GTI Engine Oil Change

Oil changes are essential to keeping your car in peak performance. It should at least be done once a year to ensure that your car gets the most power and fuel efficiency it can have. It has been a year since Puyang has bought his 2012 VW Golf GTI, as revealed near the end of Season 2, and it was finally time for Puyang to do his first oil change on this car.
It was a straightforward process and we didn't run into any complications. We took this time to change the stock drain plug for a magnetic drain plug. If you have been a long follower of Machine Zealots, you would have noticed that we are very fond of magnetic drain plugs. It catches metal shavings, and every time you do your oil change, you can be sure you'll have lots of shavings to wipe off. I think all cars should come with a magnetic drain plug for your engine from the factory. If you don't yet have one for your car, make sure you get one.
Remember to lift the car up properly, and place axle stands in safe areas. Take the time to do things safely and properly. Hope this tutorial helps some of you, have fun!

Oil Changes all around

Last weekend, Puyang and I finished shooting a brand new episode where we'll be changing the engine oil and filter on the 2012 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Puyang's GTI has already been broken in, and he'll be showcasing his stock GTI on the autocross course by the end of this year. Hopefully.

Screen shot from the GTI Engine Oil Change episode!

In any case, I had to get my oil changed as well if I wanted the car to be in tip top shape for carving the pavement at the upcoming autocross events. Since the last oil change, I had installed a brand new magnetic drain bolt on my Subaru. I took the time to take some pictures of this drain bolt for you guys to see. I think it's worth investing in!

Look at all those metal shavings caught on the magnet!

This drain bolt had gotten a tiny bit rusty. Mod time.

Painted the drain bolt with an old touch-up brush from the 2010 Camaro. It has a nice lacquer finish.

If you don't already have a magnetic drain bolt, I would highly suggest buying one for whichever car you drive. Puyang also installed a magnetic drain bolt on his GTI, but you'll get to see that in the full episode.

In the next two weeks, we'll be extremely busy. The first weekend will be spent at an import car show, and the following weekend will be our first autocross event of the season. In preparations for the upcoming car show, I have been trying to sharpen my knowledge on using the Canon EOS 5D Mk. III.

I am also expecting a 77 mm circular polarizer lens filter in the mail. Hopefully it will get here in time for the car show!

In the meantime, hope you enjoy some of the test photos I took with the DSLR.