How often you change your automobile oil? Other car questions?

Do you mean the frame less Radius blades from Michelin?

I change my oil every 10K to 12K. 1995 Toyota T-100 pickup with the

If you follow drag racing, you know that the oil is changed, along with the entire engine torn down after every run in the fuel classes. Even then it's many times not enough because that's just the amount of parts attrition that nitro motors experience. The nitromethane dilutes the oil so it's pretty much shot even after two minutes of running.

Most of my parts purchases are from CarQuest and I've had good luck. I buy parts such as plugs and oil filters from my local Toyota dealer, believe it or not. They're very competitive on parts.

No, the ones I was thinking of were just standard looking wiper blades with the Michelin name on them. Could see it from inside the truck, that's the only reason I noticed :)

nate

I get a trade magazine called "Motor" magazine. It's the same people who sell the Motor Car Repair books and other services. It's aimed at shop owners and is a very good magazine. But.... they have ads for companies that sell wiper blades and the ads are aimed at the auto repair shops who sell them, not at the customers who buy them, and the point of the ads is that the shops/stores can make a much higher profit by up selling to the "premium" blade. I think there is a benefit to winter blades but most likely the old fashioned winter blades are just as good as the IKON ones for a lot less money. As to blade life, nothing I've ever tried seems to last more then a year before it starts to smear and streak and/or chatter.

Yes it is. Sorta. If you totally maintain your car-appliance, you'll end up with something like what I have - an 18 year old car that runs minty, but is still 18 years old and is now reaching what I call "that point."

By "that point" I mean stuff like - it doesn't have keyless entry - that really didn't exist 18 years ago. The AC is long since busted, and good luck finding R12. If I liked airbags, I'd be SOL because it doesn't have any. It only has a three speed auto. It doesn't have any real body rust, but the rockers underneath are starting to have that "old car" look to them. Stuff like that. It has 245,000km on it and it's going to be my winter car until dies, but I'm kinda worried that it'll either last another 10 years before it gets too ugly to drive.

How long do you want to keep the car? Forever? If so, you cannot over maintain it. At one point I was bleeding the brakes at every oil change on my 2001 Trans Am. Why? Because I wanted it to last forever. I still do, but I realized that was overkill.

When in doubt, follow the manual. If you want to keep the car for a long time, follow the severe service schedule. Most people barely follow the regular service schedule, so if you keep to the severe service one, you'll likely tire of the car long before it's worn out.

Ray