 psi at altitude + hot day + 7000 rpm (which is past the knock sensor's effectiveness) + 52,000 miles on the motor (most of which were at 280 hp) = rod knock due to detonation.

I remember feeling the car hesitate at the top of 3rd gear. I *thought* it was the ECU pulling timing, but found out since then that the knock sensor would have been turned off. So my current belief is that I blew that motor up the old fashioned way: I drove it too hard. I can't blame the oil, or long left-hand sweeper, or new turbo, or the tuning (Nate actually backed the car down from 260 awhp to 240 awhp before I took delivery)... I can only blame me for revving it all the way to red-line in every gear. Oh, and I'll blame MikeK and MattR for being so much faster at that event that it made me try to extract every last bit of power from the motor.

[sp00ln]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Well, I would recommend asking that question prior to plunking down cash. Check the owner's manual. It's fine in the gearbox if you don't require GL-5 there, although we're all running it in our GL-5 requiring Subaru gearboxes with no known ill effects, and several very pleasing ones.

Totally agree with you on that. I didnt know there were so many choices, but I was already all the way out at summit, and I didnt want to go back and check, only to have to return to summit. I felt like I could have dont things better, by checking before I went out, but I decided to choose, and if it was incorrect, go back and exchange it.

Supposidly GL-5 is BAD for the DSM transmitions - this, thin shockproof is not GL-5, right?

Scott, you blew up your motor? What?

[sp00ln]

Oh, and I was asking questions at summit, but the girl helping me was NO help at all. Said, "I dont know, I dont drive that kind of car, actually, no one does in here. No one in here would know." - yeah, thanks girl.

[Dean]

Originally Posted by sperry

My car's "issue" probably had nothing to do with oil starvation... that was just my 1st guess. ...

I was not refering to your issue, 3S (3000GT, Stealth)engines are known for low oil pressure, and spun bearings are commonplace. My 3S had over 100K on it when I got it, but then I started punishing it at the track, and the Red Line so far has kept the bottom end from falling apart whereas others running lesser oils have had a number of failures. Maybe I'm just lucky and got a good one, but I'd prefer to think my initial gunking of the oil system , and multi-flush and then Red Line usage before pushing it have helped stave off what appears to be inevitable with those engines.

Red line is good stuff I guess is my bottom line, and their customer/tech support is second to none.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by sperry

Oh, and I'll blame MikeK and MattR for being so much faster at that event that it made me try to extract every last bit of power from the motor.

I'm sorry I blew up your engine

[sperry]

Originally Posted by MikeK

I'm sorry I blew up your engine

It's cool. But um, I'm gonna need that $5000... you know, whenever you can get that.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by sperry

It's cool. But um, I'm gonna need that $5000... you know, whenever you can get that.

It's in my other pants

[SlickNick112]

You'll have to take it from "his pants"!

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by sp00ln

Supposidly GL-5 is BAD for the DSM transmitions - this, thin shockproof is not GL-5, right?

Scott, you blew up your motor? What?

I can't immediately see any drawback to GL-5. What GL-5 means is that it can stand up to higher pressures without breaking down and losing its lubricating properties. The kind of pressure you only get in differentials on the ring gear, and not on the gearbox drive gears. The "shockproof" part refers to its ability to ensure the synchros work as fast as possible, helping to prevent your shifts from happening faster than the synchros can, well, synchronize and cause grinding. Supposedly it doesn't lubricate your bearings as well, but that's a worthwhile trade-off for us subaru guys. We'd rather have a bearing fail 6 or 8 years from now than have a gear sheer off next month.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by sp00ln

Scott, you blew up your motor? What?

Just saw this question.

I spun a bearing on the #3 rod at the Club Trials in June. I was pushing the motor pretty hard trying to catch the STis. This was after the 6-speed and GT30-10 turbo, so it was a little too easy to keep the car in the boost and near the red-line... resulting in a bit of detonation.

There's video of the run that did it here. It's hard to really tell in the video, but it happened as I topped out 3rd gear exiting the turn-around on the last lap of the session.

Since then, I've got a 2.5L STi short block in the car, but I'm still breaking it in, and resolving some issues, like a leaky fuel rail. Hopefully it'll be good to go in the next week or two.

[Dean]

Eric works on trains, maybe he can help with the leaky fuel rail...

OK, it is late in the afternoon, and I don't want to be here any more...