Friday, October 30, 2009

Oil = life, long life.

Oil: life blood.
An engine is metal or alloy, be it aluminum or iron it is metal, and most of the internal parts of the engine move, and they move by little explosions of fuel. So there is this interesting mix of metal bits moving in the engine block that holds it all together, with bolts and such. So oil, is the, lubricate that keeps all of these bits from slamming together in a tango of metal on metal fury. Metal on metal at any speed is not something you want. Think of a door you have opened somewhere in your life, that squeaks, wonderful ear piercing noise isn’t it? That is just a light weight door! No exploding fuel added, just a door rubbing on the same piece of metal every time you move the door, it rubs the hinge together, creating a friction. In that friction the noise is generated along with heat. Now make that door open 3 to 4000 times a minute, now add fire. The hinge would wear out right? It would get hot and wear out and be of no use.
Same with an engine, if you neglect the proper oil change intervals and neglect oil all together, eventually the little metal bits in the engine are going to meet each other without that little film of oil between them in a very violent and catastrophic way.
Most cars these days call for a 5000 to 7500 mile oil change intervals, most auto shops will tell you 3000 as will most oil product companies. While I am not an expert, my personal studies have shown that the automotive manufactures know their cars better than the oil companies, and they don’t stand to make much money on your oil changes, so I would go with what your owners manual says is the best for your automobile.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

This point A to B thing we keep talking about..

I feel like this about point A to point B drivers: if a person truly honestly didn’t care about a car for any other reason than getting them from point a to point b (and for no other reason) well then they would purchase the very first car they saw without even checking the tires. Are there people out there that truly care that little?? Perhaps. Have they read this far into my topic? Perhaps. And if you’re one of them and still have, then by all means stay a while.. I like you all the same.

If you drive a car and think, “Well as long as it gets me from point A to point B I’m happy”, you’re lying to yourself. If that were the case you would probably care less about the car color or the number of doors, the gas mileage or the fact that it may not move out of its own way, due to a lack of power. People of the world lend me your ear, you do care, maybe not obsessively like I do, but you care a smidgen.

I mean think of it: if I thought only of getting somewhere, and this was always, truly, my ultimate goal in driving, I wouldn’t make sure I had leather for my bum to be comfortable or a sunroof for my need of open roof driving. We all do it - even if you drive a Corolla, a Prius or a Geo Metro, you do because it speaks to you. You feel like this is the car for you; you feel like it is what you wanted, needed, in order to get you point b yes, but to get you there the way you wanted to get there: miles per gallon, safety, looks, the feeling of driving it.

So now that you know you may like your car a bit… you may find yourself perplexed. It’s like me and football (American football) - I don’t’ like it. I feel it a waste of my time most of the time. It’s not even terribly athletic when you really think about it. You have a bunch very strong men, running for a good 30 seconds at the most , simply to stop, pick themselves up off of the turf walk somewhere and stand for 25 seconds while they decide what to do with the remainder of the goals set before them - not the most fun way to spend time to me. But on occasion I do like to watch a football game. Mainly with my dad It makes me feel like a kid again - dad going on and on about things I don’t’ understand, but none-the-less it’s bonding for us.

Owning a car may be like that for you, you may think, “well, I like it, but it isn’t’ my thing.” THAT’S OK! It doesn’t have to be, but you still have to use one. So start thinking of it as a tool, as a means. Thinking of it like that doesn’t mean you have to modify your car or make it different or put fancy rims on it to make it stand out. That isn’t what you’re after; you’re after the point B stuff, I know. You still take care of it right? You still want to get the best miles-per-gallon and the best life out of the car (or as some say, your “investment”).

So you and your car, you’re friends. You’re buddies. In this crazy world, it starts and takes you on your way and you in turn scratch its proverbial back every 6000 to 7000 miles by checking and changing its fluids, air up the tires and giving it a bath. Good for you, you just went from going only to B to C - Car’s aren’t scary, it’s the people that use them.