Multi-part question for the experts

1. Not sure 2. No. 3. Rotella 4. No. YouTube is seminars on demand

 

The stainless steel Miller cat shield is probably the hardest to cut, but it only blocks the front of the cat. Various aluminum off-brands sell for about half the price and also come with a rear piece that thieves would have to cut to have room to maneuver the cat down after cutting the exhaust pipe.

Really neither type of shield is super secure, they just add time & hassle to the theft which hopefully convinces the thief to pick an easier target.

No, but I'm told the 2004-2009 prius cats are apparently more valuable than 2010-2015. You can see youtube videos of people passing by gen3's to steal from a gen2...

The folks on Bobistheoilguy seem to be happy with Supertech/Amazon Basics/Kirkland Signature (all made by Warren).

No, you can fix it. H11 bulbs only last like 100-200 hours so you should carry spares in the glovebox. Maybe some bandaids too if you tend to scratch your arms easily like me...

 

Rotella may be the cheapest 5W-40 oil to purchase, but it isn't a great choice for a Prius unless you are absolutely positive that it isn't burning oil.

The extra zinc additives in Rotella will poison the catalyst over time. It seems counterproductive to put armor over a cat when you're setting yourself up for early replacement anyway.

If the car is not burning oil there is less concern, but most people don't ask about heavier oil until there is already a consumption issue...

 

I try to 5:40 I think it might have been the mobile one seemed okay but it seemed like it's a little heavy for the car The car will get to a temperature that'll allow the oil I guess to become the 40 weight and then the 12 or the Gen 3 is looking for 5 20.. and I imagine in super cold climates you could go zero 10 or 0 20. During the extreme cold only. I mean I come from the days where heavy or engine oil was better Long time ago when these oils started coming out in these 20 weights and all that nonsense for being used in the summer time a year round or whatever yeah I was kind of hard to get into that groove that's water weight.

 

1) Cheapest one you can find, it's a deterrent, not a product that offers better performance if you spend more.

2) Yes, it takes longer to steal, Gen2 is low hanging fruit, Gen3 is a little bit more out of reach, but where you park your car is what primarily defines risk.

3) 0W-20 is recommended for Gen3 Prius and there's no such thing as "best" synthetic oil because there may be a hundred labels to choose from, there's only a few refineries that produce it.

4) Depends on what type of headlight you have. Plenty of youtube videos that will show you how to fix it.

 

It isn't dimmer because the guy didn't use gloves, but it may burn out faster if he touched the glass part of the bulb and got oils from his hand on it.

The cheapest Slyvania bulbs are the dimmest, but they last the longest. The most expensive ones are brighter, but last the fewest hours.

 

You can clean the oils off easily, but in general this is primarily a shattering risk for non-automotive halogen bulbs as the halogen headlight bulbs use much thicker glass than higher risk thinner glass halogen bulbs in your lamps at home.

 

The dimmest part was a result of buying the cheapest.

 

Beamtech S1 series fan less LED. Done ...bright .. lasts long time .

 

Where do you get your oil change by the way?