2023-05-30 21:50:00
Car care is an essential aspect of safety when we travel. There are people who sacredly comply with the inspections of the vehicles and who do not avoid the technical services of the brands to do the maintenance, which usually results in a good condition of the car and does not suffer too much with the normal depreciation that exists due to use. .
But not all are good drivers. We are not referring only to complying with traffic laws, but with that procedure that is to keep the vehicle in good condition.
At this point, one of the most relevant aspects is related to engine oil. If you want to see what happens when we ignore this care, the YouTube channel “I Do Cars” published a video where you can see how the engine of a car looks following 100,000 kilometers without an oil change. In the images you can see a 3.0-liter biturbo V6 taken from an Infiniti Q50 and when you see it you will think twice if you decide to postpone the engine change.
So how do we go regarding recognizing a problem? The first thing is that we will see a light on the board that will warn that there is not enough fluid in the system (in the best of cases). For this, the simplest test is with the dipstick and thus check if this is the problem.
But the idea is not to reach that point that can be difficult to return to. That is why we spoke with Héctor Ignacio Flores Rocha, a professor at the Duoc UC School of Engineering and Natural Resources, Maipú campus, who explained to us the relevance and importance of motor oil.
According to Flores, the first thing to keep in mind is that “changing a vehicle’s engine oil has benefits and will help keep the engine in the best working conditions and durability. Both the oil and the oil filter will help you to work in perfect condition”.
But what role does engine oil play? The specialist points out that “motor oil plays a fundamental and necessary role for the life of your vehicle, first it keeps the moving parts lubricated, avoiding wear, thus helping to prolong the life of the engine. In order for all its capacities to work correctly, it must be changed periodically as indicated by the manufacturer, this is accompanied by its oil filter, whose function is to retain impurities that may be inside the engine, due to fragments due to internal wear.
Taking what the teacher says, it is clear that, in the event of driving our vehicle with oil in poor condition, a malfunction will occur that can range from engine noise to unnecessary greater wear on the internal parts of the engine. , which can end in damage that requires changing the entire engine block. And with that, a huge expense will affect the pocket.
Regarding the period that must elapse between one change and another, Flores comments that “it is best to be guided by the vehicle manufacturer, their recommendations, which we can find in the vehicle manual, will set the guideline for oil changes. The main criteria followed when changing the oil are the kilometers traveled with the vehicle. We must also take into account the use we make of the vehicle, if we usually make short journeys our engine will suffer more than if we use it more frequently to travel on long road trips. To recap, it is advisable to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, but as a general rule, a synthetic oil is changed every 10,000 km”.
If we are already aware of the need to keep the vehicle in perfect condition, with engine oil changes at the recommended periods, we can find ourselves with another dilemma: which oil to use.
Without going into specific brands, Ignacio Flores says that “considering that additives are added to motor oils to improve their performance, we can find synthetic oil as a result of a chemical process where the molecules are more uniform than other oils. With these characteristics it helps to reduce the number of impurities, with this factor we achieve greater performance and withstand greater extreme temperatures such as high and low. Then follows the semi-synthetic oil that achieves greater resistance to oxidation (compared to mineral or conventional oil), offering excellent performance when working at low temperatures. Finally, mineral or conventional oil is the most common type of oil, following obtaining it it has not undergone any extra process and we can find it in a wide range of viscosities and quality. Its use is recommended in those simpler engines or where their operation occurs in regular conditions, with mild temperatures”.
You already know what it means and the importance of engine oil, therefore, do not neglect yourself and always carry out the maintenance indicated by the manufacturer, before incurring expenses that are never welcome.
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