That’s right, you could go through the hassle of changing your oil the same amount of times per year that you have to celebrate your Aunt Veronica’s birthday. This miraculous development, coming from the labs of ExxonMobil called Mobil 1 Annual Protection, might be the best thing to come along for cars since fuzzy dice or those family stick figure stickers.

Now I know what you’re thinking – if I wait an entire year (or 20,000 miles) to change my oil, my engine is going to explode! I feel you homie. But the team in white lab coats have created this fully synthetic oil to do one thing and to do it extremely well – to last 12 months (or 20,000 miles – whichever comes first) in an active engine and keep all your shiny bits gliding along smoothly. Even if you don’t believe them or me, ExxonMobil is willing to throw a limited warranty behind their Mobil 1 Annual Protection motor oil that covers the lubricant and critical engine parts lubricated by the motor oil. That’s pretty crazy, and tells me that they really mean one full year between oil changes. You can read the full details on the warranty here.

How in the world did they pull this off when all other motor oils require a change every three to six months? Some sort of fairy magic I would assume, mostly because I’m not a petrochemical engineer. Also, they wouldn’t tell me since it’s kind of a secret and I’m a known tattle. As if doubling the life of most available motor oils wasn’t enough to prove that they firmly own the cutting edge of technology, ExxonMobil is also hooking you up with a Virtual Reality cardboard viewer and an exciting VR experience.

If you pick up 5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil at your local auto parts store before 6/28/2107, ExxonMobil will send you a free cardboard VR viewer, and they’ve also got several videos for you to enjoy on your new future viewer. So if you’re tired of changing your oil as often as you get a haircut, and you’ve yet to jump on the VR bandwagon, this is the perfect time to be alive for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go change my oil for the last time till 2018.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of ExxonMobil . The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Mobil 1 Annual Protection is the Cutting Edge of Oil appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

See what Spray Nine Heavy Duty can do for you.

My garage is my happy place, and in additional to all the tools, tapes, and spare parts there is a shelf inside stocked with every chemical imaginable. Lubricants, sealants, rust removers, paints, grease, oil, and powders; you name it, I’ve got it. And every single bottle or can is used for a very specific and singular purpose. If I’ve got a stuck bolt, I reach for penetrating oil, if it’s glue residue, then up steps a solvent. And when I recently had the gnarly job of cleaning 30 years of grease and muck off our Porsche project’s engine, I grabbed the bottle of heavy-duty cleaner and degreaser Spray Nine.

When I removed the engine from the Porsche, I discovered that it was so caked with a thick layer of black grime on every surface that it would need some sort of action hero-esque cleaner to have any hope of ever seeing it clean again. In the pantheon of action stars, the 80’s were king and gods walked among men.  So it’s a good thing Spray Nine is basically the Carl Weathers of cleaners. This heavy-duty degreaser was about to be pitted against Predator-level road grot. Spray, bristle brush, and rag in hand I walked into my own private dirt jungle.

With the amount of time and effort we are putting into this restoration, it just wouldn’t do to put a greasy engine back into our newly painted body shell. No, this thing had to be made sparkly and ready to eat off of to match the level of beauty that’s going to be present on the outside.  But it would take some serious effort to get the engine there.

30 years and at least 3 different state’s worth of dirt had accumulated and turned into a thick, gelatinous substance that until now was unknown to science. Luckily, it was no match for the grease cutting biceps of Spay Nine. Spray, bush, wipe. Section by section, surface by surface shiny aluminum began to be revealed and displayed. It broke apart the dirt clumps, dissolved the oil, and wiped free the brake fluid with ease. I had scheduled the whole weekend for this cleaning job, and rewarded myself for finishing in day by watching Rocky, Rocky II, and Predator back to back. This is why I use Spray Nine – it simply works well and lets me get back to my 80’s movie life.

 Half and half, before Spray Nine and after

Take the challenge below and score yourself a $3 coupon for a bottle:

Take the Spray Nine Challenge. 

The post Spray Nine is the Carl Weathers of cleaners appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

We’ve teamed up with AutoZone to walk you through how to do an oil change on literally any production vehicle (I’m daring you to point out some obscure Citroen on our Facebook page, and yes I’m aware of Tesla)

When do to an Oil Change:

The common rule of thumb is to change your oil every 3 months or 3000, whichever comes first. For most modern cars, this is simply no longer true. Many cars produced since 2000 can go 7000 miles or more without a change thanks to synthetic oils. Check your cars manual or simply google when your car’s scheduled oil changes are, but you can’t go wrong assuming 3 months and doing it early.

What you’ll need:

• Jack and jack stands
• Oil pan or empty bucket
• Wrenches
• New oil filter and possibly a washer for the drain plug
• New oil

How:

Here the process is always the same. Simply –

• Find and watch YouTube videos or read forums showing the process on your particular vehicle
• Drive your car over to a friend who has tools or run your car until the engine is warmed up but not hot enough to burn you. Or burn yourself – your call really.
• Jack up the front of your car and place it on jack stands
• Place the oil pan or bucket underneath your engine
• Locate and remove the big, obvious bolt sticking out of the lowest point of your engine. It won’t look like any other bolts around it. Any YouTube videos or diagrams should show you.
• Drain all the warm oil into your pan or container
• When the flow out has reduced to a trickle, you can remove your oil filter. This will likely be a brightly colored cylinder on the side or bottom of the engine. These sometimes require a special wrench to remove, but can often just be done by hand 
• Once the oil is done flowing out of engine, simply reinstall the bolt (often times with a new washer) just to snug and install the new filter – first rub fresh oil along the rubber gasket of the new filter to aid in creating a tight seal.
• Fill up the car with the required type and amount of oil (again in your manual or online forums)
• Drive to the auto parts store to dispose of the used oil for free, then check your new filter and drain plug for leaks and the level on your dipstick to ensure the oil level is within range
• Assume a smug face now that you’ve successfully done your first oil change

Why:

Doing your own oil change is the first step towards mechanical proficiency. Yes, it will likely cost you the same amount of money and time as it would to just take your car in to a oil change stand, but the sense of accomplishment, bragging rights, and empowerment are certainly not the same. There are generally only two reasons I hear for not tackling an oil change yourself – lack of desire and fear. While I can’t help with the first one, the latter should certainly be solved by the list above.

If you need any help with this or need a DIY garage in Los Angeles, check out Wanderwell Society in Venice. It is a great DIY social club that can help you fix your car, boat, or even washing machine!

The post The Power of the DIY Oil Change appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Packing all the features we liked before (the cool lantern mode, the easy-clean body) the XL Plus brings with it 2 crucial improvements that we were begging for last time we looked at this product. Firstly, the Plus ships with it’s own battery rather than relying on you to supply the USB power source of your choice. Sure, most outdoor enthusiasts have several battery packs laying around (I know we do!), but still I want to open a product and have everything it needs to work right there in the box! Much more importantly, the Plus now includes 3 additional magnets that allow you to hang the strand in almost any configuration. Let me explain…

The last Luminoodle we got came with two magnets – one on each extreme of its 5ft. This was convenient if you wanted to hang it up, but only if you wanted to do so in a straight line. Now with three additional magnets, each slidable down the length of the strand, allow for some really great applications. Our favorite was in the engine bay of our project car. With this 10ft rope light, we were able to completely surround the engine bay rather than a single directional light source. This made finding parts and adjusting connections a breeze, and is going to quickly become a feature I can’t remember how I lived without it.

The Luminoodle XL Plus picks up where its predecessor left off and runs it all the way to the goal line. This is the perfect trifecta of a great working product, a great looking product, and a great startup company that only you are cool enough to know about. All kudos to the Power Practical team, they are on a run and we can’t wait to see what’s next.

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