Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Check your tire pressures

With gas prices back at all-time highs, what strategies are we doing to mitigate some of the hurt? Pump the tires a bit higher than the stated pressure on the door sticker? I actually did that once a long time ago driving to Los Angeles. I filled up the tires on my then Toyota Corolla to 40 PSI (I think the factory specified 30 PSI) and enjoyed fantastic gas mileage for the 300-mile drive.

Higher PSI, lower rolling resistances, better miles per gallon.

Granted, do normal people even check tire pressures regularly? Us car enthusiasts check often, because the consequence of low tire pressures is oversteering your BMW M4 over a curbed median (very inside joke). On a serious note, optimal tire pressure is important because we care about road-holding, handling, and tire wear. Tires on less (or more) than specified pressures are negative on all three points.

Even if a car’s handling doesn’t tickle your interest, it’s still important to ensure proper tire pressures because of the lost fuel economy. On my Golf GTI, 2 PSI less than the standard 39 PSI is enough to lose me about two miles per gallon. At a time when a gallon of premium 91 octane is over $7.00, that can add up rather quickly.

In my experiences, tires lose about 1 PSI per month. Therefore once a month pressure check should more than suffice. That’s what I do. Don’t wait for the TPMS warning system inside the car to notify you of low pressures. Because by that time, the tire - if not punctured - is already grossly under-inflated. Digital pressure gauges are cheap and super long-lasting. I’ve had this unit for over twenty years!

Motor oil madness

I drove by a gas station last evening and saw that a gallon of premium 91 octane was over the $7 mark. A gallon of diesel was nearly $9! That is quite high, even for California. No wonder my coworker has stopped driving to work and instead is taking public transit. That extra half hour of commute time is worth the trade-off at the gas pump.

Meanwhile, my 10 minute walk of a commute remains unchanged.

Nevertheless, petroleum isn’t just purely at gas stations. It permeates and affects many things we buy and consume. The ongoing war with Iran is putting a self-inflicted squeeze on the petrol supply chain, and we haven’t yet seen the full brunt of it. Gas prices finally cresting $7 per gallon here in California might be the proverbial canary.

Word on the street is motor oil is suffering through a shortage, and consequently pricers are increasing. I’ve got two cars, both of which are gas burners. Every calendar year, they will need a flush and replenishment of oil. Much like the great toilet paper stock-up of early 2020 pandemic, the supposed smart wisdom amongst the car enthusiasts discussion is to stock up on engine oil before the prices inflate any higher.

Sadly for me, I don’t have the space to store copious amounts of oil containers. The inflation hammer will just have to hit me whenever it may fall. My Golf GTI is due for an oil change next month, so I bought six liters of the good German stuff at a little over $13 per liter. According to what I can find, that price has remained stable from the start of the year. In before the lock? Seems like it.

My Miata isn’t due for a change until next July. Out of curiosity, I checked the pricing for five quarts of Castrol on Amazon. A jug is $32, which honestly seems reasonable given the surround news. According to records, the last time I bought the same oil back in 2018, it was $31! That is super surprising. Either Castrol has done the consumer a favor and kept the pricing friendly throughout, or the company has cut corners to the same product. Shrinkflation is a heck of a drug.

It seems, at least for the two particular cars that I own, the great motor oil inflation has yet to reach the shore. Of course I am fully expecting things to change sooner or later, given the lack of end in sight for the Iran war. I’ll simply enjoy the mulligan that I’ve got this time round. Happy motoring!

Under pressure

Mustn’t forget to check your tire pressures periodically! Even the most sealed up wheel and tire combination will lose air overtime. Especially those us driving around in internal combustion cars. In these troubled times of exorbitant gasoline prices, every bit of conservation helps. You are figuratively throwing money away if the car is running lower than optimal tire pressures. Friendly reminder the prescription is on the front driver door jam.

I wonder how many people who can otherwise install chargers at home are kicking themselves right now for not having an electric vehicle. Notorious PG&E shenanigans aside, the likelihood of electricity rates going up 25% over a span of weeks is practically impossible. Not so, as we are seeing with gas prices. Fully electric vehicle owners are sure to be pretty smug right about now.

If this war with Iran goes on for long enough, the paradigm of how the United States view EVs might permanently switch to the positive. The federal EV tax credit expiration was a setback for growth. Those that want an EV probably already bought one. However, consistently elevated gas prices can be incentive enough for those outside the fence to consider opening the gate. Especially those with considerable commutes.

Ride-share and delivery drivers, too. There’s no way the apps are benevolent enough to raise the prices - and therefore the commission for the drivers - to accommodate the sudden spike in gasoline. Nor would customers be cognizant enough to tip more. So the workers will just have to eat the additional, not unsubstantial, variable cost. When the margins are already purported to be minimum wage levels, who’s going to deliver DoorDash to make zero dollars?

Those food delivery drivers already on those zippy electric scooters must also be pretty smug right now. President Trump got rid of the EV tax credit, but his war with Iran just might re-reverse the tide of adoption. The longer the Strait of Hormuz is closed, the more of an accelerant it is for Americans switching to electric motivation.

Oil shock

Owners of electric vehicles must be feeling pretty smug right about now. With the Strait of Hormuz closed thanks to the American President irrationally ordering an attack on Iran, petrol prices have climbed significantly in the past month. And it’s only going to get worse until there’s truce.

I’m so glad I do not have a car commute. Though if I did, I would have purchased a fully electric vehicle a long time ago. EVs are the perfect commuting appliance. The lack of combustion engine means a super quiet cabin. The torque innate to electric motors makes zipping in between traffic gaps a cinch. There’s far less maintenance items for an EV compared to an internal combustion car. The only negative is that, for those who can’t charge at home, you’ve got to wait a bit long to “refuel”.

But you’d rather have that, wouldn’t you, than paying for stratospheric gas prices. If your livelihood is car-dependent - ride share and delivery drivers - and your car uses petrol, it is currently not a very good time. Fix cost per mile has shot straight up. Another smug feather to the cap of Waymo. Their fleet of self-driving taxis is fully electric, therefore insulated from the inflating gas prices. I reckon the human taxi driver as a profession is slowly going towards extinction.

The taxi driver that drove us to the airport in Guangzhou was not feeling the gas price pinch. Because his car is fully electric. China has successfully weened itself from internal combustion vehicles. Can’t have an oil chock if you’re not dependent on oil! Perhaps it will prove shortsighted for the United States government to roll back on its EV incentives and infrastructure spend. If not for air quality, do it for oil independence.

That said, even if you drive an EV, this turmoil in the oil markets will touch you and all of us eventually, one way or another. Way too many things are dependent and correlated on the stable availability of petroleum. Gas prices is only the tip of the iceberg we can easily and initially see. There’s surely more pain to come in many other areas. I should book that flight for my fall vacation before airlines raise ticket prices…

Liquid gold

Say what you want about the ongoing Iran war (or not war), but it’s doing major devastation to gasoline prices. Those of us in California suffer even more due to a dependence on imported crude, and State environmental refining laws. Didn’t this President promise to lower petrol prices? Candidates in the CA governor race should promise to do something about this…

Thankfully I don't have a car commute. What I won’t enjoy however is the bustling lines at Costco gasoline - typically the cheapest available. I never get gas at my local Costco, but unfortunately it’s all filtered through the same road. The logjam of cars waiting for a fill up will absolutely hamper shoppers that only wish to park and get into the warehouse. This will be the reality until the war (or not war) is over.

First world problems, eh?

Speaking of privileged problems, I’ve been though many a Keurig device since 2020. For some reason, the K-Slim model that I buy cannot seem to last. And I think I’ve found the reason: the control panel is right on the lid. A lid that opens and closes constantly for loading and disposing of coffee cups. This inevitably causes irreparable stress on the electrical connections. The one I currently have has an annoying tendency to stop dispensing mid-stream like a man with a colon problem.

The definitely of crazy is doing the same thing and expecting different results. So once this K-Slim - embarrassingly, my third - dies completely, I am going to buy a model with controls that isn’t on the lid. The venerable original K-Classic should suffice nicely. The unit my parents have is going strong on eight years now.

Seven dollar mark

Not even during the height of the initial Ukraine situation did gas prices breach the magical seven dollar mark. Quite a few times the cost of premium at my local Chevron station rested at $6.999, but never above that. Until now. For reasons I can only find as “refinery issues” - it’s always refinery issues - the signpost at that Chevron now reads $7.099 for a gallon of 91 octane. I’m so glad I filled up at $6.959 just the week before.

For a car that sits stationary for most of the week. I’m fortunate that I can walk to work during this period of insane inflation. I cannot fathom what it’s like for people who have to commute by car. What can they do but pay up, honestly? It’s not like they can simply stop using their cars. Public transportation is notorious not great around here. Buses arriving in 10 minute intervals in considered optimal during commute hours!? And that is if the bus even comes on time.

This isn’t Japan, where rush hour trains arrive in three minute intervals, and almost always on time.

No one is going to subject themselves to the public transport experience once they are so used to driving. Being stuck is traffic is still better than longingly waiting for a bus that may never come. Not to mention, you’re going to be late. Grumble they may about high fuel costs, but there’s really no other option. Buying a more fuel-efficient car or a fully electric-vehicle isn’t the solution, either. Because you have to account for the entire cost of the whole car. Imagine how many gallons of gas (let’s say) $30,000 can buy!

Good news is our union have negotiated a one time 7% raise for its members. Bad news is all of that new money will go towards covering the existing inflation. It’s not just gas prices, right? Practically everything purchasable have increased in price. Except for the new iPhones, which curiously have stayed the same price as the previous years. Lucky me.

Road trip? Nah...

I spent much of Sunday evening watching two road trip videos. One from the boys at Gears and Gasoline, the other from duo at Everyday Driver. Both teams drove thousands of miles across America to reach their destination. During this period of insane gas prices! Worse, the cars driven here are sports cars that return miles-per-gallon in the high teens. Gears and Gasoline spent some $6,000 on petrol to get from Florida to Alaska. I don't think I’ve spent that much total on any one trip.

I’ve got a whole week off coming up the week after this, and I’ve been thinking about taking a road trip. Watching the two videos was suppose to inspire me to go. However, after seeing how much was spent on gas, I am not so sure. Prices have come down recently (thanks, Biden!) but around San Francisco, 91 premium remains in the high five dollar range. That only seem cheap coming down from the high six dollars just a few weeks back. The $5.99 per gallon I paid this past weekend is still insanely high.

So yeah, I am not going anywhere. I’ll take a few drives in the local mountains during the week off, and that will be it. Now is not the time to drop a few hundred (or more) on gas simply for the sake of driving wanderlust. Because there's also lodging to think about. Having recently booked accommodations in Austin for end of October, hotels are absolutely not cheap during these times. Everybody is trying to escape and go somewhere.

I’m going to hunker down and wait out this initial travel rush. Save some money in reserve while doing so, and hopefully wait out this current high gas price phase as well. More work to do yet, President Biden!