Effective tips for extended life of the engine oil

Effective tips for extended life of the engine oil

The extended life of engine oil is something we all strive to get better with it every time. We use expensive engine oils just for the better performance of our vehicle. Sometimes we change the engine oil even if it is not ideally necessary. How to select the right engine oil for your vehicle can be a difficult question sometimes for a layman. 

By judging the changed colour of engine oil, we decide whether it’s time for an engine oil change or not. We go through a lot of misconceptions regarding the health of our vehicle’s engine. Through this read, you will be free from any misconception concerning the health of your engine.

Let’s first discuss what factors can affect the lifespan of engine oil.

How long should engine oil last?

The following four aspects can affect majorly on the engine oil life in the long run. We will discuss them one by one.

Engine design: Depending upon the type of vehicle, the engine design changes accordingly. The engine’s design may vary from purpose to purpose. The design may vary the exposure to the pollutants and hence the life of your car and wear and tear of engine oil to the extend it will be useful.

Characteristics of engine oil: Contingent on the viscosity index of the engine oil the performance varies. Highly viscous engine oil can be subjected to high oil consumption. Similarly, thin engine oil may not be able to protect the engine of your vehicle well. Consequently, it will affect to prolong the life and health of the engine oil.

Driving Track: The health of the roads on which the vehicle is driven can also make a huge impact on the engine’s life. If the road you usually drive on is smooth, you may rarely face an issue regarding the engine. But on the other hand, if the road is bumpy and rough, it will lead to poor engine health.

Driving pattern: The but obvious thing is the driving pattern also makes an impact on the engine oil longevity. The more consistent speed you will choose the better it is for your engine.

Now, we will discuss which things can help you with maintaining the good health of your engine oil and how you can extend the life of engine oil and engine maintenance tips.

How can I prolong the life of my engine?

Owner’s manual is your go-to guide:

Whatever you need to know to prolong and maintain your vehicle is already there in the owner’s manual. Right from setting up your vehicle to what are the requirements of your vehicle. As we all know, every vehicle needs vary according to its manufacturing and schedule its oil change intervals and maintenance schedule. Therefore it is necessary to opt for what’s best for your bike or car and not what’s hot selling in the market.

The owner’s manual contains almost every piece of information regarding what your vehicle demands. Important information like characteristics of the best-suited engine oil for your vehicle is already there in the manual.

Go through it and choose the best engine oil accordingly. If you are not taking the things in action as per the owner’s manual, you may end up with unnecessary spending and problems. To avoid this, start referring to the owner’s manual for everything you wish to do with your vehicle for better vehicle health and extend the life of your engine.

Check the engine oil at every oil fill-up:

The health and level of the engine oil decide the performance of your vehicle. The more it is well managed, the better it is for your engine. Maintaining engine oil level is necessary as running low on engine oil can make you face undesirable problems.

You may face problems like loud clunking and grinding sounds. it is suggested to have an oil check after every 3,000 miles / 10,000 miles.

A low level of engine oils will lead you to insufficient lubrication of components and can cause the breakage of the rod & damage the cooling system, Oil filter, air filter or fuel filter. It’s a good practice to keep yourself updated with the engine oil level to maintain the feasibility and extend life of the engine.

Also, being updated with the health of the engine oil can save you from future damage and prolong its life. The usual way to check the health of the engine oil is by noticing its colour. Initially, the oil is golden in colour, and then it starts turning dark with time and use.

If it has turned into dark brown or black colour, then it is time to schedule an oil change immediately. Turning of engine oil into milky or somewhat cream in colour indicates the exposure of engine oil to water. At the same time using a good synthetic engine oil in your vehicle is very important. A good quality synthetic car engine oil is always recommended for a prolonged and extended life of your engine.

Clean your engine before an oil change:

Cleaning of the engine right before an oil change will take care of the unnecessary deposit build-up. It is always a good idea to refill the oil in a clean engine to achieve excellent execution of the engine. The oil change won’t be effective if it contains the deposit and sludge from the previous oil. So, cleaning the engine neatly before the oil change can extend the life of engine oil with a better performance. Engine cleaners like SUPRACLEAN can help you clean your engine more efficiently and in less time.

Stick to a single Engine oil brand:

We know the technology is upgrading day by day and coming up with new engine oils. But it is not a great practice to switch to a newly launched engine oil now and then. You should understand the requirements of your vehicle’s engine and then choose the best-suited engine oil for you and stick to that. Experimenting often may lead you to the lower performance of your engines.

Not every high-end engine oil will fulfill the requirements of your engine. So stop experimenting and switching to every newly launched engine oil. Sticking to the only engine oil brand will help you with prolonged engine life along with a smooth performance.

Don’t overfill engine oil:

You must be thinking now what can be the issue with overfilling the engine oil. Not much will change just because of overfilling.  But you are maybe thinking it wrong..

Let’s break this into a more understandable explanation. Overfilling engine oil will let the crankshaft submerge into the excess oil. Pouring excess oil into the engine will allow more air into the engine chamber.

That will lead to foam production caused due to the mixing of air and oil during the fast rotation of the crankshaft, which will further affect the lubrication capacity of the engine oil largely. Poor lubrication capacity will cause a temperature rise which might cause an engine lock. 

If your vehicle is exerting too much white smoke, then there is a possibility of the excess oil filling. You can drain some of the oil to get it at the required level.

Don’t do severe driving:

Now there must be a question popping up in your mind about what severe driving does mean. I am about to explain the same thing. Basically, severe driving refers to:

  1. Lots of short trips (trips covering a distance of less than 5miles)
  2. Driving in extreme weather conditions (cold or hot)
  3. Carrying heavy loads or towing
  4. Stop and go driving (driving in traffic)

If any of the above is your case, then you should try not to drive like this. Severe driving will put extra strain on your engine, causing a temperature rise and high fuel consumption. Caking and sludging can also be one of the problems caused due to severe driving. So to extend the life of engine oil try to be more careful with your driving habit.

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