Slick Talk: Powered By Blackstone Laboratories

This episode was recorded during Oshkosh week, so what better time break down how we analyze aircraft samples? We always want to provide you with the most useful report we can, and that sometimes involves digging a little deeper. Depending on the context, what looks like a problem could actually be completely normal. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free te...

It's common to see some variation from one sample to the next. But when is this fluctuation concerning, and when is it actually normal? Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for Blackstone Joe at 614-407-6169. Host: Joe Adams Producer: Arryn Dennard

There are a lot of forums out there dedicated to engines and oils, and sometimes our name gets pulled into the discussion. Blackstone Joe is here to set the record straight. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for Blackstone Joe at 614-407-6169. Host: Joe Adams Producer: Arryn De...

Senior Analyst Suzi Herman is back, with a follow-up to her popular "TBN/TAN: Do You Need One?" newsletter. She had a simple question: how does heat affect the TBN/TAN of an oil? The answer wasn’t quite what she or Blackstone Joe expected. ⁠Read Part 1 of Suzi’s TBN/TAN Newsletter here.⁠ ⁠Out now! Read Part 2 of Suzi’s TBN/TAN Newsletter here.⁠ Ready to start your oil analysis journey? ...

What does Matthew McConaughey have in common with your engine? As it turns out, a lot. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for Blackstone Joe at 614-407-6169. Host: Joe Adams Producer: Arryn Dennard

Is synthetic oil still good after twenty thousand miles? Is sludge an issue? A listener had these questions and more about Volkswagen and Audi engines. Blackstone Joe provides some answers. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for Blackstone Joe at 614-407-6169. Host: Joe Adams Producer:...

Knowledge is power, and that’s as true in oil analysis as anywhere. The more information you send in with your sample, the better our analysis will be. A seasoned analyst may be able to arrive at certain conclusions even with little to no context, but as Blackstone Joe attests, the devil is in the details. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Trusting your gut is a good start to vehicle maintenance, but it can only get you so far. Whether it's a coolant leak you're suspicious of, or there's been a recall that may affect your engine, oil analysis can help you confirm those suspicions or lay them to rest. Blackstone Joe explores how in this episode. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test...

Blackstone Joe sits down with fellow analyst Brett Jenkins to talk about what unit IDs are, and to share some of their favorites. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for Blackstone Joe at 614-407-6169. Host: Joe Adams Guest: Brett Jenkins Producer: Arryn Dennard

Oil life monitors. Chances are, your car has one on board to let you know when it’s time to change your oil out. But what if you want to run longer than what the OLM suggests? In this episode, Blackstone Joe explores how his own engine oil looked after months of the monitor reporting zero oil life. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ha...

Oil samples from engines that are fresh out of the factory, or from recently rebuilt engines, often contain a lot of wear metal and silicon. But why is that? And why do certain parts seem to produce more metal during the wear-in process than others? These were the questions a customer asked us, and in this episode, Blackstone Joe seeks to provide some answers. Ready to start your oil analysis jour...

Oil analysis is one way to gauge your engine's health. But it isn't the only way. In this episode, Blackstone Joe breaks down what to do when oil analysis can't provide all the answers for a customer with high copper readings in their Lycoming. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for...

Brett Jenkins, senior analyst, hasn't been at Blackstone long, but she's already had a major impact on the world of oil analysis. Blackstone Joe sat down to talk with Brett to talk about the forms of sabotage that oil analysis can and can't spot in testing. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a m...

Blackstone Laboratories helps you keep your engines, transmissions, and other equipment running smoothly. But what does it take to keep Blackstone Labs going strong? Blackstone Joe talked with Erik DeMarco aka "The Guy"about the maintenance needs of an oil lab (2:25), how working at Blackstone changed his maintenance routines (21:50), and past test results in a new segment, Explain That...

This week Slick Talk is time traveling with a reading of This Ain't Your Daddy's ATF by Ryan Stark where ATF, CVTs, and the idea of "lifetime fluids" are all put under the spotlight. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Leave a message for Blackstone Joe at 614-407-6169. Host: Joe Adams Producer: Josh...

To begin the new year, Blackstone Joe has updates on the lab, what we're doing to improve turnaround time, and a Q&A segment regarding sampling technique, and what to do if we send you more than one sample kit. The main event is a reading of "Landslide," a newsletter from '04 written by the founder of Blackstone Labs, Jim Stark. This is a one-of-a-kind illustration of used oi...

Blackstone Joe is ready to wrap up 2023 with another round of q&a with the analyst. Joe answers questions about changing oil change intervals when switching oil brands, pinpointing aluminum bearing wear in analysis, and why it makes sense to send older oil samples in for testing. Ready to start your oil analysis journey? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free test kit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Lea...

Is it time to change your oil? It's nowhere close to being time for the oil and engines in this week's episode. Inspired by a stray bottle of Mobil 1 5W/30 and less than satisfying answers from the Mobil Help Desk, Blackstone Joe digs into a few different examples of oil holding up well over months, years, and even decades. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get your free te...

From a spectral analysis covering 20 different elements, to a stable of physical tests that help determine everything from viscosity to how effective oil filtration was working, oil analysis truly is a feast of clues. As we're just a few days away from carving the turkey, Blackstone Joe thought it would be a great time to breakdown how we can use the clues in a used oil analysis to help determ...

To test a sample we must first unpack it, and it takes a trusted pair of hands to transfer your oil to the lab and the sample details to our system - enter Eric. He's a data clerk by title, but that doesn't quite do his work justice as he's part of the talented team in our receiving area, the front lines as it were, of Blackstone Laboratories. Eric joined Blackstone Joe to answer quest...

President Ryan Stark returns to talk to Joe about summer flying and leaded fuel (3:40), company growth and new lab setup (11:50) before answering customer questions about magnetic drain plugs, coolant analysis, flashpoint testing, and how analysts determine an engine's true wear profile (23:50). Last but least, a response to misconceptions about our averages (39:00). Ready to start your oil an...

Kristin Huff, Vice President of Blackstone Laboratories, began her oil analysis journey in 2002. In the years since, Kristin has been a focal point of the operation - her one-of-a-kind wit and humor have been essential ingredients to the comments we craft, even going as so far to create the world-famous Blackstone FAQs on our website. As such, it was long overdue for Blackstone Joe to invite Krist...

Blackstone Joe sat down with the producer of Slick Talk, Josh, to celebrate Slick Talk's 100th episode! Listen for a look back at memorable guest appearances, hot takes, and the journey that was starting and maintaining Slick Talk over 100 episodes of content. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  ⁠Get your free test kit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠ Have a question or shoutout? Call Slick Talk at 614...

Senior Analyst Suzi Herman joins Blackstone Joe for a discussion about her study of TBNs and TANs (04:10), maintaining her Corolla, Fit, and Chevy S10 (12:10), and her background before joining Blackstone Laboratories (20:00). Read Part 1 of Suzi's TBN and TAN Newsletter. Ready to start your oil analysis journey?  Get your free test kit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Have a question or shoutout? Call Slick T...

Slick Talk & Blackstone Joe are back before Labor Day Weekend with another Meet the Analyst episode with Samir - senior analyst. He tells Joe how Fast & Furious planted the seeds of him being a gearhead and brought him to the Marine Corps (3:35), the journey of his '98 Silvia to the race car it is today (10:38), how working in oil analysis has changed this maintenance routines (15:00),...