the $10 million oil change

When we first saw this Wall Street Journal article about a Nascar team spending $10 million to develop a new oil for it’s cars, our first thought was “whoa, that’s a lot of money.” Then we saw that they’re claiming it gives them an extra 10 horsepower (which might not sound like much, but these races often come down to a fraction of a second). Plus, just one win at a big race would more than recoup those costs — when you factor in the prize money, sponsorship deals, etc.

All of this begs the question — are expensive oils really better for the average driver? We know people who swear by synthetics and others who claim it’s best to keep what you’ve got and maybe supplement it with an additive package. It’s gratifying to us when we hear back from an IntelliStick customer who has tested out different oils in their car and has been able to determine what oil actually is the best for them, in their car and with the way they drive.

Predictive maintenance at Harley Davidson

“The Harley-Davidson image is the antithesis of predictable. No schedules. No plans. No boundaries. No cares. The unknown lies around the bend. Just strap on the helmet, fire up the engine and ride….
The Harley-Davidson manufacturing image, however, is all about predictability. No surprises. No bottlenecks. No breakdowns. No downtime. What lies ahead is known. Just turn on the production equipment and create.”   read more

This excerpt is from a recent article in Reliable Plant about the impressive predictive maintenance system in place at the Harley plant outside of Milwaukee. We appreciated the comments from the plant’s maintenance manager about reactive maintenance or “fire-fighting” and how this seems to be rewarded in corporate America — but that Harley understands that it’s even better if you can keep those problems from occurring in the first place.

Change your “oil change culture”

At IntelliStick, we try to show people the folly of sticking to the old business-as-usual, interval-based, change-you-oil-every-3,000-mile mindset. We know the dangers — that you’re changing your oil too soon (and wasting oil/not being eco-friendly) or that you’re changing your oil too late (and risking big-time repairs). But people inherently resist change (here’s 10 reasons why).

Change your Lubrication Culture

So even after you’ve found a brilliant new way to manage your engine’s maintenance, you might find resistance in getting everyone onboard. We found an article that we liked in Machinery Lubrication that talks about the 4-step shift to change your “Lubrication Culture”. We think it is helpful to acknowledge that making a change is a process and that it will take time for everyone to make the shift.

nav system

Garmin Nuvi 465T

Another item of interest to come out of the MATS was the Garmin nüvi 465T — a navigation system designed for truckers, RVers and other long-haul drivers. After inputting the specs for your truck/RV/tractor it dials up specific restrictions for height, width, length, weight and hazardous materials.  Plus it’s plugged in to the NTTS directory.

We’d be interested to hear feedback from anyone who already has one or is thinking about getting one.

lubricants

High-speed Train

Today we came across a story about choosing the right lubricant and how it affected the development of high-speed trains in China. We thought it was an interesting story (so we tolerated the PR push by Royal Purple near the end).

We are excited about the prospect of a high-speed train from San Diego to San Francisco. If done properly, we think it could be a huge asset for the state of California. We just hope the bureaucrats can stop bickering, settle on a plan and get to work.

While reading about grease, we also saw this article called “How Grease Kills” from Machinery Lubrication Magazine which gives a breakdown on some of the common mistakes made while regreasing. — We particularly liked the thought near the end that said there may be more than one right way to do things, but there are hundreds of wrongs ways. —

under pressure

Keep tires properly inflated

We are being extra cautious and taking everything we read this morning with a grain of salt (see the date — yes, we have been fooled in the past). But this one is legitimate: California passed legislation that will require auto shops to check the tire pressure of every car that comes in. This seems like a simple thing to us. In fact, what kind of a shop wouldn’t do this? Simply making sure you’re at the right pressure can boost fuel economy by as much as 3.3%! See other easy ways to increase your mpg.

But we know that more than half of the cars on the road have incorrect tire pressure, and since April is National Car Care Month it seems like a good time to raise awareness about it.

A recent study of cars by the Car Care Council found…
54% had low tire pressure
38% had low or dirty engine oil
28% had inadequate cooling protection
19% needed new belts
16% had dirty air filters
10% had low or contaminated brake fluid