If you have a Wal-Mart nearby, you can save on shipping charges and get a 5 quart bottle/can of Mobil 1 for around $20, according to a recent post....

 

wallyworld just opened another store around the corner from me. you know, those supercenters are freakin huge! ;-) i'll go check 'em out, and update the prices for anybody near so-cali. Also, I should be able to have some pics up soon, got some before *2 days old* and now I need to get a few off the cam and onto the pc after mods. got a friend with a really nice sony 8mp cam, does wonders for photos.

 

8 meg?! r u planning on making wall paper out of the pics?[sm=smiley3.gif]

 

they tried to give me the dino as well. thankfully I don't trust car dealers after a number of bad exp.'s and I caught him before my "5 ***** dealer" Cherry Hill Dodge did the change. I almost got in a fight with the guy as he tried to put in the dino oil after I asked him not to. These stories scare the crap out of me. I will be throwing away my free oil change coupons and doing them myself. It's the only way I can keep my sanity.

 

Yep, it was a regulations thing. Because all the emissions and fuel mileage testing was done with regular dino oil in it, they had to change the recommended oil to dino oil. They can still recommend synthetic, but when it comes to them changing it it has to be dino oil due to this. I think it is pure BS on the part of the federal regulations, but DCX has to abide by them. I too have an ammendment to the synthetic recommendation that came with the cars owners manual and paperwork.

 

Funny how the dealers "obey" the law in that respect, but they will also gladly install a Stage 1 PCM on my SRT-4 (for $111.00) that has instructions reading "Not legal for use on pollution controlled vehicles, or vehicles registered for highway use."

Sounds to me like they are out to get every buck they can, anyway they can!

 

the issue that you're talking about happened a while ago, not 2 years later. the change in the oil recommendation happened last august or September, and was actually supposed to be changed in the manuals for the 04's, but for whatever reason wasn't.

there are 2 basic reasons that this change happened. first, yes the engine was tested for emissions using regular oil, and federal regulations say that this then has to be the recommended oil. second, dealers were complaining to dcx about having to use synthetic. many dealerships offer free oil changes, and when they have to use synthetic, it's much more expensive for them. so, they complained about costs to dcx, and there was a change in the recommended oil. if you do get free oil changes, you should only have to pay the difference for the synthetic oil if you chose to use it, you don't loose your free oil changes.

also note that there is a difference between saying that an oil is recommended rather than required. this is another reason that dealerships don't want to give you the mobil one free, it's not technically required, and they will fight you on it.

 

So, does anyone know how they get away with putting "illegal mods" on SRT-4s?....not that I'm complaining, I LOVE my Stage 1!!!!!!!!!!![sm=smiley20.gif]

I can understand wanting to save money on oil from a business standpoint....but telling customers to use one oil while they use another is just plain wrong. Needless to say, my dealer won't be seeing me except for warranty work after my "free" oil changes are over.

 

if the "illegal" mods that you're referring to are stage 1 or 2, they're not illegal. the disclaimer that is on the stages "not legal for use in pollution controlled cars" is there because mopar did not go through the testing necessary from the epa to certify the stages as emissions legal. they will pass emissions however, so they're fine. they just didn't go through the time and cost of the certification. plus most people do not do only a stage upgrade, but do supporting mods as well. there is no way that they can certify that the stage upgrades will pass emissions with any other mods done, so to cover themselves they just didn't do the testing. that way if you install a stage upgrade and other mods, and you don't pass testing, they are off the hook.

there is going to be some issues with stage upgrades passing emissions in the future just so you know. many states are going to OBD II testing only as a means for emissions, rather than using the sniffers. it's easier and cheaper for them. stage 1 and 2 both throw a code when hooked up to the OBD II machine. so there might be some issues once the change is made, we have to see what happens.

 

Texas is in a transition mode when it comes to vehicle emissions....each county is different , and they are all trying to beat the system.

Yeah, the Stage 1 will throw a "P0633" fault code, but it doesn't activate the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light), but it will be displayed during a diagnostic check.

It doesn't affect anything on the car.....[&:]