B2L2

1. Try to do whenever we aren't late for work.  Maybe 1-2mins and take initial few minutes easy.
2. Shell or Chevron 89+
3. For the Fit, every 4-5000km.  For the Miata, every 5-6 months.  Mobil1 sync most the time, usually brought from US.  Recently brought Castrol sync from CanTire when it was on-sale.
4. just drive it more.    
Actually, I used ATF to clean the Miata engine and the in-famous ticker noise is now gone.  Basically doing 2 oil changes in an hour.  I also changed all drainable fluid for the Miata (brake, clutch, trans, diff, shifter).  Changed the ATF for the Fit when it hit 50k.  New K&N and cabinet filters for the Fit, also cleaned the K&N for the Miata.  Don't have time for the coolent flush before winter hit.  Oh, well next spring.

Not too bad for all my DIY this year.  Haha...

sheep

Forester, show time
10 yrs la

字典仔

sb: you can pm me for details, tell me year / make / model and color of the car and what stage of work you are looking to get...

the van doesn't burn oil, i dun have to top up in 5000km, no leak neither; i know there will still be blow by but the valve train was pretty clean (fluid doesn't do crazy dark like most car at the same mileage, it has been quite up to shape; also i have noticed cars using 87 will has a much higher chance to get CEL for codes like O2 / knock sensor etc than cars with 94; so i am guessing it's cheap gas related (my other friend's is at 250k, still stock tranny and no issue with cat / o2 / egr etc)....

sb and b2l2: as for those reminder thing, it's never acurate. the ecu just learn from how you run the engine, how long it has been idle to determine the oil life...but does the new engine oil look the same color when u first put it into the engine before start up? ie: put the dipstick in engine, then put the dipstick into a new bottle of oil, does the color look the same on the dipstick? if no, that means the oil was very dirty (leaving you with all the dirt inside the engine), start it up, check for leaks, then compare it again...some time it gets darker after start up, which is not good too...also prolong oil change interval will usually cause condensation which will lead to uneven oil level on the 2 sides of the dipstick...hope that helps?

b2l2: i like that ATF cleaning method, cheap and yet best detergent...lol

tofu

2002 with 90000km

1.  warm up till the rpm drop below 1k
2. chevron or petro can 91
3. whenever the service light is on
4. fill up gas more often, not to wait till the gas tank is empty.  checked engine oil & tire pressure regularly  

changed battery, did detailing couple years ago

B2L2

"condensation which will lead to uneven oil level on the 2 sides of the dipstick"

I haven't heard this before, think I should pay attention to that next time.

Actually for your question #4, running my engine in higher RPM from time to time does help.  Just did that around the HWY tonight.  Then I though about your question.  

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tofu: #1 is actually a good way to do, when it drops below fast idle, that means the ecu knows the car is almost ready to go...

B2L2: actually I can show you any time since we live so close by, I dunno if anyone cares about that but a car with very low mileage or extensive oil change period will usually show condensation. just that one with low mileage oil might not be dirty (depends on the oil change period) compares to one that has higher mileage...guess oil break down?

take it out on the hwy is a good way to exercise it, i do that all the time too...usually i just make sure the car has warmed up and driven for about 3 to 5km, then i will start punching it, not first time to redline kinda thing but gradually work it up?!

and usually 3km or so before i park i will ease off, kinda like cool down lap on track day!? those ppl who likes to drive hard till last min then park (like they live on top of a hill and they do have to race the engine up a hill)...car dies pretty much as quick as one that lives at the bottom of a hill and need to cold start then run uphill...

shutterbug

Condensation is not a problem for daily use car, given that it runs for a good distance everyday.  As soon as the engine oil temp goes hot, it burns all water in the oil.

Oil colour is not a good way to determine the life of the oil.  This has been a misconception all the time.  Do an oil analysis if you really care.

This is what it said in the manual about Maintenance Minder system: "The maintenance requirements for your xxxxx are determined by an internal algorithm, which considers the engine starting temperature, driving distance and engine RPM. The onboard computer also judges your driving conditions and habits, and then calculates the remaining engine oil life, displaying it as a percentage."  So I think the system is more sophisticated than one might think.  Of course it's not 100% accurate but it should give a fairly close estimate I think.

pkphilip

Mazda3 HB / 2004 (1st gen) / 83000km

1. Warm about 2-3 min in summer, 5 min in winter
2. Taxeco / 89
3. 5000-6000km, either factory 5w20 or Mobile1 Synthetic
4. I don't race, but I like more control and maneuverability, so new rotors/pads, wider/grippy tires, thicker sway-bars and tower bars definitely reduce stopping distance and firmer steering all around.

I am planning to replace all the wear-and-tear parts like spark plugs, wires, belts, etc next year before 96000km and new shocks and springs.

Note to self: Have all the engine mounts inspected next time because I can feel something is loose...

Philip

MSN04

2 cars...

usually just warm up 30s to 1 min then start driving slowly until reaching normal operating temperature
use chevron 94
1 car uses motul, the other one, i am thinking about motul too but looking for place to buy bmw specific.  1 car will change every 5000km, the other one planning to do every 12000km
Use detailing service every year.  They do good job on the car

jeje

2007 Camry, 25000km
There was "tic tic" sound under the steerling wheel when runing over the gap on the bridge holes on the road or ditch covers. My friend, the owner of a auto repair shop told me it shoule be come from the sway bar and it need to be tighten. But I send the car back to the dealer to check, they said they could not duplicated the problem and they checked the sway bar and it was ok.