OUR BLOG
Lubrication – another look at the basics
Now and then it helps to have another look at the basics of one’s craft. This sort of exercise works to refresh our way of thinking about things. Lubrication is no different. No matter how much you know about friction, wear, oils and their classification, it’s worth...
A Lovely Old Nissan Cedric Wagon – saved by SOD-1 Plus
A while ago we had a new customer, a man who brought in a lovely old 1991 Nissan Cedric Wagon, an E-WY-30 model. The car was in bad shape. It had only 140,000kms on the clock, but from about five years ago its automatic transmission had begun slipping and there were...
Testing SOD-1 Plus in an old Honda Cub 50cc – Part 2
In the first blog about my father-in-law’s 28 year-old Honda Cub 50cc bike I rode it for 120 kｍs with SOD-1 Plus added to the engine oil. Our chief mechanic Mr Ono disassembled the engine and we examined how the SOD-1 Plus had improved what were originally a very...
Bungo Takada – Showa Town Car Rally
Japanese people have a deep streak of nostalgia in them, especially these days with the economy struggling to produce the strong growth of the post-war years. The Showa era – named after the reign of Emperor Hirohito – has a special place in Japanese hearts because of...
An ester-based additive for motor racing – using SOD-1 Plus in a drift racing car
Cars, motorbikes, even trucks are all used in motor racing competition. We love watching drivers and riders compete against each other at speeds and in conditions we ordinary drivers will never experience. These events put engines, transmission, and gearboxes to the...
Testing SOD-1 Plus in an old Honda Cub 50cc
My father-in-law has a 28 year-old Honda Cub 50cc scooter which he used for years to deliver kimonos around his home town of Hita here in Japan. His business was renting kimonos for weddings and other such special occasions. When he retired last year he suggested I...
Oil film thickness and dry starts – the effect of SOD-1 Plus
A summary of a research report by Dr Takashi Watanabe, technical advisor to D1 Chemical Co. Ltd. Introduction For vehicles that are frequently left idle or not used for extended periods of time there is a risk of damage to the engine caused by a dry start....
Country and City－ SOD-1 Plus in two motorbikes, a Honda 125cc farm bike and a 150cc Vespa S3V Tri Valve.
This month we tested SOD1 Plus in two motorbikes in Australia. First, we asked 18 year-old Charlie Blakeley who lives on a lovely farm, Wormbete, in the Winchelsea District of Western Victoria, to test SOD1Plus in his 125cc Honda farm bike. This bike was...
Classic cars in Japan – Fukuoka’s Mr Iwao Fujitsubo
Japan has a flourishing classic car sector, but not as you might imagine. Sure, there are a good few classic Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Bugattis, and so forth, but the real deal is classic cars from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In Japan we use both the Western calendar...
Why use an ester-based lubricant additive?
By Akina Sonoda and Yuki Sonoda D1 Chemical Co. Ltd Fukuoka, Japan What is the best lubricant additive for my car or motorbike? If you want to improve lubrication and extend the life of your car or bike, an appropriate additive to improve oil performance is a wise...
Lubrication – Learning the basics and taking control
We spend a lot of money on buying a car. This is no surprise. A friend from Denso – a very important company in the Toyota group – once told me that a car contains around 55,000 different parts. So it should be expensive. To drive a car is not difficult, but to...