Tune up! Oil, Plugs, Air, gas mileage

[Ls1jorge]

Sup genvibe members I had quick question, when doing tune up what spark plugs brand name & type do ya use? Last week 2/13/11 I filled up my gas tank, & reset the Trip, my car went 305miles on w/dirty k&n, I like to get more gas mileage out of the car if possible, I'm doing my 1st tune up on the car, far as plugs oil & clean k&n, When i bought the car i had a year & half free oil change, & took it to express lube to do oil changes, I always told them use moble 1, now my free oil changes expired, so I gotta do it on my own which isn't a problem, idk what to use, for those who know do i use 5w 30, 10w 30, mobile 1?? Thanks George

[lovemyraffe]

5w-30. I use Mobil 1 and I get it from Costco when it is on sale.

[Water boy]

I run short oil changes ~5000.Use Walmart Super Tech 5W30 and their oil filter.I would use what ever plugs are considered OEM.How frequent you do o/c will depend on brand and type.

[bassplayaz06]

i use mobile 1 with a tough guard fram filter. change it at the usual 3000 mile interval. the spark plugs have to be iridium tipped to work with this engine.

[Water boy]

My 5 cents....Running Mobile 1 for 3000 OCI is a big waste of money.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Water boy »My 5 cents....Running Mobile 1 for 3000 OCI is a big waste of money.Frankly, I wouldn't use the Walmart Supertech oil. I don't care if it is produced by someone else. I try to avoid Walmart as much as possible and I will not purchase a product that they have branded themselves. And I probably buy Mobil 1 for cheaper than Supertech.

[Water boy]

Oils and filters are like socks and underwear and toothpaste....no rights or wrongs, just personal preferences.You should spend some time over at http://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

[joshuaeb09]

I've been using Kendall GT-1 Full Syn 0w-20. every 4.5 - 5k since I got my Vibe last year. But then again I get it for free and it seems to be a pretty good oil.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Water boy »Oils and filters are like socks and underwear and toothpaste....no rights or wrongs, just personal preferences.You should spend some time over at http://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php I did state my personal preference. I refuse to purchase any product that Walmart has branded for themselves, regardless of who it is actually made by. I'm not saying that Walmart Supertech isn't a decent oil, I just will not purchase it. I have spent many hours at http://bobistheoilguy.com too. That site is full of good information.

[Water boy]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe ».... I have spent many hours at http://bobistheoilguy.com too. That site is full of good information.We agree

[bassplayaz06]

it's only $30 once every 3 months or so. i don't drive the vibe that often so it's a long time between oil changes. and i'm trying to save the piston rings since it has so many miles. i'm gonna clean out the fuel injectors sometime soon too.

[dont13link]

In my experience as a mechanic as a manager at Jiffy Lube, I saw cars all the time where people didn't use quality oil or filters from the get go, and end up with knocks at 100k miles.That said, stick with the manufacturer's guidelines when it comes to weight. Despite what "old school" mechanics say, thinner is indeed better.If it's for your 05 Vibe, definitely go with 5w-30, and unless you've been running full synthetic, don't switch to it if you've got more than 30k miles. That can lead to oil seals getting too hydrated and swelling out of the seats.I personally have always used Mobil synthetic blend in all my newer cars, and switch to Valvoline synthetic blend max life when they get close to 60k.Too many people write oil changes off as a mundane maintenance item and don't spend tons of money on it, but it really should be the other way around in my opinion.Granted, all this is my two cents.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »And I probably buy Mobil 1 for cheaper than Supertech.I would so run Mobil 1 if I could pick it up at $10 for a 5-qt jug like mal*wart's supertech. I truly despise the place and the politics surrounding it, so it's certainly not the first place I stop... But it's usually a dirt cheap place to buy oil.

[RWatters]

Spark plugs - NGK IridiumOil - Valvoline MaxLife 5W30, change every 3,000-5,000 milesOil filter - Purolator PureOneOnce a year I run a can of Seafoam through the gas tank as well to help keep the fuel delivery side clean. I don't really see a need to run it through the intake. I figure a good 'ole redline or two a week will do that on it's own.

[Ls1jorge]

Thanks for all the good information guys gonna do my tune up today, my car just it 130k this morning to work

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I would so run Mobil 1 if I could pick it up at $10 for a 5-qt jug like mal*wart's supertech. Ok, so I don't get Mobil 1 quite that cheap. I usually get it for Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I truly despise the place and the politics surrounding it, so it's certainly not the first place I stop... But it's usually a dirt cheap place to buy oil. And that's exactly why I try to avoid Walmart as much as possible.

[Ls1jorge]

You put in all 6 quarts every oil change??? I only buy 5quarts & I end up useing 4 1/2 quarts.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Ls1jorge »You put in all 6 quarts every oil change??? I only buy 5quarts & I end up useing 4 1/2 quarts. I don't use 6 quarts. I usually put in 3 3/4 quarts. I use the same oil in my wife's car too, and I keep a bit extra around just in case.

[Ls1jorge]

Lol yea I too keep an extra quart, well I went yesterday to autoparts store & wow 8.99 a spark plug, I spend $22 on my 5.7 Ls1 firebird for all 8, anybody have NGK spark plugs? If not what else ya using sorry for the list of questions, this my 1st time doing plugs.

[silverbullet]

stick with the ngk's even if its a bit more. they are specified for your engine. there was a post a while ago someone vibe was not running well, i dont remember the exact symptoms, after their grandpa or uncle or something put spark plugs in it. well they were not the ngk. once they were swapped for the proper plugs problem was solved

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by silverbullet »stick with the ngk's even if its a bit more. they are specified for your engine. +1 Stick with NGK's.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by Ls1jorge »Lol yea I too keep an extra quart, well I went yesterday to autoparts store & wow 8.99 a spark plug, I spend $22 on my 5.7 Ls1 firebird for all 8, anybody have NGK spark plugs? If not what else ya using sorry for the list of questions, this my 1st time doing plugs. See if you can find them online for less

[yyamad1]

Just did a full tune up on my friends 03 Vibe base. I bought NGK at amazon for 7.73 shipped each. Advance auto was a little cheaper but didnt have in stock and could not be shipped... yes stick with iridiumoil - I too use mobile 1 5/30, had my oil analyzed several times, at different intervals. I was recommend to do oil change at 7k, I tested it up to 8k. At that point nitrate level was getting high but 7k, it was still perfect. good luck.y

[Ls1jorge]

Alright I'll check out amazon today, I usally get mine oil changed 4500-5k miles, & doesn't get to pitch black, alright NGK plugs it is, also how often do ya change out the NGK plugs?? I'm not trying to wear them out completely just only to keep up with good maintence, since it's my daily driver

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by Ls1jorge »Alright I'll check out amazon today, I usally get mine oil changed 4500-5k miles, & doesn't get to pitch black, alright NGK plugs it is, also how often do ya change out the NGK plugs?? I'm not trying to wear them out completely just only to keep up with good maintence, since it's my daily driverSuppose to be a 100,000 mile plug, but I would change them out @ 60,000... Those specific plugs should have a 3 yr warranty with em too

[RWatters]

IIRC the NGK Iridiums are essentially what the car comes with from the factory, so I'd treat the replacement interval the same. I'm used to paying $80 for a set of plugs for my RX-8 that had to be replaced every 30,000 miles. $30 for a set of plugs that last longer than I'll probably own the car blew my mind!