Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Do not remind me that the future will be extremely boring.
It won't necessarily be boring. It's still too early to tell but bottom end economy cars may all be slow and will lack the only interesting thing left - gears. Everything else can benefit from an instant, uninterrupted wave of torque and better torque vectoring than we've ever seen before. I'm really looking forward to off road vehicles with independent motors - I believe the Rivian R1T will have these and it's what allows its insane tank turns.

Doesn't mean you can't have a hydrogen IC engine burbling away behind you as a generator, although this would probably be rare I can see it on some supercars. Using green energy doesn't necessarily mean you can't waste it as we do now.
 
Last edited:
I know the T5 in Fox Mustangs did. Some guys run GM's Synchromesh fluid, they believe it gives them a better shifting experience.
Do they also use it with their wives and say the same thing?
 
It won't necessarily be boring. It's still too early to tell but bottom end economy cars may all be slow and will lack the only interesting thing left - gears. Everything else can benefit from an instant, uninterrupted wave of torque and better torque vectoring than we've ever seen before. I'm really looking forward to off road vehicles with independent motors - I believe the Rivian R1T will have these and it's what allows its insane tank turns.

Doesn't mean you can't have a hydrogen IC engine burbling away behind you as a generator, although this would probably be rare I can see it on some supercars. Using green energy doesn't necessarily mean you can't waste it as we do now.

The future I envision is that all cars I could actually purchase end up being built much in the same way that modern European vans or car batteries are handled. Some random OEM makes the one model and then they just swap the grilles and some interior trim about. Since the powerplants have no distinct power delivery characteristics and identical (lack of) sound, sitting in your Nissan commuter pod will provide an identically sanitized experience than it will your Opel pod or your Fiat pod. Supercars won't be boring, but I don't suppose those will get any cheaper. With normal customers more interested in what they can experience besides driving over the driving experience, it's unlikely that manufacturers would invest on that front as a USP over "gIAnT ScReeN".

I agree with you @Perc. Electric drive is fascinating, and the development going into it even more so. I just don't think the majority of cars coming out of the other end will be.
 
I'm not sure if I am more uncomfortable that you asked the question or the thought of trying to answer that....

Well, I imagine these are people that use K&N air filters, Royal Purple or Amsoil, and try and tell you that these things make their car work more betterer because apparently engine ECU's are dumber than them (who don't see the increased air volume and adjust down to bring it back in line) and regular oil changes are enough. They believe the marketing speak and think they know better. So in a roundabout rambling way I imagine they use the oil for other things because it's just that good.
 
The Centurion piqued my interest so I went digging, someone has the brochure on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Dodge-Ram-Centurion-Conversion-Brochure-/124179680055

It looks like this was the Austin model if the stickers are anything to go by and originally had lights on the front bull-bar. Another brochure shows that they did fit TVs but there isn't anywhere for it to go in this truck. The lights have escaped so I dunno, maybe the owner needed more switches and wanted to keep a 'proper' Centurion switch plate without extra holes cut in it and this is all they could get..?

Some info about the Ford options on this site:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cur...cles-creates-a-frankenstein-suburban-fighter/

Would be interesting to put it back to original spec, quite a fancy thing in its time.
Good catch I saw that brochure on ebay but didn't spend enough time looking at it. I think you are right and someone pulled the front brush bar or maybe it was never installed since it was a 2wd truck.




Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
Well, I imagine these are people that use K&N air filters, Royal Purple or Amsoil, and try and tell you that these things make their car work more betterer because apparently engine ECU's are dumber than them (who don't see the increased air volume and adjust down to bring it back in line) and regular oil changes are enough. They believe the marketing speak and think they know better. So in a roundabout rambling way I imagine they use the oil for other things because it's just that good.

I follow you now.

Royal Purple used to be high grade oil, which is required in some applications, but not all. It was sold off (and I have seen where the money is being spent) and now is just okay. K&N is marketing hype, but I have used them where I needed a specific filter to fit in a specific place. Amsoil is just MLM.

Back to the Syncromesh, it's not really more than the ATF, so no harm there. Personally I just used Type F ATF because I had it on the shelf. I'm not sure anything can really make a T5 shift better.
 
My ATF shelf has like, random bottles of everybody's unicorn blood. Some dex3, half a quart of dex4 for some fucking reason, unbelievable amounts of Mercon V for some reason, ATF+4, Type F, etc. etc. etc. There's a bottle of Royal Purple universal ATF, too, because it was literally the only thing I could find at Walmart that had the Subaru cert on it and I needed to top up an automatic subaru once. It is... In fact, purple ATF :rolleyes:

Aside from the Dex3, all of it just ends up getting poured in a spray bottle with acetone to make penetrating lube because I don't have anything that takes any of it. Dex3 is Universal Hydraulic Fluid™. The lift, log splitter, every power steering system (except that one time I found a bottle of actual power steering fluid!?)
 
Oil is 25% science and 75% humbug. Opel Vivaro and Renault Trafic is (or used to be) the exact same product, but it needs GM Dexos2 or Renault RN0720 motor oil depending on which dealer you bought it from.

The bright green CHF11S fluid is commonly used in power steering systems and whatnot. Citroën/Peugeot invented their own orange version of it, probably because CHF looks identical to Citroën's own LHM suspension fluid and that would have made life difficult for mechanics.

The fluids are fully compatible (it even says so on the bottles) but if you mix the two you probably end up with a brown fluid that makes the next owner think you've put engine oil in there.
 
The bright green stuff is what Land Rover specify for the suspension hydraulics on the Discovery 2, it's listed as Cold Climate Power Steering Fluid.
 
Who knew you could make so many different incompatible oils from dead organics!
 
Who knew you could make so many different incompatible oils from dead organics!

Most of them are only incompatible because some marketing guys said so. Some oil companies sell 10 different kinds of ATF while others have one type that does everything. Everything besides DCT, anyway.
 
Sometimes the formulation really matters. You have to use Nissan fluids in their manual transmissions and diffs, any of the aftermarket stuff has additives that will bond to some of the alloys used in the transmission and ruin it.
 
I know it's not the same kind of oil but I can't resist.
 
SEAT drivers already have to explain to their mates at the pub what the Volkswagen group is and that SEAT isn't just "using VW engines" because that's not how the world of car manufacturing works. Imagine having to do that after first explaining that your Cupra isn't just a SEAT.

 
I don't think SEAT know what they're doing, I saw the back of a new Leon the other week and though "Ooh, an Alfa", before seeing the badge.

1614375293287.png
 
Hasn't the Leon looked a bit like an Alfa Romeo for 20 years or so?
 
Top