How I made my oil-burning, pinging, clattering 3.8 purr like a kitten.
12-14-2012, 10:16 AM
#11
JK Super Freak
I honestly really like the 3.8 motor. It's pretty fun when paired to the 6 speed with short gearing.
My favorite tweaks:
- 5w30, sometimes topped off with 10w40. (for oil consumption)
- NGK GP copper/platinum plugs (for pinging)
- PCV catch can (for pinging)
- Tuning (87 Predator tune for me) (helped power and reduced pinging)
- Borla axle back exhaust
The combo of the tuner and axle back brought a lot of low end power.
For whatever reason, my motor has been bringing it's A-game recently. It's been running strong and snappy, and oil consumption is way way down - like almost nil. I haven't added oil in well over a month or two, and I'm totally stumped as to why things changed all of a sudden. But hey, I'll take it. It's currently sitting at just over 125K miles.
Last edited by yo_marc; 12-14-2012 at 10:19 AM.
12-14-2012, 10:19 AM
#12
JK Enthusiast
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Nice Work!! I have an 07 and started doing the exact same things (10w 30, and Mid Grade) just recently and have experienced the same rewarding results. Interested to see if the 10w40 is any better, but I'll probably wait til summer temps to give that a shot. Heres to us 3.8s!!! 
12-14-2012, 10:22 AM
#13
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I honestly really like the 3.8 motor. It's pretty fun when paired to the 6 speed with short gearing.
My favorite tweaks:
- 5w30, sometimes topped off with 10w40. (for oil consumption)
- NGK GP copper/platinum plugs (for pinging)
- PCV catch can (for pinging)
- Tuning (87 Predator tune for me) (helped power and reduced pinging)
- Borla axle back exhaust
The combo of the tuner and axle back brought a lot of low end power.
For whatever reason, my motor has been bringing it's A-game recently. It's been running strong and snappy, and oil consumption is way way down - like almost nil. I haven't added oil in well over a month or two, and I'm totally stumped as to why things changed all of a sudden. But hey, I'll take it. It's currently sitting at just over 125K miles.
Dang!!! 125k!!! There's hope for us yet!!! Love hearing all the success stories!
12-16-2012, 07:34 PM
#14
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12-17-2012, 04:20 AM
#16
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I honestly really like the 3.8 motor. It's pretty fun when paired to the 6 speed with short gearing.
My favorite tweaks:
- 5w30, sometimes topped off with 10w40. (for oil consumption)
- NGK GP copper/platinum plugs (for pinging)
- PCV catch can (for pinging)
- Tuning (87 Predator tune for me) (helped power and reduced pinging)
- Borla axle back exhaust
The combo of the tuner and axle back brought a lot of low end power.
For whatever reason, my motor has been bringing it's A-game recently. It's been running strong and snappy, and oil consumption is way way down - like almost nil. I haven't added oil in well over a month or two, and I'm totally stumped as to why things changed all of a sudden. But hey, I'll take it. It's currently sitting at just over 125K miles.
Quick question! What is a PCV catch can?
12-17-2012, 05:35 AM
#17
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Originally Posted by Scallywag
Quick question! What is a PCV catch can?
12-17-2012, 05:37 AM
#18
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12-29-2012, 04:41 PM
#19
JK Enthusiast
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2000 mile update
Hey Y'all,
I've now got 2000 miles since my initial fill with 10W-40. I pulled the dipstick today and I see the oil level is about 1/16" below the level of the mark on the dipstick. So it has used a small amount of oil over 2000 miles. With 5W-20 I would have had to add nearly 2 quarts by now.
Since the level is still well into the "safe' area on the dipstick I decided not to add any oil right now. I'm going to see if it will remain in the "safe" area until the oil minder light comes on to prompt an oil change. For me that is usually about 6000 miles between oil changes. At that time I'll measure how much oil I have to add to get the level back to the mark on the dipstick and post an update.
Happy New Year and stay safe.
I've now got 2000 miles since my initial fill with 10W-40. I pulled the dipstick today and I see the oil level is about 1/16" below the level of the mark on the dipstick. So it has used a small amount of oil over 2000 miles. With 5W-20 I would have had to add nearly 2 quarts by now.
Since the level is still well into the "safe' area on the dipstick I decided not to add any oil right now. I'm going to see if it will remain in the "safe" area until the oil minder light comes on to prompt an oil change. For me that is usually about 6000 miles between oil changes. At that time I'll measure how much oil I have to add to get the level back to the mark on the dipstick and post an update.
Happy New Year and stay safe.
Last edited by HillCountry_Cowboy; 12-29-2012 at 04:44 PM.
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