This was one of our “cool” cars. It was immaculate inside and out when we bought it and the same when sold ten years later.

I was never a fan of green, and like most of my cars, the Bronco was two-tone green and white. I don’t remember off-hand the mileage when we bought him, but I have it buried somewhere in papers.

This photo is going on the My Cars Page, too.

Integrity is defined as “Adherence to a moral and ethical principles.” I assume these students know that cheating is wrong and will get them in trouble, but they chose to ignore that and cheat anyway. Up to two hundred students showed no integrity … showed to be absent of moral and ethical principles.

It’s not that some students cheated … it’s that a third of the students cheated. 33% of them showed no integrity. That’s what bothers me the most.

What are your thoughts on this. Is speeding okay as long as you don’t get caught? Are our kids watching the examples we show them? Think about it.

I am still liking the tires very much and expect them to reach the 100,000 mile mark before having to be reTIRED. Ok, so I think that is funnier than everyone else, let me get my grin on …

How are your tires doing? Would you recommend them to someone else?

As you know, I am obsessed with improving my gas mileage. With the price of gasoline as high as it is, fractions of MPGs can make a significant difference in monthly costs.

I have tried many different ways to increase the mileage of my 2007 Dodge Magnum and this video goes over them along with the results. The end result might surprise you, so let me know what you think.

After researching the different plugs available on the market today, I decided to try the E3s because of the dyno testing done on Horsepower TV. With an engine sitting on the dyno, they ran a base run and afterward installed E3s and showed the horsepower gain in real time.

That was enough to convince me, but then Stacey David at Gearz visited Michigan Technological University and showed the mechanics behind the difference. The video on that is only four minutes and worth the watch if you are on the fence.

Now, back to 174,000 miles. Yeah, I know I’m supposed to change them at 100,000 miles, but time got away from me. Anyway, the plugs were well worn and the gap was very large (see photos below), but they were still producing enough spark to carry me around the State of Texas every month.

The power increase was immediate, but what do you expect … I put in new plugs . The power would have increased no matter what plugs I installed, as long as they were new and installed correctly. Gas mileage? It’s still too soon to tell, but the mileage seems to have creeped up a small amount.

I will continue to bring you updates on this as I track the gas mileage.

Have you tried the E3 plugs? What have they done for you?

This replacement is very easy and this video shows the simple steps in completing the task.

Of all the jobs I’ve done on my Magnum, this one didn’t even require getting dirty. How’s that for simple. One wrench, two hands, and about five minutes.

After watching this video, let me know what repairs you’ve done that were as simple. Thanks for your time.

I hope to get back on schedule by getting my priorities straight.

Also, since I missed June’s statistics, they are gone forever, unless I want to hand computer everything. That would take more time than I’m willing to commit to, so on with July’s.

July 2011 Statistics

Miles Driven: 3474
Average MPG: 24.872
Maximum MPG: 27.852
Minimum MPG: 21.769
Average $/Gallon: $3.586
Expenditures: $454.49

Maintenance was the normal oil and filter change plus a few car washes. I did get the tires rotated, but since I bought the tires at Discount Tire, that is provided at no additional charge.

The Michelin HydroEdge tires are still working great having hit 50,000 miles this past week. With still more the half he tread, I am looking to reach 100,000 miles before replacing them.

The zMax experiment continues with a fresh application a few weeks ago and if you watched the video, you know an update is coming soon.

A video on the spark plug change is also coming soon with continued updates as data is secured.

I did buy a tank of gasoline in Austin, Texas this week for $3.399. That is the cheapest in some time. What are you paying and where are you located. It would be interesting to compare.

Let’s be safe out there …

This video covers the next few videos I am working on currently. Several are already shot, but need to go through the editing process to completion.

When time permits, I will get to work on a mindmap to cover more time.
Let me know what you think.

More reports will follow as I get more data.

Let me know of your experience with zMax.

This is now the fifth report on the monthly statistics, which I began in January 2011. If you compare them to last month, you can see the differences are small, except for the gasoline price.

Inara, my Dodge Magnum, has been running fine with no issues related to the Regular Unleaded gasoline. What little sluggishness I expressed feeling last month is no worse … or better. I have begun an experiment I’ll fill you in on later in this article.

I drove a few less miles in May because of the Memorial Day weekend and a full day of jury duty cutting down two working days for the month. Body-wise, it feels like the same or more, but it is one hundred and fifty miles less.

May 2011 Statistics

Miles Driven: 2841
Average MPG: 24.435
Maximum MPG: 26.130
Minimum MPG: 21.048
Average $/Gallon: 3.806
Expenditure: 467.73

The only maintenance needed was two new replacement windshield wiper blades, which is another story. One blade was ripped and I checked the other and it was fine. I was in Target with my wife and they carried the Rain-X brand refills, so I bought one for $8.99. Within a week, (I know, I know) I noticed the other blade had a long rip. Living out in the country, the nearest O’Reilly Auto Parts is about eight miles away, so I stopped in and bought an exact match to the other refill. The difference … the O’Reilly refill cost me $12.99, four dollars more.

The moral is to buy both and buy them at Target.

zMax Micro-lubricant Experiment

After a lot of research and reading hundreds (maybe thousands) of reviews, I decided to take Carroll Shelby’s advise and try ZMax Total Engine Treatment Kit in my Magnum. I bought the kit with the fuel treatment and the engine treatment and following the instructions, added the fuel treatment Thursday morning, June 2nd. Because of the circumstances, I will add the engine treatment tomorrow morning, June 5th, per the instructions on the bottle.

Since I keep such a close check on my statistics, I wanted to try this and give a full and comprehensive report filled with facts rather than a lot of false information from people who admit they have never tried the product. After all my research, I feel confident there is nothing that will harm my fuel system or engine in either products … and it just might help.

zMax Micro-lubricant Claims

• Increased Gas Mileage
• Extends Engine life
• Reduces Emmisions
• Disperses Carbon
• Restores Power

Because of a court case a few years back, they removed the guaranteed 10% minimum increase in mileage from their claims. If 10% were a typical number, that would represent over two miles per gallon for me. It will be interesting to see if the only claim I can easily  monitor shows a significant increase.

Gasoline Price

My average price per gallon for gasoline climbed through the month of May to $3.80. However, the last few days of May saw a decrease in gasoline prices to the $3.55 to $3.70 range, depending on location. I’ll be interested to see what the price averages on next week’s trip.

What is the price where you are? Have you seen lower prices the last week or two? Please share in the comments.

Let’s be safe out there …