Know Your Engine Oil - Tire Review Magazine

Know Your Engine Oil

Withoutquestion the single most important criteria for choosing lubricatingautomotive engine oil is its viscosity. Understand that the thicker anoil, the higher its viscosity. Multi-grade oils work by adding apolymer to a light-base oil. As the oil heats up, the polymers unwindinto long chemical chains, which prevent the oil from thinning too muchas it warms up.

As you already know, motor oil has a number ofbig jobs to perform, not the least of which is lubricating internalengine parts. Oil must also help cool the engine by transferring heatand by sealing the piston rings and cylinder bore interface. It mustalso absorb contaminants, and suspend wear particles and soot thatforms as a result of combustion.

Looking deeper, part of oil’sjob is to stop the metal surfaces in the engine from grinding togetherand tearing themselves apart from friction while transferring heat awayfrom the combustion cycle. It must also be able to hold unwantedbyproducts of combustion, such as silica oxide and acids in suspension– at least until they can be safely removed by the filter.

Oilmust clean the engine from chemicals and other build-ups, keep themoving parts coated, plus minimize the exposure to rust-causing oxygenwhile holding down higher engine temperatures.

Here’s anotherimportant consideration for your shop. How long should oil be kept onthe shelf? In general, liquid lubricants (oils and greases) will remainintact for a number of years; as long as four or five. However, asyears pass, unused engine oils can become obsolete and fail to meet thetechnical requirements of more current engines. In other words, stay upto date on newly introduced engines and the type of engine oiltechnology they require.

In the meantime, more and more oilcompanies are coming out with many “high mileage” oils. Some arerecommended for engines with as many as 75,000 miles on the odometer.Generally speaking, these high mileage oils have special additives inthem, so they are more suited to older engines. The first is normally aburn-off inhibitor that helps prevent the oil from burning off as itgets past an engine seal and into the combustion chamber.

Anotheris a “seal conditioner,” designed to soak into seals such as headrocker-cover gaskets and force them to expand. If one of the seals is abit leaky, the seal conditioner will attempt to minimize the leak.

You May Also Like

Step by Step: How to Properly Change an EV Tire

Tire changing is a straightforward procedure for most technicians, but the transition from ICE vehicles to EVs will introduce some changes.

EV on Lift

As electric vehicles (EVs) rapidly transform the automotive landscape, routine tasks like tire changes will take on new complexity, requiring updated equipment and increased technician training. Tire changing is a straightforward procedure for most technicians, but the transition from ICE vehicles to EVs will introduce some changes, particularly when it comes to addressing the added weight of EVs.

Price Check: Tire Replacements Across the US

Compare your tire replacement pricing, including mounting, balancing and TPMS service, to national averages.

Avoid wheel damage installing tires
Eight Great Practices for Creating a Winning Team Culture

In your quest to be the absolute best tire/auto service business you can possibly be, you can have a beautiful facility, state-of-the-art equipment and all the amenities to enrich your customer’s experience, but if don’t have a great, “Winning Team” culture, then you still don’t have a truly great company. Related Articles – What Your

winning-team-culture
What Your Credit Score Can do to Your Business

If you want to explain your business in the future, one thing you need to prioritize is your credit score. Having bad business credit can negatively impact your shop in many ways – from causing difficulties securing financing to getting approved for a lease. Related Articles – Rising Gas Prices Make Tire Distributors Rethink Pricing,

Credit Score Business
Ferrante: What I’ve Learned From Listening to 100,000 Sales Calls

Back in 2014, I authored an article titled, “Are Your Tire/Auto Service Salespeople ‘Winging It’ on the Phone?” At the time the article was published, my Pinnacle Performance Training team and I had evaluated approximately 25,000 sales calls between tire/auto service sales staff and prospective customers. In May of this year, we reached a milestone

Goodwill-Calls-consistant-marketing

Other Posts

Mounting & Demounting a Tire the Correct Way

In both rim clamp and pedestal tire changers, specific techniques are followed to ensure correct dismounting and mounting of tires.

Reverse-wheel-adapter
Why Updating Your TPMS Tools Regularly Matters

To maintain the accuracy and reliability of newly programmed TPMS sensors, it’s important to keep your TPMS programming tool up to date.

TPMS Stock
Check TPMS, Save on Fuel for Your Next Road Trip

Discover the benefits of TPMS for enhancing safety, fuel efficiency and peace of mind during long road trips.

TPMS-relearn
Troubleshooting Porsche TPMS

Tips for diagnosing Porsche TPMS systems and performing relearns.

Porsche TPMS