Transmission ATF Oil - AMSOIL

As I have decided to stop sending my car to Toyota Service Center, I had the liberty to choose after market products particularly for engine and transmission oil. My transmission was dued for change, as it had ran for more than 50,000km since the last change.

I did some research and eventually bumped into AMSOIL products. The thing that caught my attention about this company is that they offer products with extended oil change. Their meaning of extended, is really extended. According to their product description, their Universal ATF can last up to 80,000km under servere service.

I felt a car transmission system is a very important component. If it fails, it is going to be very sticky and costly. Therefore I rather not compromise on the choice of transmission oil to use. AMSOIL Universal ATF seemed a good choice, after reading all the reviews and feedback from road users. Furthermore AMSOIL products is very reasonably priced, and since it last twice longer than Toyota's ATF oil, I decided to give it a shot. Apart from its distinct durability, it can resist oxidation at high temperature. Very suitable for Malaysia's driving condition.

I drained the oil by removing the oil sump and also the filter. Fortunately I purchased 5 bottles (each bottle contains 1 litre), because after draining, it required about 4.5 litres. During the oil change, I noticed there were a lot of metal wear collected at the oil sump. I suppose it was considered as normal metal wear occured over the past 180,000km of driving. I would expect with AMSOIL ATF oil, it should deliver better protection against wear. Though it performs better, I was advised to go for next oil change after 40,000km as this changed doesn't replaced the old oil fully yet. It probably replaced about 60% at the most. I will need to go for next 2 oil changes to be sure that it has 90% or more of AMSOIL ATF in my car's transmission.

After this oil change, I noticed the gear changing especially at high speed was much smoother. Even when it drops down one gear shift for acceleration or climbing, the shift down drag was very minimal. However I still noticed the harsh noise when running on 1st gear. Not sure whether the harsh noise was coming from my engine running at higher RPM or it was from the wear of my transmission at 1st gear. I should be able to confirm this when I go for next engine oil change. There is possibility that it came from my engine, as it had already ran for about 11,000km since last oil change.

Anyway there shouldn't be any compatibility issue, as AMSOIL claimed that they comply to Toyota type IV and also read a number of Toyota owners using AMSOIL ATF gave good reviews. However there was one owner who had problems with AMSOIL ATF. It was then later discovered it wasn't because of oil incompatibility, the problem was due to the old oil was not flushed properly, therefore there was diluted mixed and plus the contaminants that came along with the old oil.

I can only confirm the effectiveness of AMSOIL ATF at the next oil change (that would probably be next year), upon examining the oil sump. After reading all the reviews and good things about AMSOIL being a reputable motor oil company, I believe I won't be dissapointed with this product.

Tyres - Michelin

Tyre is one of the most important component of a car. All road users should not compromised on its tyres. I learned this through some bad experiences, it almost cost me dearly. Fortunately I am still alive and no serious damages happened.

There are many brands of tyre in the market. It seemed all tyre brands claim they have good handling and can last at high mileage. My criteria is pretty basic as I want something that is cheap to run and performs satisfactory on the road like good handling, wet traction, quiet ride & max life thread.

My Vios comes with Goodyear NCT5 by default, its thread life is pretty average about 40,000km. And the ride becomes loud when the tyres aged towards the end of life. I always wanted to try Michelin Tyres but they are always priced at premium price. Then one day, I bumped into one tyre workshop who kept old stock of Michelin Vivacy 185-55-R15. They sold me the tyres for RM800 for all 4 pcs, I thought it was pretty good deal, as I remembered Michelin tyres are sold at minimum RM250 per pc. I was quite happy with the purchase, and could feel the immediate difference. The ride was good and quiet. Even the cornering is better though I still experienced little oversteer during cornering.

Eventually the tyres last me up to 80,000km at the front, but I stretched it to 90,000km thinking that it was still useable. Fortunately nothing untoward happened, as the wear was quite bad at the inner side of the tyre and it wasn't that visible until it was steered outwardly. The rear ones were fine till 100,000km, but it was a bit loud towards the end of life. The thread was still ok though. Anyway in order to maintain good ride, I was advised to replaced them after 80,000km.

I visited the same shop, hoping that they have the exact size for my car as I already knew ahead of time that Michelin already discontinued the Vivacy series. My doubt was confirmed... they didn't have the exact size, not even from their popular Energy series. Fortunately they have one that is close to my tyre size that is the new Pilot Preceda that comes with 195-50-R15. This model is catered for sports handling, though it didn't appeal much to me, I didn't mind as its cost is similar to the previous Vivacy and if it is as durable, then why not. To me I am seeking more on value for money. For the Goodyear NCT5, I am paying about RM1.25 for every 100km, where as for this new Pilot Preceda, I am paying about RM1.05, so there is a lot of savings if I worked it to 1 year of driving.

According to the chart, it does seemed that Pilot Preceda (PP2) performs well in all conditions. I placed high criteria for thread life and quiet ride, this really fits to my requirements. The ride is good and I noticed it performs much better in cornering compared to the Vivacy. I hardly experienced oversteer, probably due to its wider size.

I hope this PP2 is as durable as Vivacy series. You have to come back again in 2 years time to hear from me again. Haha... probably by then Michelin will have another new series. Anyway Michelin brand is quite reliable and known for good ride. They have their propietary technology in tyre construction and material that ensure extended thread life. I can confirm this as I have been using Vivacy for 2 years, I would expect the same from this PP2.

Iridium Spark Plugs

I decided to go for NGK Iridium plugs, as it was quite easy to source therefore reduce the chances of being ripped off by sellers who tend to markup with high margin for very niche products. Well yes Iridium plugs is pretty niche but it is gaining popularity in Malaysia. There are 2 Japanese brands that are offering this kind of plugs.

The only difference with Standard plugs is that Iridium plugs uses Iridium material for its center electrode. Iridium material has higher electrical conductivity therefore creates stronger spark generation. Though the Iridium plugs have smaller electrode tip compare to its predecessor Platinum plugs, it has sufficient hardness to withstand the combustion and it is suppose to last longer than Standard plugs.

The NGK Iridium's tip diameter is 0.6mm whereas Denso Iridium's is with 0.4mm. There shouldn't be much difference in performance. However I reckon 0.6mm tip is more durable than 0.4mm, that was the reason why I decided on NGK. According to feedback in some site, the NGK Iridium can last up to 80,000km. Though the cost is about 4 times of standard plugs, I felt it worth the money as it should burn the fuel more efficiently and maintain at good performance level throughout the 80,000km life.

I installed BKR5IEX-11, the No 5 is the recommended heat range for Vios and 11 is the recommended 1.1mm spark gap. I am now monitoring the fuel efficiency. As my fuel consumption is averagely at 15km/l, I don't expect this plug to improve much on fuel efficiency in my daily driving, perhaps the significant savings can be experienced in long distance driving.

However I noticed drastic improvement is smoothness in acceleration. Of course it has to be, as my standard plug had ran for more than 55,000km when it was replaced. The drastic improvement in acceleration was kind of expected.

What spark plugs to use?

There are quite a number of performance spark plugs in the market that seek to improve performance by its ability to generate unique and stronger sparks. Every spark plugs manufacturers seemed to have their own explaination of their product superiority against other brands. It was really hard to differentiate. To ensure that I made the right choice, I decided to do some research to understand the basic functions of spark plugs.

Interestingly after much research, I've learned that spark plugs doesn't just ignite the air/fuel mixture, it also functions as a heat remover. Yes I said it right, spark plugs have dual function. It works as a heat exchanger by extracting heat generated from the combustion chamber and transfer it to the engine cooling system.

Though its function is to remove heat, it has to retain sufficient heat to prevent fouling. It requires minimum 500 degrees C to perform self cleaning, to discharge carbon deposit at the tip. The picture on the right are examples of dry and wet fouling.

If you push your engine often and frequently touches the redline at 6,000RPM, your engine will be working at high temperature most of the time. This may result overheating at the insulator tip. The plug on the left shows the glazed appearance that is resulted from deposits accumulated on the insulator tip melted at high temperature.

To ensure that the spark plugs function optimally, the temperature at the end of the plug's firing end must be kept low enough to prevent pre-ignition and high enough to prevent fouling, therefore selecting the right heat range plug is very important. There are some who advise owners to install higher heat range (cold plugs), to gain better performance at high speed.

Using a higher than recommended heat range, may result more incidents of fouling that forms carbon deposit that may impedes ignitability. It is recommended to use the correct heat range, unless you run at high speed most of the time, example racing. Since I don't race, I decided to stick with the recommended heat range.

Another popular trend is regap to smaller spark gap. Though it may improve performance by its bigger spark generated, it shortens the life of the plugs. Furthermore it may generate unnecessary combustion heat, therefore reduces compression ratio. Generally the higher the incoming air and engine temperature the lower the compression ratio becomes. Lower compression ratio will compromise fuel efficiency. An0ther disadvantage of setting smaller spark gap is that it lowers ignitability limits, (as illustrated on the left) as it requires richer air/fuel mixture to achieve combustion. Using larger gap allows leaner fuel combustion.

Vios uses Toyota's 1NZ-FE engines. I did a search on all Toyota models that uses 1NZ-FE engines around the world such as Echo, Vitz and Yaris, and noticed similarities in spark gap settings. Countries that are located at Northern & Southern Hemispheres use 0.8mm gap. However tropical countries like Malaysia and Indonesia use 1.1mm gap setting.

Generally in my opinion, as a normal road user I only require transportation that gets me to my desired destination safely and economically. Just to get addition 1% in horsepower doesn't really excite me, especially if I have to compromise fuel efficiency and higher maintenance cost. Of course I will happily welcome any idea that can help improves my car's performance, but the benefits must favour towards fuel efficiency and lower maintenance cost rather than higher performance.

In conclusion, I will choose spark plugs that operates at the right heat range (hot plugs) and at 1.1mm gap setting.

Now that I know what to look for in a spark plug, the next step is to decide which brand would best match my driving style and low maintenance cost.

I shall post my decision in my next posting....

EPS Fuel Saver

As petrol price increased to RM1.62 in 2005, along the increased in toll rates, it didn't take long to feel the impact on these increases on my pocket. At that time my car was fetching about averagely 12.5km/l in fuel consumption, which was fairly efficient. And RM50 was usually enough to last me up to 500km which can easily cover up to 4 to 5 days of travelling.

I knew petrol price would continue to rise due to the prolonged oil crisis issue, I reckon it was wise to seek out for devices that can help improve my car's fuel efficiency. While pursuing this task, I had to be look for something that doesn't require much alteration to my car, as I didn't want to void the warranty.

It didn't take me long to source for one, as many stores were displaying their fuel saving products as it was a hot topic during that time. ACE Hardware in Mid-Valley was displaying their fuel saver product at their store entrance. The product cost RM238 and it is supposed to be mounted onto a fuel line tube and no further maintenance required. It sounds really good and simple.

The product had good review by NST reporter. I thought it should work for my car, as this product was tested on many popular models that runs on fuel injection. According to the test it can improve averagely by 15% of fuel savings. I reasoned in my mind that if I can reap half the benefit, I would be able to recover the cost within a year's time. I purchased it.

After I installed it at the fuel line, I noticed my idle engine speed increased by about 500 to 700 rpm. I had to recalibrate the throttle in order to re-adjust the idle speed to the recommended speed. The improvements enable me to run additional 40km per full tank, that makes out a 8% increased in fuel efficiency. I was satisfied with the result.

The thing that baffles me is that if this works, then why didn't OEM car makers incorporate this devices into their cars? Well I don't really have the answer at the moment. However I suspect that since there is no incentives for OEM manufacturers to install such device therefore excluding this device won't harm their profits and sales revenue.

Anyway if you wish to learn how this product works, you may visit http://www.ep-systems.co.uk/fs/fsfaq.htm

Nanotech - Fuel Additives

One of the early things that I did that I felt would not compromise on my car's warranty was to add fuel additives using Nanotech. It is an additive that breaksdown hydrocarbon molecules into smaller clusters, as illustrated in diagram below, therefore enable more complete combustion.

I noticed after I started using Nanotech, my engine runs smoother. The improvement was very obvious, because I didn't notice deterioration of fuel efficiency though my engine mileage was near for next oil change. Without this additive, I would experience drop in fuel efficiencies at 8,000km onwards since last synthetic engine oil change.

However when I started this treatment, it feels like running on new engine oil though at 8,000km since last oil change. I was getting additional 40km per full tank. Averagely I got about 660km per full tank. This was enormous improvement, using original spark plugs and Toyota Synthetic Engine Oil.

The only downside is that I have to endure the hassle of adding 10 ml of additives for each full tank fill. But I soon got used to it, and I didn't mind the trouble as its benefits outweight the extra work. After experiencing the improvements, I decided to stretch my engine oil change for additional 3,000 to 5,000km. I reckon that with this Nanotech, my engine combustion would be much cleaner thus extend the engine oil life (due to lower oxidation).

Just to make sure that the engine oil retains its lubrication properties, I also add about 100ml of Tufoil Engine Treatment for better lubrication. Problem with this treatment oil is that its effect last up to about 5,000km, therefore I only add Tufoil after the engine run on new oil change for 10,000km. Well my main objective is to extend the engine oil life so I save on maintenance.

I don't think this is best solution, as it would be better to use a good engine oil that can maintain the same lubrication properties for up to 15,000km and beyond. Unfortunately I was still sending my car to UMW Service Center for oil change, therefore do not have the liberty to choose other engine oil brands. The practical method to extend engine oil life was to rely on additives and oil treatments.

READ THIS FIRST - Why this Blog?

Well the idea of starting this blog begun when my air conditioning system failed in my 4 plus year old Vios 2003. It had been working fine for the past 180,000km, until that day. I knew it was not going to be cheap if I send my car to UMW (Toyota Service Center) because I remembering them quoting me about RM755 just for a regular aircond service, which I didn't agree to pay. I figured at that time, the cost of replacing a failed parts won't cost that much anyway, therefore I opted not to service my car's air conditioning system.


As I had to travel to Penang the next day, I needed to quickly go to a workshop that will attend to my aircond problem immediately. It was a hassle to go back to UMW Service Centre because they require owner to make appointments before they can attend to the problem. As a result, I randomly drove to a workshop and fortunately met with a mechanic that had worked on Toyota cars (was formerly working as air-conditioning service contractor for Toyota Service Centers). To cut the long story short, the replacement part, cost me about RM630, and the mechanic also took time to explain how Toyota Service Center came out with the recommended service intervals. It was through this interaction that I concluded Toyota's recommended air-cond service interval does not necessarily guarantee longer life. It only meant more revenue for Toyota.


Lets work out a scenario to examine how much money Toyota Service Center makes. Say for example, Toyota rolled out about 20k units of Vios a year, so that will amount to 60k units in 3 years. Each new vehicle is dished out with 3 years warranty (or 100,000km), and that leads to about 10 basic maintenance services for every 10,000km and 2 major maintenance for every 40,000km that must be carried out exclusively in Toyota Service Center in order to maintain warranty validity. Assuming each customer pays about RM300 for basic maintenance (Synthetic Oil) and RM400 for major maintenance (replace spark plugs, ATF oil, Air Filter and etc), its total regular maintenance expenditure would amount to about RM4,000 in 3 years. From this recommended service interval, Toyota Service Center will carve a business potential of RM80 million in maintenance revenue annually just from one single model, Vios. Thats a lot of money. Imagine what kind of revenue that they rake in, when they set similar service intervals for air-cond service.


I've been sending my Vios to Toyota Service Center for regular maintenance for the past 4 years. My thoughts to remain loyal changed when I had to part ways with some of my savings to replace a faulty air-cond bearing and electrical magnet, and it further enforced my decision of switching upon learning how much money the Service Center makes from Toyota owners. I felt it was time to consider alternatives.


This is the main purpose that I started this blog, to share my experiences in exploring alternatives. My objective is to find alternate ways to lower maintenance cost of my Vios and gain a few hundreds of ringgits in savings through more efficient way of running my car. As I explored in many auto forum sites and blogs, I learned couple of ways to achieve this goal. As I go along, I will compile these information in this blog. You can access and decide what you want to do with your car. Hopefully you will find this blog useful to you. If you have questions, pls feel free to post in.