[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Jomz

The sealed ZF's are "Supposed" to be lifetime fluids.
But lifetime for BMW is 100k miles. I heard they don't even have a drain plug to drain the fuid.

Yes, there are several (auto) boxes that are supposed to be "sealed for life".
This is the case on my Jaguar XJR as well. Never the less, when you trawl the various brand specific forums you will find that most will agree that anything over 100.000 miles really needs flushing.

On my XJR there is no drain, you need to take the sump off. On the upside, that also allows you to inspect the inside and replace any filters. Also, there is no dipstick as such. you need a special little tool.

So I had mine flushed as well. Expensive job, it takes a few hours work and the transmission fluid is horrendously expensive. But it's still cheaper than to having replace or overhaul a damaged box.

Jeroen

[chevelle]

I have a question about spark plugs.

What is an ideal spark plug change one should do? Is it year specific or miles specific?

I have heard answers ranging from 90k-120k miles for G35.

Its very difficult to remove the plugs to check its condition unlike Camry which was very easy to check and replace.

Will there be an increase in performance or fuel efficiency once its done?

[maddy42]

Will be driving down to vegas this weekend. Anyone there and wanna have a mini meet please send me a PM

I have finished the touristy stuff there so just going to be a relaxed weekend.

Maddy

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Will be driving down to vegas this weekend. Anyone there and wanna have a mini meet please send me a PM

I have finished the touristy stuff there so just going to be a relaxed weekend.

Maddy

Get in touch with VLOCT. I think he is the only member who stays in LV.

Visit Death Valley. The road is awesome.

Enjoy

[aah78]

Originally Posted by chevelle

I have a question about spark plugs.

What is an ideal spark plug change one should do? Is it year specific or miles specific?

I have heard answers ranging from 90k-120k miles for G35.

Will there be an increase in performance or fuel efficiency once its done?

Varies! Should be in the Owners Manual. For modded engines, of course, the replacement intervals would be closer than stock.

E.g. for the BMW 328 the change interval is 90k miles, whereas for the 335 it is 45k miles.

Depending on how worn the old plugs are, you might notice a smoother idle & a minor increase in mileage. But if there's a lot of carbon buildup then just changing the plugs might not help.

I use a bottle of Techron Concentrate Plus sometimes to clean things out. (Use when your fuel tank is close to empty & then fill up, & when your next oil change isn't too far off).

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by aah78

Varies! Should be in the Owners Manual. For modded engines, of course, the replacement intervals would be closer than stock.

E.g. for the BMW 328 the change interval is 90k miles, whereas for the 335 it is 45k miles.

Depending on how worn the old plugs are, you might notice a smoother idle & a minor increase in mileage. But if there's a lot of carbon buildup then just changing the plugs might not help.

I use a bottle of Techron Concentrate Plus sometimes to clean things out. (Use when your fuel tank is close to empty & then fill up, & when your next oil change isn't too far off).

I went through the whole G35 owner's manual and nowhere did they mention the intervals. All it said was, since it uses platinum tipped spark plugs, it will last longer than regular ones. I think its time i change mine since its approaching 120k on stock ones.

It is surprising to note the 335i has such short interval. Just 45k is unbelievable. Even GM requires spark plug change for Corvette at 100k.

I use STP Fuel System Cleaner. Here is the link

http://www.toolking.com/stp-78575-fu...FQhyQgod1GYAzg

Is it as good as the one you use? I read almost everywhere Techron is good. I just wonder how good STP is.

Edit: I just wanted to add an opinion on using Regular fuel on engines showing 91 recommended. I did 2 tankful of Chevron 87 gas on G35 which i used for my commute. I noticed a drop of mileage to 17-18 mpg on my daily route. Before i switched, i was using Costco 91 and occasionally Shell/Chevron 91 and i use to get 20 mpg on same route.

For every 20 cents/gallon i save at Chevron gas stations, i lose ~2 mpg. Is it a worthy trade-off strictly from FE POV? I don't think so. I haven't even touched the issue of delayed performance and that i see myself revving a little higher than regular due to this. I am gonna switch back to 91 once i empty the 87. It is conflicting but i have evidence on my car. YMMV.

Also, please note, premium 91 from Costco's price is same as Shell's 87 regular.

[VLOCT]

@Chevelle,

My little experience with STP products have basically resulted in shunning all STP products. I found them to make the vehicle run rougher. But these were quite a few years ago. Chevron Techron is the only product I feel that works for me. Never can tell whether the whole fuel additive thing is more psychological. I stay from all Oil Additives.

[Ford5]

A little OT, but 87 octane petrol is still available in the states?

In india 91 octane is the norm everywhere after BS4 emission regulations came in. 87 octane was available until 2011 in rural areas but no more i think...

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Ford5

A little OT, but 87 octane petrol is still available in the states?

In india 91 octane is the norm everywhere after BS4 emission regulations came in. 87 octane was available until 2011 in rural areas but no more i think...

Be aware in the US they use AKI and not RON numbers. If you want to know the difference, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

Rule of thumb;
85 AKI equals 90 RON
91 AKI equals 95 RON

Everything else just intra/extrapolate.

So if your looking for a petrol in the US with AKI 87 you will be fine, 87 RON probably not. But that's not a problem at all. Just chuck in the lowest AKI or RON available.

If an engine was designed originally for say 85 AKI. It will run fine of anything with a higher number. The only problem being these higher number petrols tend to be more expensive and you don't really get the benefits. (although some people claim they get better mileage/acceleration, I'm sceptical about those claims)

The other way around, if your engine was designed for say 91 AKI and you put 85 AKI in, you're likely to have some issues like knocking etc.

Mind you, modern cars with knock sensors will adjust accordingly, you might lose a bit of power/accelaration because the ECU will forward the pre-ignition a bit to ensure the petrol/air mixture ingnites slightly later, thus avoiding knocking.

So, you could say petrols are backwards compatible, but not the other way around.

Jeroen

[Technocrat]

Was talking to a colleague of mine who has an old car with quite a few scratches & the topic turned to getting the car repainted. While at it we were discussing about getting it painted in a different color than the original color of the car.

Is this easily doable as in, would it impact his Insurance, Annual Safety Checks etc? Any impact on selling the car?

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Is this easily doable as in, would it impact his Insurance, Annual Safety Checks etc? Any impact on selling the car?

No impact, unless he goes from Silver to bright Lambo Orange or Green Slimy Snake (like the Dodge Viper), in which case he will get a lot of attention & maybe increased inaurance rates.

It costs @ $2k (average). I knew a paint shop in Baltimore. He was really good.

[amitoj]

If I had a car that needed a fresh paint all over, I'd consider rubber-wrap:
www.rubber-wrap.com

If average cost of painting is 2K, then rubber wrap is quite a cheap alternative at 500 per car!

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by aah78

No impact, unless he goes from Silver to bright Lambo Orange or Green Slimy Snake (like the Dodge Viper), in which case he will get a lot of attention & maybe increased inaurance rates.

It costs @ $2k (average). I knew a paint shop in Baltimore. He was really good.

Thanks, this helps

Originally Posted by amitoj

If I had a car that needed a fresh paint all over, I'd consider rubber-wrap:
www.rubber-wrap.com

If average cost of painting is 2K, then rubber wrap is quite a cheap alternative at 500 per car!

This looks like Pasti-Dip, i do feel like playing with it for monograms & Alloys amongst other things this summer, hopefully it should be fun

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

This looks like Pasti-Dip, i do feel like playing with it for monograms & Alloys amongst other things this summer, hopefully it should be fun

I recently used plasti-dip to spray in the wheel wells of g35 to reduce a little bit of road noise since i have crappy Kumho tires that are too loud on freeways.

I had low expectations of what it will do, so i was surprised and satisfied by the amount of road noise it reduced. $6 well spent i say.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by amitoj

If I had a car that needed a fresh paint all over, I'd consider rubber-wrap:
www.rubber-wrap.com

If average cost of painting is 2K, then rubber wrap is quite a cheap alternative at 500 per car!

Ok Here is Something I saw online, Interested?

Originally Posted by chevelle

I recently used plasti-dip to spray in the wheel wells of g35 to reduce a little bit of road noise since i have crappy Kumho tires that are too loud on freeways.

I had low expectations of what it will do, so i was surprised and satisfied by the amount of road noise it reduced. $6 well spent i say.

Interesting Application, since I am always listening to my ICE Road noise rarely bothers me