Changed from Castrol Syntec 5w50 to 10w30 a few days ago - (I figured the
5w50 might be a little thick, so after two oil changes, I went to the more
conventional 10w30 - I often suffer from "more is better" syndrome and
figured Texas+summer=50weight).
On the recommendation of a friend who said he went from 17 to 24 mpg in his
Suburban after using it, I added Prolong oil treatment when I did the
change. Replacing the 5w50 with 10w30 has something to do with it, I'm
sure, but my motor seemed to wrap quicker than ever before. I had 12,000
miles on it before I went to the 5w50, so I KNOW how it ran with Chrysler
10w30 oil in it - therefore I don't think it's just the weight of the oil I
used. The motor seemed to run with less effort than ever before.
I was looking through some race engine builder's websites the other day,
and a builder who offered specific advice on parts / maintenance items. He
had tested various engine oil treatments (no, I don't know exactly what
kinds of tests, but motors were dyno'ed for HP and checked for wear). His
findings were that Prolong was the ONLY treatment that was even promising -
more testing would be done. As for oil, he said he found Torco to be the
best, followed by Amsoil and other "dealer" oils. Most of the "run of the
mill" synthetics he tested were "good" - all were vastly superior to non
synthetic oils.
He also said he preferred Magnecor wires - solid silicone jackets - 200
winds per inch of a finer guage wire than other brands used (I ordered a
8.5 mm set for my truck two days ago from Straight Line Performance in
Michigan - my buddy got a set for his Intrepid too).
Changed my plugs (stock type Champion RC12LC4 - Champion number "436") -
gapped them wide at .045 and the truck seemed to run even better yet. With
28,000 hard, leadfoot miles on them, the old plugs looked beautiful -
gray/white electrodes with light tan insulators. One question - I've seen
it before, but never had it explained - what's the little "silvery" shiney
patch on each of the insulators? Does it relate to which way the plug is
facing? Each plug has the same size patch, but on different areas of the
insulator - just curious - thanks.
Hope the info was interesting for someone out there - it was to me.
Tate
97 reg cab V8 5spd 3.21
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