Pica

Ha you get here just before me- re tattoos
Metal face ornaments.
Lip filler
Selfies
The sidebar on the Daily Fail
Kardashians
Gold teeth
Terracotta herb signs for the garden
Arm tights aka as a bolero
Paper umbrellas in drinks
I have thousands more including "wall art"

uk_grenada

Heres something different and less toilet oriented.

Oil changes.

You can buy the same car in the us, japan and the uk. In europe and japan, oil is changed annually or at about 20000 miles in service schedules. In america the same vehicles often get changed every 3 months??? Even when the manufacturer says change it less often there is an industry to persuade people to do it more often. Why? Its crazy.

NB i used to work for a car components co, technically it is definitely crazy. Oil does not make your engine last through lubrication, but by preventing corrosion of bearing surfaces, chains and other components. Synthetic oils have an effective life measured in time not use, so long as they arent used outside their operating envelope. So long as the oil filter is working, thats it, fullstop.

Pulaski

Or 3,000 miles! .... If we did that we'd be changing oil in one or other of our main commuting vehicles every 4weeks! Oil changes in America are a weird national obsession.
You mean prints and paintings?

petitefrancaise

Over-identification with the college/university of your child. Honest to god, t-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts. Huge ad signs on the side of the highway going into town "Buy your UT swag here"

I totally get that you are proud of your kid. I put a "Longhorn Mom" sticker on my car that my daughter bought for me because it seems all her friends' parents had one. Now I have a son at another university in a different country where they don't even have car stickers... should I take off the Longhorns one so as not to favour one child over another? What about when third PF goes to college? Luckily eldest will have finished her college by then. I've got a Welsh Dragon to put on the car but too many stickers looks tacky.

Pica

No, I'm a great lover of art , what I mean is the tat sold in "home furnishing" shops! Photos of leaves etc

Pulaski

Ah, yes!

mrken30

The quality of US oil can be much lower than European oil.

Here is a short article explaining the difference.

https://ultimatesyntheticoil.com/ame...opean-engines/

uk_grenada

As a european - that article is rubbish. Its a sales tool for an oil maker. VAG are the only company to have a slightly peculiar need, they have high shear resistance oil because they use extreme pressure injectors, thats all. The rest just specify what is effectively cold and hot viscosity, but since the usual is around 5-30 or 5-40 semi or full synthetic, and good synthetics are up at 0-50, its a bit academic, you just put the cheapest for the standard youur engine wants, and even that in my modern engine is down to 3 litres, with an oil filter change, and lasts a year or 20000 miles.

Yes, you can change it 6 monthly, but i only ever heard that recommended years ago for a particular nissan that ate timing chains.

uk_grenada

Oh, my racing honda had oil changes at 500 miles, but a 125cc twin revving at 24000 rpm will eat most things :-)

Pulaski

Perhaps for basic "old fashioned" mineral oil, but we only ever put Mobil 1 full synthetic in our vehicles, and I don't know why anyone would only use basic mineral oil these days. The massively extended oil change intervals on cars in the UK and Europe usually specify that full synthetic oil is used.

mrken30

Mobil One does not carry VW 504 specification. Not all synthectics are the same.

https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1[/url]

The 504 spec means less sludge, and hence longer drain intervals. I would not use mobil one for a car with extended drain interval.

VW 507.00, VW 504.00, etc: Volkswagen Motor Oil Specifications Explained - oilspecifications.org

I'm not even sure you can buy a 504 spec oil in the US, hence why a US engines are less tight and less efficient than European and Japanese engines.

BEVS

Oh yes. That's a Room 101. Loathe tattoos. Always have.

So someone tell me why husband got himself a tattoo of my name on his arm for my last Big O birthday.

DandNHill

Cos he loves you ❤️😍

But like many men he doesn't get "us"! Lol

mrken30

Was it a permanent tattoo? I have heard you can get temporary tattoos that just fade with time.

BEVS

Oh yes. It's permanent. Right there on his flippin' arm.

What he nearly got was an unladylike punch up the bracket. Don't go thinking there was any other surprise or gift. There wasn't.

I am plotting revenge for his own Big O.