Λιπαντικα. Τι πρεπει να γνωριζουμε

εγω (Ν46Β20) μεχρι τωρα εβαζα ειτε bmw 5w-30 ειτε castrol edge 5w-30. αυτα θα ξαναβαλω παλι αυτες τις μερες. μια φορα δοκιμασα τα mobil 1 esp 5w-30 και μπορω να πω οτι ο κινητηρας ηταν αρκετα πιο ησυχος και smooth (σε κρυα κλιματα αφου ημουν εξωτερικο). απο αυτα που ψαχνω τωρα μαλλον η επομενη αγορα θα ειναι ειτε mobil 1 esp που ημουν αρκετα ευχαριστημενος ειτε τα Pento High performance II 5w-40 που μας προτεινει εδω ο συμφουρμιτης και πληρουν τις LL-04.

παντως, ενω π.χ. πριν η bmw επαιζε σε προδιαγραφες Α3/Β4 που ηταν και οι δικες της LL-98 εχω δει οτι τωρα λογω dpf εχουν βγει οι προδιαγραφες C3 που ικανοποιουν και τα LL-04...κ αν προσεξετε ολοι οι ευρωπαιοι κατασκευαστες αρχιζουν να ζητουν τις C3 και αυτο μαλλον λογω ντηζελ και dpf (προσφατα το εκανε η ρενω για παραδειγμα κ απο την Α5 ζηταει C3 αν δεν κανω λαθος)..

απλα βλεπω οτι ειναι πολυ δυσκολο να ξεχωρισεις σε ποιο γκρουπ βρισκεται το καθε συνθετικο λαδι..

Παράθεση:

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Αρχικό μήνυμα απο Lefterisk

εγω (Ν46Β20) μεχρι τωρα εβαζα ειτε bmw 5w-30 ειτε castrol edge 5w-30. αυτα θα ξαναβαλω παλι αυτες τις μερες. μια φορα δοκιμασα τα mobil 1 esp 5w-30 και μπορω να πω οτι ο κινητηρας ηταν αρκετα πιο ησυχος και smooth (σε κρυα κλιματα αφου ημουν εξωτερικο). απο αυτα που ψαχνω τωρα μαλλον η επομενη αγορα θα ειναι ειτε mobil 1 esp που ημουν αρκετα ευχαριστημενος ειτε τα Pento High performance II 5w-40 που μας προτεινει εδω ο συμφουρμιτης και πληρουν τις LL-04.

παντως, ενω π.χ. πριν η bmw επαιζε σε προδιαγραφες Α3/Β4 που ηταν και οι δικες της LL-98 εχω δει οτι τωρα λογω dpf εχουν βγει οι προδιαγραφες C3 που ικανοποιουν και τα LL-04...κ αν προσεξετε ολοι οι ευρωπαιοι κατασκευαστες αρχιζουν να ζητουν τις C3 και αυτο μαλλον λογω ντηζελ και dpf (προσφατα το εκανε η ρενω για παραδειγμα κ απο την Α5 ζηταει C3 αν δεν κανω λαθος)..

απλα βλεπω οτι ειναι πολυ δυσκολο να ξεχωρισεις σε ποιο γκρουπ βρισκεται το καθε συνθετικο λαδι..

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Αυτό είναι το επιλεγόμενο για το δικό μου.....και το καταληλότερο για το μοτέρ N74D20, σύμφωνα με την Liqui Moly.....και αυτά για να διαλέξεις το δικό σου μοτέρ....

https://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/...00_200_100.jpg

βαζω και αυτην την εταιρεια που εχω ακουσει καλα λογια χωρις να εχω δοκιμασει καποιο λιπαντικο lubrication engineers

THE ENGINE OIL BIBLE


[oilcans1]
How much do you value the engine in your car? The life of your engine depends in no small part on the quality of the oil you put in it - oil is its lifeblood. People typically don't pay much attention to their oil - oil is oil, right? In the bad old days, maybe, but engine oil underwent something of a revolution in the 80's and 90's when hot hatches, 16-valve engines and turbos started to become popular. High compression engines and black death meant the days of one oil catering for everyone were over.
Take Castrol for example. They led the field for years with their GTX mineral oil. This was eventually surpassed by semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oils, including GTX2 and GTX3 Lightec. Those were surpassed by Formula SLX and most recently, Castrol GTX Magnatec. All manufacturers have a similar broad spectrum of oils now. I just mention Castrol in particular as they're my oil of choice.

WHAT DOES MY OIL ACTUALLY DO?
Your engine oil performs many functions. It stops all the metal surfaces in your engine from grinding together and tearing themselves apart from friction, and it transfers heat away from the combustion cycle. Engine oil must also be able to hold in suspension all the nasty by-products of combustion like silica (silicon oxide) and acids. Finally, engine oil minimises the exposure to oxygen and thus oxidation at higher temperatures. It does all of these things under tremendous heat and pressure.
HOW DO I READ THE '5W40' TYPE NUMBER?
As oils heat up, they generally get thinner. Single grade oils get too thin when hot for most modern engines which is where multigrade oil comes in. The idea is simple - use science and physics to prevent the base oil from getting too thin when it gets hot. The number before the 'W' is the 'cold' viscosity rating of the oil, and the number after the 'W' is the 'hot' viscosity rating. So a 5W40 oil is one that behaves like a 5-rated single grade oil when cold, but doesn't thin any more than a 40-rated single grade oil when hot. The lower the 'winter' number (hence the 'W'), the easier the engine will turn over when starting in cold climates. There's more detail on this later in the page under both viscosity, and SAE ratings.
A QUICK GUIDE TO THE DIFFERENT GRADES OF OIL.
Fully Synthetic Characteristics
0W-30
0W-40
5W-40 Fuel economy savings
Enhances engine performance and power
Ensures engine is protected from wear and deposit build-up
Ensures good cold starting and quick circulation in freezing temperatures
Gets to moving parts of the engine quickly
Semi-synthetic Characteristics
5W-30
10W-40
15W-40 Better protection
Good protection within the first 10 minutes after starting out
Roughly three times better at reducing engine wear
Increased oil change intervals - don't need to change it quite so often
Mineral Characteristics
10W-40
15W-40 Basic protection for a variety of engines
Oil needs to be changed more often
WHAT THE HECK WAS 'BLACK DEATH'?
Black Death first appeared in the early 80's when a sticky black substance was found to be the cause of many engine seizures in Europe. It was extremely frustrating for vehicle owners because dealers and mechanics had no idea what was going on. Black Death just wasn't covered under insurance - if your engine had it, you paid to fix it yourself. Many engines were affected but Ford and Vauxhall (GM) suffered the most. Faster roads, higher under-hood temperatures, tighter engineering tolerances and overworked engine oils turned out to be contributors to the problem. The oils just couldn't handle it and changed their chemical makeup under pressure into a sort of tar-like glue. This blocked all the oil channels in the engines, starved them of lubrication and caused them to seize. I don't recommend this but you can reproduce the effect with a frying pan, cooking oil and a blowtorch. The cooking oil will heat up far quicker than it's designed to and will turn to a sticky black tar in your pan. Either that or it will set fire to your kitchen, which is why I said "don't do this".
Anyway, burning kitchens aside, Black Death was the catalyst for the production of newer higher quality oils, many of them man-made rather than mineral-based.
BLACK DEATH FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: SLUDGE
There's a snappy new moniker for Black Death now: sludge. The cause is the same as Black Death and it seems to be regardless of maintenance or mileage. The chemical compounds in engine oils break down over time due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures and poor maintenance habits. When the oil oxidises, the additives separate from it and begin to chemically break down and solidify, leading to the baked-on oil deposits turning geutf8ous, like black yoghurt. What doesn't help is that due to packaging, modern engines have smaller sumps than their older counterparts, and so hold less oil. This lower volume of oil can't hold as much crap (for want of a better word) and that can lead to earlier chemical breakdown.
The most common factor in sludge buildup is a combination of mineral oils, a lack of maintenance by the car owner and harsh driving conditions. However, a 2005 Consumer Reports article discovered that some engines from Audi, Chrysler, Saab, Toyota, and Volkswagen appear prone to sludge almost no matter how often the oil is changed.
WHAT DOES SLUDGE LOOK LIKE?
Engine oil sludge Engine oil sludge
I was contacted by a BMW driver who had been having a particularly harsh time with sludge and was discussing it on the Bimmerfest forums. He posted some images of his problem and other readers posted similarly-framed images of the same engine components in "normal" condition. Here are two of those photos. On the left is what the cam case should look like in a well maintained engine when photographed through the oil filler cap. On the right is what the same type of engine looks like when suffering sludge buildup.
In this example, the consensus was that the sludge buildup was caused by an overheating engine, oil that hadn't been changed for 20,000 miles of stop-go city driving, a lot of cold starts and a period of about 12 months in storage without an oil change.
Picture credit: Ketchup at the Bimmerfest forums
CURING SLUDGE
There are no hard and fast rules for curing an engine of sludge buildup. If it's really bad, flushing the engine might be the only cure, but that could also cause even more problems. If flushing the engine results in bits of sludge getting lodged where they can do more damage, you're actually worse off.
It's interesting to note that some race techs have reported sludge buildup in race engines as a result of aftermarket additives being used in conjunction with the regular oil. The chemical composition of the additives isn't as neutral as some companies would lead us to believe, and combined with particular types of oil and high-stress driving, they can cause oil breakdown and sludge to appear. The lesson from them appears to be "don't use additives".
WHEN IS SLUDGE NOT SLUDGE?
combustion leak tester Easy; when it's an oil and water emulsion from a leaking or blown head gasket. If this happens, you get a whitish cream coloured sludge on the inside of the oil filler cap that looks like vanilla yoghurt or mayonnaise. The cap is typically cooler than the rest of the cam case and so the oil/water mix tends to condense there. If the underside of your filler cap has this sort of deposit on it, chances are the engine has a blown head gasket. A surefire way to confirm this is if your oil level is going up and your coolant level is going down. The coolant gets through the breaks in the head gasket and mixes with the oil. When it gets to the sump it separates out and the oil floats on top. A more accurate way to check for this condition is to use a combustion leak tester, or block tester. If you're in America, NAPA sell them for about $45 (part #BK 7001006). If you're in England, Sealey sell them for about £70 (model number VS0061). Combustion leak testers are basically a turkey baster filled with PH liquid, with a non-return valve at the bottom. To use one, run your engine for a few minutes until its warm (not hot) then turn it off. Use a protective glove (like an oven glove) and take the radiator or reservoir cap off. Plug the bottom of the combustion leak tester into the hole and squeeze the rubber bulb on top. It will suck air from the top of the coolant through the non-return valve and bubble it through the PH liquid. If the liquid changes colour (normally blue to yellow), it means there is combustion gas in the coolant which means a head gasket leak.
Note:
There is one other possible cause for the mayonnaise: a blocked scavenger hose. Most engines have a hose that comes off the cam cover and returns to the engine block somewhere via a vacuum line. This is the scavenger hose that scavenges oil vapour and gasses that build up in the cam cover. If it's blocked you can end up with a buildup of condensation inside the cam cover, which can manifest itself as the yellow goop inside the filler cap.
VW / AUDI SLUDGE PROBLEMS
While the the 1.8T engines in Audi A4's, Audi TT, VW Passat, Jetta, Golf, New Bettle, are all very prone to sludge build-up, Audi/VW does not have an extended warranty for them from the factory. The factory warranty is 4 year/50,000 miles but it can be extended if purchased.
Although Audi/VW now has 10,000 mile service intervals, oil changes can be done between "services", and should be done if the vehicle is driven in heavy traffic, offroad, and non-highway use. Also, Audi/ VW will only warrant an engine if the customer has proof of all their oil changes. As of 2004 I belive all 1.8T engines must use synthetic oil.
So if you own one of these sludge-prone engines, what can you do? Obviously, Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG) states that you use only VW/Audi recommended oil. You should also keep up on your oil changes, making them more frequent if you drive hard or haul a lot of cargo. The most important thing for the VW or Audi owner is this: if the oil light comes on and beeps the high pitch beep that almost everyone ignores, pull over and shut the engine down immediately. Many VAG engines can be saved by this procedure. Have the vehicled towed to a VAG dealer. Their standard procedure is to inspect the cam bearings; if they're not scored, the oil pan will be removed and cleaned out and all the crankcase breather hoses and the oil pickup tube will be replaced. They'll do an oil pressure test with a mechanical gauge, and hopefully will also replace the turbo lines. Finally, the turbo will be checked for bearing free-play. The VAG turbos run really hot even with proper oil and coolant supply - that's why you need a good quality synthetic in them.
TOYOTA SLUDGE PROBLEMS
For their part, Toyota have the dubious honour of having the most complaints about sludge buildup in their engines - over 5,000 in 2008 alone. At the time of writing there is a class action suit going on against them. Details can be found at www.oilgelsettlement.com
SAAB SLUDGE PROBLEMS
For an example of sludge in a Saab 9 5 Aero with only 42,000 miles on it, you might be interested to read my case study on this engine, put together with the help of a reader. Our sludge case study.
Like the site? The page you're reading is free, but if you like what you see and feel you've learned something, a small donation to help pay down my car loan would be appreciated. Thank you.

MINERAL OR SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL?
Mineral oils are based on oil that comes from dear old Mother Earth which has been refined. Synthetic oils are mostly concocted by chemists wearing white lab coats in oil company laboratories. The only other type is semi-synthetic, sometimes called premium, which is a blend of the two. It is safe to mix the different types, but it's wiser to switch completely to a new type rather than mixing.
SYNTHETICS
Despite their name, most synthetic derived motor oils (ie Mobil 1, Castrol Formula RS etc) are actually derived from mineral oils - they are mostly Polyalphaolifins and these come from the purest part of the mineral oil refraction process, the gas. PAO oils will mix with normal mineral oils which means you can add synthetic to mineral, or mineral to synthetic without your engine seizing up (although I've heard Mobil 1 is actually made by reformuutf8g ethanol).
These bases are pretty stable, and by stable I mean 'less likely to react adversely with other compounds' because they tend not to contain reactive carbon atoms. Reactive carbon has a tendency to combine with oxygen creating an acid. (As you can imagine, in an oil this would be A Bad Thing.) They also have high viscosity indices and high temperature oxidative stability. Typically a small amount of diester synthetic (a compound containing two ester groups) is added to counteract seal swell too. These diesters act as a detergent and will attack carbon residuals. So think of synthetic oils as custom-built oils. They're designed to do the job efficiently but without any of the excess baggage that can accompany mineral based oils.
PURE SYNTHETICS
Pure synthetic oils (polyalkyleneglycol) are the types used almost exclusively within the industrial sector in polyglycol oils for heavily loaded gearboxes. These are typically concocted by even more intelligent blokes in even whiter lab coats. These chaps break apart the molecules that make up a variety of substances, like vegetable and animal oils, and then recombine the individual atoms that make up those molecules to build new, synthetic molecules. This process allows the chemists to actually "fine tune" the molecules as they build them. Clever stuff. But Polyglycols don't mix with normal mineral oils.
[amsoil] While we're on synthetic oils, I should mention Amsoil. They contacted me and asked to point out the following:
Amsoil do NOT produce or market oil additives and do not wish to be associated with oil additives. They are a formulator of synthetic lubricants for automotive and industrial applications and have been in business for 30+ years. They are not a half-hour infomercial or fly-by-night product, nor have they ever been involved in a legal suit regarding their product claims in that 30+ year span. Many Amsoil products are API certified, and ALL of our products meet and in most cases exceed the specifications of ILSAC, AGMA etc. Their lubricants also exceed manufacturers specifications and Amsoil are on many manufacturers approval lists. They base their claims on ASTM certified tests and are very open to anyone, with nothing to hide.

Amsoil recommend engine oil additives are NOT to be used with their products. They have a pretty good FAQ on the Amsoil website: Amsoil FAQ (external link). There is also a particularly good page talking about testing Amsoil in taxis.
IF I PUT NEW, FULLY SYNTHETIC OIL IN MY OLDER ENGINE, WILL THE SEALS LEAK?
This question comes up a lot from people who've just bought a used vehicle and are wanting to start their history with the car on fresh oil.
The short answer: generally speaking, not any more. The caveat is that your engine must be in good working order and not be leaking right now. If that's the case, most modern oils are fully compatible with the elastomeric materials that engine seals are made from, and you shouldn't have any issues with leaks.
The longer answer:
MIXING MINERAL AND SYNTHETIC OILS
Here's the current thinking on the subject of mixing mineral and synthetic oils. This information is based on the answer to a technical question posed on the Shell Oil website:
There is no scientific data to support the idea that mixing mineral and synthetic oils will damage your engine. When switching from a mineral oil to a synthetic, or vice versa, you will potentially leave a small amount of residual oil in the engine. That's perfectly okay because synthetic oil and mineral-based motor oil are, for the most part, compatible with each other. (The exception is pure synthetics. Polyglycols don't mix with normal mineral oils.)
There is also no problem with switching back and forth between synthetic and mineral based oils. In fact, people who are "in the know" and who operate engines in areas where temperature fluctuations can be especially extreme, switch from mineral oil to synthetic oil for the colder months. They then switch back to mineral oil during the warmer months.
There was a time, years ago, when switching between synthetic oils and mineral oils was not recommended if you had used one product or the other for a long period of time. People experienced problems with seals leaking and high oil consumption but changes in additive chemistry and seal material have taken care of those issues. And that's an important caveat. New seal technology is great, but if you're still driving around in a car from the 80's with its original seals, then this argument becomes a bit of a moot point - your seals are still going to be subject to the old leakage problems no matter what newfangled additives the oil companies are putting in their products.
FLUSHING OILS
These are special compound oils that are very, very thin. They almost have the consistency of tap water both when cold and hot. Typically they are 0W/20 oils. Their purpose is for cleaning out all the gunk which builds up inside an engine.
Note:
Some hybrid vehicles now require 0W20, so if you're a hybrid driver, check your owner's manual. Also I believe Honda switched to recommending 0W20 in 2011 to meet their CAFE ratings (thinner oil gives less drag on engine parts which improves - fractionally - the mpg). If you look at 2010 models vs 2011, you'll see things like the Element and CR-V getting a tiny mpg boost in the official figures despite being the exact same car. They achieved this by remapping the gearbox shift points and dropping the cold viscosity rating on the oil. In reality unless you live in northern Alaska, or do an above average number of cold-start short journeys, 5W20 ought to be more than suitable.
DO I NEED A FLUSHING OIL?
Unless there's something seriously wrong with your engine, like you've filled it with milk or shampoo, you really ought never to need a flushing oil. If you do decide to do an oil flush, there's two ways of doing it. You can either use a dedicated flushing oil, or a flushing additive in your existing oil. Either way it's wise to change the filter first so you have a clean one to collect all the gunk. (This typically means draining the oil or working fast). Once you have a new filter in place, and the flushing oil (or flushing solution) in there, run the engine at a fast idle for about 20 minutes. Finally, drain all this off (and marvel at the crap that comes out with it), replace the oil filter again, refill with a good synthetic oil and voila! Clean(er) engine. For the curious amongst you, looking in the oil filter that was attached when you did the flush will be an educational exercise in the sort of debris that used to be in your engine.
Of course, like most things nowadays, there's a condition attached when using flushing oils. In an old engine you really don't want to remove all the deposits. Some of these deposits help seal rings, lifters and even some of the flanges between the heads, covers, pan and the block, where the gaskets are thin. I have heard of engines with over 280,000km that worked fine, but when flushed, failed in a month because the blow-by past the scraper ring (now really clean) contaminated the oil and ruined the rod bearings.
USING DIESEL OIL FOR FLUSHING
A question came up some time ago about using diesel-rated oils to flush out petrol engines. The idea was that because of the higher detergent levels in diesel engine oil, it might be a good cleaner / flusher for a non-diesel engine. Well most of the diesel oil specification oils can be used in old petrol engines for cleaning, but you want to use a low specification oil to ensure that you do not over clean your engine and lose compression (for example). Generally speaking, an SAE 15W/40 diesel engine oil for about 500 miles might do the trick.
WHICH OIL SHOULD YOU BUY? (THE SHORT VERSION)
That all depends on your car, your pocket and how you intend to drive and service the car. All brands claim theirs offers the best protection available - until they launch a superior alternative. It's like washing powders - whiter than white until new Super-Nukem-Dazzo comes out. For most motorists and most cars, a quality mainstream oil is the best, like Castrol GTX. Moving up a step, you could look at Duckhams QXR and Castrol Protection Plus and GTX3 Lightec. The latter two of these are designed specifically for engines with catalytic converters. They're also a good choice for GTi's and turbo engines. Go up a step again and you're looking at synthetic oils aimed squarely at the performance market like Mobil-1.
To help you through the maze of oils available, there's a site available now (the motor oil evaluator) that aims to lessen the confusion with a relatively balanced scoring system based on published specifications such as viscosity and pour point. It's a good starting point if you're looking for even more in-depth info.
WHICH OIL SHOULD YOU BUY? (THE LONG VERSION)
Quality Counts! It doesn't matter what sort of fancy marketing goes into an engine oil, or how many naked babes smear it all over their bodies, or how bright and colourful the packaging is, it's what's written on the packaging that counts. Specifications and approvals are everything. There are two established testing bodies. The API (American Petroleum Institute), and the European counterpart, the ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Europeens d'Automobiles - replaced CCMC in 1996). You've probably never heard of either of them, but their stamp of approval will be seen on the side of every reputable can of engine oil.
[api]
The API The API classifications are different for petrol and diesel engines: For petrol, listings start with 'S' (meaning Service category, but you can also think of it as Spark-plug ignition), followed by another code to denote standard. 'SN' is the current top grade but 'SH' is still the most popular.
For diesel oils, the first letter is 'C' (meaning Commercial category, but you can also think of it as Compression ignition). 'CJ' is the highest grade at the moment, (technically CJ-4 for heavy-duty) but 'CH' is the most popular and is well adequate for passenger vehicle applications.
Note:
Castrol recently upgraded all their oils and for some reason, Castrol diesels now use the 'S' rating, thus completely negating my little aid-memoire above. So the older CC,CD,CE and CF ratings no longer exist, but have been replaced by an 'SH' grade diesel oil. This link is a service bulletin from Castrol, explaining the situation.
[sae]
The CCMC/ACEA The ACEA standards are prefixed with an 'A' for petrol engines, 'B' for passenger car diesel, 'C' for diesel with particulate filter, or 'E' for heavy-duty diesel. (The older CCMC specifications were G,D and PD respectively). The ACEA grades may also be followed by the year of issue which will be either '04 or '07 (current). Coupled with this are numerous approvals by car manufacturers which many oil containers sport with pride.

The full ACEA specs are:
A1 Fuel Economy Petrol †
A2 Standard performance level
A3 High performance and / or extended drain
A5 Fuel economy petrol with extended drain capability †
B1 Fuel Economy diesel †
B2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)
B3 High performance and / or extended drain
B4 For direct injection passenger car diesel engines
B5 Fuel economy diesel with extended drain capability †
† Not suitable for all engines - should ONLY be used in engines specifying this fuel efficient grade. Refer to the manufacturer handbook of contact your local dealer if you're not sure.
Mineral oils:
E1 Non-turbo charged light duty diesel
E2 Standard performance level
E3 High performance extended drain
E5 (1999) High performance / long drain plus American/API performances. - This is ACEAs first attempt at a global spec.
E7 Euro 4 engines - exhaust after treatment (EGR / SCR)
Part / full synthetic oils:
E4 Higher performance and longer extended drain
E6 Euro 4 specification - low SAPS for vehicles with PDF (see below)
Low SAPS diesel (Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous, Sulphur):
For diesel engines fitted with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) - a filter unit in the exhaust that takes out the microscopic soot particles. Regular diesel oils used in engines that have a DPF can cause the filter to become blocked with ash.
C1 Low SAPS (0.5% ash) fuel efficient
C2 Mid SAPS (0.8% ash) fuel efficient, performance
C3 Mid SAPS (0.8% ash)
Many OEM are now using their own specifications to capture these specifications. eg. Mercedes 229.31/51, BMW Longlife 04, VW 507 00 etc.
There is also a trend now towards manufacturers requiring their own specifications - in this case the OEM specification is the one that needs to be adhered to. If it says BMW Longlife 04, the oil must say this on the pack to be suitable for use.
Typically, these markings will be found in a statement similar to: Meets the requirements of API SH/CD along the label somewhere. Also, you ought to be able to see the API Service Symbol somewhere on the packaging:
api

https://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

BEWARE THE FAKE API SYMBOL
fake api symbolfake API symbolSome unscrupulous manufacturers (and there's not many left that do this) will put a symbol on their packaging designed to look like the API symbol without actually being the API symbol. They do this in an effort to pump up the 'quality' of their product by relying on people not really knowing exactly what the proper API symbol should look like. To the left is an example of a fake symbol - it looks similar but as long as you remember what to look for, you won't get taken by this scam.
Amsoil are one of the biggest inadvertent offenders of the fake API symbol. Take a look at one of their labels here on the right. See that little starburst that says "Fuel efficient formula SL-CF"? It's actually not an API-certified SL or CF oil. (To be fair, some Amsoil products are API certified and they do have the correct labelling, but their top-tier products do not). The issue of their lack of API certification on these products caused such a stir at Amsoil that they had to generate a FAQ to answer the most commonly-asked questions. You can find a copy of that here : Amsoil & API Licensing. It explains everything logcially and clearly, and it's not scientific doublespeak. Which is nice.
A Brief History of API ratings
Some people have asked about the old standards, and although they're not especially relevant, some rampant plagiarism from an API service bulletin means I can bring you all the API ratings right back from when the earth was cooling. expand/contract the table below to see the ratings.
Petrol Engines Diesel Engines
Category Status Service Category Status Service
SN Current For all automotive engines presently in use. Introduced in the API service symbol in November 2010 CJ-4 Current Introduced in 2006 for high-speed four-stroke engines. Designed to meet 2007 on-highway exhaust emission standards. CJ-4 oils are compounded for use in all applications with diesel fuels ranging in sulphur content up to 500ppm (0.05% by weight). However, use of these oils with greater than 15ppm sulfur fuel may impact exhaust aftertreatment system durability and/or oil drain intervals. CJ-4 oils are effective at sustaining emission control system durability where particulate filters and other advanced aftertreatment systems are used. CJ-4 oils exceed the performance criteria of CF-4, CG-4, CH-4 and CI-4.
SM Current For all automotive engines presently in use. Introduced in the API service symbol in November 2004 CI-4 Current Introduced in 2002 for high-speed four-stroke engines. Designed to meet 2004 exhaust emission standards implemented in 2002. CI-4 oils are formulated to sustain engine durability where exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is used and are intented for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulphur content up to 0.5% weight. Can be used in place of CD, CE, CF-4, CG-4 and CH-4
SL Still current but nearly obsolete For all automotive engines presently in use. Introduced in the API service symbol in 1998 CH-4 Current Introduced in 1998 for high-speed four-stroke engines. CH-4 oils are specifically designed for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulphur content up to 0.5% weight. Can be used in place of CD, CE, CF-4 and CG-4.
SJ Still current but nearly obsolete For all automotive engines presently in use. Introduced in the API service symbol in 1996 CG-4 Current Introduced in 1995 for high-speed four-stroke engines. CG-4 oils are specifically designed for use with diesel fuels ranging in sulphur content less than 0.5% weight. CG-4 oil needs to be used for engines meeting 1994 emission standards. Can be used in place of CD, CE and CF-4.
SH Obsolete For model year 1996 and older engines. CF-4 Current Introduced in 1990 for high-speed four-stroke naturally aspirated and turbo engines. Can be used in place of CD and CE.
SG Obsolete For model year 1993 and older engines. CF-2 Current Introduced in 1994 for severe duty, two stroke motorcycle engines. Can be used in place of CD-II.
SF Obsolete For model year 1988 and older engines. CF Current Introduced in 1994 for off-road, indirect-injected and other diesel engines including those using fuel over0.5% weight sulphur. Can be used in place of CD.
SE Obsolete For model year 1979 and older engines. CE Obsolete Introduced in 1987 for high-speed four-stroke naturally aspirated and turbo engines. Can be used in place of CC and CD.
SD Obsolete For model year 1971 and older engines. CD-II Obsolete Introduced in 1987 for two-stroke motorcycle engines.
SC Obsolete For model year 1967 and older engines. CD Obsolete Introduced in 1955 for certain naturally aspirated and turbo engines.
SB Obsolete For older engines. Use this only when specifically recommended by the manufacturer. CC Obsolete Introduced in 1961 for all diesels.
SA Obsolete For much older engines with no performance requirement. Use this only when specifically recommended by the manufacturer. CB Obsolete Introduced in 1949 for moderate-duty engines.
CA Obsolete Introduced in 1940 for light-duty engines.
[sae]Grade counts too!The API/ACEA ratings only refer to an oil's quality. For grade, you need to look at the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) ratings. These describe the oil's function and viscosity standard. Viscosity means the substance and clinging properties of the lubricant. When cold, oil can become like treacle so it is important that any lube is kept as thin as possible. Its cold performance is denoted by the letter 'W', meaning 'winter'. At the other end of the scale, a scorching hot oil can be as thin as water and about as useful too. So it needs to be as thick as possible when warm. Thin when cold but thick when warm? That's where MultiGrade oil comes in. For ages, good old 20W/50 was the oil to have. But as engines progressed and tolerances decreased, a lighter, thinner oil was required, especially when cold. Thus 15W/50, 15W/40 and even 15W/30 oils are now commonplace.
THE QUESTION OF PHOSPHORUS AND ZINC.
Phosphorus (a component of ZDDP - Zinc Dialkyl-Dithio-Phosphate) is the key component for valve train protection in an engine and 1600ppm (parts per million) used to be the standard for phosphorus in engine oil. In 1996 the EPA forced that to be dropped to 800ppm and then more recently (2004?) to 400ppm - a quarter of the original spec. Valvetrains and their components are not especially cheap to replace and this drop in phosphorus content has been a problem for many engines (especially those with flat-tappet type cams). So why was the level dropped? Money. Next to lead, it's the second most destructive substance to shove through a catalytic converter. The US government mandated a 150,000 mile liftime on catalytic converters and the quickest way to do that was to drop phosphorous levels and bugger the valvetrain problem. Literally.
In the US, Mobil 1 originally came out with the 0W40 as a 'European Formula' as it was always above 1000 ppm. This initially got them out of the 1996 800ppm jam and knowledgeable consumers sought it out for obvious reasons. Their 15W50 has also maintained a very high level of phosphorus and all of the extended life Mobil synthetics now have at least 1000ppm. How do they get away with this? They're not classified as energy/fuel conserving oils and thus do not interfere with the precious government CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) ratings. (See my section on the EPA and fuel economy in the Fuel and Engine Bible for more info on this). This also means that they don't get the coveted ratings of other oils but they do protect your valvetrain. The same rule of thumb is true for racing oils like Royal Purple - because they're not classified as energy / fuel conserving, it would seem they still contain good quantities of ZDDP.
Royal Purple is a popular oil for Mustang enthusiasts, as it's formulated for performance vehicles that are looking to maximize results at the track or drag strip.
In fact, as a general rule-of-thumb, staying away from XX-30 oils and going to 10W-40 or higher might be the way to go if you have an older engine. 10W-40 and above is generally also not considered to be 'gas saving' and like the Mobil example above, doesn't mess with the CAFE rating.
If you live in England, Castrol market a product with ZDDP in the product description - 'Castrol Classic Oil With ZDDP Anti-Wear Additive' although it's not mainstream enough to be available everywhere. You'll have to find a specialist dealer. Castrol Classics. In the US, Rislone manufacture an oil supplement to boost the ZDDP content of your existing oil. Rislone Engine Oil Supplement.
API RATING BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY AND 2V ENGINES
This section contains information from Bruce Dance, Brian over at bigcoupe.com and LN Engineering and their combined experience with API ratings and 2 valve engines
If you own a two-valve spark ignition engine or certain diesel engines (which do not have to meet recent emission standards) the only sensible (ie widely available) oil to put in right now is synthetic or semisynthetic to meet API SL/CF and not a higher rating. As I touched upon above, oils with a CG and higher rating typically don't contain enough ZDDP, and the replacement friction modifiers don't work in highly loaded valve trains (generally older engines especially those with 2V design). If you try to compensate by adding a ZDDP additive into a newer oil it still might not work because of interactions with other additives in the oil.
Why the discrepancy in the ratings? The API no longer include a valve train wear test that accurately simulates 2V cam follower loading. They do perform a test that simulates 4V loading and then they allow a lot of wear to occur and still 'pass'. The ACEA tests are a lot tougher but still not tough enough. Whilst the newer CG, CH and higher API oil standards should be 'better in every way', they are really just 'improved in some ways'. Hence the increasing use of manufacturer-specific standards.
There is a lot of info kicking around on the web on this topic because it has caused a LOT of problems with some engines especially Porsche aircooled units.
One of my readers found out when he went to buy oil for his (modern 4V common rail diesel) Nissan that they expressly prohibit the use of CG or higher rated oils. Nissan mandate that owners use CF oils in these engines. It's worth noting that the CF spec was already out of date when these engines were built but Nissan did not use the latest API spec because it wasn't good enough!
The fact that API have dropped the CF tests/standard does not in any way improve the later oils that do not meet this standard.
MARINE DIESELS AND OTHER SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.
Inland Marine Diesels (and certain road vehicles under special conditions) can (and do) glaze their bores due the low cylinder wall temperatures causing the oil (and more importantly the additive pack) to undergo a chemical change to a varnish-like substance. The low temperature is caused by operating under light load for long periods.
This is related to engine design, some engines being nearly immune to it and others susceptible. The old Sherpa van diesel engines were notorious for this problem. The "cure" (such as it is) is to use a low API specification oil, such as CC. Certain engine manufacturers/marinisers are now marketing the API CC oil for this purpose under their own name (and at a premium). You'll find some modern engines where its industrial/vehicle manual states API CF and the marinised manual states API CC/CD. {Thanks to Tony Brooks for this information.}
MARINE OILS.
I sometimes get asked "why are marine engine oils so expensive and why can't I just use regular motor oil in my marine engine instead?". Well, the National Marine Manufacturers Association Oil Certification Committee (click here for more info) introduced a four-stroke engine oil test and standard called the 4T certification. This specification is meant to assist boaters and manufacturers in identifying four-stroke cycle engine oils that have been specially formulated to withstand the rigors of marine engine operation. The certification was prompted by the growing influence of four-stroke engines in the marine market and their unique lubrication demands. So the simple answer is that regular road-based engine oil products don't contain rust inhibitors and won't pass the 4T certification. Lakes, waterways and the sea are a lot more aggressive an environment for an engine to operate around than on land.
Note : the NMMA have long had a similar specification for 2-stroke oils destined for marine use, called the TC-W3® certification.
THE EBAY PROBLEM
This paragraph may seem a little out of place but I have had a lot of problems with a couple of eBay members (megamanuals and lowhondaprelude) stealing my work, turning it into PDF files and selling it on eBay. Generally, idiots like this do a copy/paste job so they won't notice this paragraph here. If you're reading this and you bought this page anywhere other than from my website at www.carbibles.com, then you have a pirated, copyright-infringing copy. Please send me an email as I am building a case file against the people doing this. Go to www.carbibles.com to see the full site and find my contact details. And now, back to the meat of the subject....
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ENGINE OIL / MOTOR OIL SHELF LIFE.
I couldn't decide whether to put this in the FAQ or the main page, so it's in both, because I get asked this question a lot. Typically, the question is along the lines of "GenericAutoSuperStore are having a sale on WickedlySlippy Brand synthetic oil. If I buy it now, how long can I keep if before I use it?"
In general, liquid lubricants (ie. oils, not greases) will remain intact for a number of years. The main factor affecting the life of the oil is the storage condition for the products. Exposure to extreme temperature changes, and moisture will reduce the shelf life of the lubricants. (an increase of 10°C doubles oxidation which halves the shelf life) ie. don't leave it in the sun with the lid off. Best to keep them sealed and unopened.

Technically, engine oils have shelf lives of four to five years. However, as years pass, unused engine oils can become obsolete and fail to meet the technical requirements of current engines. The specs get updated regularly based on new scientific testing procedures and engine requirements. But this is only really a concern if you've bought a brand new car but have engine oil you bought for the previous car. An oil that is a number of years old might not be formulated to meet the requirements set for your newer engine.

If your unopened containers of engine oil are more than three years old, read the labels to make sure they meet the latest industry standards. If they do meet the current standards, you might want to take the extra precaution of obtaining oil analysis before using them. An oil analysis will check for key properties of the oil and ensure that it still meets the original manufacturing specs. Of course the cost of getting an analysis done on old oil is probably going to outweigh going and buying fresh stuff. So it's a double-edged sword.
As a general rule, the simpler the oil formulation, the longer the shelf life. The following is a guideline under protected conditions - indoors at about 20°C:
Product Shelf Life
Base Oils, Process Oils 3 years
Hydraulic Oils, Compressor Oils, General Purpose Lubricating Oils 2 years
Engine Oils and Transmission Oils 3 years
Industrial and Automotive Gear Oils 2 years
Metal Working and Cutting Oils 1 year
The following are signs of storage instability in a lubricant:
Settling out of the additives as a gel or sticky liquid
Floc or haze
Precipitates/solid material
Colour change or haziness
Water contamination in a lubricant can be detected by a "milky" appearance of the product.

"HIGH MILEAGE" OILS.
gtx
More and more oil companies are coming out with "high mileage" oils, some recommended for engines with as few as 75,000 miles on them. So what is a "high mileage" oil you ask? Very generally speaking, these oils have two additives in them that are more suited to older engines. The first is normally a burnoff-inhibitor which helps prevent the oil from burning off if it gets past an engine seal into the combustion chamber. The second is a "seal conditioner", the exact makeup of which I'm not sure of, but it's designed to soak into seals such as head- and rocker-cover gaskets and force them to expand. Thus if one of the seals is a bit leaky, the seal conditioner will attempt to minimise the leak.
I've not had experience of high mileage oils myself, but a few people who've e-mailed me have passed on various tales from it being the miracle cure to it making no difference at all. I think the general rule-of-thumb though should be "if it 'aint broke, don't fix it." Just because your engine has over 75,000 miles on it, doesn't automatically mean you need high mileage oil. Is the exhaust sooty or smokey? Are you noticing oil leaks? Is the engine consuming oil? If your engine is working fine, the exhaust is clean and you're not noticing any problems, my guess is that it doesn't need high-mileage oil.

WHAT ABOUT OWN-BRANDS?
An own-brand oil label
If you can't afford the big-name players, you could look at own-brand oils. These are usually badged oils from one of the larger companies but sold without the name, they are cheaper. Check the standards and grade ratings on the pack first! The example on the left is a local store in Chelmsford in England who sell their own label oil which is bottled for them by a volume retailer. The label tells you all you need to know.

VISCOSITY AND VISCOSITY INDEX (VI).
A rough guide to ambient temperatures vs oil viscosity performance
The proper viscosity is the single most important criteria of a lubricating oil. The basic performance of machinery is based on the viscosity of the lubricant. Viscosity is, if you like, the resistance to the flowability of the oil. The thicker an oil, the higher its viscosity. The chart on the right shows a rough guide to ambient temperatures vs oil viscosity performance in both multigrade (top half) and single grade (lower half) oils.
Multigrade oils work by having a polymer added to a light base oil that prevents the oil from thinning too much as it warms up. At low temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as it's low number (W number) indicates. As the oil heats up, the polymers unwind into long chains which prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100°C, the oil has thinned only as much as its higher rating. Think of it like this: a 10W30 oil is a 10-weight oil that will not thin more than a 30-weight oil when it gets hot.
The viscosity index of a lubricant is an empirical formula that allows the change in viscosity in the presence of heat to be calculated. This tells the user how much the oil will thin when it is subjected to heat. The higher the viscosity index, the less an oil will thin at a specified temperature. Multi-viscosity motor oils will have a viscosity index well over 100, while single viscosity motor oils and most industrial oils will have a VI of about 100 or less.
Viscosity and oil weight numbers is quite a nauseatingly detailed topic. So if you're curious about why a 15W50 oil is so-called, then put on the geek shield and pop over to the Viscosity Page.....
SERVICING AND CHECKING
For God's sake don't skimp on either of these. You can never check your engine oil too often. Use the dipstick - that's what it's there for - and don't run below the 'min' mark. Below that, there isn't enough oil for the pump to be able to supply the top of the engine whilst keeping a reserve in the sump. All oils, no matter what their type, are made of long-chained molecules that get sheared into shorter chains in a running engine. This in turn means that the oil begins to lose its viscosity over time, and it uses up the additives that prevent scuffing between cams and followers, rings and cylinder walls etc etc. When this happens, fresh oil is the key. Don't worry about the engine oil turning black. It will lose its golden-brown colour within a few hundred miles of being put in to the engine. That doesn't mean it's not working. Quite the contrary - it means it is working well. It changes colour as it traps oxidised oil, clots and the flakes of metal that pop off heavily loaded engine parts. Just don't leave it too long between oil changes.
SO HOW OFTEN SHOULD I CHANGE MY OIL?
[oilchange]
You can never change your engine oil too frequently. The more you do it, the longer the engine will last. The whole debate about exactly when you change your oil is somewhat of a grey area. Manufacturers tell you every 10,000 miles or so. Your mate with a classic car tells you every 3,000 miles. Ole' Bob with the bad breath who drives a truck tells you he's never once changed the oil in his ve-hickle. Fact is, large quantities of water are produced by the normal combustion process and, depending on engine wear, some of it gets into the crank case. If you have a good crank case breathing system it gets removed from there PDFQ, but even so, in cold weather a lot of condensation will take place. This is bad enough in itself, since water is not noted for its lubrication qualities in an engine, but even worse, that water dissolves any nitrates formed during the combustion process. If my memory of chemistry serves me right, that leaves you with a mixture of Nitric (HNO3) and Nitrous (HNO2) acid circuutf8g round your engine! So not only do you suffer a high rate of wear at start-up and when the engine is cold, you suffer a high rate of subsequent corrosion during normal running or even when stationary.
The point I'm trying to make is that the optimum time for changing oil ought to be related to a number of factors, of which distance travelled is probably one of the least important in most cases. Here is my selection in rough order of importance:
Number of cold starts (more condensation in a cold engine)
Ambient temperature (how long before warm enough to stop serious condensation)
Effectiveness of crank case scavenging (more of that anon)
State of wear of the engine (piston blow-by multiplies the problem)
Accuracy of carburation during warm-up period (extra gook produced)
Distance travelled (well, lets get that one out of the way)
If you were clever (or anal) enough, you could probably come up with a really clever formula incorporating all those factors. However, I would give 1, 2, and 3 equal top weighting. Items 1 to 3 have to be taken together since a given number of "cold" starts in the Dakar in summer is not the same as an equal number conducted in Fargo in January. The effect in either case will be modified by how much gas gets past the pistons. What we are really after is the severity and duration of the initial condensation period. All other things being equal, that will give you how much condensate will be produced and I would suggest that more than anything else determines when the oil should be dumped.

DAMMIT CHRIS, GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!
Hang on a moment - if you really want the answer, there's a couple more factors you need to take account of: Crank-case scavenging (that's the clever term for sucking the nasty fumes back out of the crank-case) - or lack of it - is a crucial multiplying factor affecting all the other items listed above. As an example, the worst I've heard of was a Ford Fiesta of the mid 70s or so. Its crank-case fume extraction was via a tiny orifice directly into the inlet manifold which obviously could not handle any significant volume of crank-case fumes without upsetting the carburation. The car in question had been used almost exclusively for 5 mile journeys to/from work, shopping etc, and it had always been serviced "by the book".[averagecar]Despite (or because of) this, the engine was totally buggered at 40,000 miles. Alternatively you might get a car that by virtue of excellent crank case fume scavenging could tolerate many more cold starts than one without.
Taking all these into consideration, my philosophy would be to totally ignore the distance and change the oil twice a year - about November and March. Move these dates a bit according to the severity of the winter. An average family car will do around 14,000 miles per year and about 2/3 of that will fall in the March - November period. At the end of that period, the car will be getting close to the manufacturer-recommended oil change interval - but all that distance will have been done at reasonable temperatures, including long distance runs during vacations and good weather. During the November to March period it may accumulate only 2 or 3 thousand miles, all low temperature starts and mostly short runs.
Around 1995, an article in the ANWB journal (ANWB is the Dutch equivalent of the AA - or the AAA in the American case) reached more or less the same conclusion that distance was not very important. In their case they applied this to their road service fleet, which once started in the morning never got cold. In effect, they hardly ever changed the oil. I seem to remember 30,000 miles between oil changes being quoted. I also seem to remember that they had some kind of water or acid indicator attached to the end of the dipstick and went by that rather than distance.
THAT'S A POLITICIAN'S ANSWER - YOU'VE DODGED THE ENTIRE ISSUE!
[8000]
Have I? I don't know how far you drive in a year, where you live, the style of your driving or anything else so I can't tell you what's right for your car. I changed the oil and filter in my 1985 Audi Coupe every 5,000 miles. It had done over 150,000 miles when I sold it, wasn't leaking and didn't consume any oil. My Subarus got oil changes at 10,000 miles but were newer cars in a warmer environment. My VWs got oil changes at 8000 miles or so. If you must have a figure from me, then 8,000 is it.
MAINTENANCE MINDERS - WHEN THE CAR TELLS YOU WHEN TO CHANGE THE OIL
[maintenance required][oil life]
A lot of cars nowadays come with maintenance minders - inbuilt systems designed to tell you when to change the oil rather than leaving it to guesswork. First generation systems were nothing more than mileage counters. When you reached an interval of 3000 miles, the light came on. Now they're more involved. The system typically monitors driving style (in terms of how long is the throttle open for any given duration of driving), air intake and external temperatures, coolant temperatures and variations and engine timing (determined by load on the engine and octane of fuel). There's a clever formula that each manufacturer keeps to themselves that can take in any or all of these factors (and probably more) to determine how fast an average oil will be ageing in your engine. When you get to the point where the system decides your time is up, a light will come on on the dash - typically "Maint Reqd" or "Service Reqd" (Note - this is NOT the "check engine" light). On some cars you can cycle through the various trip computer settings to see an oil life remaining readout - normally given as a percentage. This is a convenience function so you can tell at any point in time roughly how much longer you can go before an oil change. That's useful for planning road trips - don't go on a 2000km trip if the oil life remaining indicator tells you 10%. On cars with these systems, I would defer to the onboard computer rather than trying to work it out for yourself. When the system tells you to change the oil, just do it. I've found that my 8,000 mile guesstimate above is pretty close to when the maintenance minder in my cars has indicated an oil change was due.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENS WHEN I CHANGE THE OIL THEN?
Engines pump about 10,000 litres of air for every litre of fuel consumed, and along with all that air, they suck in plenty of dirt and grit. A good air filter will stop everything bigger than a micron in diameter - everything smaller mostly just floats around harmlessly in the 0.001inch minimum thickness oil films that separate all the moving parts. Despite all of this, there will always be submicron particles that get in and there will be places in the engines oilways where they will gather. Every time you empty the oil from your sump, you're also draining this fine grit with it.
CHECKING THE OIL IN YOUR ENGINE, AND TOPPING UP.
Where the oil is in a typical engine
Note that this section only applies to wet sump engines - the type found in most consumer vehicles. For more info on sump types, see Wet sumps vs. dry sumps below.
To a lot of people, this little section could be categorised by the rearranging the words "granny eggs teaching suck your to". But you'd be surprised by the number of people that don't know how to do even this basic task. When checking the level of oil in the engine, the car should be on a level surface, and should be relatively cold. I've run into several people lately who insist in keeping the crankcase topped off completely, and they invariably check the dipstick just after shutting down the engine. Checking the oil this way results in an erroneous reading because a quantity of oil (usually about half a litre) is still confined in the oilways and passages (galleries) of the engine, and takes some time to drain back into the crankcase. (On the image, the blue areas are where oil is likely to still be running back down to the sump). On seeing what appears to be an abnormally low level on the dipstick, these people then add more oil to the oil filler at the top of the engine. The oilways and passages all empty, and suddenly the engine becomes over-filled with oil, going way above the 'MAX' mark on the dipstick.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN ENGINE IS OVERFILLED WITH OIL?
So you topped up the engine when it was warm after getting a faulty dipstick reading, or you put too much oil in when you changed it yourself. What's the worst that could happen? The problem with this is that the next time the engine is run, the windage in the crankcase and other pressures generated by the oil pump, etc. place a great strain on the seal on the rear main bearing.
Eventually, often much sooner than the ordinary man in the street might expect, the rear main bearing seal ruptures, and the engine becomes a 'leaker'. If you've got a manual gearbox, this means one thing: this oil goes right onto the flywheel and the face of the clutch disc. A lubricated clutch is A Bad Thing. If this still goes unnoticed, the front seal is the next to go, and the engine then becomes a 'gusher' (or to be more colourful, it starts pissing oil all over the place). As well as smothering the clutch with oil from the rear, the oil now coming from the front leak will be neatly distributed about the engine bay as it hits the front pulley - often propelling it out as far as the brake discs. At the same time as this Hollywood disaster movie is unfolding outside the engine, things aren't working out any better on the inside. As you can see from the diagram, the correct oil level is really close to the rotating crank. Overfilling will mean the crank dips into the oil and churns it into a froth. Froth is good on certain types of coffee but not good in an engine. The mixture of aerated oil will be forced into the bearings and in case you didn't know, air is not a lubricant. Typically this means that bearing damage will follow quite rapidly, especially if you are driving on a motorway. You'll know bearing damage when you get it. The engine smells like a garage mechanic cooking over an open flame and the noise coming from the engine is the sort of thing you'd normally hear in vaudeville plays when a piano is pushed down a flight of stairs. As if that all wasn't bad enough, the excess oil gets thrown up into the piston bores where the piston rings have a hard time coping with the excess oil and pressure. It gets into the combustion chamber and some of it will get out into the exhaust system unburned resulting in a nice patina of oil all over the putf8um surfaces of your catalytic converter. This renders it utterly useless for good.
Well, you did ask.
SO WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO CHECK THE OIL LEVEL?
If your engine is cold (for example it has been parked overnight) you can check the oil level right away. The oil will have had time to settle back into the sump. Just make sure the car is level before you do. If the engine is warm or hot (after you've been driving) then you should wait for 30 minutes or so to let as much oil as possible drain back into the sump. Checking it first thing the next morning is ideal.
It's worth pointing out that you should double-check your owner's manual too - some cars, like I the '92 Porcshe Carrera, require that the oil is checked while the engine is running and the oil is at temperature.
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WET SUMPS VS. DRY SUMPS.
Different types of oil sump
Almost all passenger cars, trucks and SUVs use what's called a wet sump system. If you look at the diagram above you can see the sump (or oil pan) is the lowest part of the engine. In a wet sump system, excess oil drains back into the sump when it has passed through the engine, and the oil pump then sucks it out of the sump and pumps it back to the top of the engine. The advantage of a wet sump is that it's cost effective to build and maintain and it makes oil-checking easy for the average driver. The disadvantage is that cornering and braking can cause the oil to slosh around in the sump. This can cause the oil to not cover the oil pump pickup tube, which could starve the top end of oil, or it could get deep enough in a severe cornering maneuver to bog-down the crank, which is A Bad Thing. To counter these problems, a lot of wet sumps have baffles in them to stop the oil moving around so much, and for your average road-going consumer-level vehicle, this is a fine compromise.
DRY SUMPS
When it comes to racing vehicles, wet sumps simply have too many disadvantages. Instead, race engines typically use a dry sump. As its name implies, the sump of the engine is dry - it never fills with oil. In a wet-sump system, the sump has to be large enough to accommodate all the oil from the engine when it is turned off. In a dry sump system, that requirement is gone so the sump can be much much smaller. (In the image on the right, the right-most sump is representative of a dry sump). A smaller sump means the engine can be mounted lower down in the vehicle, which in turn lowers the centre of gravity - great for racing. So how can this be? Well a dry sump system uses a remote oil reservoir or tank, and a either a second oil pump, or a single multi-stage pump. In a double pump system, one oil pump works just like a wet sump - it distributes oil to the top end of the engine, but it pulls the oil from the reservoir instead of the sump. The second pump scavenges the oil from the sump and returns it to the reservoir. In a single pump system, one pump is either a three- or four-stage pump. It has multiple circuits running off the same pump to pressurise the engine and scavenge oil back from the sump. The pumps typically don't run off the crank-driven belts so no engine power is sapped in driving them. The remote tank or reservoir can be pretty much any size you like and be mounted anywhere in the vehicle (usually low down again for centre of gravity reasons). There isn't oil sloshing around in the sump so you don't run the risk of bogging down the crank. For all these reasons, dry sumps are considered to be safer and far more dependable than their wet counterparts. So if it's that much better, why don't you find this system in consumer vehicles? Simple. The increased weight, complexity and cost of having larger or more pumps and a remote reservoir with all the additional high pressure oil lines involved. For a racing team, this isn't an issue, but for Toyota or Ford, adding that sort of cost and complexity to their passenger vehicles is just a no-go.

CAN I USE CAR ENGINE OIL IN MY MOTORBIKE THEN?
No you can't. Or at least I wouldn't recommend it....
The real answer to this question lies in the type of motorbike you own. If you own a bike with a wet clutch (ie. where the clutch sits partially submerged in the sump oil) and you dump car oil into it, all sorts of nasty things happen. Oils formulated for car engines have friction modifiers in them. When the engine oil gets into the clutch, the friction modifiers get to work and you'll end up with a clutch that won't bite. In addition, the chemical makeup of some car oils has been known to soften the clutch material on motorbikes to the point where the entire clutch pack fails. Bike oils generally don't have friction modifiers, so they don't have this problem. If you're not sure, check for a JASO MA spec on the bottle. If you see that on the label, then it means the oil has been tested and confirmed to work with a wet clutch. Mobil have cautionary information on exactly this subject on their Motorcycle Oils FAQ page.
The other side of this coin is if you have a dry clutch bike, like some BMWs. In this case, the clutch is configured similar to a car in that it's never in contact with the engine oil, and if that's the case, then regular car engine oil might provide all the protection and lubrication you need for your bike. The issue then becomes a question of the exact formulation of the oil. The additive packages for car engine oil are typically balanced differently than those for motorbikes with fuel economy and emission system protection being the higher priorities. Your typical passenger car doesn't rev to 12,000 rpm either so stuffing normal car engine oil in a motorbike engine that can run to double or even triple the rpm of a car engine could cause all sorts of problems.
The debate about whether any of this is true is burning in many forums across the internet. One site in particular casts some doubt on the issue, claiming the only difference between car and bike oil is the price. I don't subscribe to that theory but in order for you to make your own decision, here's a link: Testing motorcycle oil.
SULFATED ASH
There's a second good reason you shouldn't use car oil in your motorbike - sulfated ash. It's common in many American & Canadian modern oils; without burnt oil discoloring it, it normally has a light-gray to pale-tan colouration which may become visible if you shear a bit of the debris. When coloured by oil, it looks like the dreaded sludge. Unfortunately, the API SH-SN ratings are not strict enough on sulfated ash content. It's an issue that's fairly well known in some motorcycling circles, and the Japanese motorcycle industry recognized the issue very early on, creating a new oil specification specific to their needs (one, that among other things, caps the sulfated ash content very low): JASO-MA, recently revised further into to JASO-MA1 & JASO-MA2. For motorcyclists, the sulfated ash content poses a secondary issue: it means higher quantities of sulfuric acid if water gets introduced into the oil (such as from condensation within the galley spaces); since most motorcycle engines share the oil with both the engine and the transmission, the sulfuric acid is particularly problematic as the metals used in the transmission selector forks are made of cheaper steels that don't stand up to the acid nearly as well as most engine components.
CAN I USE DIESEL ENGINE OIL IN MY PETROL ENGINE?
This is an awkward question to answer. Diesel engines run much higher compression ratios than petrol engines and they run a lot hotter, so the oil is formulated to deal with this. Plus they produce a lot more dirt in terms of combustion by-products. Diesel-rated oils typically have more detergents in them to deal with this (see Using Diesel oil for flushing above). It's not unheard of for diesel oils to clean a petrol engine so well that it loses compression. Diesel-rated oils also have an anti-foaming agent in them which is unique to diesel engines, and not needed in petrol engines.
So is that the be-all and end-all answer? Well not really and that's why this is a difficult question to give a straight answer to. The above statement is more relevant to commercial diesel engines. Nowadays, just about all passenger car / light commercial oils (including OEM ones designed for both petrol and diesel engines) will carry the ACEA A and B specifications. ie. formulated to satisfy the requirements for both types of engine. So just because the oil is labelled "Diesel" doesn't mean it's not suitable for petrol engines - it will more than likely carry an ACEA A3 / OEM petrol spec as well.
However you do need to be a bit careful regarding choosing the right diesel spec - if you have a modern common rail / direct injection diesel, chances are it will require at least an ACEA B4 spec to cope with the higher piston temperatures that can cause piston deposits (and stuck rings). ACEA B4 is fine where B3 is recommended.
AND SO TO ENGINE ADDITIVES
Your engine is designed to be lubricated by oil, formulated by big petro companies and full of additives that perform anti-wear, heat transfer, lubrication and detergent functions. That doesn't stop dozens of companies formuutf8g extra additives and selling them as pour-in-the-engine and pour-in-the-tank solutions for problems you may or may not have. In the bad old days, these were known as snake oil - back when putting Teflon® in your engine seemed like a good idea. (Here's a famous old snakeoil article.)
In my opinion (and that doesn't mean I'm right) a large number of additives are placebos to put minds at rest. It's not often you'll find properly independent lab analysis of the products that will support their claims.
I have a page dedicated to this topic that covers, primarily, the endless lawsuits for false advertising against many manufacturers. Does this mean the product didn't work at all, or it didn't work as the advertising had promised? Hard to tell but head over to my additives page if you're interested.
NANOLUBRICANTS
Not something off Star Trek, although it sounds like it. Nanolubricants use the geometrical properties of miniature particles to provide lubrication. A couple of companies are working on these new generation lubricants; New York-based Applied Nanomaterials (ApNano) is one of them. Their R&D lab in the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel is initially developing an onion-type nanostructure, i.e. a multilayered hollow structure of nested spheres called NanoLubTM. According to the theory of the company's founders, such a structure can replace lubricants, because it works like a box moving along a near infinite layer of super-miniaturized ball bearings. They claim that respected institutes worldwide have proved that powder made from these nanostructures is six to ten times more effective than regular lubricants.
In their case, the nanospheres are built from tungsten disulfide (WS2). The layers slide past each other, reducing friction, while the hollow cores provide flexibility. Applied Nanomaterials claims the materials can withstand immense pressures. The material acts as a kind of solid ball bearing between the metal layers, rather like the wheels of a tank tread. In addition, the nanostructures insert themselves within each metal layer, while other nanostructures slide over them, creating a smooth layer at the molecular level.

The idea is that unlike oil, the nanolubricant never wears down; it is permanent and requires no maintenance. Theoretically, a nanolubricant can be used for various friction reducing applications, such as on the outer coating of ships and planes to reduce water and air friction, respectively. If you're that way inclined, think of what it could do to the sex toy industry....

The powder will eventually stand on its own as a lubricant, however Applied Nanomaterials realizes that recognition of the technology requires collaboration with lubricant manufacturers as an additive to existing lubricants. The problem of course is that if this lubricant never needs changing, anyone who decides to mass manufacture and market it is going to lose a chunk of revenue - once you dump it in your engine, you never buy any more. Great for you and me, bad business model for the company who dares to market it.

Applied Nanomaterials competitors are developing similar materials, but based on nested carbon nanotube structures that over time tend to disintegrate under friction from the materials they lubricate.

Don't expect to see NanoLubTM on the shelves in large quantities just yet though. It can take a day to manufacture just 750g of the stuff. At the time of writing, it was being marketed by SONOL Israel Fuel Company
Another player in this brave new world of Things That Are Altogether Too Clever™ is Nanovit, based in the UK.
For the chemists who are reading this, NanoVit builds a nano-scale colloid system at the metal surface and this dynamically changes as the frictional forces are applied to the surface. According to Nanovit, this stuff is based on a structure formed using specific nano-particles of Aluminium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide and Carbon. It does not use carbon nano-tubes and is rated as completely harmless in toxicology testing. It is a permanent coating, existing between many oil changes. The colloid system dynamically "swells" and contracts according to the force and space, causing the resetting of surface geometry to the optimum during the working process of a friction surface, additionally the new surface changes the properties of the thin oil-film layer, interacting with it to improve properties (viscosity index andother key indicators) and protect the molecular structure to prolong oil life. The adherence of the coat to the metal is a bonding process that rebuilds scuffed surfaces and displaces all contaminants (also preventing their re-build up).
For the non-chemists reading this, it's essentially a self-repairing surface right out of science fiction that sticks to the cylinder walls in your engine. Or would that be science friction? Yes, yes, horrible pun. Lets move on.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO ENGINE ADDITIVES: PRE-PRESSURISATION
[auto engine lube kit] What the additive manufacturers tell you is true - when you start your engine, there really is very little oil in the right place - most of it is in the sump. There is another alternative. I found a site called AutoEngineLube.com and they seem to be offering an interesting alternative. They have a system which uses a cylinder of pressurised oil and a solenoid valve, all connected to the regular oil system. It works with only one moving part, (the solenoid valve - duh!). When the key is turned on it opens the valve and the oil that was trapped in the tank the previous time it was running goes back into the oil gallery in 1 or 2 seconds and the low oil pressure light will flash off. There's likely to still be a little lag before full-on lubrication gets to the main bearings, but from what I can tell, this system will massively reduce that lag compared to starting from cold - it pressurises the system before the starter engages. Of course an engine that has set up for a few months and is completely dry will take a few more seconds. When the engine is turned off the solenoid valve shuts off in 30 milliseconds so you end up with pressure on the tank equal to the pressure the last time it was running. The tank will hold more than enough oil to accomplish this. Its completely over engineered as the tank is rated for over a thousand pounds and the hose is good for 300lb. Because the valve is designed for an industrial application with an expected duty life of several million cycles, AutoEngineLube give it a lifetime warranty. It only uses previously filtered oil from the gallery so no damage can be done by it in any way.
Their system comes as a kit and requires some menial installation - most savvy home mechanics should be able to do it. I'm not sure how it would affect the warranty on a car engine. In theory, if it works, it ought to make no difference but you know what manufacturers are like - if you even sneeze on your engine, it's likely to void the warranty.
Pop over and check them out if you're interested. If you end up buying one of these, I'd like to know what sort of results you get so I can add an objective review to my site. AutoEngineLube.com Another site sells a similar product - PreLuber.com.

It's worth pointing out that pre-lubers have been around for quite a while; the original systems featured an electric pump that circulated the oil from the sump before the starter turned. The pump would bring the oil up to full operating pressure before you attempted to start the engine. A reader of this site e-mailed me about this. He had one on an old MG-TD, because the car got very infrequent use; it worked rather well and he never had any major engine problems with it installed. Enginelube.com still do the "old style" pre-lubers but their website has vanished so I don't have a good link for them now.

CASE STUDY: MOROSO ACCUMULATER (PISTONLESS UPRIGHT BOTTLE TYPE) PRE-OILER ON V8 ZEPHYRS
zephyr
A reader contacted me about using pre-oilers on classic vehicles. Here's what he had to say:
"I use the MOROSO Accumulater 2 which is a pistonless upright bottle type. I researched these after experiencing oil pressure drops of 20psi on uphill right hand corners at speed. The Moroso 2 cured it right away. I plumbed it directly into where the oil sender went and used a tee for the oil light sender. I have a ½" ball valve at the bottle I use but intend to rig a choke cable to use it from inside the car. Electric solenoid valves are available too. To do an oil change the factory fitted tire valve is pumped with 20psi of air and the tap opened, old oil is then fully pushed out into the sump via the oil feeds. The car if used for racing etc is driven with the ball valve open, any drop in oil pressure is taken over by the accumulater until the oil pump pick up is covered again. I also use the oiler to lube the engine (Ford V8) by turning the valve with the engine off, the oil pressure goes up to about 20-30psi (you can hear it gurgle in the rocker covers!). After 10-15 seconds I then start the engine. You turn the valve off with the engine running to trap oil for the next start up.Racers run these on engines that can be "claimed" after a race as if the engine had a high doller sump pan they would lose it with the engine. The Accumulater works better than any trap door or baffled sump if you spin backwards off a track too!"
There are further writeups of this particular installation available at StockCarRacing.com.

Picture credit: MkIII Zephyr V8s
OIL FILTERS AND FILTRATION.
Thanks to one reader who noted that in all of this page, until mid-2001 I had not given much, if any space, to the topic of filters and filtration. So here we go.
It's all very well changing your oil often, but it's not just the oil that helps prevent engine wear. The oil filter does its part too. Dirt is the prime cause of engine wear. Not big dirt, like you'd see in a yard, but minute particles of dirt. It's dirt nevertheless, and it's abrasive. These contaminants vary from road dust (which are razor-like flakes from an engine's perspective) that doesn't get filtered out by the air filter, up to actual metal particles - the byproducts of the casting scarf from the original engine manufacture, and basic engine wear. All this nastiness is carried around by the oil into the minute parts of your engine, being rammed into the precision clearances between bearings and other moving parts. Once in, they don't come out easy, but tend to stay there, wearing grooves, grinding and generally messing up your engine. Other debris that causes problems are a by-product of the mere way an engine works - sooty particles from the combustion process can be forced past the piston rings and transported around in the oil too. This is definitely A Bad Thing - the soot acts like a sponge and soaks up other oil additives reducing the oil's anti-wear properties, and messing up it's viscosity. All this dirt is why oil goes black when it's used. That lovely syrup-like yellow that it is when you put it in is pure oil. The black stuff that comes out at an oil change is the same oil full of contaminants and by-products from wear and tear.
Spin-on oil filter
That's where the oil filter comes in. It's job is to catch all this crap floating around in the oil, and to stop it from recircuutf8g. Most oil filters that you or I will ever see are the spin-on type. They're shaped like an aluminium can and spin on to a threaded oil feeder poking out of the side of the engine somewhere. They're called 'full-flow' oil filters because they sit in the normal flow of the oil through the engine. Sort of like an electrical component in series with all the other electrical component. Because it sits in-line, it has to be designed not to restrict the flow of oil around the circuit, and thus can only really be effective at stopping the larger particles. Large, in this case, is around the 20micron size. So here's the catch. The smallest contaminants are in the 10-20micron size range. Not only is that "extremely small", but it means that they pass right through the oil filter and back out into circulation. This is why regular oil changes are a necessity, because these tiny little things can be the most damaging.
There is another alternative, but it's only really used in heavy applications or for racing. That alternative is to fit a secondary bypass oil filter. This is sort of like a filter in parallel with the primary one. It doesn't restrict the flow of oil in the main circuit, but the oil that passes through it is filtered down to the 5 micron range, thus removing even the smallest contaminants. The newest filters claim to work down to 1 micron, though I can't confirm nor deny those claims. The upside is that by cleaning the oil so completely, bypass oil filters increase not only engine life, but also the life of the oil itself. This means longer service intervals.
MAGNETISED OIL TRAPS
A beartrap-type filter magnet attached to a spin-on oil filter beartrap
Recently, magnetic filter additions have started to surface. I was sent one in 2001 to try out and it really did seem to work. The product in question was called the Bear Trap BT500. Their website can be found here (now owned by One Eye Industries). It's basically a sleeve made of foam rubber and plastic with some magnets in it. It bends to clamp around the outside of your regular spin-on oil filter. The idea is that the magnets will attract any metal debris in your oil and stick them to the inside of the oil filter wall, thus preventing them from going back into the oil circulation. Being of a curious nature (or stupid, depending on how you look at it) I decided to dismantle my oil filter after using the Bear Trap for 5000 miles. I learned a couple of things.
You shouldn't try to do this yourself.
It's bloody messy.
But most importantly, after a brief period in accident and emergency to stitch up the gash in my hand, I discovered that sure enough, there were tiny arrangements of metal filings clustered around the inside of the oil filter wall where the magnets from the beartrap had been. You'll excuse the lack of photos to prove the point, but I had other things to worry about. If you visit their website or that of FilterMag (below) you'll see similar cutaway photos.
So can I recommend their product? Yes.
filtermag
Another alternative to the Bear Trap is the FilterMag - essentially the same style of product but from a different manufacturer.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO CUSTOM MAGNETISED OIL TRAPS.
Thanks to John Nightingale who read my pages and then felt he should contribute something. For those of you who do more than just change your filter - ie. take off the oil pan completely, John writes:
" Next time you are in the mall or high street, drop into the Radio Shack or a hardware store and purchase a package of modern, powerful ceramic magnets. These are available in various shapes and they are cheap. Radio Shack sells a package of two wafer shaped magnets, for instance. Stroll out to your car at the end of your shopping trip, bend down and stick these magnets onto convenient flat surfaces the bottom of your oil pan either side of the drain hole or as convenient. Now the magnets will magnetize the steel of the oil pan in their area. On the inside, particles coming through the field established by a magnet will be sequestered by being stuck to the bottom of the oil pan. Next time you take off the oil pan, clean it out in the usual way, pull off the magnets from the outside, clean them up and then stick them onto the inside of the oil pan at the bottom but clear of the drain hole. This will give an even better result since now the oil is exposed to the naked magnets themselves. The bottom of the oil pan in the area of each of the magnets is also magnetized, of course, and contributing to the effect. Resist the temptation to stand the magnets on edge to expose more of their surface to the oil. Placing the magnets flat on the oil pan uses the oil pan's steel as a keeper for the magnets and will ensure that they stay powerful. Placing the magnets flat will increase the area of the oil pan that is part of the magnetic circuit so you will loose no particle pick up area by having the magnets lying flat. "
MAGNETISED OIL TRAPS - DOING IT YOURSELF.
There's nothing really special about magnetised oil traps other than the type of magnet they use. Bear Trap and FilterMag basically offer a consumer-oriented product. But if you're a tinkerer, there's nothing to stop you doing it yourself. The magnets normally used are Neodymium, nearly the most powerful nonelectric magnet type. They are the kind of magnet used in computer hard drives, often coming in pairs held just a few millimeters apart with the back end of the hard drive head assembly (the part being made of coiled wire) in between. If you can find a couple of old hard drives - try the local computer junk store - you ought to be able to disassemble them and take the magnets out to stick to your own oil filter. John Nicholas Sarris, a reader of my site, suggested this and provided the following photos as an example.
DIY filter magnet DIY filter magnet DIY filter magnet DIY filter magnet
DIY filter magnet
THE IMPORTANCE OF NEODYMIUM MAGNETS
I thought it worth pointing out here what a potential disaster awaits the home tinkerer if you just grab any old magnet and stick it on the outside of your oil filter. Your common or garden ferrous magnet, like those horrible souvenir magnets stuck to your fridge (you know you've got some) are usually made from iron, and thus have a limited life span which in some cases can be as short as 6 or 12 months. During this time they progressively lose thier power. Not enough for that hideous magnetic photo frame to drop off the fridge, but enough to be a problem if it was stuck to your oil filter. Why's that then? Well, come the end of the filters life, just as the magnet is weakening and the collection of metal particles is at it's highest, one good jolt and it could dislodge, and a large collection of metal shavings and filings could detach from the inside of the filter and find its way back into your engine all in one go. That would be bad. So as much as you might like the magnetic photo of granny and the giraffe from Whipsnade zoo to be stuck in a filthy oily place on your car, don't do it.
LARGER FILTERS ON STANDARD CARS?
There's a school of thought which says that enlarging the oil filter on your car is A Good Thing. Why is this?
The small oil filters fitted to engines these days tend to have their bypass valves set to open at quite low pressures (8-11psi or so). This valve is a safety device designed to bypass the oil filter element (the actual paper or fabric filter inside the canister) in the event of a high pressure differential - typically from poor maintenance - ie. a blocked filter element. Once the pressure differential between the two sides of the filter element is too large, the bypass valve pops open and the unfiltered oil bypasses the filter element completely and just runs back out into the engine.
But the bypass valve can open under other circumstances too. For example, thick, cold oil doesn't pass through the filter element very well, resulting in a high pressure differential, meaning the bypass valve opens.
The same can happen in warm engine if you have a lead foot. A quick acceleration away from the traffic lights can result in the oil pressure in the engine increasing quickly - quicker than the filter element can handle - and for a few moments while the pressure equalises inside the filter, the bypass valve will again be open.
So how does this pertain to larger filters? Larger filters have bigger filter elements, which means they tend to have higher pressure bypass valves (around 14-18psi) meaning there needs to be a much bigger pressure differential before the oil will bypass the filter. Better for cold starts, short commutes and those with a love of acceleration.
There are some things you need to be aware of if you're going to try this approach, all of which are relevant, and none of which I can confirm or deny:
Bigger filter = more "dead" space = more oil. Remember you'd need to add more oil to the engine to keep the oil level at the correct mark on the dipstick. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - more oil doing the same job theoretically means less stress on the oil.
Oil may take a little longer to circulate around the engine after startup, as the pump may have to fill up the larger capacity oil filter. Note that the oil filter backflow preventer (anti-drainback valve) doesn't help here because it does eventually allow the oil to drain out of the filter with the engine switched off. Anti-drainback refers to the function of keeping the unfiltered oil from draining back into the engine - it eventually passes through the filter and drains out the normal way.
Availability of filters and fouling. If you put a larger filter on it might foul something else in the engine bay. That is if you can find a larger filter to start with. The rule of thumb is to go to a motor factors shop, and find the oil filter that was designed for your engine. Then look through the myriad of larger oil filter boxes for a bigger filter that has the same screw thread and sealing ring diameter. Nowadays most spin-on filters have a 20mm screw thread so that's not going to be the hard part. Finding the same sealing ring diameter is the thing to be careful of. And don't ask the people at the parts counter. Because of liability issues, they're unlikely to sell you anything other than exact filter for your make and model of vehicle.
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A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF THE PROPER PROCEDURES SAVING AN ENGINE.
I started these pages back in 1994 and have been adding to them ever since. I've always followed my own advice and in 2005, it paid off big time. I'll tell this in the past tense because it'll get lost in the page and I'll forget to update it when I change motorbikes.
So I owned a 2001 BMW R1150GS motorbike. I bought it pre-owned from my local dealer who assured me it had been through the workshops as part of the "standard procedure" of them taking a bike in and re-selling it. For 2 years I'd been riding it with horrible engine noise and engine detonation (pre-ignition). Every time I took it back to the dealer, they were adamant there was nothing wrong with the engine, and that "they all do that". Not believing them, I finally found an independent BMW specialist who took the engine apart for me. It turned out the BMW dealership had lied - the bike had never been in their service department. This was evidenced by the fact that the cylinders had sand in them. The dealership had never bothered to check the bike and wouldn't believe my complaints about the noisy engine. The independent mechanic fixed it all up for me - an $1100 repair bill that involved basically stripping down the entire engine, honing the cylinder barrels, putting in new piston rings, cleaning the pistons, barrels, heads, throttle and airbox, flushing and cleaning the whole thing and putting it all back together. The point is that during the two years I'd been riding it with sand in the engine, I'd been religiously topping up the oil and changing the filter. It's a testament to BMW engineering that the engine ran without seizing up, but it's also a testament to paying attention to your oil changes. If I'd let it slide, or not done the filter, that engine would not have been a rebuild - it would have been a far more costly brand new engine.
THIS IS ALL GREAT. NOW HOW DO I ACTUALLY CHANGE MY OIL?
A good number of readers will get to this point in the page and think "this is easy - I could do this!", and for the most part, you can. In my DIY articles, you can find a page on how to change your engine oil. Enjoy.