With my first TT event for 2010 coming up next weekend, I decided it was time to swap out all of the fluids in the car. That means engine, transmission, transfer case, rear differential, and coolant. Amsoil has been receiving much praise amongst the Evo community in the the recent past, and with many big runners using it I decided to give it a try.

For the engine I had always stuck with Mobil1 synthetic; 10W30 during normal events, and 10W40 during extremely hot events where the oil seems temps in the 100C range. This year I decided to give Amsoil 10W30 a try. Although we probably wont see such high temps in the spring to see if Amsoil will make a difference, it’s probably best to give it a try at an event where temps won’t be too extreme.

For the transmission I had previously stuck with Mitsubishi’s Diaqueen 75W85, and Diaqueen LSD Gear Oil for the Transfer Case and rear differential. As I’m not producing much more than stock power levels, I didn’t have much concern about extreme stress on the drivetrain, but rather was more concerned about the longevity. The shift from 4th to 5th gear had also started to develop a hesitation, what some would describe as a “grind”. I contacted Andy (aka apagan01 on EvolutionM) who is an Amsoil dealer with my concerns and he recommended that we try Amsoil MTG GL4 75W90 Heavy Gear Lube for the transmission, and Amsoil 75W90 Severe Gear Oil for the transfer case and rear differential.

Evo on jack stands

Once the car was reasonably levelled on jack stands, draining the fluid was pretty simple. The engine oil had been changed rather recently, and with the limited miles seen over the cold days I was glad to find that the color was still a nice brown. The transmission and transfer case however had not been changed since last spring. A considerable amount of metal shavings attached to the drain plugs confirmed that an annual fluid change should be done on a track car.

Next the car was placed in the safe hands of Champion Auto in Long Island City, NY for a front swaybar swap. Two years ago I upgraded my front swaybar to a Whiteline 26mm bar in an attempt to make the car more competitive in SCCA AS for Solo II. However although the bar seemed to help keep the car flatter on some sweeping corners and fast transitions on the road course, it does make rotating the car a little harder. As I will be competing in the NASA Time Trial series for 2010, in order to remain legal for TTB classification I’m required to revert to my stock front swaybar. Hopefully this will also help rotate the car better on the track. I’ll be looking forward to the outcome this weekend.