Defiant

I'd say Phoenix's heat is easier on an engine and most mechanical bits than Buffalo's winters. It seems harsh to us, but ambient is only half an engine's running temperature.

Interesting tidbit about the teaspoon of "dirt" being fatal to an engine. If needed, GM used to actually have a part number for Dirt. I don't know what the constituents were, nor what use it was for, but you could buy it from them.

ChrisBrown

So GM was in the dirt business eh? I wonder if their pricing can complete with Home Depot...

mleskovar

[QUOTE=Defiant;2928192]I'd say Phoenix's heat is easier on an engine and most mechanical bits than Buffalo's winters. It seems harsh to us, but ambient is only half an engine's running temperature....QUOTE]

Since more wear occurs when an engine is cold I believe you are correct....although it's been a long time since I've done heat transfer problems. I know you can get thermostats calibrated for different temperatures and block heaters for cold climates you can't always plug in a car when parking it.

Glyn M Ruck

Yeah! & the US-MIL have an 87 page spec for Chocolate Cake - who cares !! Excuse my use of the word "dirt" but I used it in deference to our US members who are by far in the majority on this forum. In the colony I hail from dust or sand would be more common terminology & in oilco parlance "silica". You Guys call them Dirt bikes - we call them off-road bikes - we call them bonnets - you call them hoods, we call them boots - you call them trunks etc. All that matters is that we communicate!

Glyn M Ruck

This statement is incorrect. The requirements of Diesel & Petrol engines have been diverging for many years which is why "goof proof" mixed fleet oils have become a thing of the past. While petrol engine oils have some diesel claims & diesel oils have some petrol claims there are now large compromises involved.

I'm not going to bore people with a long explanation but in today's world the big difference lies in the fact that petrol engine oils are formulated to combat low temperature sludge (Mayonnaise in the rocker box etc.) and diesel engine oils are formulated to combat high temperature sludge (dense black stuff). Dispersancy requirements for Diesel oils are also quite different as a result. Diesel engine oils also have a higher TBN (total base number) to neutralise the by products of higher sulphur levels in DGO than petrol. Excess base in a petrol engine oil can be detrimental. There is no difference in the level of refining between a diesel & petrol engine oil. The better they are, the more highly refined they are & then we move to ISO dewaxing - Group II, Group III, UCBO & Synthetics (or blends of these)