I decided to drain the factory fill early around 3,000 kms to help clear out any manufacturing contaminates and put in a high quality Signature Series ASM 0W-20 oil. I was also excited to have a look under the vehicle and see how difficult it will be to service in the future.
Update: AMSOIL has released a new oil specifically for hybrid engine applications which is API certified!
Continue reading Ford Maverick – First Oil ChangeIt was time to upgrade vehicles and I had been shopping around. The Ford Maverick with the hybrid engine checks most of the boxes for my use of a vehicle. I was very interested in the fuel economy numbers without going to a fully electric vehicle just yet. They are popular in Canada but I’m not ready to have to think about charging my vehicle – I can barely remember to plug in my phone at night.
Using the waste energy from braking and putting that into a battery system seems like a normal evolution for vehicle power plants. Why waste energy as heat if you can capture some of it to be used again – getting that last bit of energy out of the fuel. I much prefer a naturally aspirated engine over a turbo for my use – the electric generators act like the turbo when you stomp on the accelerator. I also love the mechanical simplification of everything being electric – water pump, AC compressor, fan, etc. No serpentine belts to change on this engine. The downside being a lot more computers and wires to run everything.
There are indeed disadvantages for towing, convenience/luxury – I miss my proximity unlock feature, unibody construction, FWD and the fact that this new-ish platform seems to have a few wrinkles to be worked out. I believe it is based on the Escape Hybrid platform – and isn’t completely new. I also appreciate that the transmission is very similar to the Toyota planetary gear CVT – not belt driven.
So far, so good. I personally prefer the more truck like appearance of the Maverick over the Hyundai Santa Cruz. It’s amazing to be able to reach over the side of the bed of a truck again to access contents. I think it was worth the wait for my order to be built.
Last month I went to my favorite gas station here in southern Ontario and found all 3 grades of gasoline had been labeled with “May Contain up to 10% Ethanol”. I used to be able to get pure gasoline in the Premium grade at this station. That made me a bit sad as I pumped fuel into my vehicle. I later read that at the start of the year the government had mandated ethanol in all grades of fuel.
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Most modern vehicles can handle that ethanol content and the fuel gets used up fast enough – I always seem to be filling my tank these days – that it doesn’t go stale or deteriorate too quickly. That may change for me though in the near future – stay tuned to more info about that!
Where ethanol really causes problems is in classic cars that don’t get daily driven and small engines which were never designed for alcohol content. Both categories often see more time in storage than use and suffer from stale fuel and incompatible materials.
Continue reading Fuel AdditivesThis year at the 2014 SEMA Show the Mustang took centre stage as it celebrated its 50th birthday. In conjunction with this AMSOIL has added a new viscosity to its Signature Series line specifically formulated for high-horsepower Ford Mustang engines requiring the Ford WSS-M2C931-C performance specification.
AMSOIL Signature Series 5W-50 Synthetic Motor Oil is fortified with a robust additive package, including top-quality detergents and dispersants to help prevent sludge deposits and keep engines clean. It withstands the stress of high horsepower and heat, resisting viscosity loss due to mechanical shear and maintaining protection in metal-to-metal contact regions for maximum engine life.
Like its Signature Series siblings, AMSOIL Signature Series 5W-50 excels in extreme temperatures. It resists thermal breakdown to maintain protection in high heat and it contains no wax, allowing it to remain fluid in the low temperatures for improved oil flow and protection at startup. Signature Series 5W-50 is designed for maximum efficiency. It exhibits an extremely low volatility rate to control oil consumption and emissions.
For more information on this new oil viscosity visit the details page on AMSOIL.com
The CBC posted their top eight ways to save on fuel as prices continue to climb at the pump.
I don’t agree with all of them.
I would move the behaviour items further up the list too. Stops and starts as well as speeding can really increase your fuel consumption.
Continue reading Save on Fuel
AMSOIL has released a revised line of end cap oil filter wrenches to cover almost all of the Ea Oil Filters for automotive and motorcycles.
All filters use a 3/8″ square socket drive to get into hard to reach locations.
Once the filter is hand tightened, only wrench-tighten 3/4 of a full turn or to the torque specification in your maintenance manual.
Continue reading for more info on the sizes available and which Ea oil filters they fit.
Continue reading New Oil Filter End Cap Wrenches
The AMSOIL diesel fuel additive line boasts several improvements with AMSOIL Diesel Injector Clean (ADF) and AMSOIL Diesel Injector Clean + Cold Flow (DFC) featuring new formulations. They are designed to clean both the tough-to-remove deposits surfacing in modern high-pressure common-rail (HPCR) diesel engines and traditional injector deposits.
The formulations of AMSOIL Diesel Cetane Boost (CCB) and AMSOIL Diesel Cold Flow (ACF) remain unchanged.
All four products feature bold new packaging.
Continue reading Updated Diesel Fuel Additives
In May of 2013 AMSOIL released a study of their Signature Series 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil tested against synthetic offerings from nine popular competitors by an independent, third party laboratory.
The competitors tested in the report are:
AMSOIL’s ATF products have been elevated to the Signature Series family, now known as Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) and Signature Series Fuel-Efficient Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATL). While formulations and pricing remain unchanged, the robust nature of these products was further proven in intense field testing allowing AMSOIL to introduce new application and service life recommendations. Field testing was conducted in Las Vegas taxi cabs. As you can imagine, Las Vegas cabs endure continuous stop-and-go conditions in extreme desert heat which makes it an excellent location to test these products.
Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic ATF and Fuel-Efficient Synthetic ATF offer the most benefits in applications where heavy towing, elevated temperatures and challenging terrain are common. As transmission sumps are shrinking these robust fluids offer piece of mind and the ability to extend service life in some applications.
I’m excited to see the addition of the Mitsubishi ATF J2 specification to the Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic ATF (ATL). This will directly apply to my 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander and is great to see an after market fluid for this application.
Continue reading AMSOIL Upgrades ATF Specifications
AMSOIL has released a new online application guide that can help you find the correct AMSOIL synthetic oil and related product information for your snowmobile. It covers Arctic Cat, Ski-Doo, Polaris and Yamaha models from today and back to the 1990′s.
Test out the AMSOIL Snowmobile Product Application Guide
Enter the year, make and model into the guide and it will provide you with following information, specific to your model.
Amsoil also provides and updates extensive application guides and cross reference tools for auto & light truck, motorcycle, ATV, marine and more.
These are great tools to help you to discover and research the fluids and specifications required for your equipment. As always though the main source of information should be your owners manual.
