It's about time someone regulated the fluid industry properly...

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I'm becoming fed up trying to interpret nonsense. Put the shit on the side of the fucking bottle, assholes. Write it on the website, burn down any god damned store that doesn't put it on theirs, and STOP selling cut model fluid to anyone, anywhere, EVER!

If the shit on the shelf doesn't match your product catalog, I propose everyone in the marketing and procurement division should be skinned alive and used to upholster toilet seats after watching the rest of their family have their teeth extracted with a mother fucking spoon.

Your right to use words should be revoked entirely. Only numbers should be allowed. No more words at all.

I'm sick of this shit.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
...aaaaaand, Redline just suggested I use friction modifiers in Quaife differentials. :rolleyes:

It's getting to a point where I believe it may well be impossible for an idiot to surprise me anymore.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Read between the lines on the label Kennith. They're never going to outright state it's ok for your butt.

I don't want them to tell me it's okay. Indeed, that's what they keep doing, and it's annoying as hell.

Tell me what standards it meets right on the side of the bottle, and tell me what kind of extra crap you put in it; don't give me some bullshit manufacturer-specific exclusion list, don't slap your name on nonsense that you didn't even make, and don't let vendors get away with picking and choosing what to tell people about your products.

This stuff is important.

I'm getting sick and tired of this in several industries, but every time I have to buy fluids the marketing has changed yet again, and become even less specific.

I just gave away a bottle of ATF that was no more than guesswork on the side of the bottle. If I know what's in it, I know whether or not I need to drain the assembly instead of just topping it up. If I don't, my only option is to drain. I live in bumblefuck stupidville; we can't just go fine a full line on a shelf, here.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

ERover82

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2011
3,899
450
Darien Gap
Not a single API standard in sight.
quaker-state-car-fluids-chemicals-550044963-c3_1000.jpg


Manufacturer websites usually provide SDS and TDS, but not always. Selling fluids/anything means avoiding scaring consumers with data. Pretty pictures and bold claims work better.
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Not a single API standard in sight.
quaker-state-car-fluids-chemicals-550044963-c3_1000.jpg


Manufacturer websites usually provide SDS and TDS, but not always. Selling fluids/anything means avoiding scaring consumers with data. Pretty pictures and bold claims work better.

Sometimes you just have to shove something in a person's mouth and hope they chew before swallowing.

This would be one of those times. Anyone should be able to compare the lubricant information in their owner's manual against fluids on a shelf via standardized labels. We do it every single day with nutrition information on soup cans and bacon. It's not a particularly onerous regulation. Indeed, it would speed up commerce.

At least six square inches of every automotive lubricant container should be devoted to a label standardized throughout the industry.

I'm looking at precisely the sort of label that's required right this second, and it's on the back of my damned soda bottle.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

ukoffroad

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2010
2,125
168
Lynchburg, Va
I have never driven a car that deserved this much focus. I would assume that since both my rovers get driven less than 2k a year I could run goat's blood and change it regularly. Kudos to you for doing the research.
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
I'm on board with this. It needs to be easier. It's a major pain in the ass to figure out the exactly correct fluids for each of my vehicles. A lot of that has to do with manufacturer specific fluids, changing standards, and vehicles that use trans fluid in power steering.

Sometimes you just have to shove something in a person's mouth and hope they chew before swallowing.

This would be one of those times. Anyone should be able to compare the lubricant information in their owner's manual against fluids on a shelf via standardized labels. We do it every single day with nutrition information on soup cans and bacon. It's not a particularly onerous regulation. Indeed, it would speed up commerce.

At least six square inches of every automotive lubricant container should be devoted to a label standardized throughout the industry.

I'm looking at precisely the sort of label that's required right this second, and it's on the back of my damned soda bottle.

Cheers,

Kennith
 
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WaltNYC

Well-known member
Mar 3, 2010
707
135
NYC
Past a certain quality point, is there really a difference (puts on nomex suit)?

Manufacturers work with suppliers to tweak around the edges, but I suspect that most of it is marketing and extracting more $$ from our wallets.
 
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kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Past a certain quality point, is there really a difference (puts on nomex suit)?

Manufacturers work with suppliers to tweet around the edges, but I suspect that most of it is marketing and extracting more $$ from our wallets.

If you follow the data that's presented, and accept their suggestions, you'll put the wrong oil in an ATB. You'll put the wrong oil in quite a few things, actually; and if you put the wrong oil in a 4HP22 at the wrong time... You could be rebuilding a transmission. If you put the wrong oil in an ATB, you may as well just call it an A.

Lubricants are a science, at this point. They need to be treated as such. There are fifteen bajillion kinds of oil for a reason; and it's not because anyone wants to produce that many. There's what we use of our own accord to "tune" things to our liking, and then there's what the vehicle needs for regular service.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

rover rob

Well-known member
Mar 29, 2016
273
56
upstate NY
If you follow the data that's presented, and accept their suggestions, you'll put the wrong oil in an ATB. You'll put the wrong oil in quite a few things, actually; and if you put the wrong oil in a 4HP22 at the wrong time... You could be rebuilding a transmission. If you put the wrong oil in an ATB, you may as well just call it an A.

Lubricants are a science, at this point. They need to be treated as such. There are fifteen bajillion kinds of oil for a reason; and it's not because anyone wants to produce that many. There's what we use of our own accord to "tune" things to our liking, and then there's what the vehicle needs for regular service.

Cheers,

Kennith
excuse my ignorance but what the hell is a ATB ?
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
excuse my ignorance but what the hell is a ATB ?

Automatic Torque Biasing. It's a helical geared traction aid rather than a limited slip. Torsen variants generally fall under this category, such as the Truetrac. Despite what Eaton says, these do not fall under the "limited slip" category in general. Those work with a wheel in the air. These don't unless you grab the wheel with your brakes.

They rely entirely on metal to metal friction in order to function properly. If you pour that snot in one of these, they will not perform as advertised.

Redline's representative was incorrect, and on top of that he suggested a fluid that would reduce the performance of the differentials.

Cheers,

Kennith