Car update

For the past few weeks, Shirley and I have been getting a bit closer.  I finally did my transmission gear oil change about two or three weeks ago.  And I finally got around to doing my spark plugs.  The car definitely runs smoother and shifts easier.  But now, it's about time to do my oil change again and rotate my tires.

For the oil, I will not be using Rotella-T Synthetic 5w40 this time.  Although I said I would give another review based on an early oil change to clean out sludge, but there was a sale at Pep Boys that I refused to pass up.  This time, I'll be using the usual Castrol Syntec Full Synthetic 5w30.  This oil by far has been most deserving of my confidence.  My engine has never felt as loose with this as it did with Mobile 1 or as thick with Rotella-T.  The sale also included a PureOne Purelator oil filter, all for $30 bucks!  I'm thinking about getting another set for another oil change right before the sale ends.  I guess you could say that I wasn't too impressed with Rotella-T, but I wasn't disappointed either.  I guess I'll try it again later, but as long as this sale is around, Castrol Syntec it is.

As for the tires.  My front tires are almost done.  Firestone confirmed this when they refused to rotate my tires for liability purposes.  In any case, I think this will be my last rotation before I get new tires.  Not only that, but the tires will be put on the Rota Torques I just bought from Arco.  These wheels are 17x9 with a +48mm offset.  So, I'll be more flush with better performance.  The wheels will be coming with continental tires, which are perfectly fine for daily driving.  I'm thinking I will change that out for some Falken Azeni's or Dunlop's as soon as the continentals ends it's life.

More to come!

Rotella T

I finally changed my oil.  The change was done at approximately 77,000 miles with Shell Rotella-T Synthetic 5w40 and Purolator Pureone.

The process itself was very simple.  However, I managed to get myself into trouble by putting more oil than what my engine can handle.  Thankfully, Arco helped me fix my issues by draining the extra oil from the oil filter.

While changing the oil, I noticed that the used oil was black and thick (a very good indication of probable oil starvation).  Arco pointed out that the oil that left the oil pan was not the amount that went in.  So, in theory, my engine could have been starving for oil because I haven't changed it in around 12,000 miles.  We also noticed that when we drained some of the new oil, it was still pretty dirty.  The oil that leaked from the oil filter wasn't as thick as the used oil, but it was almost as black.  To remedy this effect, I'm going to change my oil again in 3,000 miles.

Overall, my impressions were satisfactory, but not impressive.  The car is definitely smoother, however I feel like I had better results with Castrol Syntec.  I'm not sure if it's because I haven't changed the transmission gear oil yet, or if it's because my car still has some of the old, burnt oil lingering in the engine.  I'll definitely do another review of Shell Rotella T on my next oil change, and when I do my Gear Oil.