Dexos1 Gen2 better for non-DI app?

[nap]

The reliability increased due to market competition (from the Japanese manufacturers), not through EPA regulations. EPA has one single concern (emissions). If there were any regulations that contributed, they came from NHTSA not EPA.

 

[2dogs]

Yeah totally agree! I remember playing with chokes and springs, screws and linkage just to get the car running. No thanks!

 

[burla]

I do remember not long ago a member here posting two video's, one with the modern sparce additive oil that sounded like a knocking sewing machine, and one with a hearty oil loaded with tons of zddp and moly and that was butter smooth. A story that was repeated 30 times over with 30 different trucks and the same result. And even with video evidence many of the same people in this thread poopood the result. I don't really care about all of your post counts and the circle celebration you all have with each other, you are all invested in your own opinion well enough to ignore the most obvious posts. There is no use discussing it with certain members here, as they have incorrectly said there is no changing my mind, when the FACT is there is no changing yours. Even if I joined the PTA and was all sweet about it, ya'wll would post the same thing anyhow. Difference with a chevy 350 is you can correct it with a screw driver, now you need an advanced degree in auto mechanics to fix most anything.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: nap
The reliability increased due to market competition (from the Japanese manufacturers), not through EPA regulations. EPA has one single concern (emissions). If there were any regulations that contributed, they came from NHTSA not EPA.

Yes, that's all true, but I wasn't thanking the EPA for everything that went right in the world - not in the least. I'm saying that there isn't some giant conspiracy to give us cars that need to be replaced in 40,000 miles or something like that. Cars last longer, have more features, more power, and significantly lower emissions than at anytime in history. Just because I don't like most of the models out there or wish things hadn't changed so much doesn't change that fact. I loved my Town Car. That doesn't change the reality that my G37 has 1.3 fewer litres displacement and double the horsepower, and has been more reliable, and in general is a pleasure to work on. Nor does it change the fact that my old LTD guzzled oil to the point I had to carry quarts around as SOP.

burla: Again, it's not about convincing people, or post counts, or that there is some value in boutiques. Millions of motorists run around every day, following OEM viscosity recommendations, running current API oils, without a special high HTHS Rotella or a sump full of Red Line, and carry on every day, blissfully unaware, without their vehicles falling apart beneath them, driving vehicles that are still serviceable when they're sick of them and trade them in for a second life with someone else.

Just because we're a bunch of OCD nutcases here and obsess between brands of the exact same product tier and specification doesn't mean that we're really getting anything out of it, other than a bit of enjoyment in a hobby. At the very least we, generally speaking, can certainly read an oil bottle and OEM recommendation, so we're getting that out of it. In the rare cases where paying a little more obsessive attention pays, we can benefit from that, too. If some are very concerned with noise, great, have at it. If one is concerned with cost and availability, that's fine, too. If we can learn some kludges that benefit some vehicles where the specifications might be marginal (Hemi tick with API, Dodge EcoDiesel with C3 - I'm seeing a pattern here), that's fine, too. The vast majority of vehicles on the road, however, get by very fine without any exotic oils or a wilful decision to go out of spec to make them last.

With respect to the Chevy small block, I've been there and done that. I love the engine, but again, it's rose tinted glasses. I haven't had to pull a cam in over 25 years. In the years before that, I pulled several, and they were all on small block Chevies. It's an easy job, but I sure as heck don't miss it. If my G37 had a vintage small block Chevy, I'd have already replaced the spark plugs a few times and the camshaft once, and I'd probably be burning oil, and most importantly, it would be darn near worn out. Oh, and I'd have half the horsepower. Don't forget that serpentine belts are years ahead of the garbage that we tolerated back in those days from a maintenance standpoint. It's easy to say you need to be a certified tech to do most anything these days, but that's not entirely true. You may know how to grab a screwdriver and adjust a carb. Great. Think even thirty years ago. While you could, how many others could? Half the reason vehicles back then didn't make it so long was because people, generally speaking, aren't interested in doing maintenance, and with more maintenance intensive and less reliable vehicles, that was a recipe for disaster. You and I have no problem changing a set of plugs and wires, or doing a cap and rotor. The average person doesn't want to take the time for an oil change, much less do all that.

In the end, I'm not going to be convinced that the OEMs and others are out there conspiring to destroy longevity get me to buy vehicles more often. My ten year old G37 has more miles on it does my old F-150, and the latter has cost me significantly more money in repairs than the G37, and the same went for my old LTD, which was a money pit.