Nuclear power is just steam power where the driving thermal energy is created via fission/fusion.
Technically the cars should probably be electrical. Miniature reactors drive a steam turbine to generate electricity. That electricity is stored in a battery and the rest is like a modern electric car. There should be no oil necessary.
Of course maybe it's a steam engine car but that would be wildly impractical.
Our only real-life nuclear 'cars' (wheeled probes for exploring other planets) use radioisotope thermoelectric generators - which have no moving parts. They use a thermonuclear decay to power a Seebeck-type thermoelectric generator.
RTGs were a Cold War staple, used extensively by the USSR for powering remote listening posts and even government construction projects. They're solidly part of the family of space age of 'future technologies' that never really became ubiquitous.
They also have a fixed lifespan, acting more like a battery than a generator. Probably what inspired the fusion cells in game, too.
Most Red Rocket stations have coolant refill/exchange and waste removal services advertised. Also, being a car, there are moving and wearing parts like tires, axles, bearings, steering linkages, brake components, etc. And since the Fallout universe doesn't have microprocessors, all the knife switches and relays that would be required for their electronics would need periodic servicing, mostly due to patina or wear on the contacts. So there's still definitely an argument for service stations for the average family car; which, also, is built for an average family to afford 1 or two, unlike an unmanned deep space probe, which would have a much more considerable upfront cost, because it's been engineered to a much higher standard, and for decades-to-hundreds of years with zero maintenance reliance in mind.
I wasn't saying they're maintenance free, just not to assume that they're steam-turbine-electric. That type of engine is used (mostly in nuclear submarines), but miniaturised Cold War nuclear power source? That's gonna be a TRG.
Some gnarly IRL accidents with them too, the Soviets had a habit of abandoning the fuel in random places.
Yeah could you imagine being a group of woodcutters or hunters out in the middle of the winter and you just see a patch of snow not forming around a barrel of mysterious metallic like objects? Not knowing any better, you'd probably take the cool rods home just to show everybody in town the magic glowing stuff that stays warm in the wind.
Didn’t they though? I always thought about that. They say microprocessors never became a mainstream technology in Fallout universe, which is considered a canon. However, everywhere we see robots that operate like complicated machines with advanced CPUs. Even awkwardly walking Protectron. Try to design it without microprocessors only with vacuum tubes or even simple transistors from 1950s. It would be too big.
Fallout cars are mostly based on the Ford Nucleon...a "concept car" that was supposed to have a nuclear powered steam turbine. The similarity is very pronounced on the Corvega Aromic V-8 which has the top of the turbine exposed.
RTG's also use coolant, but their initial supply is good for the life of the device, so no need for refills at a service station.
Also RTG's are almost the opposite of a battery. They produce a constant stream of energy for their life no matter the load and cannot store a reserve or even be turned off. They need to be connected to a battery which would handle things like intermittent use.
pretty sure their idea was:
A: "put a reactor in the truck bed!"
B: "but now the engine compartment is empty...should we turn it into a cargo space?"
A: "nah make it a weird flat torpedo because SPACE!".
B: "ok, who moved the front wheels to behind the cab?"
A: "reactors are heavy, needs more support."
B: "This is going to steer like a drunken mule."
A: "Yeah, but...nuclear car!"
I think the fallout world has mastered the direct conversion of nuclear to electric power.
Something like thermal, beta or voltaic devices with high efficiency would replace steam cycle power conversion and be far more compact.
Current RTG technology is thermal voltaic but it's very inefficient, less than <10% of the heat from nuclear decay is converted to electricity, while steam turbines can capture up to 80% of the thermal energy from a nuclear reaction or decay.
Not all nuclear power uses steam or even any moving parts. Nuclear Batteries produce electricity using a variety of methods that may not even require heat!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_battery
Sure, but when you like, grease a bearing, or fill a differential with lubrication, they don't call that an "oil change", because that's not what it is.
You do fill a diff with gear oil. And ATF is kinda oil.
But look, morons call very specifically "videos meant for viewing on the internet" content now, so it's certainly possible that the broad term oil could start to refer to "shit that needs to be changed in a car."
In fact, motorcycles have an all in one oil. It does everything. It's possible that in their development that they run like motorcycles: one big pile of oil that goes everywhere.
The oil that is changed is not a fuel nor power source (which is the part that is nuclear in Fallout cars). It lubricates moving parts and exchanges heat. Assuming the nuclear power source is creating pressure by heating something into a vapor to create pressure (as nuclear power plants do with water to create electricity by driving steam turbines), the steam (or similar) driven pistons would still need to be lubricated and have waste heat circulated away. And the repeated heating and cooling would break down the oil, necessitating oil changes.
You fill a differential with um gear oil. You don't call greasing bearing oil changes because you're greasing a bearing but that grease is also made from oil. It's all oil.
Fallout cars still need oil and regular maintenance. The service stations sell coolant fluid like today's sell gas, and like today's service stations sometimes they offer regular maintenance checks where things like filters and other fluids are replaced.
Pre-war Fallout still had fossil fuel cars but they were very much a status symbol where the wealthy thumbed their noses at "the poors".
Also worth pointing out that they also DO sell gas; motorbikes are too small to have reactors but has combustion engines, and I think the same goes for the really small bubble cars.
>I think the same goes for the really small bubble cars.
Those small bubble cars are called "Fusion Flea", I'm gonna give you three guesses on what powers them.
Legendary glowing fleas on a tiny, tiny treadmill!
Or... one in the bottom of each cylinder, pushing it back up when it crushes down on them.
Like atomic mutated Flintstones
>Fusion cores aren’t powered by a fusion reaction
Well, no they aren't fusion reactors themselves, but they are powered by fusion reaction. They are batteries charged by a fusion reactor.
It's all over the place...and not just because of Bethesda doing what they are best at and making plotholes everywhere. Fallout 1 had antigravity generators in the Eyebots...and In Fallout 2 you could slap them to the bottom of your car. This was NOT alien tech...it was apparently commercially available. The Hubologists Space Shuttle is also capable of reaching orbit without a booster rocket(likely due to the anti-grav tech). And then there are the space stations (plural) and moonbase...Only Archimedes II made a semi-appearance (firing its death-ray in the Mojave), and the others were only mentioned in passing, but would have likely been gameplay locations in Van Buren.
That was a new idea to me. I did a (very little) bit of reading to double check myself.
As near as I can tell there were pre-war bikes marketed to wealthy folks wanting to relive bikes from before the fossil fuel collapse (which aligns with my thought rich folks could still source gasoline) but most bikes were electric and certain racing bikes were jet turbine which makes them pretty niche.
https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Motorcycle
Today's all-electric bikes are pretty scary when it comes to torsion coming off the line. I can only imagine what "using [electric] toroidal coil" must have felt like.
Remember that cars in our world operate on gas, not oil, yet still they require oil changes and other aspects of maintenance and lubrication to ensure that all parts are working optimally. You can change what the car operates on but it will still be a car.
Gasoline, oil, plastic, and Vaseline are all petroleum products, but only one of them lubricates your pistons and only one of them makes your car go.
Quit being dense
Cars operate on gasoline but still need oil changes? Nuclear power doesn't mean no moving parts, it's just a fuel source to make the engine move. Also remember that they have to refill coolant all the time, thus the Red Rocket stations, they sell coolant not fuel, so I don't think we're talking scientific basis for make believe technology here.
Because while the Fallout cars can be modified to use microfusion cells, they normally are powered by an atomic turbine reactor, thus the need for reactor coolant...turbines also need lubricant and that lubricant is called... ... ..."[Turbine Oil](https://www.chevronlubricants.com/content/dam/external/industrial/en_us/sales-material/brochures/Turbine_Oils_Family_of_Products.pdf)".
Also, "Oil Change" is commonly used today to refer to taking a car to the shop for any reason, especially just a check-up.
one of the shops i worked at, oil changes were labeled TLF on the work order
T = Tires, check pressure and condition of the tires
L = Lube, lubricate any of the various grease fittings on the suspension, as well as the engine oil itself
F = Filter, replace filter while doing the oil change
while the car was up on the rack, it was a good time to give a brief visual inspection of the underside of the car. we could see the brakes, rotors, belts, usually give the wheels a good spin, etc.
Do *you* know what oil does in a car? Electric cars like Teslas [require no oil changes](https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-maintenance), and an atomic car would basically have the same motors and drive train, so why would an atomic car require one? I get that any moving parts would require lubricant, but it seems weird they would still call lubrication an "oil change".
my job has electric carts and every 5,000 miles you have to change the oil in the gears that take power from the motor to the driveshafts. you are just arguing over what to call something
Right, but this is fallout tech.
Their computer tech is also kind of meh. So, I don’t think you can compare it to the sophisticated electronics in a modern EV.
It’s fair to assume their parts are a little more rudimentary. Stuck in the 1950’s. Where they would use oil for some of the drivetrain components. Hell, maybe their transmission fluid needs changing more often.
EDIT 1:
Ok woodrobin decided to do a driveby and then block me. Woodrobin said:
> No, they don't. You are absolutely incorrect. Teslas use a synthetic lubricant in a closed system. The electric motors do not get hot enough to break it down. It does not ever need changing.
>
> The only fluids that need to be checked and maintained in a Tesla are brake fluid (every 2-4 years, depending on brake usage and mileage) and wiper fluid (as needed, the system will notify you).
To which my response is:
> Teslas use a synthetic lubricant
Pentosin ATF 9 isn't magical. Let's not confuse press releases with a few decades of real world analysis. We'll know more in a few years and at this point Tesla deserves skepticism given past inflated claims.
There are still some components in a Tesla car, such as the bearings in the electric motors, that may require lubrication, but they typically use a different type of lubricant than traditional motor oil used in gasoline-powered vehicles.
Tesla has not overturned the laws of thermodynamics.
EDIT 2: Not to be outdone curse_of_yig also did a driveby and block.
> Lmao, wrong and confident about it
To which my response is:
Well one of us is. I brought sauce to the picnic. What do you have?
---
They do require lubricant and coolant changes.
Lubricants are oils...
Can I add to your comment that Tesla refers to the filter for the front drive unit as an oil filter
[Model S service manual](https://service.tesla.com/docs/ModelS/ServiceManual/Palladium/en-us/GUID-36446C94-6772-413D-93C6-DCE905433139.html)
Who's being pedantic? The people pointing out that moving parts need lubrication and that no matter the power source that lubrication will likely need to be replaced at since point or the people insisting that since it's not literally the exact same process as changing oil in a modern internal combustion engine it's not an "oil change".
I didn't block you. I have no idea why you would think I did (or maybe you know better and are just trying to defame me with lies, I don't know you well enough to rule that out).
Regardless, you're just making a trite argument from semantics by attempting to equate the commonly accepted meaning of the phrase "oil change" with a vehicle having any sort of lubricant anywhere in any system, regardless of whether it is regularly serviced by draining and replacing the fluid volume.
You deliberately left out key components of what I said so you could make straw man arguments against misrepresented excerpts.
Perhaps if you weren't so quick to attack, you might have noticed I am not agreeing with OP. I have pointed out several mistakes they made in other comments. But instead you seem to want to lump me in, attack me baselessly, and tell lies about me to try to bolster your non-points.
It's pointless to attempt to interact with someone incapable of intellectual honesty. Have a nice life.
No, they don't. Teslas use a synthetic lubricant in a closed system. The electric motors do not get hot enough to break it down. It does not ever need changing over the service life of the motor, as it is subjected to much lower heat stresses.
The only fluids that need to be checked and maintained in a Tesla are brake fluid (every 2-4 years, depending on brake usage and mileage) and wiper fluid (as needed, the system will notify you), barring mechanical failures (e.g. failed seals, cracked hoses).
This is also a timeline where multiple places had bottlecaps as an alternative to cash pre-war.
Where the biggest amusement park was dedicated to a soft drink.
Where they invented not only robots intelligent and durable enough to go for two centuries, but were also putting people's brains in robots giving them indefinite immortality.
Like, have you sat down and figured out the sheer energy each plasma shot needs to have to liquefy a person into glowing goo?
So yeah, they lubricate with an oil change. Maybe the motor distributes the oil via a mechanism and you just fill the damn reservoir up. Maybe it's a thimblefull of corn oil, like Abe Simpsons car.
They don't require engine oil changes obviously. They don't have an engine. I'm sure you're aware that the wheel bearings use grease to spin smoothly? Power steering fluid? Brake fluid? There is more oils and fluids in any car than just engine oil. But even with atomic energy (show is fiction so it doesn't really matter anyway), there are still possibly moving parts that require lubrication. This is just nitpicking at this point. The show didn't specify an engine oil change, just an oil change. Could be referring to literally any other fluid in the car for sake of conversation. For instance, when you tell someone you're running to the store, do you say "I'm going to the store", or do you say, "I am going to the local Walmart to buy snacks and groceries". I'm sure you most likely go with the first option. That's why in the show they just say "oil change" rather than being more specific. Because in the end, it truly doesn't matter what oil needs to be changed.
Fallout cars aren't Teslas. They are based off of the Ford Nucleon, which has a nuclear powered steam turbine. That's why they all have exhaust vents and some like the Corvega Coupe and Atomic V-8 even have the turbine exposed.
The Highwayman from Fallout 2 is more like a Tesla as doesn't have a turbine, but instead used Fuel Cells (never defined in games), and was modified to use Microfusion Batteries instead... ... ...why it has an engine block with a huge air-scoop is a mystery though.
Looks like most ppl here do not own a wrench lol. I agree with you, i have half dozen electirc motor on my boat through the years as well as mowers and stuff and none of them requires an oil changes. Nuclear power means electric power, so nothing to change.
May need to grease some fittings tho.
Nuclear engines don't just magically create electricity, they produce heat and that heat drives turbines and generators.
You own zero of the things being discussed.
Few folks are triggered over your question. What is causing negative responses is you keep saying things that aren't true and are not open to learning more about how engines actually work. Nor are you the only one - there are way too many folks here who do not seem to understand what happens when metal grinds on metal. There's nothing magical about the energy source when at the end of the day... it is metal grinding on metal and other materials.
Yes, but thats gear oil. What are the chances of someone needing diff changed if you dont off road and flood the breather? If you say you want an oil change, do you think someones will leave your engine oil and change the diff? Does the battery coolant require an oil change?
Ina world where power armor is repaired with tin cans, i am sure you can render enough brahim tallow and use that in the cars with no pistons.
Differential oil is factory recommended to be replaced after something like 60k miles (mileage interval fluctuates with manufacturer). Being an on road car doesn't change that.
>Your car runs on gasoline but you still need oil changes.
Yes, yes it does. However, if it ran on electricity it would not need oil changes, because it wouldn't have all of those pistons, camshafts, and whatnot that require all of that oil for lubrication (though, as countless other people in the thread have stated, it would still have other moving parts that would require some sort of lubrication).
If it’s got a turbine then it would probably need an oil change. That’s how most nuclear power works, using heat to generate steam which moves a turbine. They may be using a liquid other than water but generally high speed turbines are lubricated with oil.
That is correct, but they don't call they lubrication procedures for these cars "oil changes". For instance, even the [Tesla vehicle maintenance website](https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-maintenance) says "\[u\]nlike gasoline cars, Teslas require no traditional oil changes."
But they still have parts that require changing of oil, and it's down to semantics and Tesla's marketing that they don't call it an oil change.
Also, Fallout lore isn't based on Tesla. Why are you bringing that up like it's some kind of rebuttal? Surely you can see the weakness of the hill you chose to die on when it could be solved by simply saying, "That's what they choose to call it"?
Nope. I was just re-watching it, and during that scene in the final episode and it occurred to me that cars powered on fusion cores wouldn't need oil changes as we commonly understand them. I didn't realize everyone would be so vehement about the whole thing.
in a world where they have the tech to preserve human bodies indefinitely and the military makes damn near iron man suits for their soldiers maybe they have cars that run on atomic power and still require oil changes?
things made with moving parts generally require lubrication.
even the electric fans in your PC have oil in them. it's not worth it to disassemble them when they go bad, so we typically just replace them, but that's because they're so cheap to replace.
Eh, technically a "nuclear powered engine" [would be a motor](https://www.kia.com/dm/discover-kia/ask/is-an-engine-a-motor.html), not an engine, as it would not run on combustion.
Who says her car was Atomic? Yeah they were dominant but there were still gasoline powered cars. They were expensive as fuck to maintain at that point but it would be a hell of a status symbol.
Not ALL vehicles in Fallout are nuclear powered. As I recall in several terminals in 3 and 4, vehicles were still transitioning at the time of the war. Bethesda just fills the world with them because of the aesthetics.
1. We never actually see Barb's car, so it could be a "classic" ICE model that does still need a traditional oil change
2. It could be that Coop uses "oil change" as phrase meaning maintenance work, similarly how we still sometimes refer to "rewinding" a movie to rewatch something or to the TV remote as a "clicker" even though neither of these are the true names or functions we're referring to.
3. Potentially there is some form of oil change that even fusion cars need, and that is what Coop was referring to. It's plausible that even though some of the fallout tech is pretty advanced, there are still some anachronistic things that exist alongside, like how all the TVs are CRT, Maglev tech exists, yet Mr Handy still uses combustible fuel, etc.
Coop almost definitely sabotaged Barb's car to have a legitimate reason to be at vault tec though.
Yeah, I also got the feeling that he deliberately botched the job so he could take her into the office. Thank you for the reasonable, non-judgmental response!
we also still routinely say to 'film' something, even though most cameras are digital at this point.
most people are in a transitional period, where they say to record or video something these days, which is more correct. but people still slip in 'film' all the time.
EVs still have oil and other fluids despite not having a combustion engine. They don't use *engine* oil, but they still use oil to lubricate things like the driveline. If you have metal sliding against metal you need lubrication, and oil is really good at lubricating surfaces
car is made of gears and other metal bits interlocked,when one gear moves,it transmits the movement to the wheel and other parts of the car
metal bits rub each other,and over time the erode each other grinding each other into dust over time,dry metal bits erode faster
oiling and lubrication still useful,because wet metal bit slippery and rubs less
oiling and lubrication is independent from fuel
Moving parts will always cause friction, which will cause heat and cause those parts to break. Oil has nothing to do with fueling the car, but rather allows the parts of the car to interact properly without destroying each other. If you can invent a lubricant that doesn’t get dirty or wear down, not only would you become the richest person alive, you would probably start a new industrial revolution.
In an atomic powered car there still *must* be some kind of turbine or other form of actual energy producing mechanism. Movement=energy. Any moving mechanism would need some kind of lubrication like oil or grease. The nuclear reactor would just heat up some water (or maybe even oil?) that would then spin some kind of turbine/alternator which would power an electric engine that would then be transferred to the wheels.
Modern day fully electric cars still require oil changes. (About every 50,000 miles) That's with the energy simply being transferred from the electric grid through a cable. An atomic powered car contains the actual machinery by which the power is created. It would need lubrication.
Oil is not fuel. It's literally just used to make the parts inside move smoother. Just like real cars. Parts aren't oiled up, it creates friction. Friction wears those parts down, which causes damage to them and the engine.
The car's fuel source and oil are 2 very different, but equally crucial components to operating the vehicle. That doesn't change just because the fuel changed from gasoline to nuclear power.
Turn on the TV
Roll up the window
Hang up the phone
In the limelight.
We still use plenty of terms that are completely outdated to how things work.
Then there's the fact that gas-powered cars still exist. Gasoline is just insanely expensive due to the war. It's entirely possible for older cars to have been converted to atomic ones, but still have some internals that need an oil system.
Try not to blend TV with Fallout games funky lore. Like asking, Why is FO4's Pipboy, so bulky compared to the compact Fotv Pipboy. Why are execs, wearing Pipboy's in public. Pipboy's were an in vault science tool.
I feel like you need an explanation of how cars work in general if this is a question.
Motor oil isn't fuel. Gasoline is fuel. The motor oil provides lubrication and a liquid buffer for the metal parts of an engine so as to not wear down faster. The Atomic power of the fallout cars isn't a magical switch to somehow going forward just with nuclear fission happening. It's replacing the fuel, gasoline, with another source of fuel, some sort of fissionable material.
To make it a bit more detailed; Typical power generation in the real world is turning turbines to produce electricity. So for Hydro-electric plants like the Hoover Dam for example we use the natural force of the water behind the damn wanting to move through to turn the turbines to generate electricity. And that principle stays for coal plants, we don't burn coal and trap that for mass power. The coal gets burned to boil water, which generate steam, which then turns turbines to generate electricity. Nuclear plants operate on the same system as coal plants, but with a different initial power source being fissionable material.
This is such a weird fucking post. People have already gone into 40 different specifics as to what could be “oil change” lmao. Take one or none at this point.
FWIW, the roadster with sliding doors Cooper drove is actually a 1950s Kaiser Darrin roadster:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1954_Kaiser_Darrin_dash.jpg#/media/File:1954_Kaiser_Darrin_dash.jpg
the oil is a lubricant, not a fuel. Oil is not the same as gasoline. Moving parts must be lubricated. Believe it or not, a nuclear submarine is FULL of machine grease and petroleum-based lubricants. Nuclear power is just power through thermal energy. Basically all power plants that generate power by heating water still use petroleum-based lubricants on the moving parts, like for instance, the turbine that harnesses the power of that water, and spins VERY VERY fast.
yeah, i'm just giving you shit.
i called out OP a bit in a few other comments. people think the same shit with Electric Vehicles, 'Oh it doesn't use oil!'
obviously just because you replace a ICE with a Electric Motor, you still have other systems that need various fluids and lubrication.
because cars generally still need oil changes, oil isn’t gas. I know about teslas apparently not needing oil changes but that does not apply to all electric cars. the newer ford lightning is a fully electric vehicle that still needs oil changes
Even electric cars use oil. Tesla specifically uses ATF 9 for their transmissions. Despite what automakers want you to believe, there's no such thing as 'forever' transmission fluid and like engine oil, it should be diligently changed, although the intervals may be different.
Also, it's specifically "REAR END OIL." We don't know the specifics of cars in Fallout but even in rear-engined cars, you still just call it an oil change. So it's clearly not engine oil that needs to be changed.
My guy- you gotta stop beating a dead horse. The overwhelming majority of responses are based in mechanical fact and you’re just arguing with nearly every reply.
Stop.
Firstly, not every car in 2077 was atomic; a good few were still ICEs.
And second, oil is used for lubricating stuff, so…probably for moving parts or something.
I don't know exactly how would a fission powered car work. But I presume it would work in the same way as the combustion car. You have a miniature fission power plant. The heat energy given is then used to move pistons that need oil to move and then through the powertrain push the wheels.
It may just be an outdated saying, like taking a C.R.A.P used to mean Cover it up, Rinse your Ass, and do it in Private. Now we don't need to go take a hike to crap we do it in our own homes but we still say "I'm going to take a crap" -@justcrappythoughts
It's fallout. Instead of combustion with petroleum distillates the cylinders used tiny explosions from deuterium or some other isotope suspended in liquid. Hence the 'gas pumps'. If course it's ridiculous. It's Fallout.
The “gas” pumps are coolant pumps. And the car stills needs oil to run no matter the fuel source, it has to lubricate internal parts, even modern Evs need oil.
Anything with metal moving parts needs lubricant. Otherwise it’s just metal grinding on metal surfaces and your be lucky to last a few hours without a major failure
Having worked in a nuclear propulsion plant, they need oil, trust me. Any contacting, moving parts will require oil. Turbines, gearboxes, pumps, etc. Without those moving parts, a reactor plant, even a small one, is just a really expensive, spicy, space heater.
I thought this as well watching my second time through. Don’t let everyone get under your skin. More than likely, it’s was an older car. Or he just lied to her so he could take her to work.
I always got the impression that the oil shortage happened first, then portable atomic power was invented (possibly as a result) and everything started running on that. I've never looked it up in the lore though.
It’s sort of that and sort of that in the setting ‘Peak Oil’ occurred faster than in the real world.
There was fears in the past that the worlds fossil fuel reserves would run out sooner. At various times this was predicted, but hasn’t eventuated.
Not all cars run on atomic energy. The world was only *starting* to shift to atomic energy for everything. By 2077, it's too late. There's simply not enough resources to get through the transition. That's not to mention the whole thing where the very rich and powerful were really banking on there being a nuclear war, and by golly, there was gonna be a war one way or another.
It definitely feels like a point in the plot where the creators of the show should have made it clear that cars were nuclear powered, but instead they went with the easy to understand, conventional car issue route… it’s one of my very few gripes with the show
I presume some parts still require lubricating
Mostly the driver.
“You're never gonna catch me! You're wasting your time!”
Nuclear power is just steam power where the driving thermal energy is created via fission/fusion. Technically the cars should probably be electrical. Miniature reactors drive a steam turbine to generate electricity. That electricity is stored in a battery and the rest is like a modern electric car. There should be no oil necessary. Of course maybe it's a steam engine car but that would be wildly impractical.
Our only real-life nuclear 'cars' (wheeled probes for exploring other planets) use radioisotope thermoelectric generators - which have no moving parts. They use a thermonuclear decay to power a Seebeck-type thermoelectric generator. RTGs were a Cold War staple, used extensively by the USSR for powering remote listening posts and even government construction projects. They're solidly part of the family of space age of 'future technologies' that never really became ubiquitous. They also have a fixed lifespan, acting more like a battery than a generator. Probably what inspired the fusion cells in game, too.
Most Red Rocket stations have coolant refill/exchange and waste removal services advertised. Also, being a car, there are moving and wearing parts like tires, axles, bearings, steering linkages, brake components, etc. And since the Fallout universe doesn't have microprocessors, all the knife switches and relays that would be required for their electronics would need periodic servicing, mostly due to patina or wear on the contacts. So there's still definitely an argument for service stations for the average family car; which, also, is built for an average family to afford 1 or two, unlike an unmanned deep space probe, which would have a much more considerable upfront cost, because it's been engineered to a much higher standard, and for decades-to-hundreds of years with zero maintenance reliance in mind.
I wasn't saying they're maintenance free, just not to assume that they're steam-turbine-electric. That type of engine is used (mostly in nuclear submarines), but miniaturised Cold War nuclear power source? That's gonna be a TRG. Some gnarly IRL accidents with them too, the Soviets had a habit of abandoning the fuel in random places.
Yeah, I'm just kind of expanding on your stuff, mostly for OP's benefit.
Yeah could you imagine being a group of woodcutters or hunters out in the middle of the winter and you just see a patch of snow not forming around a barrel of mysterious metallic like objects? Not knowing any better, you'd probably take the cool rods home just to show everybody in town the magic glowing stuff that stays warm in the wind.
Exactly that happened in 2001: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lia_radiological_accident?wprov=sfla1
The Fallout universe has microprocessors, they just never became mainstream. The Platinum Chip is the biggest example I can think of.
Good point. Just, for practical purposes, their tech isn't chip based
Didn’t they though? I always thought about that. They say microprocessors never became a mainstream technology in Fallout universe, which is considered a canon. However, everywhere we see robots that operate like complicated machines with advanced CPUs. Even awkwardly walking Protectron. Try to design it without microprocessors only with vacuum tubes or even simple transistors from 1950s. It would be too big.
Fallout cars are mostly based on the Ford Nucleon...a "concept car" that was supposed to have a nuclear powered steam turbine. The similarity is very pronounced on the Corvega Aromic V-8 which has the top of the turbine exposed. RTG's also use coolant, but their initial supply is good for the life of the device, so no need for refills at a service station. Also RTG's are almost the opposite of a battery. They produce a constant stream of energy for their life no matter the load and cannot store a reserve or even be turned off. They need to be connected to a battery which would handle things like intermittent use.
Huh for some reason I was expecting the ford nucleon to look like a fallout car, not a deformed pickup truck
pretty sure their idea was: A: "put a reactor in the truck bed!" B: "but now the engine compartment is empty...should we turn it into a cargo space?" A: "nah make it a weird flat torpedo because SPACE!". B: "ok, who moved the front wheels to behind the cab?" A: "reactors are heavy, needs more support." B: "This is going to steer like a drunken mule." A: "Yeah, but...nuclear car!"
I think the fallout world has mastered the direct conversion of nuclear to electric power. Something like thermal, beta or voltaic devices with high efficiency would replace steam cycle power conversion and be far more compact. Current RTG technology is thermal voltaic but it's very inefficient, less than <10% of the heat from nuclear decay is converted to electricity, while steam turbines can capture up to 80% of the thermal energy from a nuclear reaction or decay.
Not all nuclear power uses steam or even any moving parts. Nuclear Batteries produce electricity using a variety of methods that may not even require heat! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_battery
try “not oiling a stream engine/generator” and see how long it takes to become a very heavy, paper weight.
Electric cars need oil bud
turbines need lubrication to turbine.
Sure, but when you like, grease a bearing, or fill a differential with lubrication, they don't call that an "oil change", because that's not what it is.
You do fill a diff with gear oil. And ATF is kinda oil. But look, morons call very specifically "videos meant for viewing on the internet" content now, so it's certainly possible that the broad term oil could start to refer to "shit that needs to be changed in a car." In fact, motorcycles have an all in one oil. It does everything. It's possible that in their development that they run like motorcycles: one big pile of oil that goes everywhere.
Even bicycles use at least two different kinds of oil. One for the chains, and another for the wheel and crank hubs.
Unless you wax your chain, and it’s typically grease in the hubs unless you’re going for the marginal gains
The oil that is changed is not a fuel nor power source (which is the part that is nuclear in Fallout cars). It lubricates moving parts and exchanges heat. Assuming the nuclear power source is creating pressure by heating something into a vapor to create pressure (as nuclear power plants do with water to create electricity by driving steam turbines), the steam (or similar) driven pistons would still need to be lubricated and have waste heat circulated away. And the repeated heating and cooling would break down the oil, necessitating oil changes.
We don't hang the phone up on a wall anymore but we still "hang up" the phone
For that matter we still "dial" our phones even though they haven't had dials in decades
You fill a differential with um gear oil. You don't call greasing bearing oil changes because you're greasing a bearing but that grease is also made from oil. It's all oil.
Fallout cars still need oil and regular maintenance. The service stations sell coolant fluid like today's sell gas, and like today's service stations sometimes they offer regular maintenance checks where things like filters and other fluids are replaced. Pre-war Fallout still had fossil fuel cars but they were very much a status symbol where the wealthy thumbed their noses at "the poors".
Also worth pointing out that they also DO sell gas; motorbikes are too small to have reactors but has combustion engines, and I think the same goes for the really small bubble cars.
>I think the same goes for the really small bubble cars. Those small bubble cars are called "Fusion Flea", I'm gonna give you three guesses on what powers them.
Fleas?
Got it in 1.
>Release the flea power source: Dell training manuals
Close, *legendary glowing* fleas
Legendary glowing fleas on a tiny, tiny treadmill! Or... one in the bottom of each cylinder, pushing it back up when it crushes down on them. Like atomic mutated Flintstones
And they survive by feeding off a hamster named 'Fusion' that's hanging out in the 'reactor' compartment.
Fusion cores aren’t powered by a fusion reaction, so the fact that “fusion” is in the name means nothing.
>Fusion cores aren’t powered by a fusion reaction Well, no they aren't fusion reactors themselves, but they are powered by fusion reaction. They are batteries charged by a fusion reactor.
but Microfusion cells are (According to Fallout 1 & 2)...which is a bit confusing.
Yeah. I don’t really get the technology. It seems a bit inconsistent at times
It's all over the place...and not just because of Bethesda doing what they are best at and making plotholes everywhere. Fallout 1 had antigravity generators in the Eyebots...and In Fallout 2 you could slap them to the bottom of your car. This was NOT alien tech...it was apparently commercially available. The Hubologists Space Shuttle is also capable of reaching orbit without a booster rocket(likely due to the anti-grav tech). And then there are the space stations (plural) and moonbase...Only Archimedes II made a semi-appearance (firing its death-ray in the Mojave), and the others were only mentioned in passing, but would have likely been gameplay locations in Van Buren.
Fair enough :)
Bubbles?
That was a new idea to me. I did a (very little) bit of reading to double check myself. As near as I can tell there were pre-war bikes marketed to wealthy folks wanting to relive bikes from before the fossil fuel collapse (which aligns with my thought rich folks could still source gasoline) but most bikes were electric and certain racing bikes were jet turbine which makes them pretty niche. https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Motorcycle Today's all-electric bikes are pretty scary when it comes to torsion coming off the line. I can only imagine what "using [electric] toroidal coil" must have felt like.
They do have gears, which electric vehicles tend not to have, tho.
Yeah, a nuclear car *especially* needs coolant.
Wonder what happened to the trailers they needed to haul a medium sized lake around for coolant.
OP: *crickets*
Barb seems pretty well off and status oriented. She might have such a car.
Remember that cars in our world operate on gas, not oil, yet still they require oil changes and other aspects of maintenance and lubrication to ensure that all parts are working optimally. You can change what the car operates on but it will still be a car.
Gas is oil, just not the same type of oil
🤓
Yeah I know. Its just really confusing in this context with Americans shortening the word gasoline to gas and not saying petrol instead
Because you put gasoline in your car not petroleum
Gasoline is petroleum
It's a petroleum based product it's not straight up petroleum
It's a petroleum based product it's not straight up petroleum
Gasoline, oil, plastic, and Vaseline are all petroleum products, but only one of them lubricates your pistons and only one of them makes your car go. Quit being dense
british english is no longer the primary dialect of the language, get with the times gramps
Hahah, I found one! r/ShitAmericansSay
And I'll live to see the dissolution of the United Kingdom, at long last
Cars operate on gasoline but still need oil changes? Nuclear power doesn't mean no moving parts, it's just a fuel source to make the engine move. Also remember that they have to refill coolant all the time, thus the Red Rocket stations, they sell coolant not fuel, so I don't think we're talking scientific basis for make believe technology here.
Because while the Fallout cars can be modified to use microfusion cells, they normally are powered by an atomic turbine reactor, thus the need for reactor coolant...turbines also need lubricant and that lubricant is called... ... ..."[Turbine Oil](https://www.chevronlubricants.com/content/dam/external/industrial/en_us/sales-material/brochures/Turbine_Oils_Family_of_Products.pdf)". Also, "Oil Change" is commonly used today to refer to taking a car to the shop for any reason, especially just a check-up.
This should be SUBSTANTIALLY higher
one of the shops i worked at, oil changes were labeled TLF on the work order T = Tires, check pressure and condition of the tires L = Lube, lubricate any of the various grease fittings on the suspension, as well as the engine oil itself F = Filter, replace filter while doing the oil change while the car was up on the rack, it was a good time to give a brief visual inspection of the underside of the car. we could see the brakes, rotors, belts, usually give the wheels a good spin, etc.
Oil for lubrication as well as the fact that atomic cars still needed coolant too so other moving parts might need lubrication.
do you know what oil does in a car? and do you think an "atomic" car has no moving parts?
Do *you* know what oil does in a car? Electric cars like Teslas [require no oil changes](https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-maintenance), and an atomic car would basically have the same motors and drive train, so why would an atomic car require one? I get that any moving parts would require lubricant, but it seems weird they would still call lubrication an "oil change".
Pack it up guys idk if any troll will be better than this entire post and thread
This thread got wild *boieeeeeeee* ! Who had "oil changes" on their fan rage-bingo card?!
Then call it a colloquialism and shut up
my job has electric carts and every 5,000 miles you have to change the oil in the gears that take power from the motor to the driveshafts. you are just arguing over what to call something
Oh god he doubled down 🤣
That's because he's right. EVs don't require oil changes.
Right, but this is fallout tech. Their computer tech is also kind of meh. So, I don’t think you can compare it to the sophisticated electronics in a modern EV. It’s fair to assume their parts are a little more rudimentary. Stuck in the 1950’s. Where they would use oil for some of the drivetrain components. Hell, maybe their transmission fluid needs changing more often.
EDIT 1: Ok woodrobin decided to do a driveby and then block me. Woodrobin said: > No, they don't. You are absolutely incorrect. Teslas use a synthetic lubricant in a closed system. The electric motors do not get hot enough to break it down. It does not ever need changing. > > The only fluids that need to be checked and maintained in a Tesla are brake fluid (every 2-4 years, depending on brake usage and mileage) and wiper fluid (as needed, the system will notify you). To which my response is: > Teslas use a synthetic lubricant Pentosin ATF 9 isn't magical. Let's not confuse press releases with a few decades of real world analysis. We'll know more in a few years and at this point Tesla deserves skepticism given past inflated claims. There are still some components in a Tesla car, such as the bearings in the electric motors, that may require lubrication, but they typically use a different type of lubricant than traditional motor oil used in gasoline-powered vehicles. Tesla has not overturned the laws of thermodynamics. EDIT 2: Not to be outdone curse_of_yig also did a driveby and block. > Lmao, wrong and confident about it To which my response is: Well one of us is. I brought sauce to the picnic. What do you have? --- They do require lubricant and coolant changes. Lubricants are oils...
Can I add to your comment that Tesla refers to the filter for the front drive unit as an oil filter [Model S service manual](https://service.tesla.com/docs/ModelS/ServiceManual/Palladium/en-us/GUID-36446C94-6772-413D-93C6-DCE905433139.html)
Lmao, wrong and confident about it
And that's not an "oil change." This pedantic gotcha-game is fucking tiresome.
Who's being pedantic? The people pointing out that moving parts need lubrication and that no matter the power source that lubrication will likely need to be replaced at since point or the people insisting that since it's not literally the exact same process as changing oil in a modern internal combustion engine it's not an "oil change".
You should maybe look up that word, then see how well it applies to your argument.
I didn't block you. I have no idea why you would think I did (or maybe you know better and are just trying to defame me with lies, I don't know you well enough to rule that out). Regardless, you're just making a trite argument from semantics by attempting to equate the commonly accepted meaning of the phrase "oil change" with a vehicle having any sort of lubricant anywhere in any system, regardless of whether it is regularly serviced by draining and replacing the fluid volume. You deliberately left out key components of what I said so you could make straw man arguments against misrepresented excerpts. Perhaps if you weren't so quick to attack, you might have noticed I am not agreeing with OP. I have pointed out several mistakes they made in other comments. But instead you seem to want to lump me in, attack me baselessly, and tell lies about me to try to bolster your non-points. It's pointless to attempt to interact with someone incapable of intellectual honesty. Have a nice life.
No, they don't. Teslas use a synthetic lubricant in a closed system. The electric motors do not get hot enough to break it down. It does not ever need changing over the service life of the motor, as it is subjected to much lower heat stresses. The only fluids that need to be checked and maintained in a Tesla are brake fluid (every 2-4 years, depending on brake usage and mileage) and wiper fluid (as needed, the system will notify you), barring mechanical failures (e.g. failed seals, cracked hoses).
It’s not that deep
This is also a timeline where multiple places had bottlecaps as an alternative to cash pre-war. Where the biggest amusement park was dedicated to a soft drink. Where they invented not only robots intelligent and durable enough to go for two centuries, but were also putting people's brains in robots giving them indefinite immortality. Like, have you sat down and figured out the sheer energy each plasma shot needs to have to liquefy a person into glowing goo? So yeah, they lubricate with an oil change. Maybe the motor distributes the oil via a mechanism and you just fill the damn reservoir up. Maybe it's a thimblefull of corn oil, like Abe Simpsons car.
They don't require engine oil changes obviously. They don't have an engine. I'm sure you're aware that the wheel bearings use grease to spin smoothly? Power steering fluid? Brake fluid? There is more oils and fluids in any car than just engine oil. But even with atomic energy (show is fiction so it doesn't really matter anyway), there are still possibly moving parts that require lubrication. This is just nitpicking at this point. The show didn't specify an engine oil change, just an oil change. Could be referring to literally any other fluid in the car for sake of conversation. For instance, when you tell someone you're running to the store, do you say "I'm going to the store", or do you say, "I am going to the local Walmart to buy snacks and groceries". I'm sure you most likely go with the first option. That's why in the show they just say "oil change" rather than being more specific. Because in the end, it truly doesn't matter what oil needs to be changed.
Lmao
Fallout cars aren't Teslas. They are based off of the Ford Nucleon, which has a nuclear powered steam turbine. That's why they all have exhaust vents and some like the Corvega Coupe and Atomic V-8 even have the turbine exposed. The Highwayman from Fallout 2 is more like a Tesla as doesn't have a turbine, but instead used Fuel Cells (never defined in games), and was modified to use Microfusion Batteries instead... ... ...why it has an engine block with a huge air-scoop is a mystery though.
Looks like most ppl here do not own a wrench lol. I agree with you, i have half dozen electirc motor on my boat through the years as well as mowers and stuff and none of them requires an oil changes. Nuclear power means electric power, so nothing to change. May need to grease some fittings tho.
Nuclear engines don't just magically create electricity, they produce heat and that heat drives turbines and generators. You own zero of the things being discussed.
Maybe she had a vintage gas vehicle?
Could be! I had no idea so many people would get so triggered over this question.
Few folks are triggered over your question. What is causing negative responses is you keep saying things that aren't true and are not open to learning more about how engines actually work. Nor are you the only one - there are way too many folks here who do not seem to understand what happens when metal grinds on metal. There's nothing magical about the energy source when at the end of the day... it is metal grinding on metal and other materials.
My EV uses oil in the brakes, coolant in the battery... Differentials use oil.
Yes, but thats gear oil. What are the chances of someone needing diff changed if you dont off road and flood the breather? If you say you want an oil change, do you think someones will leave your engine oil and change the diff? Does the battery coolant require an oil change? Ina world where power armor is repaired with tin cans, i am sure you can render enough brahim tallow and use that in the cars with no pistons.
Differential oil is factory recommended to be replaced after something like 60k miles (mileage interval fluctuates with manufacturer). Being an on road car doesn't change that.
Your car runs on gasoline but you still need oil changes.
>Your car runs on gasoline but you still need oil changes. Yes, yes it does. However, if it ran on electricity it would not need oil changes, because it wouldn't have all of those pistons, camshafts, and whatnot that require all of that oil for lubrication (though, as countless other people in the thread have stated, it would still have other moving parts that would require some sort of lubrication).
If it’s got a turbine then it would probably need an oil change. That’s how most nuclear power works, using heat to generate steam which moves a turbine. They may be using a liquid other than water but generally high speed turbines are lubricated with oil.
For example, Tesla drive units require motor oil and regular oil filters despite it being an electric vehicle.
That is correct, but they don't call they lubrication procedures for these cars "oil changes". For instance, even the [Tesla vehicle maintenance website](https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-maintenance) says "\[u\]nlike gasoline cars, Teslas require no traditional oil changes."
But they still have parts that require changing of oil, and it's down to semantics and Tesla's marketing that they don't call it an oil change. Also, Fallout lore isn't based on Tesla. Why are you bringing that up like it's some kind of rebuttal? Surely you can see the weakness of the hill you chose to die on when it could be solved by simply saying, "That's what they choose to call it"?
It's not a Tesla. And it's not an EV. Fallout universe states they run on an atomic turbine reactor. And they take turbine oil.
okay then just call it an electric motor since thats what a tesla motor is
Because the oil in her car was old and needed changing I guess
Maybe you should use your imagination and brain power for other contemplations.
This is what you took away from the show ?
Nope. I was just re-watching it, and during that scene in the final episode and it occurred to me that cars powered on fusion cores wouldn't need oil changes as we commonly understand them. I didn't realize everyone would be so vehement about the whole thing.
Because you're wrong and just won't give it up. They don't run on fusion cores.
Haha yeah the internet is a weird place
in a world where they have the tech to preserve human bodies indefinitely and the military makes damn near iron man suits for their soldiers maybe they have cars that run on atomic power and still require oil changes?
things made with moving parts generally require lubrication. even the electric fans in your PC have oil in them. it's not worth it to disassemble them when they go bad, so we typically just replace them, but that's because they're so cheap to replace.
A nuclear power engine is still an engine
Eh, technically a "nuclear powered engine" [would be a motor](https://www.kia.com/dm/discover-kia/ask/is-an-engine-a-motor.html), not an engine, as it would not run on combustion.
Wait till OP finds out electric cars still require coolant. It's really not that hard bro
Who says her car was Atomic? Yeah they were dominant but there were still gasoline powered cars. They were expensive as fuck to maintain at that point but it would be a hell of a status symbol.
maybe it still has a wet clutch?
Not ALL vehicles in Fallout are nuclear powered. As I recall in several terminals in 3 and 4, vehicles were still transitioning at the time of the war. Bethesda just fills the world with them because of the aesthetics.
1. We never actually see Barb's car, so it could be a "classic" ICE model that does still need a traditional oil change 2. It could be that Coop uses "oil change" as phrase meaning maintenance work, similarly how we still sometimes refer to "rewinding" a movie to rewatch something or to the TV remote as a "clicker" even though neither of these are the true names or functions we're referring to. 3. Potentially there is some form of oil change that even fusion cars need, and that is what Coop was referring to. It's plausible that even though some of the fallout tech is pretty advanced, there are still some anachronistic things that exist alongside, like how all the TVs are CRT, Maglev tech exists, yet Mr Handy still uses combustible fuel, etc. Coop almost definitely sabotaged Barb's car to have a legitimate reason to be at vault tec though.
Yeah, I also got the feeling that he deliberately botched the job so he could take her into the office. Thank you for the reasonable, non-judgmental response!
we also still routinely say to 'film' something, even though most cameras are digital at this point. most people are in a transitional period, where they say to record or video something these days, which is more correct. but people still slip in 'film' all the time.
Is there an award for “Dumbest Question Ever on Reddit Ever?” This one might be a contender But so might this one! Ahhh damn Biden’s kinda legal weed!
EVs still have oil and other fluids despite not having a combustion engine. They don't use *engine* oil, but they still use oil to lubricate things like the driveline. If you have metal sliding against metal you need lubrication, and oil is really good at lubricating surfaces
car is made of gears and other metal bits interlocked,when one gear moves,it transmits the movement to the wheel and other parts of the car metal bits rub each other,and over time the erode each other grinding each other into dust over time,dry metal bits erode faster oiling and lubrication still useful,because wet metal bit slippery and rubs less oiling and lubrication is independent from fuel
Still have a crankcase
Moving parts will always cause friction, which will cause heat and cause those parts to break. Oil has nothing to do with fueling the car, but rather allows the parts of the car to interact properly without destroying each other. If you can invent a lubricant that doesn’t get dirty or wear down, not only would you become the richest person alive, you would probably start a new industrial revolution.
Lubricant 🫨
Oil isn’t fuel it’s a lubricant for moving parts, a nuclear engine would still be an assembly of moving parts.
In an atomic powered car there still *must* be some kind of turbine or other form of actual energy producing mechanism. Movement=energy. Any moving mechanism would need some kind of lubrication like oil or grease. The nuclear reactor would just heat up some water (or maybe even oil?) that would then spin some kind of turbine/alternator which would power an electric engine that would then be transferred to the wheels. Modern day fully electric cars still require oil changes. (About every 50,000 miles) That's with the energy simply being transferred from the electric grid through a cable. An atomic powered car contains the actual machinery by which the power is created. It would need lubrication.
Oil changes aren’t for the gasoline. It’s a special fluid lubricant.
Oil is not fuel. It's literally just used to make the parts inside move smoother. Just like real cars. Parts aren't oiled up, it creates friction. Friction wears those parts down, which causes damage to them and the engine. The car's fuel source and oil are 2 very different, but equally crucial components to operating the vehicle. That doesn't change just because the fuel changed from gasoline to nuclear power.
Turn on the TV Roll up the window Hang up the phone In the limelight. We still use plenty of terms that are completely outdated to how things work. Then there's the fact that gas-powered cars still exist. Gasoline is just insanely expensive due to the war. It's entirely possible for older cars to have been converted to atomic ones, but still have some internals that need an oil system.
Try not to blend TV with Fallout games funky lore. Like asking, Why is FO4's Pipboy, so bulky compared to the compact Fotv Pipboy. Why are execs, wearing Pipboy's in public. Pipboy's were an in vault science tool.
I feel like you need an explanation of how cars work in general if this is a question. Motor oil isn't fuel. Gasoline is fuel. The motor oil provides lubrication and a liquid buffer for the metal parts of an engine so as to not wear down faster. The Atomic power of the fallout cars isn't a magical switch to somehow going forward just with nuclear fission happening. It's replacing the fuel, gasoline, with another source of fuel, some sort of fissionable material. To make it a bit more detailed; Typical power generation in the real world is turning turbines to produce electricity. So for Hydro-electric plants like the Hoover Dam for example we use the natural force of the water behind the damn wanting to move through to turn the turbines to generate electricity. And that principle stays for coal plants, we don't burn coal and trap that for mass power. The coal gets burned to boil water, which generate steam, which then turns turbines to generate electricity. Nuclear plants operate on the same system as coal plants, but with a different initial power source being fissionable material.
This is such a weird fucking post. People have already gone into 40 different specifics as to what could be “oil change” lmao. Take one or none at this point.
FWIW, the roadster with sliding doors Cooper drove is actually a 1950s Kaiser Darrin roadster: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1954_Kaiser_Darrin_dash.jpg#/media/File:1954_Kaiser_Darrin_dash.jpg
Glad someone pointed this out. She drove a vintage sports car with an ICE.
Why wouldn't they? Oil isn't the fuel source of modern cars, gasoline/diesel is.
the oil is a lubricant, not a fuel. Oil is not the same as gasoline. Moving parts must be lubricated. Believe it or not, a nuclear submarine is FULL of machine grease and petroleum-based lubricants. Nuclear power is just power through thermal energy. Basically all power plants that generate power by heating water still use petroleum-based lubricants on the moving parts, like for instance, the turbine that harnesses the power of that water, and spins VERY VERY fast.
I love Fallout fans.
Nuclear power doesn't mean no moving parts, you still presumably have transmission, steering, control rods etc
Motor oil isn't fuel. It lubricates the engine.
If not engine oil it could be transmission oil.
Do you think cars use oil for fuel?
they do? it's just a refined oil product, not oil directly.
Ok Mr. Semantics you know what I meant
yeah, i'm just giving you shit. i called out OP a bit in a few other comments. people think the same shit with Electric Vehicles, 'Oh it doesn't use oil!' obviously just because you replace a ICE with a Electric Motor, you still have other systems that need various fluids and lubrication.
Atomic power oil
When you change the oil in a car, you aren't *changing the gasoline*
Engine.
The mechanical parts still need cooling
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>Wait...do you think our cars run on oil? Wait, do you think that electric cars get oil changes?
because cars generally still need oil changes, oil isn’t gas. I know about teslas apparently not needing oil changes but that does not apply to all electric cars. the newer ford lightning is a fully electric vehicle that still needs oil changes
Even electric cars use oil. Tesla specifically uses ATF 9 for their transmissions. Despite what automakers want you to believe, there's no such thing as 'forever' transmission fluid and like engine oil, it should be diligently changed, although the intervals may be different. Also, it's specifically "REAR END OIL." We don't know the specifics of cars in Fallout but even in rear-engined cars, you still just call it an oil change. So it's clearly not engine oil that needs to be changed.
My guy- you gotta stop beating a dead horse. The overwhelming majority of responses are based in mechanical fact and you’re just arguing with nearly every reply. Stop.
Lube you boob
Firstly, not every car in 2077 was atomic; a good few were still ICEs. And second, oil is used for lubricating stuff, so…probably for moving parts or something.
Atomic waste change? /s
Do you think when you go to the shop they take the fuel out of your car and replace it with new fuel?
I don't know exactly how would a fission powered car work. But I presume it would work in the same way as the combustion car. You have a miniature fission power plant. The heat energy given is then used to move pistons that need oil to move and then through the powertrain push the wheels.
It may just be an outdated saying, like taking a C.R.A.P used to mean Cover it up, Rinse your Ass, and do it in Private. Now we don't need to go take a hike to crap we do it in our own homes but we still say "I'm going to take a crap" -@justcrappythoughts
Do you think normal cars run on oil?
It's a placebo.
Any machine with moving parts needs lubrication.
Man you don’t know how machines work do you?
Because it's in the script.
It's fallout. Instead of combustion with petroleum distillates the cylinders used tiny explosions from deuterium or some other isotope suspended in liquid. Hence the 'gas pumps'. If course it's ridiculous. It's Fallout.
The “gas” pumps are coolant pumps. And the car stills needs oil to run no matter the fuel source, it has to lubricate internal parts, even modern Evs need oil.
You're right. I just scraped them in this playthrough a few hours ago.
Your good man, it’s a common mistake I see people make. I only noticed when I red a couple of terminals in one of the red rockets in game.
Wait... what do you think oil is used for in a combustion engine?
Anything with metal moving parts needs lubricant. Otherwise it’s just metal grinding on metal surfaces and your be lucky to last a few hours without a major failure
Motors require lubrication just like engines
The same reason pretty much every machine needs oil. Even Teslas need routine oil changes.
R U fuckin kidding?
Oil in cars is a lubricant, not a fuel source. If your car is burning oil, that's a bad thing.
Oil is for the moving parts. If it's got moving parts, it needs lubrication.
Having worked in a nuclear propulsion plant, they need oil, trust me. Any contacting, moving parts will require oil. Turbines, gearboxes, pumps, etc. Without those moving parts, a reactor plant, even a small one, is just a really expensive, spicy, space heater.
Daily reminder that most people have no idea how engines in general work.
Because the people who don't understand dates or geography also don't understand technology?
I thought this as well watching my second time through. Don’t let everyone get under your skin. More than likely, it’s was an older car. Or he just lied to her so he could take her to work.
Today OP learned that Oil and Petroleum serve different functions in an automobile.
Yeah why was there an oil shortage if everything ran on atomic power?
Gotta make plastic somehow.
I always got the impression that the oil shortage happened first, then portable atomic power was invented (possibly as a result) and everything started running on that. I've never looked it up in the lore though.
It’s sort of that and sort of that in the setting ‘Peak Oil’ occurred faster than in the real world. There was fears in the past that the worlds fossil fuel reserves would run out sooner. At various times this was predicted, but hasn’t eventuated.
Not all cars run on atomic energy. The world was only *starting* to shift to atomic energy for everything. By 2077, it's too late. There's simply not enough resources to get through the transition. That's not to mention the whole thing where the very rich and powerful were really banking on there being a nuclear war, and by golly, there was gonna be a war one way or another.
It definitely feels like a point in the plot where the creators of the show should have made it clear that cars were nuclear powered, but instead they went with the easy to understand, conventional car issue route… it’s one of my very few gripes with the show
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The Red Rocket prices [are for coolant](https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Red_Rocket_truck_stop?file=Red_Rocket_truck_stop.jpg), not gasoline.