Precision castings requiring a fine finish and having complex internal geometries can be produced by casting a semi-solid thixotropic metal alloy within or about a melt-away metal component in the form of a core andor a die insert that has a lower melting point than the solid-to-semi-solid transition temperature of the thixotropic alloy The thixotropic alloy may be cast, e. The stator assembly mounted in the casing and includes a stator core, a coil winding, and an end insulation plate. The tester is configured to receive a vehicle operating voltage from the connector when an electrical load on the battery is within a predetermined load range and to determine a SOC value based on the vehicle operating voltage. The passive lossless snubber cell has several advantages over existing snubbering techniques. If the seasonal grade of fuel in the fuel tank does not correspond to the seasonal grade of fuel mandated during the time of engine operation, a fuel injection amount is adjusted to compensate for differences between seasonal grades of a fuel.