Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

rsholland

If you need any references, you know where to look!

Bob

ateixeira

...and if you need to borrow money, just remember I'm house poor. ;-)

-juice

volkov

ibid.

nygreg

Again! Work has been out of control. Actually worked 30 hours straight last week. Still trying to get back on track. Glad to hear that our friends in Florida (Serge) are OK.

As for girls and tools - showed my middle daughter how to change the oil in the Sienna and explained all the working parts. Last week I asked my wife to pick up some oil at Costco. She wasn't sure what oil and how much at which point my daughter explained that we use "fake" synthetic oil called Mobil 1 and use the green top (10W-30). She then told my wife that the 6 quart case was good enough as the Sienna uses 5 quarts and the OB a little over 4. Like Steve, my wife threatened me if she becomes an engineer.

Sorry I've been out of touch.
Greg

ateixeira

How beautiful.

*sniff*

Atta girl. Dad's gotta be proud.

-juice

volkov

I couldn't answer those questions. You must be so proud.

ozman62

That's news to me.
O

c_hunter

Good luck -- you will probably be the most qualified candidate (in several ways)! I think it would be great for a Subaru enthusiast to have a job like that, you'll definitely serve the customers better.

Craig

p0926

I think he meant to say synthetic = fake oil

-Frank

locke2c

synthetic oil starts out as regular oil of course, and is synthesized by chemical reactions that are not part of the traditional refining process. generally these are exotic olefins.

the process is synthetic. the originating materials are not.

besides, the term "synthetic" when applied to other things-- limbs, leather, fur-- means it was made from petroleum products.

~c

p0926

Mr. Oil Industry has spoken!

-Frank

paisan

Colin, is it true there are levels of synthetics? We sell the amsoil stuff and they supposedly as it was explained to me have "levels" of synthetics.

The mobil 1 is the lower level of sythetic than say a redline or the more expensive amsoils.

Any truth to that?

-mike

paisan

Dave you can always borrow $ from me

-mike

lilbluewgn02

We can finally see light again now that Ivan is headed for the Gulf. Cleaned up massive piles of debris and branches; it's truly amazing how many branches a stinkin little tree can make; also had some big branches that needed to be cut off. Now we are waiting for the debris people to come pick up the stuff...around 7 ft high and 10 feet across; still, we have been lucky. If Ivan had come this way, we'd be in NJ by now (which we may still do...gotta use up those Delta miles before they go belly up).
When we dropped Michael off at camp in PA this summer, Susan started crying aprox 3 feet in out journey OFF the camp grounds; those moms! (though I'll admit that I missed him a lot.

Lego bricks are still Michael's favorite toy(s). He has been playing with them since he was 4, and now makes robots and cars(of course). During Frances, he made a Lego RC robot that carried a flashlight and swept a path before it with a plow blade. It's all good; I've stepped on those darn toys and it is painful.

Hot in FL
Serge
PS...thanks for all your thoughts during these storms.

fibber2

yet hate the idea of our children becoming engineers? Are we really that hard to live with???

Steve

fibber2

Nicholas: triplets?
Serge: Glad to hear life is returning to normal.
Greg: Slow down.... If you continue working that hard, you will make the rest of us look like slackers. Then they will expect that kind of productivity from all of us!
Dave: Best of luck - hope it goes well. But remember - the downside is that everyone of us in the tri-state area will be coming to you for service!

rob_m

Although I am in IT, I believe that my 9 year old son will be on his way to being either a politician or lawyer. You can't believe the way he negotiates everything with my wife!

Fortunately Mike has no desire to use a Gameboy or X-box. He rarely uses his computer. We do have the standard lego box, along with every Harry Potter Lego set - all assembled on a shelf. Lego also invented little warrior creatures called Bionicles. Last count, there were over 40 of these standing on a shelf. They all have names, and speak a different language. I am now well versed in their saga to save the Island of Mata Nui.

bat1161

Dave- Good Luck! You'll be great there. If you need a reference, let me know.

Serge- Glad to hear everything is OK by you.

Lego- never had any growing up, just Matchbox cars & Tonka trucks. I still have all of them (at my Mom's house- never moved them with me), figure they must be worth something now.

Mark

bluesubie

We sell the amsoil stuff and they supposedly as it was explained to me have "levels" of synthetics.
The mobil 1 is the lower level of sythetic than say a redline or the more expensive amsoils.

They were probably referring to the basetocks and how the oil is created, putting it into a particular group (I - V). M1 is a Group IV. Amsoil makes a variety of oils, including synthetic blends (Group III). Motul is a Group V.

This Amsoil salesman has the different Groups defined:
http://www.performanceoiltechnology.com/baseoilcategories.htm

-Dennis

locke2c

Is it true there are levels of synthetics? We sell the amsoil stuff and they supposedly as it was explained to me have "levels" of synthetics.

The mobil 1 is the lower level of sythetic than say a redline or the more expensive amsoils.

It is possible with more synthetic processing and exotic olefins to build longer and longer length hydrocarbons. It is also possible to insert other additives that hopefully would be of benefit.

Remember, I don't work for Mobil. In fact they are a competitor in other areas, but we don't make lubricants directly although we do make standard and high-end lubricant basestocks.

Anyway, it is my opinion that a passenger vehicle needs nothing more than Mobil1 provides. AMSOil Series 2000, Redline, Royal Purple and others possibly are better on some scientific metrics but it reaches a point of diminishing returns because very, very few cars can change the filter without draining the pan. The oil filter is what necessitates a relatively short drain interval-- in most cars Mobil1 10w30 will be still of extremely high quality (regardless of what color it becomes) after 5,000-7,500 miles.

Ultimately it's your money, but I sure wouldn't pay $9.00 a quart for Royal Purple for used in a passenger car. The oils used by race teams is largely irrelevant to consumers.

~Colin

ateixeira

Tonka? Don't remind me. My little brother threw a truck across the room and it bumped me right on the head, took several stitches that time!

-juice

hypov

You too?!!!

I took it across my left eyebrow.

-Dave

lucien2

Mobil 1- I used in the GT....wonder if I should start using it in the FXT? Colin are you using it in the EVO?

Matchbox- had some, but my car obsession started with Corgi and Dinky. I still have some of them...the ones my brother didn't ruin :rolleyes: It was funny to go through them recently. Lessee. 1968 Simca Monte Carlo Rally car, Fiat 128 Monte Carlo Rally car, Alitalia-liveried Lancia Rally Car (mostly destroyed. Thanks, bro.), Paris-Dakar Range Rover...

tsy

Legos have to be one of the best toys ever invented. It's the only thing my kids will play with more than a few times. I do agree they are not fun to step on in the middle of the night! (These bionicles have these little swords and axes and stuff- ouch!)

Colin- What about these synthetic blends? Are they truly better than non-synthetics? One of the dealers nearby puts this Castrol blend stuff- I haven't heard anything good about blends.

Serge- glad you're safe- hope the cleanup isn't too bad.

Dave- Good luck. We could use some good service people out here in Seattle if it doesn't work out there! ;-)

tom

ateixeira

Middle of my forehead. Took 6 stitches IIRC.

Come to think of it I never got him back...hee hee.

-juice

volkov

But that's old news.

Speaking of synthetics, why is it you aren't supposed to go back to plain dino if you switch to synthetic? It never made any sense to me, since my understanding was that synthetics were really fortified dino.

Nicholas

bat1161

I have a cuople of those still as well. I think they are the LaFrance Hook & Ladder, a Race Car transporter, and a Rolls Royce. Talk about memories! Of course my brother has tried to talk me into putting all of them up for sale on EBay.

Mark

kens

Actually, I think the conventional wisdom is to not go to synthetic after one has run plain dino for a long time. The impurities in plain dino sometimes to help fill any small leaks in seals. Synthetic oil can clear away those plugs and actually cause leaks.

I don't know why one couldn't go the other way, though.

Ken

stever

a passenger vehicle needs nothing more than Mobil1 provides

I don't think my cars need any more than the dead dino stuff every 7,500 miles or so. I'm no expert but like you say, it's just a car. I didn't even use the stuff in Alaska where it supposedly helps the car start faster when it's cold (and my cars lived outside up there). I don't see any cost benefit to switch.

Steve, Host

ateixeira

I ran my Ford 107k miles on dino and if that didn't sludge up no Subaru ever will. ;-)

Toyota had issues with sludge, so does Chrysler's 2.7l V6 apparently. If I owned an engine prone to sludge I'd definitely use Mobil 1, but otherwise it's overkill for a non-race car.

-juice

paisan

Synthetics i reccomend for all turbo cars. The extra heat of turbo motors break down dino quicker IMHO. Small price to pay for a bit of comfort factor. I run it in the Trooper due to oil consumption issues on regular oil.

I believe that that synthe/dino leak thing occurs because over time your seals build up dirt, this gets embedded in the seals. the seals dry up when there is no oil hitting them because the dirt has kept the oil away from the outter parts of the seals. When you put in synthetic, it essentially cleans this dirt away, allowing the oil to get to the now dried out portion of the seals. It then leaks because the seals are dried in the area where the oil is hitting now. That's the "don't use synthetic after lots of dino" story as I was told it. It could be totally wrong.

-mike

twrx

Steve, Sinclair has done dinosaurs a disservice. Oil comes from marine microfossils such as ostracods. Dinos have however contributed to our energy supply. Uranium often leached into dino bone and thus some of the uranium mining in Utah involved digging up dinosaur bones.

TWRX

locke2c

wow, I agree with Paisan. turbocharged cars are pretty close to 'requiring' synthetic and even then they often have short change intervals. (my evo = 3750 miles severe duty, 5000 std.)

I didn't intend to debate between standard and synthetic oil-- to me that's a slam dunk. what is a much finer line is whether there is any appreciable value in synthetics with paper numbers that exceed Mobil1's.

petroleum oil comes from the ground. it might be fossil-based. it might be a byproduct of geothermal activity.

~c

ateixeira

Well, I don't own any turbos (never have actually).

Do we gotta fix that or what? LOL

-juice

paisan

C,
   Was my theory on the Switching stuff in line with what you think/hear/know/etc I have been looking for some kind of yeah on nay on that theory since I heard it and it makes sense but wasn't sure if someone like you who knows a bit more than I have a better description.

-mike

kens

Interesting since Subaru's maintenance schedule calls for a 7500 mile drain interval even on the 2.5 turbo. That interval just sounds way to short for me.

I read an article in the paper today that mentioned geothermal sources of oil. While it's been long known that biomass has contributed to the fossil fuels we know of, several scientists have also theorized that geothermal activity could also produce similar substances. Some clever scientists at Lawerence Livermore Labs (IIRC) were able to prove that this theory may be in fact true.

juice: You need turbo now.

Ken

fibber2

Yep, got around 50 or so that I collected from 64-70 or so. Used them with my model railroading, so there are in pretty much pristine condition, although I didn't have the foresight to save the boxes. I have seen similar cars with boxes going for $30 or more a piece, about 100x what I paid for them (3 for $1) in the early years!

Funny thing - when I got the Lego blocks the other day, I first spied a carton of cars. Grabbed three Matchbox units for $0.50 each. Somewhat ratty, but worth the investment. But they must be the 'real thing' - Lesney products, made in England. It will be a long time before any of the stuff made in Asia will have any appreciable value.

Steve

fibber2

25k mile oil changes? The oil might still have had some resiliance, but the contamination level must have been thru the roof!

Steve

fibber2

I spent most of today on the line, and stopped by looking for you. Hit some of your friends over by the Centura, but they said you were flying a desk back in the office these days, rather than wrenching on systems.

Steve

stever

Yeah, I knew it wasn't dinosaurs, but dead dino diet just doesn't roll off the keyboard as easily. I was thinking more in terms of ferns than marine microfossils though.

I love the oil wars - my Amsoil dealer friend complains that even that oil suffers breakage of the molecular tails at 3,000 miles. I just scratch my head while he tanks up his lawnmower with the stuff.

Steve, Host

locke2c

Ken, that's why you never see me refer to it as 'dino oil'.

A standard small oil filter just can't handle 10k+ miles. There are two big reasons BMW can use long intervals: high oil capacity (7 quarts), large filter body area (cartridge type, not a screw-on).

~Colin

dcm61

This may have been posted before.

Synthetic Oil Life Study: http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

Mobil 1 Test Results: http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

DaveM

tsy

DaveM- I noticed they used a 5.7L Camaro to do the testing. I'd guess a turbo would wear down the oil much faster than a small block v8. I can't imagine trusting oil to last that long in my turbo GT. But thanks for the links.

I think Porsches can go 12K and 1 year between oil changes- must be similar to the BMWs.

tom

paisan

Some porsches have 17 quarts of oil in them, the air cooled ones....

-mike

lucien2

Yea mine are all English, ditto the Corgi and Dinky. The one I'm most sore about little brother wrecking is my Supermarine Spitfire Mk IV. It is (was) 1/72 scale and took a AAA battery in the fuselage to run the prop. I also had a Junkers Ju88 from Dinky that ran on a AAA, and featured a die cast bomb that one loaded with a cap. When it hit the ground the cap went off. No use crying over spilt milk, at least I managed to rescue a bunch of others.

oh oh, and also my Burago stuff. Just a few, since they were so expensive. they're 1/32 I think, from Italy.

Karen_S

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ateixeira

Lawn mower with Amsoil? Hilarious.

Next he'll put a K&N on it. Instead of 5hp, it'll be making 5.1! Woo-hoo!

My buddy's air-cooled 911 took 12 quarts. Mobil 1, too, so an oil change cost him an arm and a leg!

I have a white Hot Wheels Miata just like mine, barn doors and all. I got a white WRX from my dealer's open house but to be honest the quality of that model is poor.

Still no Forester models I've ever seen.

-juice

bluesubie

I'm on my second summer of using M1 10W30 in my Toro. I only get a few leaves in the fall (from the neighbors trees) so I mulch 'em instead of raking.

The M1 allows the mower to have easier starts in the late fall, when it wouldn't even start in the past with the 30W. Five years old, and starts by the second pull. The oil level has been on the full line for the entire summer.

Don't try that with a conventional mutli-vis oil. :-)

-Dennis

ateixeira

I bought the cheapest mower I could find and abused it thoroughly. The engine served me well for about a decade until the chassis of the mower basically fell apart.

The engine still ran well and started after 1-3 tries even though I changed the oil only twice (in 10 years), used generic dino oil (usually the wrong viscosity), and used old gas with none of the preservatives you're supposed to use.

There, I admitted it.

Does this mean I lose my OCD Membership? Or am I just on probation.

Actually I still have it, it's at the beach now but I'm not using it because they hired a lawn service. I'd pull the engine and install it in a go-kart of some sort if it had a horizontal shaft.

I don't think low-tech engines like that need more more than some lubrication. I bet olive oil would work, LOL.

-juice

stever

My chipper shredder says not to use anything but 30 weight. Still gets 6 bags to the gallon.

This thread is getting scarily close to the old Your Lawn Mower vs your SUV - Which spends more time off-road? discussion.

Steve, Host