Texas heat question...

[oldmaninsc]

 Originally Posted By: gfh77665

I have been through the SW in late July, and there is no question in my mind, that OVERALL, STX is hotter. The operative word here is OVERALL. The desert SW cools off at night, TX does not. The SW has a normal length summer, TX summers last for 9 months or so.

You must have been there when they had an unusual "cool" spell. It does happen occasionally. I have a close friend that I visit for business/pleasure several times a year. We've worked on some of his vehicles in July, August and Sept. I often spend a week or more at a time there. I don't know how you can say "the desert SW cools off at night". You've obviously never lived there. 95 - 100 degrees at midnight is "cool"? If it does cool off to the mid 80's it is at about 4 am. I've seen his a/c run 24/7 - even in May and June. As someone else said - check out the average temps highs/lows for Phoenix and other Arizona areas. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/general/safety/heat/#climatology Right now in Phoenix it is 80 degrees at 10 PM. It is only the beginning of May! I guess since you said Texas summers last for 9 months, that it is summer there now. 73 degrees isn't bad for a summer evening! The 7 day forecast for Phoenix is highs in the low 100's, lows in 70's.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

"Everything's bigger in Texas" It's not a fact based on real figures, it a local perception. What is big is the run out of west Texas to get out of the state..80 MPH speed limit so you can escape. \\ don't get me wrong I am a Texan through and through and if anyone else tries to talk trash about Texas I will be all over them , I am all about "Screw you, we're from Texas"(onus for the artist and album) but many of the residents dont have much outside experience and think the local extremes are bigger than they are. The fact is that the reason Texas continues to grow has alot to do with it's "moderate" climate.

 

[XS650]

 Originally Posted By: Bryanccfshr

"Everything's bigger in Texas" It's not a fact based on real figures, it a local perception.

No wonder you had to move to Colorado.

 

[gfh77665]

You all are welcome to my Christmas Eve (outdoor) swim party.

 

[Jaymus]

 Originally Posted By: 1999nick

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe that mechanical devices care about the humidity. I don't believe that an 8 or 10 degree higher temperature will much affect oil, compared to 100 degrees we see here in Tennessee.

I'd have to agree on this. Tennessee is like the rain forest of America. It's always humid. It gets hot enough in the summer to call it a hot place, also. 100 degrees at 80%+ humidity is no strange feat around here. It's comparable to when you get to the beach, and there is just a haze of humidity at 105 degrees. I don't think the humidity affects the oil temp. It may suck for us, but our vehicles don't mind as much being water cooled. They are mechanical, we are biological. A 10 degree difference to us is the difference between maybe being cold, being just right, or starting to break a sweat. But, the extra heat in stop and go traffic probably does heat the radiator up a little quicker being as it is right over the frying asphalt. But, remember, the fans suck air through the radiator to cool the water/coolant, not to blow on the engine. An engine will have exhaust gas temperatures reaching 500+C. Maybe up to 1200C+ if you are running turbos (this is normal). I don't think a 40C day is going to be as detrimental to our oil as we think. If your engine has good oil flow, I'd say the temps should be consistent no matter what. Everything in here is just speculation, though, so what do we know.

 

[Jim Allen]

Switching from the BITOG Weather Channel back to the Oil Channel, one thing I didn't see discussed here are oil temps. I only recently started to monitor engine oil temps on my'05, so I don't have too much to report there yet, but I used to have an oil temp gauge on one of my old Land Rovers when we lived in the Sonoran desert (Anza Borrego area) many years ago. I didn't know much about oil then (it was 20W50 GTX in that old beast) but I could see some pretty wide variances in oil temps on hot days, perhaps a 45 degree range depending on load and ambient, even while coolant temps stayed largely within a 20 degree range. IMO,you would want to monitor oil temps when evaluating a particular oil for a hot climate, perhaps jumping up a grade as indicated by oil temps that regularly or consistently exceed the rated viscosity temp of 212F. Then I'd factor in the work load. Of course, you know Ford did this during hot weather testing before making their "one-viscosity-fits-all" rating, but if I saw consistently high temps and worked the engine hard, I'd consider a jump in grade... probably to a robust (maybe HDEO)10W30 in the case of the modular. Finding a way to monitor oil temps is not always easy, but on Fords, an Edge Evolution or ScanGaugeII (and others) will tap into the engine's own oil temp sensor via the OBDII port and give you that info.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

 Originally Posted By: XS650

 Originally Posted By: Bryanccfshr

"Everything's bigger in Texas" It's not a fact based on real figures, it a local perception.

No wonder you had to move to Colorado.

Yeah the mountains here are Puny compared to Alaska though..

 

[buster]

My ex was from Texas. I always found it funny how Texans think everything in their state is bigger and better. I liked Austin/San Antonio a lot. They are proud of their state for sure.

 

[lexus114]

All my ex`s live their,that`s why my hat hangs in Bethlehem Twsp.

 

[XS650]

 Originally Posted By: lexus114

All my ex`s live their,that`s why my hat hangs in Bethlehem Twsp.

All my ex's live in Texas and Texas is the place I'd dearly love to be but all my ex's live in Texas and that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee Rosanna's down in Texarkana wanted me to push her broom Sweet Eileen's in Abilene She forgot I hung the moon and Allison's in Galveston somehow lost her sanity and Dimple's who now lives in Temple's got the law looking for me I remember that old Frio River where I learned to swim but it brings to mind another time where I wore my welcome thin By transcendental meditation I go there each night but I always come back to myself long before daylight All my ex's live in Texas and Texas is the place Id dearly love to be but all my ex's live in Texas therefore I reside in Tennessee Some folks think I'm hidin' It's been rumored that I died but I'm alive and well in Tennessee http://www.georgestrait.com/mediaPop/lyricsPop.asp?pkSong=186

 

[SAJEFFC]

^^^ Yet another BITOG thread spiraling out of control.

 

[Johnny]

I lived in the great state of Texas for 40-years. If I could talk my wife in to it, I would move back there tomorrow. Good folks and good food, plus there is no darn state income tax. Bring on the heat and turn up the AC.

 

[Gary Allan]

Texas? ................Never heard of it

 

[lexus114]

 Originally Posted By: SAJEFFC

^^^ Yet another BITOG thread spiraling out of control.

Nah,just figured I`d break up the monotony a little.

 

[PT1]

I wouldn't mind a nice hot climate. I'd just kick the oil up tp 5w30 and call it good.

 

[aquariuscsm]

 Originally Posted By: gfh77665

You all are welcome to my Christmas Eve (outdoor) swim party.

I`m there brutha! I`ll bring plenty of coldies!!!!!!!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Plus,there`s nothing more HAWT and SEXI than a Texas country girl ;^)))))))))

 

[440Magnum]

 Originally Posted By: jshaw

Water absorbs heat much slower than air. So it would seem to me that air that is partially s

Well.... that's really not true. Water has a much higher heat capacity than air, so a gram of water (whether liquid or vapor) absorbs more calories of heat than a gram of air. Humid air feels hotter to people because we cool ourselves by evaporating water from our skin, and our sweat doesn't cool us as well when the air is humid. Radiators and oil coolers lose heat by simple conduction- not by evaporation. So if anything, damp hot air will actually carry away MORE heat from a radiator than hot dry air because the water vapor absorbs more calories of heat than air alone. The difference is probably small. I've lived my whole life in Texas, and there are many things about Texas that are special and one-of-a-kind. But the heat isn't one of them. Even the Houston humid heat is no different than New Orleans or Miami, and West Texas desert heat is no different than Phoenix. And Xw30 oil is plenty good for any of it in most engines.

 

[milwaukee]

I love Texas. One strange fact. The southern appalachian dialect is only spoken in two places on earth. Southern Appalachia (east TN and SE Ky) and NE Texas. The connections between the Appalachian hillbilly and certain ethnic groups in TX go back hundreds of years. At one time is was so commom for hillbillies to move to Texas all they left was GTT written on the door. It stands for Gone To Texas. Don't forget that Sam Houston guy, you know Texas might not even exist if it were not for him. He was a Tennessean. Now back on topic: The only reason it is hotter in TX is because it is TX. No changing the mind of someone who commutes in 160 degree temp every day. It might be a good idea to live near the state line. I hear when one crosses from West Texas to NM the temp drops at least 50 degrees since NM heat is not Texas heat. I love Texans (and I really mean that). They are some of the best people I have ever met and I may move there someday BUT I doubt my car can tell the difference between Memphis and Del Rio.

 

[jshaw]

 Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

 Originally Posted By: jshaw

Water absorbs heat much slower than air. So it would seem to me that air that is partially s

Well.... that's really not true. Water has a much higher heat capacity than air, so a gram of water (whether liquid or vapor) absorbs more calories of heat than a gram of air. Humid air feels hotter to people because we cool ourselves by evaporating water from our skin, and our sweat doesn't cool us as well when the air is humid. Radiators and oil coolers lose heat by simple conduction- not by evaporation. So if anything, damp hot air will actually carry away MORE heat from a radiator than hot dry air because the water vapor absorbs more calories of heat than air alone. The difference is probably small. I've lived my whole life in Texas, and there are many things about Texas that are special and one-of-a-kind. But the heat isn't one of them. Even the Houston humid heat is no different than New Orleans or Miami, and West Texas desert heat is no different than Phoenix. And Xw30 oil is plenty good for any of it in most engines.

I suppose that on any winter day when the air temperature warms up considerably from a recent cold snap, that a body of water in the same area would show the same rapid change? The same would be true in the summer. Water is excellent for heating and cooling because it can absorb heat or cold while its own temperature changes much more slowly. Perhaps this link will help. http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8a.html My original point was that high concentrations of water vapor in very hot air could effect the rate at which engine heat could be absorbed into the surrounding air. A raise in the coolant temperature would certainly cause oil temps to rise at some point. Perhaps this amount of difference is insignificant.