On a shelf in my garage sits a truly shocking collection of oil filters, including those for cars I don’t even own. I’m not sure I have a good explanation for my obsession, other than simply that oil filters are beautiful contraptions. Here’s why.
Before you judge me, hear me out on this—oil filters are far cooler than I bet you ever thought. There’s a crap ton of variation between brands on things like gasket material, anti drain-back valve material, media material, spring type, end-cap material, and pleating number. I think I’ve probably spent a hundred hours watching oil filter tear downs (like the one below) on YouTube.
But it’s important stuff! You can’t have small dirt particles getting caught between bearing surfaces; that’ll destroy your engine in no-time. The oil filter plays a huge role in keeping your engine from croaking after, for example, sand from a leaky air induction system gets into your precious crankcase.
Your engine’s oil pump pushes oil into the filter—which is sealed to your engine’s oil filter housing with a square-section round ring like the one shown below—through a number of radial holes in the filter’s metal “base plate.” The pressure generated by that pump is enough to push an anti-drainback valve—which sits just on the other side of the base plate—out of the way, at which point oil can enter the filter.
A Purolator PureOne filter: my go-to oil filter.
Once in the filter, the oil surrounds a cartridge, which consists of a usually-metal center tube surrounded by cellulose-based or synthetic pleated fibers, sealed off by metal, plastic or fiber end-caps. Once oil has passed through the base plate holes, through the anti drainback valve, and has surrounded the filter element, it passes through the pleated medium, through the holes in the center tube (shown below), and back up through the exit at the top of the filter.
The two most interesting parts of an oil filter are the anti-drainback valve and the bypass valve. The anti-drainback valve, shown below, makes sure the filter traps oil when the engine isn’t running. It’s essentially a nitrile or silicone one-way check-valve that prevents oil in a filter—particularly one that’s mounted sideways or upside-down—from flowing back into the sump. This means, when you come to start your engine back up, you’ll get instant oil pressure to lubricate your parts (i.e. you won’t risk a “dry start”).
The second interesting valve is the bypass valve, or release valve, whose job it is to allow oil to bypass the filter cartridge, flowing unencumbered by the filtration material. The point, here, is to ensure that high oil filter pressures—like those that might occur if the filter element has reached its capacity (like if it’s been left on a car for too long, and has clogged with dirt) or if the oil’s viscosity is too high (especially in cold conditions)—can open up a valve to allow for adequate engine lubrication under all conditions.
Also inside an oil filter are leaf or coil springs (that’s a leaf spring below, while the schematic at the top of this section shows a coil). Those springs simply act to push the cartridge up against the anti-drainback valve.
Another important thing to mention is the efficiency rating that you see on oil filter boxes (like the one shown below). That efficiency rating is simply a measure of the percentage of ~20-micron dirt particles that the filter can capture over a certain duration. You can read more about that efficiency test, called ISO 4548-12 (which is 86 minutes in total and requires both up-stream and down-stream particle counting), test here.
So those are the technical reasons why I’m so into oil filters. But there’s also a much less scientific justification: I just think they look fantastic. I mean, look at this classic Purolator red metal filter; it’s gorgeous!
Josh puts a 1000 rounds through the recently released Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact Pistol.
Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact PistolJosh Wayner
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- I admit that I was pretty excited when I heard that Smith & Wesson was coming out with their new M&P 2.0 Compact series of pistols.
I love me a good, mid-sized 9mm, but up until now I had lost a bit of interest in the genre due to, well, a rather boring and dry market filled with what is basically variations of the same gun. I found myself with a whole day, one thousand rounds, and a brand new 2.0 Compact 9mm to put through its paces.
Before I start this review, I need to address the elephant in the room when it comes to the factions I know will be reading this. The proverbial elephant comes in the form of the Glock 19 and its variants. I know that many of you are looking for a head-to-head comparison, but I will save that for the YouTube guys and the clickbaiters. What I will say about it is that, in my educated and concise opinion, S&W has done what others apparently can’t do, which is release a significant and new product that customers have been wanting instead of a cosmetic modification of an existing design.
See, friends, I’m not a guy that likes to nitpick. I’m not slamming any products or pushing one over the other. All I’m saying is that there is a mediocrity that has taken a hold of segments of this industry and, unlike so many others, Smith & Wesson has managed to innovate not just in design and materials, but is actively giving other companies a run for their money by invading established niches in the market.
The S&W M&P 2.0 Compact Pistol is more than just a new addition to an established line; it is the pistol that we’ve all been asking for for years and finally someone has delivered. I’ll go down the list in detail, but know that the bar has been set for a 15+1, 4” pistol. The trigger is beyond great, the sights are steel, and the grips are actually designed for human hands. It may have taken a long time, but the wait was worth it.
Since this gun is so new and there are soon to be a bunch of Tactical Timmy types that disparage it in favor of their preferred ‘wheapon shhhystem’ while digging their hands into a bag of Cheetos, I will be the first to say that this thing is as close to perfect out of the box as I could ever hope a handgun to be.
Now, here’s where ‘perfect’ in the context of ‘perfection’ comes in. Most people would agree that an ideal pistol would be lightweight, powerful, accurate, compact enough to conceal yet large enough to shoot easily, hold as much ammunition as the size allows, be corrosion resistant, and have minimal recoil. The ideal gun would be adaptable to a variety of end-users and be easily maintained. Some bloggers and ‘experts’ have theorized that due to our technology, we reached peak on handguns a while ago and there was no more room for improvement. Suffice to say, Smith & Wesson must’ve missed that memo.
The 2.0 Compact easily meets all the above criteria and exceeds any other production gun out there as far as the standard features. The pistol has an ideal barrel length at 4”, holds 15+1 rounds standard, and features an exceptional set of ergonomic traits that make it the most user-friendly handgun of its type on the market.
Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact Pistol Grip Swells
I find that, above anything else, the all the competitors to the M&P line have had a hard time dealing with the simple and easily changed grip swells. This feature is a huge reason as to why the line has been so successful and it affords any shooter the option to quickly and easily customize their own gun at no cost. The 2.0 Compact needs no grip reduction or stippling. The texture of the grip is aggressive and there is no slippery places to allow the gun to shift in the hand while firing.
The pistol comes equipped with an updated version of the classic M&P trigger and it is about the crispest and cleanest breaking factory triggers I have ever tried. The 2.0 trigger is a segmented, two-part design that has a clear and tactile reset that allows for very quick follow-up shots.
It is hard for me to illustrate to you across text just how well this gun handles. The grip fits the hand and doesn’t exceed it. The trigger pulls naturally and doesn’t bite the finger. The sights are easy to use and, on my example, are spot-on at 25 yards. You can really tell that you’re dealing with all-steel internals, as there is no creaking of plastic or flexing in the frame when firing. The gun simply shoots.
I had to get familiar with the Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact quickly in order to get this review out, and the honeymoon was short but sweet. I fired a hair over 1000 rounds in a single session through this gun using ammo from a variety of makers. I only allowed cool-down when I had to pick up my brass to avoid slipping on it. A full half of my shooting was done with Sig Sauer’s excellent V-CROWN and FMJ ammo. For the uninformed, Sig Sauer makes some of the very best ammo on the market today. They are still new to the ammo scene, but I’ve been won over. Not only was the Sig Sauer ammo accurate, averaging 2.5” across all loads for 10 shots at 25 yards, it was also supremely reliable.
In regard to reliability, I had zero failures with the gun to speak of. The gun, right from the box, ran like a sewing machine and chewed through box after box after box. I didn’t bother cleaning or even wiping it down before heading to the range, which I did immediately after picking it up. The course of fire I put it through lasted for hours with no mercy. As soon as I got the mags loaded, I started shooting.
Accuracy didn’t change across the time of shooting. I did my initial accuracy testing while the gun was cold and fresh from the box, and that accuracy didn’t change even in the last fifty I fired for group at the end of my first range test. Ammo from Hornady, Sig, and Lehigh Defense ranging from 70 grains to 147 grains all cycled and fired without issue and hardly a difference in point of aim.
All loads were fired over an Oehler 35P chronograph on a 75 degree day while five feet from the muzzle. Velocity is an average of ten shots. Accuracy is in inches at 25 yards from the bench.
Sig Sauer 115gr V CROWN——————————————-1242fps—–2.15”
Sig Sauer 115gr FMJ—————————————————1220fps—–3.10”
Sig Sauer 124gr V CROWN——————————————-1158fps—–1.70”
Sig Sauer 124gr FMJ—————————————————1125fps—–2.25”
As I mentioned, the majority of my testing came from Sig Sauer’s ammo. As such, I developed a very clear picture of what the gun could do with this specific brand and it gave me a glimpse as to how easily a person can master this weapon. The size, sights, and trigger made this pistol so easy to fire and control that, when combined with the familiar Sig loads and a grip insert that actually fit my hand, I was able to breeze through drills with unbelievable accuracy. The gun just points and shoots so well that I felt like I was dreaming.
A final note on Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact’s accuracy. I was able to breeze through drills with unbelievable accuracy. The gun just points and shoots so well that I felt like I was dreaming..
A final note on accuracy- I’m a pretty darn good shot and I’ve become accustomed to the awesome accuracy that can be generated by today’s guns. What really struck me about this weapon was just how easily it grouped and how few fliers I had. I get some guns in that just can’t hold a group when hot, but that was not the case here. I fired the weapon at close range and there wasn’t really a challenge in shooting groups. The clusters were so similar that I had to back out to 25 yards to see a difference in group size, and even then they were so close in size that I didn’t consider them to be significantly different.
This is a match-grade production pistol that genuinely surprised me in the accuracy department and I fully believe that there is better accuracy to be had even with the already impressive results. A thousand rounds can get you used to a gun, but it takes time to get to know it individually and that is when you can really wring it out.
This might seem like a bit biased of a review to some of you, but you need to understand that I shoot lots and lots of guns almost every single day of the week and have a very clear idea of what makes one worth it or not. I had a hell of a good day with the Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact Pistol and I lamented when I had ran out of ammo and I lamented further when I came home and had to type this out with fingers sore from hours of enjoyment. As I type these final words, the gun in this article is sitting right next to my laptop, just begging me to wrap my hand around it again. This is a gun that wants to shoot, and you’re going to want to oblige it at every turn when you go pick one up from your favorite retailer.
Special thanks to:
Smith & Wesson
Sig Sauer
Hornady
Lehigh Defense
Bonus Look Video: NEW! Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact- The True Glock 19 Killer?
About Josh Wayner:
Josh Wayner has been writing in the gun industry for five years. He is an active competition shooter with 14 medals from Camp Perry. In addition to firearms-related work, Josh enjoys working with animals and researching conservation projects in his home state of Michigan.
How to use ‘unsupported’ Thunderbolt 3 docks and enclosures on Sierra and High Sierra
By Mike Wuerthele Friday, October 20, 2017, 01:01 pm PT (04:01 pm ET)
Even using the “universal” USB-C connector for Thunderbolt 3, there are still some drive enclosures, eGPU cases, and docks that won’t connect to a Mac running Sierra or High Sierra. Here’s how to get them to talk to your MacBook Pro or iMac.
Prior to the release of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in 2016, some vendors developed peripherals with the TI82 chipset —there are a few early docks and hard drive enclosures that have it. Apple has chosen to block TI82 chipset-based peripherals in software for some reason known only to itself.
Note that we said “in software.” There’s nothing inherently preventing the hardware from negotiating a connection, other than the Apple-placed block. In fact, BootCamp Windows installations recognizes the TI82-based hardware just fine.
But, there’s a hack around the software block in macOS, and we’ve been taking advantage of it for some time. First developed for external GPU solutions using Thunderbolt, the hack works equally well for drive enclosures and some docking stations.
The eagle-eyed may have spotted a piece of TI82 gear in use at AppleInsiderin a previous piece.
The hard drive array here is an AkiTiO Thunder 3 enclosure (minus the front perforated plate), that before the execution of the hack was “unsupported” in macOS, even with Apple’s bidirectional Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter in the mix.
Caveats
In theory, since the hack modifies a system file, any given OS update could wipe it back to the original incompatibility. In fact, the shift from Sierra to High Sierra did just that, necessitating the developer to crank out another version of the script.
Also, power delivery isn’t negotiated fully. You may have a dock or enclosure that supplies more than the baseline 15W, but it will never connect at the higher power if you need to use the hack.
That, and there’s the need to disable System Integrity Protection to implement the hack in the first place.
Drivers may be an issue with docks. While macOS Sierra and High Sierra natively support a large number of USB and Ethernet chipsets, it doesn’t support them all. You may need to hunt down a third-party driver to get something to work right.
If none of these four things bother you, then on with the show!
Disable System Integrity Protection
Reboot your computer, and hold down command-R to boot into the recovery partition.
From the Utilities, select Terminal
In the Terminal window, enter
csrutil disable
The operating system should tell you that you have “Successfully disabled System Integrity Protection” and it also tells you to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Thunderbolt 3 hack
The KhaosT tb-3-enabler hack has come a long way since we used it to test out the Razer Core external GPU solution in December 2016.
Download the hack from the Github repository for the project. Click on tb3-enabler.py
Control-click Raw, and select Download Linked File.
Allow the script to run, by opening the Terminal app, and without hitting return and including the trailing space, type:
chmod +x
Drag the file you downloaded earlier to the Terminal window to tell macOS where the script is. Hit return.
In the same terminal window, without hitting return and noting the trailing space, enter:
sudo
Once again, drag the file you downloaded earlier to the Terminal window to tell macOS where the script is, and hit return.
Reboot for changes to take place. Connect your previously incompatible Thunderbolt 3 device, and verify connectivity with either the System Profiler or functionality.
As a reminder, this solution does not provide drivers for Ethernet or USB —so you may still need to hunt those down yourself.
The Orionid meteor shower is in town this week, and its visit will peak over the weekend, as trips usually do. If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the best light shows in the solar system, Jane Houston Jones of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has recommended (via Time) that if stargazers look up from their phones today—October 20—they’ll get quite a show:
The Orionids peak on October 20—a dark, moonless night. Look near Orion’s club in the hours before dawn and you may see up to 10 to 15 meteors per hour.
That is a high hourly rate for meteors. And according to Space.com, these ones will be some of the best (meaning fastest) and brightest out there. This is because Earth is going straight through the orbit of debris produced by Halley’s Comet, which is what creates the Orionids shower in the first place:
The particles come from Comet 1P/Halley, better known as Halley’s Comet. This famous comet swings by Earth every 75 to 76 years, and as the icy comet makes its way around the sun, it leaves behind a trail of comet crumbs.
It’s sort of like we’re being sprinkled by fairy dust, or comet poop. This rain of magic is coinciding with a first-quarter moon, which means visibility is even higher than usual. It’s worth keeping in mind that expert opinions differ on when, exactly, will be peak viewing time; NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke narrowed down the time frame for viewing to 2 a.m. on both the 21st and 22nd, which is a little different than Jones’ estimation. But even if you miss the absolute peak, you’ll be able to see the show any night with good visibility between October 15th and 29th.
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As far as viewing location, the Orionids can also be seen just about anywhere on earth with a visible sky, though you may need to brush up on your astronomy to find them:
If you find the shape of Orion the Hunter, the meteor shower’s radiant (or point of origin) will be near Orion’s sword, slightly north of his left shoulder (the star Betelgeuse). But don’t stare straight at this spot, Cooke said, “because meteors close to the radiant have short trails and are harder to see — so you want to look away from Orion.”
And yes, they should also be visible from the city, but light pollution could be a problem. For best results, start driving out of town at 1:30 a.m. (your eyes need about 20 minutes to adjust to the dark outdoor light), and don’t look back until you see the stars fall from the heavens.
The $30 Sparkr Mini is USB-rechargeable, has a built-in flashlight, requires no fuel, can be lit in the wind or rain, and is made of soft, matte plastic that feels great in the hand. Forget your fidget spinner, you’re about to be a monster-of-the-week from a bad SYFY show whose thing is that they fidget with an arc lighter.
Power Practical isn’t the first to the plasma party, Gizmodo covered ArcLighter’s Kickstarter back in 2015 for example, but the competitive set, for the most part, is ugly and/or lacking features.
If you need more than ten fingers to count the number of times you’ve burned yourself while…
The Sparkr is double the price of the Mini and comes in a flashlight form factor. The flashlight has three brightness settings, up to 150 lumens, and a mostly aluminum body. The cap that covers the lighter end does double duty as a diffuser when you need a lantern, and a utility tie is included for hanging. It’s weird that the diffuser cap is part of the battery cover, but not a big deal.
The Sparkr is perfect for lighting deep candles, and great for camping, but won’t make it into your everyday carry like the Mini.
I’m gonna put the pile of fire starters I’ve gotten in to check out in a drawer with my abacus.
Update 10/10/17: Need an arc lighter that can reach around? This Kinja Deals discovery from Tacklife is perfect for lighting candles and more.
How to teach Siri to pronounce names correctly on your iPhone
By Mike Wuerthele Thursday, October 19, 2017, 08:07 am PT (11:07 am ET)
Some names can be hard for Siri to pronounce, and if you don’t correct the matter won’t be accurately retrieved by Apple’s voice-powered assistant. Here’s how to fix them.
After you invoke Siri, say the name of the contact in question that Siri mangles. You may have to pronounce it the way Siri wants you to by default.
After Siri says the name, you have a window of a couple of seconds to say “You’re pronouncing [Siri’s pronunciation of the name] wrong.” Alternatively, in our run-throughs, we had to resort to using “Mike.”
Siri will ask you how the first name of the contact is pronounced —say the name as you would ordinarily. Siri will chew on it for a second, and present you with a few options.
Hit play to preview how Siri interpreted what you said, and select the one you like. If you like none of them, you can hit Tell Siri Again to repeat the process.
If your contact has a middle name, Siri will also run through that one as well.
Repeat the say-and-select process for what is more likely the problematic last name. For instance, we got two very nearly identical options for “Mike” and five very different ones for “Wuerthele.” Over a few devices, the first choice Siri gave us for both my last name and a few other challenging ones was the best.
While we were testing this process, Siri was a little frustrating until we realized that to tell her which name she was pronouncing wrong had to be said the same way Siri was saying it. There’s a text-based way to enter it, in the Contacts app.
Find your contact, and hit Edit. Scroll down and tap Add Field.
When the contact’s screen is returned, hit either Phonetic first Name or Phonetic Last Name as needed. Enter a spelling that approximates the pronunciation, tap Done and Siri will use that.
The Ohio National Guard wants to introduce volunteer response teams to help businesses and government groups in the state defend against cyberattacks.
At a forum at Ohio State University hosted by the Dayton Development Coalition, Maj. Gen. Mark Bartman, the Guard’s Adjutant General, said organizers are "about at the 50 percent point" on the initiative, which would create ‘cyber response teams’ comprised of certified volunteers from Ohio tech companies. They would be able to go into businesses and…
NEW YORK—Releasing the records in hopes of reducing automobile accidents nationwide, 1-800-EAT-SHIT on Tuesday finally published decades of reckless-driving data. “These documents catalogue millions of reported moving violations from the sticker’s debut in 1987 and provide valuable information that hopefully will help keep everyone safer on the road,” said head researcher Lydia Cattalone, explaining that the reports based on the hotline calls, breaking down the frequency with which motorists forgot to signal, sped through toll booths, and cut other drivers off over a 30-year period, could potentially decrease automobile deaths by up to 15 percent. “When we first proposed the idea of a bumper sticker as a means of data collection, it was considered rather unorthodox, but it has paid off with a massive repository of vital information. We, of course, would like to thank all of our volunteer respondents, whose passionate and consistent reporting made the whole 1-800-EAT-SHIT project possible.” Cattalone went to say that any peer reviewers seeking to challenge the survey’s methodology or criticize its findings can also call the number.
NEW YORK—Releasing the records in hopes of reducing automobile accidents nationwide, 1-800-EAT-SHIT on Tuesday finally published decades of reckless-driving data. “These documents catalogue millions of reported moving violations from the sticker’s debut in 1987 and provide valuable information that hopefully will help keep everyone safer on the road,” said head researcher Lydia Cattalone, explaining that the reports based on the hotline calls, breaking down the frequency with which motorists forgot to signal, sped through toll booths, and cut other drivers off over a 30-year period, could potentially decrease automobile deaths by up to 15 percent. “When we first proposed the idea of a bumper sticker as a means of data collection, it was considered rather unorthodox, but it has paid off with a massive repository of vital information. We, of course, would like to thank all of our volunteer respondents, whose passionate and consistent reporting made the whole 1-800-EAT-SHIT project possible.” Cattalone went to say that any peer reviewers seeking to challenge the survey’s methodology or criticize its findings can also call the number.