[Trichiet]

Howdy,

I'm looking for possible suggestions on possible maintenance tips and tricks you guys use to keep your wheels rolling. I'm really not a car guy at all, but I really, REALLY, enjoy the Focus ST I bought recently. I can change brakes, rotors, oil, general small things on the car, etc. I drive about 90 miles a day (not every day in the ST) so it will pick up some mileage along the way. Since I'll be doing quite a bit of highway driving in it, I'm looking into the 3M Scotch-guard clear coat protector for the front of the car. My '06 G6 GT had quite a few paint chips in the hood before I decided to get this car.

I'll probably be looking up general cleaning and waxing tips to make sure I protect the car as best I can. First thing I'll probably do is grab a K&N air filter for it.

My main concern is being able to enjoy this car for a long while. I live in Wisconsin so the winter is going to be a *****, but I'll store it away. No salt for this guy...

 

[Aaron_ST1]

This is my first new car and I wanted to protect the paint. A good tip for keeping the paint nice is when you wash it, dab the water off when you dry it instead of wiping back and forth in a circular motion, which will cause swirl marks.

If your car is new and you and you aren't tracking it, it shouldn't need much beyond tire rotations and oil changes for the forseeable future.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

in before someone says you need to do "break in" oil changes every 1000 miles for the first 10,000 miles

You do NOT need to do that, every 5k is fine is you are using high quality oil.

I recommend the AEM filter over the K&N... the AEM is a K&N but it is a dry flow filter and doesn't require oil

 

[Trichiet]

in before someone says you need to do "break in" oil changes every 1000 miles for the first 10,000 miles

You do NOT need to do that, every 5k is fine is you are using high quality oil.

I recommend the AEM filter over the K&N... the AEM is a K&N but it is a dry flow filter and doesn't require oil

I appreciate the replies, guys. I also had not heard about the "break-in" oil changes. I'd literally never heard about that at all with new cars... Definitely something I would be skeptical about.

As for the AEM filter, would you mind throwing me a link? I've got a regular ol' K&N on the G6 that I have, but I'm not familiar with that AEM.

 

[CVPI]

I personally would change the oil after 500 miles or 1000 miles myself and throw some nice 5w40 synthetic in there, but that is just me so all the metal debris can come out. Cheap insurance.

Also, check out autotopia for detailing tips. They have so many guides on avoiding swirl marks and stuff like that its insane.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

I appreciate the replies, guys. I also had not heard about the "break-in" oil changes. I'd literally never heard about that at all with new cars... Definitely something I would be skeptical about.

As for the AEM filter, would you mind throwing me a link? I've got a regular ol' K&N on the G6 that I have, but I'm not familiar with that AEM.

https://www.aemintakes.com/air_filt...UtJU_Z-RKud9O26zXh6RcOupKCdAVejYoexoCf7zw_wcB

https://www.amazon.com/AEM-AE-20993-Dryflow-Air-Filter/dp/B00JHN1W7G

my local autozone had it for the same price