Don't come a knockin'....

Automotive tip of the week: When it comes to gasoline, use what your car recommends, no more, and no less. I mentioned back a few weeks that additives are generally useless. If you are getting gasoline from Citgo, Shell, BP, Mobil, etc they typically already have a ton of additives and detergents. In some rare cases they only put this in their premium fuels, but it is generally done across the board. So why not use premium, etc? The octane rating - 87, 89, 91, 93, etc only means one thing, the resistance to pre-iginition/detonation/knocking the fuel has. The fuel has no actual extra power or energy per gallon than fuel with a different octane rating, so there is no benefit to the vehicle for MPG or horsepower. The reason part of the myth of more horsepower from higher octane fuel evolved is because high horsepower cars required it. This is a factor of the engine design, not the fuel. A high output vehicle will often use forced induction (turbo or supercharger) or uses high compression pistons etc. These things allow more power to be extracted from an engine, but requires a fuel with high resistance to knocking to be safe. When a low octane fuel is used in those applications the fuel can burn incorrectly and cause severe damage to the engine. The pressure waves from a bad burn (engines burn fuel, they don't explode fuel like people often think, in the rare cases that it does explode it can be a form of very severe detonation and will typically destroy the engine) are what make the "pinging" or "knocking" noise people know detonation to be. So the root of the myth of high octane for more power is the fact that high powered cars employed engines that needed the octane to function, not that there was more power in the fuel. So what happens if you use too low of an octane fuel in a car? In newer cars, not much, but it isn't typically considered safe/good to do. The computers in modern cars know how to adjust the engine programming to use the lower octane fuel safely. You will likely lose some MPG efficiency as well as some horsepower but the odds of damage are somewhat controlled. However, some cars are not well suited to this, and the older you get the more and more dangerous this becomes. If you have a particularly high strung vehicle from a couple decades ago you can easily destroy the engine on a hot day with one bad tank of gas. So as always, follow your owners manual!

Thin is in...

Automotive Tip of the Week: Here is a short version of one topic there. The numbers on the oil like 5W30 represent at "room temperature" how thick of an oil it flows like (5) and at operating temp how thick of an oil it flows like at that temp (30). So at low temps it flows like a nice thin 5 oil, and at operating temp it flows like a 30 weight oil. What is a bit counterintuitive, but has to do with how oil behaves at different temperatures, is that even though it is flowing like a heavier 30 oil, at those temps it is actually thinner than if it was a 5 oil at ambient temps. In the end none of this means much to you for your car and matters more for the engineers as long as you follow it. So why do I bring this up? Winter and synthetic oil. Synthetic oil has a bunch of neat properties but we'll talk about just one. Traditional 5W30 oil is usually made from 5 weight oil and then has additives put in it to make it "thicken" (as I just said that is actually not necessarily true) as it heats up so it behaves like a 30 weight oil at temp. Synthetic on the other hand usually goes the other way. It is made from a 30weight stock and then the additives and properties of it allow for it to flow in ways a conventional oil can not at lower temps. What this means is that the bottom number on your oil cap can be considered meaningless when you use synthetic oil. So a car that requests 10W30 (like my BMW) you can put in 0W30 and get the same/better protection as running the recommended oil. So why does this matter? Cold Start. When the engine is cold the oil doesn't flow very well and the most wear occurs. It is also when your starter has to work the hardest to fight the tension the oil creates. By using an oil like 0W30 in your car you get faster turn over, less stress on your starter and battery, and oil flow (not pressure! pressure is meaningless at low temps) is better. So your car will start and run better in cold weather, and you'll get better gas mileage if you drive short distances. Don't believe me? Or are unsure about this whole ignoring the oil cap and manual thing if you are using synthetic? Look at the bottles. Bottles like Mobil1 will say right on it "certified for use in 5W30" on a bottle that is 0W30 and they often market/label it as "green formula" or "better mileage formula" when it is just normal old 0W30. you can learn a lot more on this at www.bobistheoilguy.com if you want...

Safety First!

Automotive Tip of the Week: Winter Kit. With Kirstin and I each having had to use at least one thing out of these kits during a winter I certainly recommend making one. A lot of times it isn't even necessarily for you, but for another driver that may have issues etc. There are lots of levels you can go to, but here is a bare minimum set of items I would try to have. Put all this in a box, spare backpack, or some other simple means of storing it so that if you need extra trunk space you can throw it in the passenger cabin easily. Things you should have: Collapsible shovel, ice scraper, lock/seam de-icer, jumper cables, hand and toe warmers, extra gloves, hat, and scarf, and a tow strap. Most are self explanatory, but I'll hit on 3 of them quickly. The collapsible shovel is great for digging out if you get stuck, helping someone else dig out, or even clearing off that 18" snow pile that gets on the car. Well worth having. The lock/seam de-icer is simple, the fluid in it is intended for freeing a frozen lock or door handle, but it also works good to use as a "torch" to free up your door. Ever had it get covered in ice and freeze to the point you can't get it open? The de-icer will let you free up the seals along the door seam and get in the car. Lastly the tow strap is self explanatory too, but a lot of people don't have one so there is no easy way for a good Samaritan to tug your car out rather than having to wait for a tow truck. They are really cheap at places like Harbor Freight, and they come in handy for emergency tie-down situations too.

Getting out of a slippery situation...

Automotive Tip of the Week: Stuck on ice or packed snow? Take your floor mats out and put them CARPET side down behind each drive wheel (if backing up, in front obviously if going forward). Try to tuck the leading edge of the mat under the wheel as much as possible. Then try to slowly proceed and you'll have enough traction to get going. This can work in deeper snow as well. It doesn't work pa...rticularly well though with all season/rubber floor mats. You may have to try with the "spikes" down or other orientations if the carpet side isn't working or you don't have carpeted mats. If you don't have mats, or don't want to use them for this, you can keep some carpet remnants on the floor of your trunk and use them in case of emergency as well since they won't take up much space and you can have a longer "run" to use. It's a great way to get out of an icey parking spot or the like and if you have a helper and you are very careful (don't try to swap while moving!!) you can swap the mats repeatedly to move as far as you need.

Not as pretty as Christmas lights...

Automotive Tip of the Week: Warning Lights - There are really only two that are an absolute, immediate, no questions asked, PULL OVER as quick as is safe and shut the engine off: A FLASHING check engine light, and even more importantly the Oil Pressure Light. Close behind those two is any time that temperature needle gets anywhere near the red. Those 3 all indicate imminent or already occuring engine damage. There is no case where any of those 3 is safe for the engine for another 100 feet of driving (but YOUR safety has to be priority even over those lights). A steady check engine light or service engine soon light are minor and almost always safe to continue on as are the "maintenance" and "tire pressure" lights. Obviously you should consult your user manual though and use your head - if something smells, sounds, or feels funny STOP DRIVING!. Too many people create massive repair bills because they try to keep going when stopping and spending the 200 for a two would have been cheaper. The steady check engine light though is not usually grounds for a tow, but doesn't mean you should let it go for a week. Places like Autozone have free scans (dealers like to charge about 40-80 to scan a car) and can tell you what the light is. For the tire pressure light, visually check the 4 tires. If none of them are visualy low/flat then it means one or more tires is low on pressure (typically below 30 psi) or one or more tires is 4 psi or more different than the others.

Take black ice out of the picture.

Automotive Tip fo the Week: Last one on tires for a while I think/hope. Snow tires are a bit of a misnomer. Ice/cold tires or simply "winter" tires is really a better description. While they improve snow traction the biggest gains are in cold and ice traction. Continental released data on their tires a couple years ago saying "anytime below 45°F use a snow tire" showing the increase in braking performance and cornering forces. The difference can be greater than 20% just for regular (no ice/snow) braking! On top of that the wet and ice traction are hugely better. Personal anecdote that illustrates this: two winters ago we got freezing rain and I live near a hill I drive every day. I pulled out on to the hill and had to stop. A 4WD Jeep Cherokee with all season tires was struggling and slid over sideways in to the curb. I let go of the brakes accelerated slowly and passed them. On the hill. I drive a RWD car with snow tires and no limited slip differential. This happens at stop lights and the like throughout the winter. I stop and start without issue, other people often struggle or slide about. It's not about having the tires for snow, it's about having them for traction on all the days there is black ice, packed snow, and leftovers from the plow which seems like more days than not! Also, while the initial investment is not small, one minor fender bender and your insurance deductible will have paid for the tires. Additionally, getting 4-5 years out of a set of snow tires is not abnormal since people drive a little less in winter and you only run them for about 5-6 months. Your summer tires last longer then too. I know I'm thankful for the tires at least a half dozen times every winter. If you are curious about tests comparing snow tires to regular tires tirerack.com has a few and it shows how big the difference really can be. Remember, it's not so much about driving in snow, but driving in the cold and on ice you may not see.

Windshields and the blades and fluid that love them.

Winter is a great time to replace your wiper blades. Save your money though on the specialty teflon and "winter" blades. A good set of high quality standard blades will give you everything you need. You are better off spending the extra money on good windshield wiper fluid. The cheap 2 dollar a gallon blue stuff outside the gas station is not a wise buy. In Wisconsin you should buy top quality -20F or better fluid. This fluid has less water content and additional additives that will help brake up ice and lubricate your windshield during the worst conditions. Cheap fluid will evaporate off the alcohol (which is how they make it not freeze) and leave behind water that then freezes on the windshield and makes you use more in very cold weather. If you want to spend money on expensive wiper blades get the newer style arc blades that have no metal carrier. Bosch, Anco, and GoodYear all have those. They also are scooped to provide additional pressure at highway speeds which can be beneficial.