Selecting a good engine oil for your car?

Oil selection?!! Headache!

Selecting and using the right engine oil for your car is as important as eating healthy food. Using a good quality oil will not only make your car drive and feel good but it also keeps the engine healthy for a million miles and more.

The Recommended Method

This one is really simple and when in doubt follow the owner's manual. Your car's owners manual has the necessary information to help you select the correct oil for your car, it will tell you what viscosity and what grade of motor oil to choose. Just follow that and that works for most if not all.

The "Tender Loving Caring" Method

If you do not want to go by what your manufacturer words and is in a mood to do some reading and researching you might want to go this way. You are an enthusiast after all isn't it? Let me warn you that if you are not keeping track its easy to get derailed and confused, but there is a tool with which you can pull some sense out of this!

The Tool

Relative Performance Tool

Lubrizol Relative Oil Specification Comparison Spider Chart that literally compares relative performance among the different oil specifications. But be sure to read the disclaimer though "The performance charts are not a literal translation of a performance specification and should not be used as a replacement for evaluating engine oil performance in accordance with the relevant vehicle manufacturer’s requirements". But still this chart gives a overall fair idea regarding performance of various engine oil standards, which is very useful!

For example:
Mobil1 0W40 meets or exceeds the latest API SN (supersedes API SM) certification but it also has MB229.5 approval from Daimler among other OEM approvals. Now if you look up the oil specification of API SN standard in Lubrizol chart you can see that API SN standard is mostly about reducing oxidation thickening and piston deposits rather than offering good wear protection which we as an enthusiast expect from an oil!

Now observe the MB229.5 specification, this standard offers a lot more in terms of wear protection and other areas than the API SN standard. This means that MB229.5 is a standard that is vastly superior to API SN or SM and oils meeting this standard will offer more in terms of wear control, sludge prevention, reduced oxidation thickening, piston deposits and fuel economy when compared to an oil meeting only API standards.

API SN




API SN vs MB229.5



The owners manual of your Swift recommends that you use engine oil meeting the quality classification of API SG, SH, SJ, SL or SM (All of these has been superseded by API SN but old grades are available in the market). When you are getting the oil changed if you decide to use a good oil that complies with the most recent API quality requirement, like SN or SM, the engine will do fine as it offers basic protection as mandated by that quality standard. What you should be aware of is that oils with the obsolete API approvals are still made and sold in the market, and the manufacturer says its OK to use some of them (SG, SH, SJ) so if you use these obsolete standard oils you should be aware that these may not even provide as little protection as SM or SN oil will because the older standard calls for lower requisites, see the image below. But if you decide to use an oil that qualifies the API standards alongwith the more stringent OEM approvals your engine should do a lot better offering excellent and consistent performance.


Total Base Number (TBN)

If you have access to the technical data sheet of the oil you want to buy, note down the Total Base Number (TBN) of the oil if provided in the spec sheet. The TBN value is the numerical representation of oil's ability to resist the acids formed in the engine as a byproduct of combustion process. Higher the TBN stronger the Base (or Alkaline) value of the oil which helps resist the acids making the oil remain effective for longer prolonging the drain interval.

PS: I would still recommend sticking with manufacturer's oil change interval if you do not have access to Used Oil Analysis service to make an informed decision otherwise.

Fog Lamp Bulb Upgrade - H8 to H11

Physically H11 and H8 bulbs are identical to each other in dimensions and filament placement. But H11 is brighter with a draw of 55W and the H8 is lower in brightness with a draw of only 35W. H11 is used as fog lamp bulbs and in some cars also as low beam headlight bulbs whereas the H8 is used only as foglight bulbs in automobiles. The light output of 12V H11 and 12V H8 bulbs are typically 1350 and 800 lumens respectively.

If you wish to put H11 bulbs in a light housing meant only for H8 bulbs you can but you may have to trim the center locating tab of the H11 a little, because it is wider by a few millimeters compared to the H8's.

In the Swift it is very easy to modify the fog lamp housing to take the brighter H11 bulb. It takes less than 10 minutes to do each lamp with care. It is better to modify the housing once rather than trim the center tab of the H11 bulb whenever you need to replace a bulb.

H8 bulb on the left and H11 bulb on the right. H8 is Halonix which came as OE and H11 is Philips.



H8 bulb in holder, it fits well.





H11 bulb in holder. Center tab doesn't go in and the bulb does not sit flush.






Trim the holder/housing at the location as shown below to make H11 bulbs fit.





Results
There is a considerable improvement in light output as expected to the stock H8 bulbs. Stock H8 bulbs were weak and didn't put out any useful illumination and now with H11 bulbs the lamps do make their presence known and illuminates to the sides and to the front a bit better. For a bit more output choose the expensive variants of H11 like Osram Night breaker Plus and Philips Xtreme Vision.
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Cleaning an Oiled Cotton Airfilter

Today I will show you how to clean an oiled cotton performance air filter. I will be using my BMC OTA as an example here, its an oiled cotton filter like a K&N or a Green Cotton.

Things you need:-

1. A Screw driver to remove the tiny Philips screws. 
2. Filter cleaning and Oiling Kit. You don't need brand specific kit as long as the kit is for an oiled cotton filter it should work! I used K&N filter re-oiling kit. 
3. News paper to keep the work area clean. 

The dirt inside!



Cleaning the Filter
Undo the 4 small screws holding the air inlet side cap onto the air box body and pull it apart. Leave the Engine side cap on, no need to remove that. See there is no dirt on the inside surface of the filter and inside the case. Now you know that its filtering well!

Note: If your oiled cotton filter does not sit inside an enclosure like the BMC OTA you can skip this step and directly go to cleaning the filter.





I had some leftover Green Cotton filter cleaning solution with me, so i used that too.



I dumped the Green cotton solution in the partially filled bucket and sprayed K&N cleaning solution on the filter inside out. You don't see as much dirt in the filter now because I took this picture after a rinse. Sorry I forgot to take the pic before i did that.



Then I let the filter soak for 10 minutes then immersed it in the bucket couple of times. This is what the water in the bucket looked like after the second rinse. The cleaning solution did its job well.



Then rinse the filter in slow running tap water from the inside-out. It is important that you rinse the filter from the inside out. Inside out = Reverse of airflow direction. This is how the filter looks like now.



Oiling the Filter
After cleaning is done let the filter air dry for couple of hours or under the sun for a quicker result. Air drying under a fan will take few hours. After its completely dry you can start oiling it.

While oiling the filter take care not to flood each pleat, I used K&N filter oil. A little goes a long way.

Run the oiler from top to bottom (or vice versa) on each pleat adding drops of oil spaced out from each other. Let it stand for a while; say 30mins; and re-inspect the filter. Where you see gaps in the filtration media with no oil you apply a drop there. Repeat this until the filter is a uniform pink all across.

This is time consuming, but be slow and safe instead of over oiling it. Over oiled filter will coat you MAF in filter oil which will reduce its ability in taking an accurate reading of the air flowing into the engine.

Apply oil carefully, taking care not to put excessive amount.





Fill the gaps with drops...



...until its all pink all across and uniform.



Now its time to assemble the filter which is the reverse of dis-assembly. Take care to put this rubber gasket back into its groove on the sealing surface of the filter. this ensures that the air box stays air tight.



Now its time to refit the BMC OTA airbox back in the Swift. The engine is a 1200cc K12M series engine.



The air inlet duct is fixed in such a way that it gets air flow from the front and outside of the engine compartment when the car is in motion. There is an opening in the air dam for this purpose. The OBD Intake Air Temperature reading supports the theory with a lower IAT reading compared to stock.

Enkei OEM Alloy Wheels

March 13 2014

I decided to buy a set of new wheels for my car. I did not want a set of bling alloys or super expensive lightweight sports alloys, my requirement was a set of reliable, good for bad roads, and correctly fitting alloy wheels. Where else to look for such a wheel other than OEM?

My mid variant (VXI) Swift comes with 14 inch steel wheels, the top variant comes with 15 inch alloy wheels. I did not want to upsize to 15 inch wheels because :-

1. My current set of 14" Michelin XM2 tyres have more than 50% life left in them. 
2. I prefer to have a bit of sidewall for tackling bad roads. 
3. 14 inch OEM wheel+tyre combo is lighter than 15" OEM wheel+tyre combo and lower the weight better it is for performance and economy. 

Swift OEM alloy wheels are 15 inch, so that OEM option is ruled out, the next best option i saw was the alloy wheels of the Suzuki Ritz (aka Suzuki Splash in Europe and UK), these are 14 inchers and is a perfect size for my Swift! Perfect offset (50), perfect seating of center-bore on the hub spigot and 5.5" wheel width for the 185/70R14 Michelin XM2 tyres; and soon an order for a set of 4 was placed with the Suzuki dealer.

When the wheels arrived it was surprising to find ENKEI stamped on one of the spokes. Yes, these are made by Enkei for Suzuki! Enkei makes OEM wheels for many Japanese cars I'm glad that Maruti Suzuki India also sources their alloy wheels from Enkei. The paint finish on these wheels are top notch, the build seems robust and they're mostly function over form.

Enkei OEM Alloy Wheels









Update: March 20, 2014

I used to regret my decision to buy Michelin XM2 tyres for my Swift ever since because on these tyres the car didn't feel right during high speed driving. The car felt a little disconnected and the steering felt a little imprecise as speeds increased. My previous Suzuki had Bridgestone Potenza G3 and these were really really good (except for the very high road noise these tyres generated), and i used to kick myself for not buying Potenza G3 for my Swift. But all that changed after i upgraded my wheels.

The 185/70/14 Michelin XM2 were mounted on the stock 5" wide stock steelies, and I could see the sidewalls bulging a little as if the wheel width wasn't enough. The alloys wheels are 5.5" wide and on this the 185 section XM2 tyres fit better. Higher variant (ZXI) Swift comes with 185 section tyres from the factory and these are mounted on 5.5" wide wheels. No wonder.

I enjoyed my recent 700KM highway trip with these alloys installed, the Swift handled much better and there was no disconnected, imprecise or floating feeling. This is the first time that the car handled this good on Michelin XM2 and now I have started to like these tyres.

High Mounted Brake Light Pulser/Flasher Installation

Brake light pulser/flasher/attention module is a small circuit which when connected to the rear brake light pulses the brake light every time brake is applied for a few times before keeping it lit steady. This circuit is usually connected to the center high mounted brake light (or the third brake light) of the vehicle.

The pulsing light pulsing grabs the attention of the driver behind you and giving him that fraction of a second to react earlier and stop safer. I think its a worthwhile addition to your car for the little money it costs.

There are many available and I bought mine from Mr.BrakeSafe; it is compact, has the delay feature, comes with terminals for solder free connection and priced just about right. Buy a model with a delay feature, which means if you have to repetitively apply brake in traffic frequently (within 2 secs) the light would light up steady instead of pulsing. Installation is simple and as given below. Please click on the photos to enlarge them.

Mr.BrakeSafe - The PCB and details of what goes where





Posi-Tap Connector allows you to T into wires without cutting them



Open the hatch door and undo these two bolts to pull out the center high mounted stop lamp from outside. Do not lose the rubber gasket aka washer on the end of the studs coming out of the plastic. To remove the connector from the brake light press down on the area marked with a sharp object like a forceps and pull the connector out.





Cut the green wire and strip the insulation using a wire stripper (or very carefully using a pair of small scissors) and crimp the terminals on the wire. Make sure they are secured by pulling on the terminal. If it slides out you need to do it again. Use a crimping tool for best crimp, you can also use pliers if you know what you're doing.

Remember Yellow lead from the PCB goes to the light and the Red lead from the PCB goes to the vehicle harness. Posi-Tap the Black to Black. Once done secure using cable ties or similar





Once done push the brake light back into its cavity on the hatch door and tighten the two nuts, and that's it!



Wiring diagram and instructions from Mr.BrakeSafe



Demonstration

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Throttle Body Coolant Bypass - Suzuki Swift K12M

All it takes is some 30mins of your time with some elbow grease and coolant on your hands. Its a Zero Paisa modification; so nothing to complain about. An engine produces best output with colder air which is denser as there are oxygen molecules to burn!

Coolant passing through throttle body has benefits in regions with colder climate as it will prevent the butterfly from sticking due to freezing. In our tropical climate i see no reason why the TB needs to be warmed up as it doesn't help in performance and it doesn't get anywhere close to freezing here.

In our hot and humid climate this mod will not hurt the performance of the engine, an engine makes the most when it gets cold air. There is no Dyno report anywhere on the Internet stating that this mod made less power than stock, but there are Dyno reports which proves this mod did help make some power.

Eg: 1) http://www.ws6.com/mod-8.htm



2) http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3265
6BHP reported in the second link is marginal gain, but the small Suzuki engine will not give a 6 horse gain, but even if its nothing much a gain is a gain and this is a free mod.

Warning: Do this when the engine is cold! You don't want scalding hot coolant all over you!

Remove the air cleaner box from the car, it will give you better access to the coolant entry point on the throttle body



Using a pliers clamp down on the legs of the clip, securing the hose to the throttle body inlet, and move the clip back



The top coolant entry hose is removed from the throttle body. Remove it from main coolant pipe as well. Coolant exit hose remains. Remove the coolant exit hose from the throttle body.



Connect the coolant exit hose into the main coolant pipe from where you have removed the coolant entry pipe.



Throttle body is now bypassed from the coolant flow. You may choose to cover the coolant inlet nipples using silicone caps or something similar, but its not at all necessary.



I have noticed a slight difference in pulling power (torque) after this mod, i can feel that the car is pulling slightly sronger than before in off idle and midrange. I noticed this difference right after this was done itself, but I wanted to wait for a few days and confirm it before i post it.

With advanced ignition there was a slight pinging on very hot days, now surprisingly with no other mod done the engine doesn't ping under similar conditions. This one finding is enough for me to confirm that its good to have the throttle body bypassed!

Update 12th June 2013:

Maruti Suzuki themselves removed coolant circulation through the throttle body in the new petrol swifts rolling out of the factory from 2013.

Below is the picture of the throttle body of a colleague's May 2013 Maruti Swift VXI. There is no coolant circulated through the throttle body of this Swift and there is no T on the main coolant pipe to divert the coolant to TB and there is no return pipe for the coolant from the TB. The inlet and outlet on the TB remains.

2013 Maruti Suzuki Swift VXI throttle body with no coolant pipes

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Piston Skirt Coating

The set of pistons i bought for the 1.4 liter conversion of my Swift had some kind of friction reducing coating on the piston skirts. As per Maruti Suzuki all of their K series pistons has this friction reducing coating on the skirt to reduce friction. But are these coatings worth it? When the Swift's engine was disassembled I noticed that skirt coating on the old pistons which had done around 13500 kilometers has already worn off. So what is the purpose of this coating is it only to help during the break-in of the engine?

Piston with Coated Skirt

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Suzuki K Series Engines

Suzuki's new K Series engines replace the G series engine which till 2010 used to power the Swift in India. In India the previous generation (2005-11) Swift was sold with a 1.3 liter engine derived from the G13BB engine from the Maruti Esteem, but by around mid 2010 the famed G13BB engine got replaced with the smaller and efficient K12M engine. The newer engine even though being frugal and efficient didn't win the hearts of the enthusiasts like the older G13BB engine which had a lot of aftermarket support. But the K12M engine didn't fail to impress and it continues to deliver performance with efficiency in the market. The Indian car market moved on to 1.2 liter Petrol engines in sub 4 meter class cars to avail the excise benefit and all players in this segment has a hatchback offering with a 1.2 liter Petrol engine and among its peers the Suzuki K12M is one of the best 1.2 liter normally aspirated engines available in India and in power output figures comes in 2nd after the Honda 1.2 i-VTEC.

Highlights

• Low friction 
• DOHC Valve train with Variable Valve Timing (VVT) on the intake camshaft 
• Short skirt piston 
• Low friction bearings 
• Low weight and polymer intake manifold which reduces heat transfer to air 
• Lighter cylinder block 
• Stiff cast Aluminium oil pan 
• Silent chain camshaft timing 
• Reduced CO2 emission 
• High Power 
• High torque at low RPM

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