Car and motor oil research

Oil Change Interval – When to Change your Oil For many car owners there’s a big misconception about oil change intervals. I will explain how to use your own logic to infer a proper oil change interval as well as debunk some of the myths surrounding when to change your oil. I will also discuss some of the differences between grades of oil, particularly synthetic versus conventional oil, and how they apply to oil changes. Lastly, I will talk about seasonality and when to short-change oil. TL:DR – Give me the Cliff Notes! Gasoline Passenger Cars – 5,000 to 7,000 Miles Diesel Passenger Cars – 5,000 Miles Sports Cars – 5,000 Miles Hard Driven / Raced Sports Cars – Very Short, Especially Turbos and High Revving Engines Gasoline Trucks (1 Ton or Less) – 7,000 Miles Diesel Trucks – 10,000 Miles While some specific cars recommend very long intervals, this is not a great idea without a very high quality oil and monitoring. The $100 you spend doing a shorter interval is good insurance for avoiding issues and keeping fresh, clean oil in the engine. Typically the filter should be changed regularly, even if you are not changing the oil itself. This will insure you will get the maximum life out of both the engine and oil. What does Motor Oil do? Most people believe that motor oil is there to lubricate all the parts within the engine, but in reality motor oil does considerably more than that to keep your engine running. Here’s a list of what motor oil does in order of importance. Separates Metal Components Cools Engine Parts Lubricates Rotating Assembly Separates Metal Components Oil is pumped through the engine at a high pressure by the oil pump. This oil follows small passages throughout the engine called oil galleys. These paths lead to critical points in the engine like the crankshaft, rod bearings, camshaft(s), and even the turbocharger if your engine has one. Each of these components needs to float on a very thin layer of oil in order to avoid wear and rapid engine failure. This oil boundary layer is forced between the bearings (small sacrificial pieces of soft metal) by the oil pump’s pressure. This is the most important function of the oil. Without this layer, the engine would fail in seconds. Cools Engine Parts We now know that oil flows throughout the engine. It also gets flung all over the insides of the engine by the crankshaft spinning at very high speeds. From there it pulls heat from the various objects that it comes in contact with, namely the cylinder walls, pistons, crankshaft, and multiple bearing surfaces. Without this, internal parts would continuously heat up and expand. This expansion would force the important oil layer out, or cook off the oil, which would lead to engine failure.