Things to do to keep my camaro well maintained?

[Hlogan220]

I know changing oil every other 3 or 4k is one..
and no excessive speeding to stress the engine,

Any other essential things to do?

[midnighter]

Hot box it.

[REDXIIIDave]

Originally Posted by Hlogan220

I know changing oil every other 3 or 4k is one..
and no excessive speeding to stress the engine,

Any other essential things to do?

Both are wrong. Change the oil when the DIC tells you to - with the proper oil, of course. Drive it like it wants to be driven. Always wash it yourself, PROPERLY (check out Junkman's videos).

[mastertypodemon]

Originally Posted by Hlogan220

I know changing oil every other 3 or 4k is one..
and no excessive speeding to stress the engine,

Any other essential things to do?

It's more like 10k, but like Red said, the DIC will tell you when. A good deal of the owners generally change it within the first couple of thousand though.

[Stealth6]

Originally Posted by Hlogan220

... and no excessive speeding to stress the engine,

LoL Now.... Seriously.

[LS3 SS]

Originally Posted by Hlogan220

I know changing oil every other 3 or 4k is one..
and no excessive speeding to stress the engine,

Any other essential things to do?

Driving it like a grandma is not going to maintain the engine. Changing the oil when you're supposed to, and not over-revving it, will prevent excessive wear and tear.

1. Don't abuse the drivetrain. Drive a manual (or auto if you have it) like it's supposed to be driven

2. Avoid potholes if you absolutely can. Save wear and tear on the suspension

3. Have a healthy balance of engine braking and conventional braking. It will save wear and tear on your brakes. Obviously don't engine brake in extremely high RPM's, it defeats the purpose of maintaining your driveline.

4. Keep your car clean. It's easier to spot body damage and see how your undercarriage/suspension/engine are holding up when it's not covering in dirt and dust.

[Hammer St. James]

I'm pretty anal about my pricey toys (car, bikes, guitars).

I try to keep my stuff in excellent condition. One way is to keep it clean; inside & out.

I don't eat, drink, or smoke in the car. I generously apply UV protectant on all non-fabric components of the interior.

Exterior: Hand wash with the 2 bucket method to minimize swirls and scratches. I polished and applied a polymer sealant with a DA; followed with multiple coats of fine carnauba wax. The thin, soft paint wears some protection and is easier to wash.

Mechanically, when a problem does arise, give it prompt attention.

A clean car is a happy car and speaks volumes of the pride that the owner has in saying, "That's right, b1tches, I roll in style!".

[camaro_RS]

Originally Posted by LS3 SS

not over-revving .

How do you know if you're "over-revving it"? Could you explain further, please?

[Rangore]

I do 5k-6k between oil changes. I drive mine daily. 10k seems high, and worries me to go that long.

I did find out the transmission fluid is 100k (sealed transmission)...but again...that scares me to go that long.

[bdrobLS3]

Originally Posted by camaro_RS

How do you know if you're "over-revving it"? Could you explain further, please?

red line on the tach depends on what you are doing there is a peak tourqe band and a peak HP band, daily driving requires knowledge of nierther of those things. keep it under 6 K but since I believe you said your's was an Automatic you dont need to worry about over reving unless you are in neutral or low on tranni fluid.

[ActNup NY]

I agree ! When I first bought my car a friend of mine who works on cars a lot told me every 3000 to change oil. I was wasting a lot of money on oil cause by the time I made 3000 I still had lot oil needed to be used up.

[camaro_RS]

Originally Posted by bdrobLS3

red line on the tach depends on what you are doing there is a peak tourqe band and a peak HP band, daily driving requires knowledge of nierther of those things. keep it under 6 K but since I believe you said your's was an Automatic you dont need to worry about over reving unless you are in neutral or low on tranni fluid.

Right on man thanks! Yep I'm an auto and I use it for my DD and have went redline maybe two or three times. Thanks for the clarification.

[mikeyroche]

I have 6300 km on my 2011 and have had 1 oil change and get my 2nd next week. I don't wait for whatever kms, doing it before 5 or 6k won't hurt, only beneficial in the long run

[ORANGE U NV]

Oil has changed drastically in the last 30 years, especially with synthetics. The old method of every 3K is way out dated. V8's back then only held 5 quarts, had case iron blocks/heads and where not built nearly as well as todays engines. There are lots of threads on oil changes and some have had thier used oil tested. GM's has invested a lot of $ in thier oil life monitoring system and all evidence is it work very well. It's not a simple light that comes on every 5K or something, it monitors all your driving and computes the oil's life.