the war with Iran over it's offensive launches on Israel, and now over the Strait of Hormuz, is set to cause another headache for car owners; it's leading to a shortage of synthetic oil according to Automotive News

automakers have begun rationing synthetic oil while dealerships and distributors are stockpiling it amid a severe reduction in supply. 

This problem stems from the fact that nearly half of the Group III base oils used to make synthetic oil and other lubricants such as transmission fluid comes from the Middle East, and the war has essentially cut off that supply.

According to the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, the U.S. will likely run out of Group III base oils originating from the Gulf region by June, leading to a shortage that could last until at least mid-2027. Trouble is, this doesn't just impact existing vehicles needing synthetic oil changes or fresh transmission fluid - it also means that new vehicle production could come to a halt if automakers run completely out of those lubricants.

While the U.S. gets around 30 percent of its Group III base oils from South Korea, refiners in that country are also having issues getting crude oil from the Middle East, and the supply they do have is being used instead to make diesel and jet fuel. As for the possibility that blenders could instead utilize Group II base oils, which are typically present in conventional motor oil, supplies of that are also being routed to diesel, which is sitting at a 40-year high in terms of margins.

https://fordauthority.com/2026/05/ford-and-lincoln-vehicles-likely-impacted-by-synthetic-oil-shortage

Just how a couple month of canal blockade results in a worldwide shortage of synth oil, is not explained.

It's 21 miles wide at the narrowest  

Plus, already, the Saudi are making a transit route to bypass the Iranian controlled waters, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-emerges-as-gulfs-key-trade-route-as-iran-war-blocks-hormuz-strait/articleshow/131310656.cms  in the event that the international powers decide to yellow belly away from an easily over powered 3rd world country half ass military that ANY super power ought to be able to negate if they had the motivation to get the job done, and change the situation permanently. One UN Navy squad posted on the Iranian coast ought to be able to neutralize any offensive, pinpoint the sources of offensive weapons, and knock them out. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/iran-live-updates-peace-deal-053226292.html 

Clearly, this is an opportunity for ANY superpower with a Navy to get REAL training on minesweeping, etc etc

On such limited resources, Iran isn't likely to be able to put up an offensive over who passes down the route from Iraq to the gulf. 

In fact, the NY Times states that "Outmatched militarily, Iran used “triangular coercion” by attacking Gulf states and closing the Strait of Hormuz." 

In this case, the third parties are both militarily vulnerable and economically important to the United States. Iran’s attacks against them early in the war, combined with its ability to effectively close the strait, have for now successfully thwarted a decisive victory for the United States and Israel. Clearly, the determination to win in a blitzkrieg was not there, and the people in charge were too busy getting fat and tracking their 401k results instead.

If the UAE were ready to seize the opportunity, they could make a Panama/Suez Canal type waterway, and have a 2ndary supply of perpetual income. Oil isn't unlimited, sooner or later, it's going to run out. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/business/iran-strait-hormuz-shipping-traffic.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/anime_titties/comments/1tiogjp/how_iran_gained_leverage_in_the_war_outmatched/

https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2026-05-07/trucks-trains-and-pipelines-gulf-countries-desperately-seek-new-routes-to-sell-their-oil.html

A class action lawsuit was served to Valvoline after its Instant Oil Change facility filled a 2025 Kia Sorento with the wrong grade oil, 5-30 instead of 0-30 that the manufacturer specifies (on the fill cap, you actually see the numbers when you look for the cap to open it)

The Indiana plaintiff, Robert Campbell, claims that because Valvoline used a different grade of oil during his service, this resulted in additional expenses, decreased performance, an increased risk of engine damage, loss of warranty coverage, and a reduction in the value of his vehicle.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/valvoline-sued-after-using-the-wrong-oil-in-customer-s-engine/ar-AA209FvZ

something I hadn't heard of until now... when breaking free a seized engine, consider the aluminum oxide. Lubricant type rust penetrators, they won’t dissolve aluminum oxides

 Kroil, PB Blaster, and trans fluid will do nothing about aluminum oxide, and so, once you've soaked the cylinders in those, and it won't budge, try cleaning those out, and then giving white vinegar a try for the same amount of time

another new to me tip is to make a plate to fit over the cylinder and use a portapower to hydraulically push the piston, if all else fails

https://www.facebook.com/groups/496619540483459/permalink/4166880593457317

see  https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/10/penetrating-oils-compared.html for a comparison of penetrating oils

speculators sure have driven up the price of oil

https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti

oil hasn't been this low priced since Feb 2021, so, why is the price of gas suddenly 1 dollar more than last week? And just how low must it get before the price of a gallon of gas is about 2 or 3 dollars in California?

 https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti

according to a series of laboratory tests and real-world analysis, oil additives have the potential to do far more harm than good. Lake Speed Jr. spent 12 years as Joe Gibbs Racing's lubricant specialist, so if anyone knows how oil works, it's him.

Speed Jr. picked out nine oil additive products you can find on the shelves of any auto parts store for this test. Stuff like Marvel Mystery Oil, Lucas Stabilizer, Rislone ZDDP Supplement, and Seafoam oil treatment are all extremely popular, but according to this test, you're better off leaving them out of your engine's oil.

In an oxidation test, Speed Jr. discovers that both Lucas Stabilizer and Marvel Mystery Oil increase the viscosity of the oil and cause imbalances in the mixture, decreasing the oil's effectiveness. In a separate test, he discovers Seafoam pulls in water from the atmosphere (the presence of water in an engine is bad) and actually boils away before the engine reaches operating temperature.

Oil Extreme, another additive, is especially dangerous for direct-injection motors, Speed Jr. says. The high amounts of calcium and sodium present can actually cause low-speed pre-ignition, giving it the potential to cause serious damage. The Rislone supplement is also bad, Speed Jr. says, because it raises the acidity of the oil, opening up the engine to corrosion-based damage and excess bearing wear.

In short, Speed Jr. says you should stay away from oil additives and instead choose the correct base oil for your engine.

https://www.motor1.com/news/719617/oil-additives-test

I notice STP wasn't included. 

the major car manufacturers also sell oil, and of course, recommend it as what your car needs. Their oils were compared and tested, and Mobil 1 was included in the test.

https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/ford-motorcraft-synthetic-oil-beats-key-rivals-video/

really good condition oil can, I can't recall seeing a graphic like this in great condition before

https://bid.richmondauctions.com/lots/view/4-CAFLUI/scarce-german-sinclair-opaline-early-1-liter-oil-can-w-detailed-dino-graphics

On Wednesday last week, the oil market’s most-watched measure for consumption of the fuel in the US tumbled to the lowest for the time of year in a quarter of a century. Then Hamas declared war on Israel (as far as I can tell) and oil jumped up today - though no oil supply is affected

 Since the summer’s peak, it points to a decline of 1 million barrels a day. New York-traded futures, the global benchmark, plunged by 6.9%, one of several catalysts for oil’s biggest one-day rout in a year that day.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-08/oil-traders-on-edge-as-gasoline-demand-shows-signs-of-cracking

HOUSTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 2% on Thursday, extending the previous session's losses of nearly 6%, as worries about fuel demand outweighed an OPEC+ decision to maintain oil output cuts, keeping supply tight.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures have declined about $10 a barrel in less than 10 days after edging close to $100 in late September.

The combined percentage drop over the last two days was the steepest since May for both crude benchmarks.

Government data on Wednesday also showed a sharp decline in U.S. gasoline demand. Finished motor gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, fell last week to its lowest since the start of this year.

"I don't see gasoline demand getting much above 8.5 million barrels a day until the holiday shopping season kicks in and that's going to be a problem for the market," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-tick-up-after-opec-panel-maintains-output-cuts-2023-10-05/

As conflict escalated between Israel and Hamas, Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate prices rose over 5% in early trade on Monday.

Crude prices surged ten trading sessions ago but dropped significantly last week due to concerns about rising bond yields and the U.S. Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates, Hari said. "But after the first knee-jerk reaction, crude has pulled back a little bit, and if the situation remains limited to Israel and Palestine, there won't be an impact on oil."

https://www.bqprime.com/markets/israel-hamas-war-is-a-wait-and-watch-situation-for-oil-markets-says-vandana-hari

here's a type of oil filter I've heard of but never seen (I still don't understand why an engine powered centrifuge hasn't been invented, like a small DeLaval lube oil purifier)

benefit of, and reason to install, an oil scraper..... Thanks steph23555!

Overfilling the oil can result in dramatically more oil churning

Example: later 350Z engines would run sweet with oil 1/2 inch below min, but filling it to the half mark it went back to rough as dog at high rpm, and caused it to run hot when raced at the track

With a scraper plate the 370z engine had 20bhp more on dyno, and the hot oil when tracked problem was eliminated. 

The California Energy Commission convened a panel of energy experts, to analyze the gas price spike in September that resulted in the unprecedented $2.60-price gap between the average price of a gallon of gas in California compared to the highest price ANYwhere else in the country, including Hawaii

instead of exposing a smoking gun, the commission meeting ultimately revealed that regulators are “completely in the dark,” according to one state analyst, when it comes to critical oil industry operations that shape the state’s increasingly volatile gasoline market.

 the commission had no way to access company-level information to explain why the state’s handful of oil refineries let their inventories dwindle and decreased their foreign fuel imports despite the supply crunch.

 oil industry executives who declined to attend the hearing.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/29/should-california-tax-oil-profits-gas-spike-hearing-sets-stage-for-contentious-debate

Libya, an oil producing country, subsidizes the price of it's gasoline distribute in country by the national oil co-op. They pay 11 cents a gallon.

 Some other countries also produce oil, and don't have vast military defense and offence budgets, and have cheap gas. 

Hmmm, I wonder, when you have a lot of oil, why is it no one is trying to conquer your country in a fast little war, for your oil reserves? 

Corollary, when a country has a vast oil reserve, and a vast military budget, is it impossible to make the oil a national asset, and not let it be owned and sold by international oil corporations for enormous profits that result in 6 dollar a gallon gas, before taxes, which only benefits the oil companies?

in only 850 miles, my commuter with only 70,864 miles, went through all the oil from the full mark, to what little is left on the end of the dipstick

why is that important? Because I'm supposed to drive for a thousand miles and show back up at the dealership so a Hyundai service rep can witness how much oil my 2015 Veloster has lost/burned/leaked, and it's not likely to still have enough oil to keep the engine lubed. 

The one thousand mile is the measure for how much oil an engine goes through, to compare with the "standard" that each car company has decided is the most they can claim is typical, and not an indication of bad choices on their part to get the least expensive parts that will last until after the warranty is over. 

This isn't upsetting, because, hey - they simply are in business not to make happy customers, but to make cars that don't require warranty work, but will eventually fail so the owner has to buy a new car. 

That's the way the world works. 

So, to determine how much to spend on engine parts, is cost analysis, and decided by how well they have to engineer the vehicle, vs how long the car has to last so it only wears out after the warranty. 

If it causes too many warranty repairs, they learn to build it a bit better. If it doesn't cost more to replace parts and engines under warranty, than it costs to make hundreds of thousands of cars at that little bit better parts costs, that will show they chose wisely, and saved the company money

Some companies claim one quart or liter of oil per 1000 miles is acceptable. Other car makers claim a quart or liter per 500 miles. 

It's seems this isn't rare, a lot of forums and chat rooms online show that this is a common problem, and yet I haven't heard anything about it, probably because I pay no attention to new car stuff. 

looking around with a google search shows that there are a LOT of Hyundai and Kia with engine problems, and recalls. https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/hyundai-elantra-kona-veloster-recalled-due-to-engine-problems-a1121205321/

https://www.kbb.com/hyundai/veloster/2015/recall/  NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID: 20V746000 

Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Veloster. The connecting rod bearings inside the engine may wear prematurely

the price of oil in the past year

 https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti

Oil prices are at a 7-year high due to the usual nonsense about the Middle East

 West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, traded as high as $85.74 per barrel on Tuesday, a price last seen in October 2014.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/18/oil-prices-are-at-a-7-year-high-but-exxon-ceo-darren-woods-says-the-ultimate-trend-is-lower.html

the world’s smallest oil refinery is just outside of Lusk, Wyoming

 Roy Chamberlain and James Hoblit, two working class oilmen, built the refinery in 1933 from parts scrounged from defunct refineries around central Wyoming. It operated for 45 years, providing heating oil, gasoline, and a handful of jobs for the people of Lusk. It changed hands but kept running until 1978. After that it was shuttered for 20 years.

With the dedication of some local oil workers, the new owner who bought it after learning of it in 1998 got the refinery working. That earned it recognition by Guinness World Records as the smallest operating oil refinery at a capacity of 190 barrels of crude a day.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/worlds-smallest-oil-refinery-wyoming

I've never heard of special valve stem oil before this

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-shots-from-days-gone-by-part-2.1154030/page-1067#post-13961288

there used to be a hell of a lot of oil companies

 http://www.overdrive.fi/forum/threads/vanhoja-valokuvia-ameriikan-raitilta.267070/page-980

Shell was training a dachshund and two border collies to detect oil spills beneath snow and ice back in 2012

The dogs' ability to sniff out oil spills beneath snow and ice has been tested and paid for by Shell – and other oil companies and government research organisations – in preparation for the industry's entry into the forbidding Arctic terrain.

The company's oil spill response plan, approved by the interior department last month, calls for a fleet of vessels to be on standby at all times, as well as for the construction of a special capping system that would be able to capture and store up to 80,000 barrels of oil a day.

"Shell and others are looking mainly at technology like advanced radars [and] satellite to detect oil under ice," Smith wrote in an email.

The absence of canine participation is in no way the dogs' fault. The dogs – border collies Jippi and Blues, and dachshund Tara – were able to pick up the scent of oil up to 5km downwind of a spill, the researchers found.

They held up well to long flights, -40C temperatures, and bumpy snowmobile journeys. They were also able to focus on their mission – and did not go tearing off after polar bear or seals, the study said.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/12/oil-arctic-shell-dogs