Oil requirements and Biscuit is better..

Why am I particular about the oil changes and the oils that manufactures recommend for their cars?  It has to do with our CAFE rules here in the US and how that has effected the car manufactures..  CAFE is Corporate Average Fuel Economy and dictates what a manufacture's fleet of cars that are sold in the US must obtain as an average fuel economy...  Its mandated by congress...  Who knows absolutely nothing about engineering automobiles....

If the auto companies don't meet these standards, the acts levee huge fines.  So in order to meet these standards, the industry must use very thin oil.  It gets thinner as the requirements for mileage increase..  Thin oils do not have as much drag, so the engines spin freely and are therefor supposed to get better mileage....  But this is in the expense of less protection and increased wear in your engine.

So just because a manufacture has to  thin out the oil because the government says so, that doesn't necessarily mean we all have to follow blindly and use water thin oils in the heat of the summer..  Now they are actually recommending 0W 20 oils in new cars......  So that's a 0 viscosity oil winter blended that protects like a 20 viscosity straight weight....  I'm not even sure you can get straight weight oils for cars any more...

All I did was ask for 10W 30 and the oil change monkey's went off like a rocket that it wasn't right for the cars.  But I opened my owner's manual and found where it said that you could use 10W 30 as an optional oil and had to show it to the fellow.  They were worried that their company would get into trouble with the government for putting the wrong oil in!  Anyway at 110 degrees, I think a little heavier oil will protect things a bit better...

As far as winter is concerned, we will be in Arizona in the winter, so it will never be cold enough to cause slow starts.  This is part of the reason I use Wal Mart for these oil changes..... They will put anything in....  They don't care....  But there are other draw backs to Wal Mart in terms of service and convenience.

As far as leaving oil in for long periods of time goes.... We rebuilt engines when I was working as a mechanic, years ago while going to college....  If you have ever cleaned out the resultant sludge and goopy gunk that builds up in an oil system from not changing your oil, you will never allow that to happen ever again...

And one of the more wild things is that Honda actually uses the thin red transmission fluid in their differential gear cases instead of 80-90 Hypoid lube.  Again the thin oil is designed to get mileage.  But this necessitates lube changes on a regular basis of the gear cases...  When was the last time you changed out your rear end gear grease??  It usually stays in there for almost the entire life of the car...  If it gets low you add some...  But the transmission fluid actually does wear out and needs changed.. All in the name of a little more mileage...  Our government at work!!

Changing the subject, Biscuit seems to be back to her more normal self today, after sleeping off the effects of her shot in the bottom yesterday...  She still wasn't overly excited about her existence today but she ate her meals and went outside for her duty and didn't chase her bottom around trying to chew on herself any more.  

So assuming that she does well again tomorrow, perhaps keeping her inside as much as possible during this time of allergy season will keep us out of the vet's office....

Today was Amateur Radio Field Day again this year, but I haven't been to any of the meetings for most of this last year..  With being out in Arizona all winter and going thru the surgery last fall, I have fallen completely out of the Ham Radio hobby.  I didn't even get to go to Dayton this year either...

So I felt kinda weird going over and just participating in the one major event and nothing else....  So I have stayed home...  Last year I only went for a couple of hours during the meal time, and that was rather weak..  I did pay my dues this past month, and will have to become more active in the upcoming year..........

Tomorrow is supposed to be over 100 degrees here in Kansas for the first time this year!!!  Oh boy, I can't wait.......!

Retired Rod