Thoughts on engine oil

Okay so first of all I'm no physics major.

But let me try my best and start by explaining what a car engine looks like.

Engine makes a car move by making small and repeated combustion (setting gasoline on fire) in cylinders. 

Within each cylinder there's a piston moving up and down to control the pressure inside each cylinder.

They look like this:

Because they are constantly moving, lubricating this part of the car makes it last longer and smoother. Which brings me to our topic for today:

Yummy

Have you heard of the term Synthetic oil?

What do you know about them besides that they are "super uber good for your engine" and they cost a fortune?

How is it different from "regular" oil?

To start with, the "regular" or "conventional" oil we usually use is mineral oil.

Mineral oil is naturally derived from petroleum, meaning they are not man made, but extracted from nature.

Synthetic oil, on the other hand, are completely artificial, first appearing in the early 1940's.

Silly Curious Rabbit asks:

But why do people recommend synthetic oil? Isn't natural product always better? Why isn't there organic engine oil? Why can't we use olive oil instead?

Synthetic oil is very different from mineral oil in terms of its physical properties. It is man-made and tailor-made for engine lubrication. It is free from impurities, allowing it to be very uniform and consistent. 

This means:

1) It retains its consistency at high and low temperature (protects engine in extreme hot or cold weather)

2) It creates less friction inside the piston (better fuel economy)

3) It doesn't break down as easily, thereby reducing oil sludge

4) It prolongs engine life (less wear and tear)

Disadvantage?

Pure synthetic oil is quite expensive.

This is why a lot of the stores sell "synthetic blends", which is a mix of mineral oil and synthetic oil. 

They claim to have a lot of the benefits of synthetic oil minus the ouch on the wallet.

To me, you always get what you pay for. Will a mix of 30% synthetic and 70% mineral be as good as 100%?

Will pigs fly?

Joseph... out.

My take on the 2012 Civic

Over this short time that 2012 Honda Civic has been introduced, I have heard mixed messages and reviews.
Here's a summary of what I think of it. Despite my employment with Mazda, I'm fairly confident my thought are fairly objective and true to myself.

Let me start by showing this quick review by Consumer's Report.
(For those of you not too familiar what Consumer's Report is, it is:
 "an American Magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides. It has approximately 7.3 million subscribers^[1] and an annual testing budget of approximately US$21 million.^[2] The annual Consumer Reports new car issue, released every April, is typically the magazine's best-selling issue and is thought to influence millions of automobile purchases."   
.......Directly stolen from Wikipedia for those of you too lazy to wiki them yourselves =D)

Here is the report:

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/08/2012-honda-civic-lx-scores-too-low-for-consumer-reports-to-recommend.html

Pretty much what I think as well.

Honda Civic has always borne the reputation of being reliable, fun to drive, and nice to look at. Those are exactly the reasons I bought my 2009 Civic. It just stood out from all other cars (Mazda 3 included! I'm not a fan of the interior of first generation Mazda 3). But wow how things have changed in as little as 3 years.

I'm sure the 2012 Civic is as reliable as ever, but I don't think I can say the same for the other two (handling and appearance) and it dulls in comparison with other new cars. What I think? You'd never go wrong with a civic, just like you won't with a Corolla. But why do it when there's other as reliable, but more exciting cars out there?

Vanilla ice cream is the most popular flavour in the world because it is the easiest choice, but why get it at an ice cream bar when there's chocolate AND cookies AND cream?

I'm hungry :D

Winter Driving Tips

I know.... Autumn is just here and we're all still enjoying the last bits of sunshine.

But it's never too early to learn about and prepare for winter driving.
Those frosty mornings and slushy roads are slowly but surely creeping up on us!

Besides, I feel like writing about snow tires :)

Okay! So first things first. Do we really need snow tires (aka winter tires)?

The answer is no. You don't HAVE to have them.

Picture all season tires as sneakers, and snow tires snow boots.

  vs

Yes, you can still walk and run in snow in sneakers. And yes, you're also more likely to fall on your face. The cost of one collision is, however, usually a lot higher than that of four winter tires.

For those who are interested..what is the difference between all season and snow tires? There are two major differences. Tread design and material.

Tread

     Snow tire treads are designed to help tires "bite" into the snow/ice/slush and have a firm grip. Meanwhile, all season tires are designed to last and not hold as much "stickiness" to the road surface.

"BITE"

Material

All season tires act like normal rubbers.

They get softer when it's warm and hardens up when temperature drops. A hard and brittle tire loses its ability to conform to the road surface, resulting in loss of traction and therefore reduced maneuverability (is this a word?) of your car.

Snow tires, on the other hand, are made with softer rubber that will retain their softness in winter condition. This way, your tires maintain firm grip to the road, allowing you to move around those silly crows and squirrels who are oblivious to you.

But wait! Silly Curious Rabbit has a question!

Question: If winter tires are so good should we just use it instead and save the money on all seasons?

Answer: Not a good idea. Snow tires will make a very noisy ride on dry pavement. Also, the specific designs mentioned above will make them wear out a lot quicker than normal tires. Besides, having those unnecessarily increased traction means you have more "drag" on the road and will most likely result in a worse fuel economy.

Hope this helps you :]