| Author | Message | ||
     Gentleman_jon |
Now that I have been maintaining my own motorcycle for four years or so, I realized that I have been possibly neglecting my car. I recently bought a new old one, a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the High Output V8, with 20,000 miles on it. I was thinking about upgrading a few things, and I wonder if anyone has any suggestions, for the following. 1. Brake pads. Are there any better kinds than stock. I have seen ads for low dust ceramic pads. Are they any good? 2. K+N and others offer air intake tubes with special air filters, that claim to ad 13 horsepower. I wonder if they will increase fuel economy at normal highway cruising speed. 3. I switched over to synthetic oil. Make any sense? 4. Fuel. The owners manual says the car will run fine on 87, but they recommend high test, but they don't say why. Any real advantages to using the expensive stuff, like greater mileage? Thanks guys. | ||
| Djkaplan |
1. I've never used ceramic pads. I bet they are a lot more expensive than the $16 pads I use from AutoZone on my GMC pick-up. Everytime I see the dust they make, I smile and say 'sixteen dollars'. 2. It probably needs a new airfilter and I doubt that K&N kit is going to make the mileage worse, so go ahead and get one... you know you want it anyway. 3. As long as you're not running that Mobil 1 V-twin oil for aircooled bikes that costs $8 a quart... sure, it makes sense... but I use the regular ol' Castrol R in my pick-up and I have over 300,000 miles with no problems. 4. That engine has an ignition system that automatically changes the advance curve for grades of fuel. But even if using premium did increase the mileage, would it offset the higher cost of premium? Why don't you find out yourself whether the change in mileage justifies the higher cost and tell us what the deal is? What are you going to call this thing... Big Blackie? | ||
| Djkaplan |
I don't believe running 87 would hurt the longevity of the engine, Jon. It wouldn't make as much power with lower octane... that in itself would probably make the engine last longer, if anything. | ||
| Swampy |
Don't forget the transmission fluid, and transfercase fluid. If you check your owners manual it will recommend 30,000 mile change intervals on the transmission. The transfercase uses less than two quarts of Dexron ATF and is easier than changing engine oil. While you are at it your differential fluids need changing also. Also your lifetime antifreeze needs replacement sometime around 5 years or sooner. Changing those fluids as recommended will give you many trouble free miles. I have a 2002 Girls Jeep (Liberty) with 175,000 miles on it. (At this point I change out the alternator, starter and water pump, just to prevent problems from occuring) | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Good points Swamp. Actually, I have discovered an honest transmission shop, TJ's in Riverhead, and I already had them install a transmission cooler because I tow a small trailer. I am going to have them do my 30000 mile tranny service, because they can spot problems earlier than my local oil changer. | ||
| New12r |
Dont waste your money on the High test gas unless you are getting detonation. The other points are valid. Especially the coolant, long life means more$$$ DO NOT MIX the green with the long life!! I personally only use dealer pads, every other pad that I have used makes noise and wear prematurely. Remember, dust rinses off, squeals dont. Oh, and I have been a Auto Tech for 13+ years. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Some people don't like the K&N filter and claim that it lets dirt into the engine. Most likely that's because of poor maintenance , ie not cleaning and oiling the filter. I don't believe the K&N filters well without oil. So if you're diligent about maintenance and will keep the K&N cleaned and oiled then go for it. If you're more likely to forget to check the filter then just stick to the paper filter. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Also, if you're going to use synthetic oil spend the extra few bucks for a better filter. No sense spending money on the better, longer-lasting oil and spin on a cheap filter. Better filters last longer and filter better so you can get the full use of your synthetic oil. I used Mobil 1 full Synthetic oil and Mobil 1 filters in my Chevy for 5 yrs. I'd go 5000miles between changes and the oil always looked damn-near fresh when I changed it. | ||
| Etennuly |
UsedulyX, is that you? I have been an auto/truck tech for 36 years and I agree with all that you stated. I have done fuel mileage studies for 18 months with my Denali. I don't have the numbers here with me, but I run the cheaper stuff with no pinging issues. I have run into a situation a few times where a certain gas station's regular grade fuel will actually make my mileage drop 1.5 mpg given the same driving scenarios. And at other times it will gain about 1.5 mpg by running a premium grade. Given that, it is very comparable to the way they affect the engine in the bikes. You just have to search out a regular grade fuel that is consistent. About every other month or so I run a tank of one of the brand name premium fuels through it to take advantage of the gum cutting, injector cleaning additives. The price differential from regular to premium does not balance out based on the amount of fuel used. It is less expensive to use the regular grade. I run Mobil 1 in all of my vehicles after break in, except my Uly. The HD oil is just quieter running and the oil doesn't go away between changes. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
If you want a pad upgrade, try EBC green if they're available. Don't bother going higher up the ladder than that as you'll not notice the difference anywhere except your wallet. |
