Quantum Leaps

[Grumpy Bear]

 

Let me run something by you.

UOA of an oil analysis shows 2.4% fuel dilution. Let’s do the math.

6 quarts at 32 ounces a quart equals 192 ounces. 2.4% of that is 4.61 ounces of gasoline in the oil. That’s 14.4% of a quart. That boys is a bunch. Hold that thought.

ASTM D86 is the gold standard for gasoline distillation. The typical 87 Octane E10 gasoline has an endpoint of 400F. Roughly 82 F below the NOACK test temperature. The 60% distilled has a temperature of about 230 F. Hold that thought as well. I’ve run a few thousand D86 distillations.

A NOACK test for Red Line 0W20 at 482 F, the ASTM standard is 9%. Let’s do the math. 192 ounces (six quarts) = 17.28 ounces or a tad over half a quart.

Last piece of the puzzle. At 5,000 miles the dipstick shows no gain, no loss.

Question??? How do you burn off 9% of the lightest components of a motor oil which are much heavier than the heaviest components of gasoline and manage not to vaporize the gasoline so that you have a 2.4% residual OR how do you manage to burn off the light ends of the heavier fluid and yet retain 2.4% of the lighter components? OR how do you manage a zero net volume change by adding 2.4% to your volume? Are you as confused as I?

The obvious answer is the sump temperature is below the 50% of the D86 in which case there is no loss of light ends of the lubricant but in that case the oil level would be 5 ounces higher than the charge volume.

Yes I am aware of the rules of partial pressures but this lies outside that bound.

By what wizardry to we claim a half a quart in 5,000 miles is a result of NOACK volatility (a common belief) and still show 2.4% fuel dilution by GC method with zero net change in volume?

My seventh grade math teacher taught us that the first rule of a double check of our figures is….is the result logical?    

[Grumpy Bear]

I walk into Walmart the other day headed to automotive and passing threw sporting goods I notice golf gloves in four six sizes but only for right handers. I mention this to the wife who asks Siri how much of the worlds population is left handed? The most common answer was 10% although sighting studies that give a range of 5% to 30%. 

 

Well how many hand sizes are there? http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=imsediss

 

If there were ever  a case for TMI this is it. A full study in how gloves are designed and sizes selected based on data. Not really a shocker but what is a shocker is the from many only a few are chosen based on....you guessed it....the probability that it will sell. 

 

When a segment becomes so small as to lack exceeding some benchmark for sales that unit is deleted from production. This is the reason that while a child jeans could be bought in inch sizes in both length and waist and today we get xs, s, m, l, XL and maybe XXL OR we get even numbers in waist and even numbers in length save a few in the sweet spot thus 31 X 32 is still an option. So....when you went to the store to buy jeans 40 years ago you came home looking sharp as a tac. Tailored and fitted!

 

Today you buy what they make and not what you want and come home looking like you need to gain a few or loose a few pounds. They market this as relaxed fit (slovenly) or Skinny Jeans and call extra length stacking giving it a name that rings style. 

 

Bottom line is no one really gets what they set out to buy but perhaps the inverse percentage of those who fit a popular size as standard. BUT you get to pay for the illusion of style and pretend you fit in with everyone else that looks like a mother that hated them dressed them. 

 

Can you make the leap to things like pickup truck option packages all on your own? 

 

I use to go with dad to buy the rare new family car back in the day. You sat with a sales design guy and constructed your auto or truck from an seemingly endless pallet of options in any order you liked. You could even delete items that were standard if you liked. Buy 'body in white' or an unfinished shell. 

 

They didn't cost to much. The wait wasn't that long. You got what you asked for. You paid ala carte. You went home happy that yours was likely the only one ever build exactly like you ordered it and the auto industry made it work. They made money and the only cars that left production were those no one ordered. It would cost to much is pure bull feathers. 

 

The only thing that prohibits you getting your wishes is the level of greed and lack of empathy of manufactures of most anything. 

 

Dad ordered a few four door hard tops with four speeds, nine inch lockers and 427's and mom got her color and designed the interior herself. Everyone was happy. 

[Grumpy Bear]

Snail mail still works and on occasion it is the way business is done. My pension for example required I fill out forms, have them notarized and sent via post to the receiver. That moment when stuffing the envelope I noticed “it”.

 

A legal envelope and three sheets of 8.25” X 11.25” standard desk top stationary. It’s a simple trifold which when the receiver opens, it comes to hand naturally, heading up all nice and neat, all in order of read. I noticed it because in that moment I remembered it.

 

It was taught once upon a time and there were formal rules if you will for each size, type and purpose. The purpose?

 

Kindness of course. A type of kindness we no longer value in the whole nor in part. When what we said and did was for the ease and pleasure of others.

 

We assured our spelling and grammar correct. Learned to write legibly and with a flare pleasing to the eye of the reader and considerate of their circumstance.

 

Fact is we took pride in such things in general. We washed our face, polished our shoes and pressed our shirts and attempted to eat above the level of hogs to trough. With family often and with friends as a treasure.

 

In the greater part this was done with a feeling of pride knowing we caused someone joy and we were glad to be of that station of service. John 13:35 (Jesus speaking)  "...by this all will know that you are my disciples—if you have love among yourselves.”

 

Somewhere in the path of my lifetime it became less a gift of the giver and more a demand of the receiver. How was that to work well?

 

In the backlash black became white, sweet became bitter, light became oppressive. All of that quite foreseeable, don’t you think?

 

As much as that may be and as warranted as the reaction was, it said a great deal more about those in abandon of the love they had once shown than those who had, in all matter and manor of fact, hated always; who had become not turned from their love but emboldened in their hates and greediness.

 

Happy me they are easy to spot.

[CadillacLuke24]

Boy you hit that nail on the head. it seems kindness is spun to the wayside in today's world. It's all about me me me me me. 

 

Thank you for the discussions Marty. I love to discuss ideas. Why things change. How things change. Not many people do. 

 

One thing I DO NOT like about modern car buying is the packaging. I got lucky with Clyde in that I was able to get the packages I wanted for the most part, though some things were after the dealer (such as the wheels and the bedliner). I would have loved to build Clyde a la carte and get exactly what I wanted. But it all worked out in the end. All's well that ends well, right?

[KARNUT]

In my travels I gravitate where kindness is the norm for the most part. One of the places that can be questionable is driving the interstate. My fix is giving them room remembering I’m retired and in no hurry. Buying automobiles. I’m old to remember that the base automobile today was the luxury car yesterday. And buying a car is a real bargain in today’s market. No complaints here.


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[Grumpy Bear]

“Dutchy!” (Duchy) she said gazing into the mirror passing judgment on her outfit of choice.

 

“Say again”? Hoping she didn’t hear me….and…..she didn’t. 

 

Her mother and mine have a partial regional history. Eastern Pennsylvania, home of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Nothing about them is actually Dutch but rather Deutsch. German, Low German to be more precise or of the common people. The definition is broader including all German speaking Lowland peoples. Polish, Czech, Bohemian, Austrian and even low Swiss and yes Dutch.

 

In effect she is saying the outfit looks like something a field peasant would wear to work rather than our intended destination, Sunday Services.

 

I see her point. Course weave. Floor length. Earth tone. Simple lines. Nothing about it screams, “LOOK AT ME!!!”

 

But to her it is more. To her it signifies she hasn’t as yet, ‘made it’.

 

“What’s the matter?” I venture in a sympathetic voice.

 

“Waif, I look like a waif” nearly in tears.

 

There’s a word you don’t hear every day, eh? She must have spent some time thinking about this.

 

“I don’t see any dirt”. I remark sheepishly.

 

The glare…..

 

“No holes?” I inquire adding quickly “Nice press on it”! and further offer, “It fits nice.”

 

I want to say, ‘You’re too old to be called a waif anyway’ and just as quickly decide I like sleeping indoors on such a night.

 

Man I’ve dug a hole and she’s turning up the heat…..think dummy!

 

“Do you think the Queen has ever dressed a deer?” Meant to shock and it does.

 

“Think anyone in her inner court plants flax? Weaves? Spins? Who makes her clothing? Prepares her meals? Can you see her in the sheep pen? Nutting a hog? Digging a truffle? Who serves her tea? Crochet’s her doily for her crumpet? Built the castle she lives in. Teams her coach?”

 

“Is it not the common person? Those with skills that have an actual value in the life of a common day?”

 

Pulling a Bible from the shelf I read to her John 13:5-15  “After that he (Jesus) put water into a basin and started to wash the feet of the disciples and to dry them off with the towel that was wrapped around him.  Then he came to Simon Peter. He said to him: “Lord, are you washing my feet?”  Jesus answered him: “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand after these things.”  Peter said to him: “You will certainly never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”  Simon Peter said to him: “Lord, wash not only my feet but also my hands and my head.”  Jesus said to him: “Whoever has bathed does not need to have more than his feet washed, but is completely clean. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” For he knew the man who was betraying him. This is why he said: “Not all of you are clean.” When, now, he had washed their feet and had put his outer garments on, he again reclined at the table and said to them: “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are correct, for I am such. Therefore, if I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also should wash the feet of one another. For I set the pattern for you, that just as I did to you, you should also do”.

 

“Jesus taught that the greatest one among his brothers was the servant”. And I pause.

 

“Looks fine.” she mumbles but smiles, gives me a peck and hands me the keys, “time to go”. 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2019 by Grumpy Bear
Formatting

[Grumpy Bear]

Tilting at Windmills. 

Middle of February with little to report but much to ponder as I spend some time filtering the threads for something to capture my attention and relieve my ever so rare state of boredom. The plus of an active mind is, after all, the absence of boredom. Enough so that I might not be fully aware of its true meaning. Hum! It could be this is just a state of mental numbness brought on by repeated and endless bludgeoning of ‘some Ol’, same Ol’ thread topics. Even that, in and of itself, would be fine IF progress were being made. Ya know,…like a consensus or a solution or something. I’d settle for a general direction.

AFM threads in example. Some individuals have systems that work flawlessly and some have issues endless and profound. Instead of using that information to conclude that it CAN be made right and realizing that it needs to just be repaired, and under warranty I might add, it turns into a marketing platform for every known device or operational method that will disable it.

The obvious can be extended to a list that includes but not limited to, catch cans, bad acting 6 speeds, explosive drive shafts and Chevy shake. There is a fix for every one of these that leaves the original intent and design whole, functional and useful. Every one of these topics has a long list of individuals whose truck does not suffer from whatever is case in point and yet for those who do, there is no cure? Hardly. There is unwillingness for whatever reason to address IT and way too much willingness to defend fiercely the indefensible.

Gleaning the nature of the issues and their most likely cure from the rubble is exhausting. 

Good thing February is a short month, eh?

 

[KARNUT]

Tilting at Windmills. 

Middle of February with little to report but much to ponder as I spend some time filtering the threads for something to capture my attention and relieve my ever so rare state of boredom. The plus of an active mind is, after all, the absence of boredom. Enough so that I might not be fully aware of its true meaning. Hum! It could be this is just a state of mental numbness brought on by repeated and endless bludgeoning of ‘some Ol’, same Ol’ thread topics. Even that, in and of itself, would be fine IF progress were being made. Ya know,…like a consensus or a solution or something. I’d settle for a general direction.

AFM threads in example. Some individuals have systems that work flawlessly and some have issues endless and profound. Instead of using that information to conclude that it CAN be made right and realizing that it needs to just be repaired, and under warranty I might add, it turns into a marketing platform for every known device or operational method that will disable it.

The obvious can be extended to a list that includes but not limited to, catch cans, bad acting 6 speeds, explosive drive shafts and Chevy shake. There is a fix for every one of these that leaves the original intent and design whole, functional and useful. Every one of these topics has a long list of individuals whose truck does not suffer from whatever is case in point and yet for those who do, there is no cure? Hardly. There is unwillingness for whatever reason to address IT and way too much willingness to defend fiercely the indefensible.

Gleaning the nature of the issues and their most likely cure from the rubble is exhausting. 

Good thing February is a short month, eh?

 

Oh yes to be satisfied. Then there would be no Nascar, NHRA, Hot Rod magazine, SS,GT or maybe even mini vans. I one of those never satisfied. Except of course when it comes to the wife. And yes I still hate cylinder deactivation a broken record I know.[emoji41]


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[Grumpy Bear]

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Oh yes to be satisfied. Then there would be no Nascar, NHRA, Hot Rod magazine, SS,GT or maybe even mini vans. I one of those never satisfied. Except of course when it comes to the wife. And yes I still hate cylinder deactivation a broken record I know.

Not liking something for yourself is a preference, yes? I get that and I respect that. I agree a world in one color would be uninteresting indeed.

 

What I don't respect are those that don't like something and intentionally hinder the search for the repair solution the OP is seeking. Confusing the fellow with half truths and out right lies or unsolicited opinion delivered as gospel. 

 

I'm aware of your stand on several issues and your reasons but I don't recall you ever misleading anyone into thinking there is no 'fix' solution when there clearly is in an attempt to persuade them to take your view. I've never heard you dress someone down for liking a feature you don't. I've never heard you lie to get your way. What I have heard you do is offer practical advise to assist someone to the solution they seek even if you disagree with the basic concept, and THAT is as it should be.

 

Your input is always appreciated. Not just by me. I expect finding a forum of 170,000 just like you would be to much to ask. 

Edited February 15, 2019 by Grumpy Bear

[KARNUT]

Not liking something for yourself is a preference, yes? I get that and I respect that. I agree a world in one color would be uninteresting indeed.
 
What I don't respect are those that don't like something and intentionally hinder the search for the repair solution the OP is seeking. Confusing the fellow with half truths and out right lies or unsolicited opinion delivered as gospel. 
 
I'm aware of your stand on several issues and your reasons but I don't recall you ever misleading anyone into thinking there is no 'fix' solution when there clearly is in an attempt to persuade them to take your view. I've never heard you dress someone down for liking a feature you don't. I've never heard you lie to get your way. What I have heard you do is offer practical advise to assist someone to the solution they seek even if you disagree with the basic concept, and THAT is as it should be.
 
Your input is always appreciated. Not just by me. I expect finding a forum of 170,000 just like you would be to much to ask. 

One of the threads I enjoy is how many miles are on your 14 and up GM. We get to hear how the new technology is holding up. I would be tickled to death if the had a delete button that would turn off cylinder deactivation and the stop start feature. The less is more comes from my working days. When I bought and outfit my truck it supported my clearing tractor. My truck goes down that’s thousands lost. A working man isn’t concerned about 1-2 miles per gallon. It’s thousands they lose if the truck fails. My fear has been realized, cylinder deactivation is moving to 3/4 ton. The diesel has been ruined, now the V8-6-4 whatever their trying to make it now may get less reliable. I guess my thinking comes from using a truck for its original purpose.


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[CadillacLuke24]

The new 6.6L Chevy/GMC has variable cylinders now?

[KARNUT]

Ram has it, there was talk of the new heavy duty GM having it.


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[Grumpy Bear]

Force of Wills. 

Pretty sure I’ve mentioned I have a fondness for post war Brit motorcycles. Something captivating about their simplistic elegance. The Brits liked it simple and economical. This often meant sacrifice. Refinement was one of those sacrifices. The Albion four speed gearbox comes to mind.

AJS, Atlas, Burman, Norton and Royal Enfield bikes could be found sporting this particular transmission. If you’ve ever seen the interior of one you might think they were made by cavemen. Yet they managed a better than fair reputation in trials, hill climb, green lane, speed trials and road racing. Finicky to get tuned right but once fretted….oh boy.

Today you would curse it, bash it and trash talk it and tell me what it can’t do compared to an Asian Superbikes counterpart. If you happened upon one you would likely break it in a few days which would lead to more bashing, trash talking and cursing.

If you grew up with it you could use it for decades of trouble free service and if you really understood it you could massage it into a piece that would make modern boxes sit up and take notice.

There is something about a well sorted half liter singe Brit bike that will put a smile on your face like no other piece of machinery on earth. The experience is visceral, satisfying and exhilarating.

Thing is you have to understand what it is and what its limits are and work with it. Partner with it. Explore it. Refine it. Tune it. Hone it. RESPECT IT. And it will reward you.

6L80/90E and PATC transmission (and a few others) have this sort of relationship. In fact PATC has developed this sort of relationship with several gearboxes. Black Bear another who has taken the time to explore and expand the basic GM six speed experience from the software side. These guys are to this GM variant what Richmond Gear is the Ford Top Loader.

People that have unresolved issues with this transmission are people that like to think they can force their will on inanimate objects. That it should do as their expectations demand.

Ever wonder why some people just don’t have this fight on their hands? Even if they get a ‘lemon’ box?

Because, and listen carefully…they don’t expect someone else to solve their problem for them FOR FREE. Even if the problem is the manufactures fault and it often is.

You get two choices. Learn to live with a limitation or flaw OR remove the limitation/flaw.

Case in point. I owned a 1998 Honda Civic HX 5 speed. There is indeed a first gear synchromesh ring in this gear box and yet above your grandmothers walking speed you can’t get it shift from second or third to first without coming to nearly a full stop.

Honda adjusted the clutch, They changed fluid multiple times. They did not fix the ‘problem’. In fact they say it isn’t a problem. Sound familiar?

I had two choices. Live with it and stop before moving to first gear or solve the problem. I solved the problem.

Researching the issue with transmission and lubrication specialist I found that the factory fluids were too slippery not allowing the ring to decelerate quickly enough. Red Line MTL fluid has a friction modifier that corrected a problem Honda not only didn’t have an answer for nor even think was an issue but wouldn’t ever be looking to correct.

 

I could shift like butter from speeds over 30 mph into low with a flick of the wrist and a blip of the pedal for the price of an oil change.

It could care less what you think it should or shouldn’t do or who you think should be responsible. They respond to the laws of the universe, not your opinion, your anger, or your warranty.   

[KARNUT]

Force of Wills. 

Pretty sure I’ve mentioned I have a fondness for post war Brit motorcycles. Something captivating about their simplistic elegance. The Brits liked it simple and economical. This often meant sacrifice. Refinement was one of those sacrifices. The Albion four speed gearbox comes to mind.

AJS, Atlas, Burman, Norton and Royal Enfield bikes could be found sporting this particular transmission. If you’ve ever seen the interior of one you might think they were made by cavemen. Yet they managed a better than fair reputation in trials, hill climb, green lane, speed trials and road racing. Finicky to get tuned right but once fretted….oh boy.

Today you would curse it, bash it and trash talk it and tell me what it can’t do compared to an Asian Superbikes counterpart. If you happened upon one you would likely break it in a few days which would lead to more bashing, trash talking and cursing.

If you grew up with it you could use it for decades of trouble free service and if you really understood it you could massage it into a piece that would make modern boxes sit up and take notice.

There is something about a well sorted half liter singe Brit bike that will put a smile on your face like no other piece of machinery on earth. The experience is visceral, satisfying and exhilarating.

Thing is you have to understand what it is and what its limits are and work with it. Partner with it. Explore it. Refine it. Tune it. Hone it. RESPECT IT. And it will reward you.

6L80/90E and PATC transmission (and a few others) have this sort of relationship. In fact PATC has developed this sort of relationship with several gearboxes. Black Bear another who has taken the time to explore and expand the basic GM six speed experience from the software side. These guys are to this GM variant what Richmond Gear is the Ford Top Loader.

People that have unresolved issues with this transmission are people that like to think they can force their will on inanimate objects. That it should do as their expectations demand.

Ever wonder why some people just don’t have this fight on their hands? Even if they get a ‘lemon’ box?

Because, and listen carefully…they don’t expect someone else to solve their problem for them FOR FREE. Even if the problem is the manufactures fault and it often is.

You get two choices. Learn to live with a limitation or flaw OR remove the limitation/flaw.

Case in point. I owned a 1998 Honda Civic HX 5 speed. There is indeed a first gear synchromesh ring in this gear box and yet above your grandmothers walking speed you can’t get it shift from second or third to first without coming to nearly a full stop.

Honda adjusted the clutch, They changed fluid multiple times. They did not fix the ‘problem’. In fact they say it isn’t a problem. Sound familiar?

I had two choices. Live with it and stop before moving to first gear or solve the problem. I solved the problem.
Researching the issue with transmission and lubrication specialist I found that the factory fluids were too slippery not allowing the ring to decelerate quickly enough. Red Line MTL fluid has a friction modifier that corrected a problem Honda not only didn’t have an answer for nor even think was an issue but wouldn’t ever be looking to correct.

 

I could shift like butter from speeds over 30 mph into low with a flick of the wrist and a blip of the pedal for the price of an oil change.

It could care less what you think it should or shouldn’t do or who you think should be responsible. They respond to the laws of the universe, not your opinion, your anger, or your warranty.   

Every p/u Iv owned I modified in someway to make it my own, some very much so. I'm easy to please though. The one complaint I can't figure out is the shake people complain about. I've never owned a pickup where the passenger seat didn't shake a little empty. I've never ridden on a perfect road to see if it's the truck or the road. As far as transmissions, my 700R4 (some claim the worst ever)has been shifting flawlessly behind way more horsepower it was designed to handle for many years. You just can't please everyone.


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[Grumpy Bear]

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 7:41 AM, KARNUT said:

Every p/u Iv owned I modified in someway to make it my own, some very much so. I'm easy to please though. The one complaint I can't figure out is the shake people complain about. I've never owned a pickup where the passenger seat didn't shake a little empty. I've never ridden on a perfect road to see if it's the truck or the road. As far as transmissions, my 700R4 (some claim the worst ever)has been shifting flawlessly behind way more horsepower it was designed to handle for many years. You just can't please everyone.

No you can't. So much meaning in so few words. I'm envious. 

 

Once upon a time a long time ago in a land far-far away a younger me was deeply into "making it my own". Custom paint and murals on the sheet metal of my bikes. Engraving and plating. Fabricating things I wanted that were not available. Spit and polish.

 

A bit later I went head long into performance enhancement going straight for the throat. A motor is a black hole for money, time and energy. And I could build them to break everything past the flywheel...and did. That isn't much fun and quite expensive.

 

I learned to start at the ground and work backward as every project was on the installment plan. That a power train is a system of systems. Doesn't do much good to build a bullet proof 9 inch nodular Ford and leave stock axles in it to grenade it all. Lesson learned. Driveshaft next then the gear box, clutch/converter and so on removing the limitations of the design to cope with the excess I would put upon it. Back in the day it was easy pickings. Meaning, for example, there is more room for improvement in a point/condenser ignition that there is in todays coil over plug ECU systems. Truth be told todays system is hard to improve upon. 

 

Then something unexpected happened. Seriously I didn't see it coming. People in mass just quite caring to learn as systems became ever more complicated and more importantly HIDDEN. Complication can be handled but hidden?...well what will one do with that?

 

Back in the day, my day, a manufacture built a motor platform. The transmissions were designed to handle the most powerful factory combination in that platform and with some cushion for future developments. Today?...today they design a motor with an out put of 400 pound feet of torque put a transmission behind it that can handle 375 of it and torque manage the motor to remove the shock energy aware that you rarely use that much of the package potential. Shorten the warranty, double the price and hope for the best.

 

Today I don't modify so much to make it distinctive or my own but to make the most of what is there or to completely reengineer fatally flawed systems I just refuse to live with. Suspension a case in point. Transmission cooling designs that kill transmissions.

 

I modify for survival now and just can't afford individuality anymore. Just make it last well past the manufactures wishes.

 

Well...and I can't find Fuzzy Dice at K-Mart anymore. Come to think of it. I can't find a K-Mart!!