kia pcv valve
kia pcv valve Related Articles
Kia extends warranties for cars in 142 countries including Malaysia
Kia is the latest car brand that has announced a global warranty extension programme for its vehicles
This left-hand drive Kia K9 is probably the only one in Malaysia
This Kia K9 is one of a kind in Malaysia.
Naza Kia fuels customer with RM 620 worth of petrol cards
To celebrate Merdeka and Malaysia Day, Naza Kia Malaysia held their Fuel Your Freedom, Discover Malaysia
Naza Kia Malaysia in limbo while Peugeot moves ahead with Berjaya Auto Alliance
is not ready to make an announcement yet.Naza intends to replace Kia with SuzukiThe Kia brand is now
The Kia Picanto is no more in Malaysia
Kia’s popular A-segment hatchback, the Kia Picanto is no longer on sale in Malaysia.
Kia EV6 revealed, first dedicated EV from Kia
Images of the upcoming Kia EV6 have been revealed ahead of its world premiere.
Kia debuts Kia Stinger facelift; New ADAS, 304 PS, 422 Nm
2021 Kia Stinger facelift officially makes its global debut after the unveiling earlier last month!
Spied: The fastest ever Kia Optima GT out testing in Korea
The planned release of the fastest ever 2021 Kia Optima GT was originally set for the USA only, but the
Kia Grand Carnival now comes with optional leather seats?
Since Naza Kia Malaysia updated the 2020 Kia Grand Carnival to an 11-seater MPV, the car’s interior
More expensive than the Stinger, Kia EV6 bookings opened in the US
Kia has opened bookings for the Kia EV6 First Edition in the US with 1,500 units up for grabs.
2020 Kia K5 launched in China at the Beijing Auto Show
The all-new 2020 Kia K5 has made its debut at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show to wow the crowds of China.
All-new Kia Optima K5 debuts, GT Variant with 2.5L turbo and 8-speed DCT
A decade after the 2011 Kia Optima, Kia Motors has revealed its all-new Kia K5 mid-size sedan.
Electric Kia CV to be first to wear new logo, 2021 Kia Seltos to follow
Following the announcement of its new brand logo, Kia today confirmed at an online media Q&A session
AmInvest: Bermaz to conclude Kia deal by April 2021
are set to go under new ownership as early as April, as hinted by an investment report.This is the Kia
RM 50k for a used Subaru XV, but what are the common problems?
The bad news is that the valve is not sold separately, so you will have to change the valve body to solve
After Mazda, Bermaz to also export Kia Seltos and Carnival from Malaysia
Models produced by the Thaco-Kia manufacturing JV in VietnamThe newly formed Kia manufacturing joint
Spied: All-New 4th generation 2020 Kia Grand Carnival bumper completely undisguised
The Kia Grand Carnival is due to enter a whole new generation globally and spy shots of the new bumpers
Kia opens new 3S centre in Tampoi
Naza Kia Malaysia has launched a new 3S outlet in Tampoi.
New revised price list for Kia, Peugeot, Citroen, and DS
effective from 15th June 2020 until 31st December 2020, and covers the wide range of models offered by Kia
Leaked! New pictures of Kia Picanto facelift
Advertising materials of the new Kia Picanto facelift has surfaced on the internet overnight, giving
kia pcv valve Post Review
I added a video to a @YouTube playlist https://t.co/F4rRa6saSM Kia picanto 2012 :2017 Pcv valve cleaning
OES Genuine PCV Valve for select Hyundai/ Kia models: OES Genuine PCV Valve - May require PCV o-ring/gasket # 26... http://t.co/0bZoZfPO
HOW TO REPLACE PCV VALVE ON KIA FORTE: https://t.co/GsjoZpK40R via @YouTube
"how to locate the pcv valve on a 2006 kia sportage?" http://t.co/Q2kQxYGeL1
Well just got done installing a radiator, a thermostat and a air filter on a @Kia Now I just gotta install a PCV Valve. Good start to a Saturday.
#3: Auto 7 014-0018 PCV Valve For Select Hyundai and KIA Vehicles: Auto 7 014-0018 PCV Valve For Select Hyunda... http://t.co/5qsb2qMTQu
@adamsgroove @pig_tickle Our '12 Kia Rio5 has been great for us. Just passed 100k miles a little bit ago. Burns oil, but I think it might just need a new PCV valve (easy fix). But it's a non-GDI 1.6L motor. I've heard the GDI's are problematic (as all GDI tends to be). Best is Honda and Toyota.
"where is pcv valve on 2005 kia sorento?" http://t.co/c2N6CWEv
#NAPA #Autoparts: PCV Valve Replacement At Kia of Leesburg - http://t.co/o17j6pIM
#auto: PCV Valve Service At Bank Street Kia In Ottawa - http://t.co/SAebW2xhju
kia pcv valve Q&A Review
Can I use a single grade winter oil (for example, SAE 15W) in the summer, instead of using multigrade oil (SAE 15w40) or summer oil (SAE 40)? Will winter oil really become too thin at the highest summer engine temperatures?
Are you in NORTH OR SOUTH AMERICA or India is the final question to answer: Use multigrade as per your climate where you live. To answer your question you could in a few areas of the world ;where there are no variations of temperature ;Not recommended… Understanding Engine Oil,. Car dealers' service departments are also guilty of incorrectly listing the mileage for the next oil change. We've seen them recommend a 3,000-mile oil change on a car with a 10,000-mile interval and also list a 5,000-mile recommendation on a car that has a variable oil change schedule. Among 2013 and later models, the majority of automakers call for oil changes at either 7,500 or 10,000 miles based on a normal service schedule, more than double the traditional 3,000-mile interval. The longest oil change interval is 15,000 miles for all ,Jaguar, vehicles. The shortest oil change interval is 5,000 miles in some ,Hyundai, and ,Kia, models with turbo engines and Toyota vehicles that call for non-synthetic oil. ,Toyota, has been shifting its fleet to 10,000-mile oil change intervals using synthetic oil. Mercedes has a list of over 50 Oil manufacturers that are conform to Benz. Pick any one you desire as per your climate and correct Engine Oil if you have a Turbo Charger. Mercedes-Benz Specifications for Operating Fluids The Synthetic Oil is good for 15,000 miles as per Porshe, Benz, Volkswagen …..if you do not have a Turbo. Note: If you have a turbo you require Turbo Oil. Turbo rotate at 200,000 RPM & 1857 F temp. Turbo require synthetic as regular oil does not have the oil film capacity and parameters under those severe conditions and excessive temperatures, Porsche's recommendation to run ,Mobil 1, 0W-40 / 15,000-mile oil change interval for the newer engines, with the special oil filter and changing the Air filter. Heat is another factor. Engines can reach temperatures well in excess of 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). Those high temperatures tend to change the chemical composition of oil. Synthetic oils handle heat better, but conventional mineral engine oils break down at high temperatures and lose their original chemical composition after repeated use. Traditional thinking always said you should change your engine oil every 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers). With synthetic oil, you can go much longer between oil changes. For instance, BMW recommends an oil change every 15,000 miles (24,140 kilometers) for the MINI Cooper. Get an Oil Analysis, ,The issue of what constitutes "normal" versus "severe" driving has long been a point of contention among vehicle owners, mechanics and dealership service departments. All have their own motivations for their recommendations. But the best way to determine how you drive your vehicle is to ,get your oil analyzed,. An oil analysis will tell you the condition of your oil, and it also can reveal any problems that your engine may be experiencing. Some ,sample tests,can show traces of fuel and coolant in the engine oil, which are early signs of engine problems. When you get your results back from the lab, you'll also get a recommendation on how much further you can go between oil changes. Synthetic oil is good for up to 20,000 +miles as per oil analysis on 1000 fleet vehicles. Oil Samples are sent to the lab on a timely basis. Some oil analysis are good up to 30,000 Miles (50,000 Kilometers) with very little oil degradation in some very good North American conditions. Bad or incorrect Turbo synthetic oil are the issue in 90% + of failures... https://www.micksgarage.com/blog... If you have a Turbo. Be carefull on the oil change as the Turbos will go bad as they rotate at 200,000 RPM. Use the correct type of synthetic oil for the turbo. Turbocharged engines run smooth on Mobil 1 | Mobil™ Motor Oils Since the purpose of oil is to lubricate, clean and cool the engine, a TBN (total base number) is used to measure the deterioration of the oil by assigning a number that is usually between 0 and 8. The TBN of the 30,000-mile oil was 3.7. Blackstone Labs sends the oil through a ,spectrometer, to learn how much of that oil—in parts per million—is made up of wear elements like aluminum (which may come from pistons or the engine case), chromium (from piston rings), iron (from cylinders, camshafts, or other parts of the valvetrain), copper (from bushings, bearings, oil coolers), lead (from bearings) and tin (also from bearings). What this means is that Blackstone has thousands of reports showing wear particle concentrations of certain engines using certain oil types for certain oil drain intervals. In its July ,newsletter,, the lab decided to use this data to compare different brands, and the findings suggest that buying expensive oil may not provide much of a benefit to engine longevity. There are several other issues that must also be considered as to why the manufacturers specific oil must be used with today's cars. One of which is emissions warranties are getting to be longer and longer. A PZEV can have portions of its emissions system such as the catalytic converters warranted for 150,000 miles. That's good news for the consumer who understands the details and takes proper care of their car. So what does that have to do with engine oil? Some of the additives that make the oil pass it's initial testing if not fully formulated can flash off and be picked up by the PCV system and end up passing through the exhaust. SAPS which is Sulfated Ash, Phosphorus, and Sulfur need to be controlled as they can degrade both O2 sensors and catalytic convertors when they make it into the exhaust stream. Lowering SAPS concentrations which means reducing useage of ZDP, and ZDDP for example in favor of Molybdenum, and Borate compounds can greatly enhance a motor oils ability to protect the engine, while reducing the vehicles lifetime contamination of important emissions components. ZDP however is much less expensive for the oil companies to use than those other alternatives. The TBN (Total Base Number) test that helps determine how much life your oil had remaining. The first engine Travis Heffelfinger (the Blackstone Lab senior analyst who authored the study) looked at was the Subaru EJ 2.5-liter engine, for which the lab has 5,234 reports completed. Those 5,234 reports are associated with oil samples that, on average, were used in the engine for 3,900 miles before draining. Travis then broke down those 5,234 reports by oil type, which owners tell Blackstone when submitting their samples. The second row in the table above shows that 1,321 samples were Rotella T6 5W-40, 483 were Mobil 1 5W-30, 184 were Subaru brand 5w-30, and so on. Row three shows the average drain interval for each brand and type of oil (they’re all fairly close to 4,000 miles), and rows four through eight indicate parts per million of various wear particles. The takeaway, Heffelfinger writes, is that despite the additive contents (rows nine through 15) being different (in part, because different brands use different additive blends that all accomplish the same goals), wear across the board seems quite uniform. He writes: For wear metals, though, there’s not nearly as much variation. Iron is between 8 and 11 ppm all across the page, and copper is between 7 and 12 ppm for each set of averages. Other metals had even less variation, and no single oil type had the lowest level of all metals. Because the oil drain intervals weren’t all exactly the same, Heffelfinger goes on, showing a bar chart of iron wear rate (which is known to increase in proportion to vehicle mileage) per 1,000 miles driven. What the chart shows it that, even if you normalize the iron wear by mileages on the oil sample, the difference across the board—the lowest wear rate is 2.03 ppm per 1,000 miles, the highest is 2.58— is miniscule. In other words, for every 1,000 miles, the Rotella T6 wears just over one half a part per million slower than the Royal Purple. As Heffelfinger writes in his report, that’s “...almost completely negligible. In a typical engine, a half a part per million of the oil in the sump is such a small quantity that you wouldn’t be able to see it without a microscope.” To bring that point home, he says that a half a part per million of a 660,000 gallon Olympic-size swimming pool amounts to just over five cups of water, meaning “if you know it’s there, it might bother you, but realistically, you’ll never notice the difference.” Heffelfinger crunched similar data from GM 5.3-liter V8 engines, Cummins 6.7-liter ISB engines, and Volkswagen 1.9-liter TDIs. You can read the full analysis ,here,. While some of the data points—like the amsoil in the tables above—seem to show less wear from one oil type versus another on a per-mile basis, Heffelfinger doesn’t think the difference is significant enough. He ultimately concludes that, in terms of wear rate, oil brand really doesn’t seem to be a huge factor, stating: We see much more variation in wear levels from the type of engine, the time on the oil, the viscosity, the use the engine sees, etc. Whatever differences exist from oil brand to oil brand, we don’t see a lot of difference in terms of wear for most types of engines. It’s worth noting that the data is only based solely on what owners and fleet managers have sent in to Blackstone with various drain intervals, so there are some limitations. For example, there might be a bigger difference in wear rate among brands if all of the oil samples had much higher mileage on them. Or perhaps longer oil use wouldn’t bring one brand to the forefront—we don’t really know based on the data. Plus, we don’t know much about the driving styles or weather conditions associated with each sample; averaging the samples will help to limit the effect of these factors, but it’s not a perfect solution. Still, looking at wear metal contents for different engines, and breaking results up by oil type is an interesting study. And despite its limitations, the report’s conclusion really isn’t too surprising. Engine oils have to meet certain specs to be ,API, certified, and even the cheapest of modern oils are known to do a good job at keeping engine wear down (modern engine designs have a lot to do with this, too) Relative Viscosity Retention Comparisons Among Five Brands of Automotive and Motorcycle Oils by John C. Woolum/ Ph.D. Professor of Physics California State University, Los Angeles The central dogma of motorcycle oil manufacturers and distributors has always been that motorcycles put different demands on their lubricants than do automobiles. In particular, they point to the facts that motorcycles run at higher temperatures and use the same oil in their transmissions as in their engines. The transmission gears supposedly put extreme pressures on the oil molecules, thus causing the long oil polymers to break down. High temperatures can have the same basic effect, as well as additional effects such as the increase in oxidation products. When the size of the oil polymers decreases ("cut up by the transmission gears," as at least one manufacturer claims), the oil thins. In other words, its viscosity decreases, as well as its ability to lubricate properly. For example, what started out as a 40-weight oil could effectively become a 30-weight oil, or even a 20-weight, after prolonged use. What this means, effectively, is that if the claims of the motorcycle oil producers are valid, they can easily be verified through measurement of viscosity changes on various oils as they are used in different applications. Measuring the viscosity drop in oils did not seem like too difficult a task, especially since measuring viscosity of solutions of large molecules is a common practice in many biophysics laboratories - mine included. My lab had all the correct equipment - in fact the viscometers that I normally used for solutions of DNA and proteins were originally designed for oil measurements. Setting the Stage THE TEST As we noted earlier, the viscosity-retention figures reported in the table were the result of a series of tests conducted by Dr. John C. Woolum, Professor of Physics at California State University. Since the validity of these tests is likely to be called into question by motorcycle oil marketers, following are Dr. Woolum's lab notes and explanations of the procedures he followed. Viscosity is a measure of the friction between two layers of a liquid sliding relative to one another. It is usually measured in poise, or grams per centimeter per second (g/cm. sec). The basic principle of many viscometers is to measure the time required for a known amount of a liquid to pass through a capillary tube under gravitational force. The time taken will depend on the viscosity and the density of the liquid. The more viscous or less dense the liquid. the longer the time it will take to flow through the capillary. Therefore in reality, this kind of viscometer does not measure viscosity directly, but rather the ratio of the viscosity to the density of the liquid being tested. This ratio is called the kinematic viscosity. and the common unit for expressing it is in stokes or poise cm^3/gram. The viscometer used for my measurements was an Ostwald-type, Cannon-Fenske 200, designed to measure kinematic viscosity in the range of 10 to 100 centistokes (a centistoke is one-hundredth of a stoke). The oils being measured had kinematic viscosity between about 10 and 25 centistokes. For the test samples, I decided to use two types of oils designed specifically for motorcycles and three types of fairly standard automotive oil. The automotive oils were: Castrol GTX 10W40 (petroleum based, $1.24/qt.), Castrol Syntec 10W40 (synthetic, $3.99/qt.) Mobil 1 15W50 (synthetic, $3.48/qt.). The motorcycle oils were Spectro 4 10W40 (petroleum based, $4.99/qt.) and Honda HP4 10W40 (petroleum/synthetic blend, $5.99/qt.). Each of these oils was run in the same motorcycles 1984 Honda V65 Sabre-under as near to identical conditions as possible. The oils were sampled for testing at 0, 800 and 1500 miles each. As temperature has a strong effect on viscosity, I had to make certain it was carefully controlled for the experiments. Using a laboratory temperature control chamber, all measurements were made at 99 degrees Celsius (error factor of plus or minus 0.5 degrees), which is about 210 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the most common temperature used for oil viscosity measurements. It usually took about 15 minutes for each sample to achieve equilibrium within the chamber. Each oil's kinematic viscosity was compared with its own kinematic viscosity at 0 miles to establish the viscosity ratio. In addition, measurements were made of each oil's density at each state of the tests. The densities were found to change by less than one percent, which is about the limit of the accuracy of the measurements. Therefore, a ratio of the times taken for the oils to pass through the viscometer effectively gives the ratio of their actual viscosity, since the densities cancel out. What this all means in layman's terms then, is that the ratio established for each oil at the end of each test is a percentage of the amount of original viscosity retained at that point. For example. the Castol GTX sample at 800 miles showed a relative viscosity of 0.722, meaning it had retained 72.2 percent of its original viscosity. Or, if you want to look at it the other way, the Castrol had lost 27.8 percent of its viscosity after 800 miles of use in the motorcycle. Just for comparison sake, I also tested the viscosity drop of the Castrol GTX automotive oil after use in a 1987 Honda Accord automobile. At 3600 miles of use, the Castrol GTX showed a relative viscosity of 91.8 percent. As the Mobil 1 had retained so much of its viscosity after the 1500 mile test, it was the only oil I allowed to run longer in the motorcycle. After 2500 miles, the Mobil 1 recorded a relative viscosity of 79.1 percent. Also, it is worthy of note that from a testing standpoint, the two most similar oils were the Castrol GTX automotive oil and the Spectro 4 motorcycle oil. By similar, I mean that they tested as having almost the same absolute kinematic viscosity and density right out of the container. So starting out as equals, the Castrol maintained its viscosity several percentage points higher than the Spectro, under the same use in the same motorcycle yet the Spectro costs about four times the price of the Castrol. The Error Factor As a scientist, I must always ask myself. Are there possible errors in these measurements that would make them invalid? One possibility here would be that there was more particulate matter (contaminants) in some oil samples than in others, which would increase the viscosity numbers of that oil. Particulates disrupt the streamline flow and so increase the viscosity. (Einstein was the first to derive the quantitive expression for the increase in viscosity due to spherically, shaped particles.) Large particulates should have been removed by the oil filter, and a new filter was used for each test. Still, to determine the effect of smaller particulates the oil samples were centrifuged at 11,000 g (11,000 times the acceleration of gravity) for a period of 10 minutes. A considerable amount of particulate matter was found and removed in all of the 800 mile and 1500 mile samples. However, the change in viscosity made by eliminating these particulates was found to be negligible. Another possible source of error would be that the conditions to which the oils were subjected were different. In all cases, the distances were comprised of approximately 70 percent city riding and 30 percent freeway riding. The range of temperatures and the average ambient temperature during which the motorcycle was ridden were approximately the same. If anything, the average ambient temperature was higher during the operation of the motorcycle with the Mobil 1 oil, which should have put it at a disadvantage, yet it scored the highest overall in the viscosity retention tests. Of course the motorcycle did age somewhat during the testing period, which took place over a year-long span. It registered about 4000 miles at the beginning of these tests and about 14,000 at the end. The order in which the oils were tested was: 1) Castrol, 2) Spectro, 3) Mobil and 4) Honda. Other Criteria The motorcycle oil producers have suggested that other criteria. such as the amount of wear metals and contaminants, might be unacceptable when using automotive oil in a motorcycle. To test this theory, I sent a sample of the Castrol GTX at 1500 miles to SpectroTech. Inc., for a complete oil analysis. Their findings were that all contaminants (water, dirt, coolant and sludge) were normal. SpectroTech also reported that all wear elements (antimony, titanium, silver, copper, lead, tin, aluminum, nickel, chromium, cadmium, sodium and boron) were normal except for iron, which was reported as "mildly above normal" at 51 parts per million. SpectroTech lists acceptable levels for all of the above listed metals except iron, for which they state, "values vary greatly with systems and parts." so it is not clear what exactly is meant by "mildly above normal." Perhaps it was in comparison to cars with 1500 miles on the oil. Also, this could have been due to cam wear, since the early Honda V-4s were known for excessive cam and rocker arm wear. In any case, again I could find nothing to support the argument that automotive oils were somehow less effective than motorcycle-specific lubricants when used in a motorcycle. Bottom Line It could appear from this data, then, that there is no validity to the constantly-used argument that motorcycle-specific oils provide superior lubrication to automotive oils when used in a motorcycle. If the viscosity drop is the only criterion, then there is certainly no reason to spend the extra money on oil specifically designed for motorcycles. There does, however, appear to be a legitimate argument for using synthetic and synthetic-blend oils over the petroleum based products. MCN's Conclusions In speaking to a number of people involved in the production, marketing and distribution of motorcycle-specific oils, we could not find anyone who could present a valid argument for discrediting the testing done by Dr. Woolum. In general, they all tried to turn the conversation another direction by bringing up other possible advantages to using their products, while ignoring the viscosity-retention question. Yet without exception it is their own advertising that consistently brings the subject up, touting the special shear-stable polymers as the primary reason motorcyclists should purchase their products. It is this practice to which we take exception, as we have been unable to find evidence to support these claims. In short, it seems to be nothing more than a clever marketing ploy designed to enhance their products' image and separate motorcyclists from their money. MCN is ready to print any research or test results provided by the oil companies to support their claims of superior viscosity retention, with this one proviso: The comparisons must be against actual, SG-rated oil products that can be purchased off the shelf at the average auto parts store. Tests against generic, basic-stock mineral oil or against the lower-rated SE and SF oils would lack any credibility in a real-world context. Despite more than six months of research, reading all the claims and counter-claims printed by dozens of industry experts and lubrication experts, MCN cannot and does not purport to know all there is to know about the differences between automotive and motorcycle oils. However, what we do know is that we can find no substantive evidence that using a high-quality, name-brand automotive oil in an average street motorcycle is in any way harmful or less effective in providing proper lubrication and protection than using the more expensive, motorcycle-specific oils. Figure I Petroleum Based, Multiple Viscosity, SG-Rated, Oils Best Retail Prices Found Motorcycle Oils 1-Honda GN4/ $2.95 2-Kawasaki Premium / $2.65 3-Maxum 4 Premium / $3.79 4-Motul 3000 / $ 4.99 5-Spectro 4 / $4.99 6-Torco 4-Cycle / $3.25 7-Torco MPZ / $3.95 Average Price/qt. :$ 3.80 Automotive Oils 1-Pennzoil / $ 1.24 2-Havoline / $ 1.09 3-Quaker State / $ 1.23 4-Motorcraft / $ 1.09 5-AC Delco / $ 1.24 6-Castrol GTX / $1.24 7-Valvoline / $ 1.23 Average Price/qt.Price :$ 1.19 Average Price Differential: 319.5% Synthetic Based and Petroleum/Synthetic Blend Multiple Viscosity, SG-Rated Oils Best Retail Prices Found Motorcycle Oils 1-Honda HP4 /$5.99 2-Golden Spectro 4/ $5.99 3-Maxum 4 / $6.48 4-Maxum 4 Extra /$9.79 5-Motul 3100 / $4.99 6-Torco T4-R / $5.95 Average Price/qt.: $ 6.53 Automotive Oils, 1-Mobil 1 / $3.99 2-Castrol Syntec / $3.48 3-Valvoline Hi-Perf / $3.59 4-Valvoline Racing / $3.59 5-Pep Boys Synthetic / $2.99 Average Price/qt.: $3.53 Average Price Differential: 185.0% Figure II Relative Viscosity Retention (as a percentage of initial viscosity retained after normal use in the same motorcycle) 800 Miles 1-Mobil 1 / $86.6% 2-Castrol Syntec / 78.1% 3-Castrol GTX / 72.2% 4-Honda HP4 / 69.2% 5-Spectro 4 / 68.0% 1500 Miles 1-83.0% 2-74.5% 3-68.0% 4-65.6% 5-63.9% Testing Motorcycle Oil For motorcycles, the additional friction modifiers can affect wet clutch performance, and these engines typically require a higher level of the anti-wear additives (zinc and phosphorus). Passenger car oils use friction modifying additives to reduce friction in specific areas of the engine such as the valve train and piston ring/cylinder. Friction modifiers react with metals forming a molecular layer that reduces friction between moving surfaces. In a typical motorcycle engine with an oil immersed clutch (wet clutch), friction modifiers may be absorbed on the clutch plates rather than on the metal surfaces. I use Rotella T6 Full synthetic 5w40 better than API SG and SJ it has the Japanese wet clutch spec JASO-MA certification so it won't cause slippage in motorcycles. Check the forums lots of bike users know this secret great quality oil with no friction modifiers made for diesel trucks so it's priced right for a Jug. it's is more "durable" is the best way to describe it.. It didn't matter unless the temperature was 300-400 degrees (F) Coolant in an engine is kept below around 200 (f). I think synthetic oil looks better for longer, and seems to hold its viscosity for longer (dino oil is more watery after 3-5k miles)...and clearly synthetic stays thinner (flows better/faster) is cold weather which I love on -15 to 30 degree (F) days. One nice thing about synthetic oils is Mobil 1 Synthetic which is a petroleum based oil which is superbly processed and has special additives to make it exceptionally high quality. I've been using it for many years and it has kept every single engine in my cars and motorcycles like brand new. In my bike ordinarily I use 20w-50 Super Synthetic which has kept the engine in my BMW R1200GS like new. I have 53,500 miles on it and every time I check the valve clearances they haven't changed at all. The special area in which synthetics excel is temperature tolerance. In the early days of jet engines, only petroleum-based oils were available to lubricate their hot-running shaft bearings and accessory drives. As jet engines developed, bulk oil temperature rose, and heat degradation of petroleum oils became a problem as heat either broke oil molecules into shorter lengths or polymerized them into gums or varnish. What is the Best Motorcycle Oil for Your Bike? http://www.mobil1.co.nz/products... Why things are the way they are: Motorcycle oil Synthetic Oil Synthetics have some benefits that you can’t always get with conventional oils. Synthetic oils often have premium additive packages, which means they often help an engine resist wear, oxidation, and stay better lubricated than engines run on conventional oils that may use lesser-quality additives. The area where synthetics really outperform conventional oils is in the temperature department. They are able to resist damage that occurs from heat at higher temps than conventional oil can withstand. All oil molecules can break down into shorter lengths and eventually become a deposit, like varnish, but synthetics can often go the distance where a conventional oil might break down. This can be a consideration with air-cooled machines specifically because they see much wider temperature fluctuations than their liquid-cooled counterparts. Factory made polymer based oils are completely synthetic without any natural component and hence they do not disintegrate giving them a longer shelf life. http://www.machinerylubrication.... Benz 229.5 Multigrade engine oils (Specification 229.5) Mercedes-Benz Specifications for Operating Fluids Understanding Engine Oil,. http://www.stephensservice.com/b... https://www.popularmechanics.com… https://www.edmunds.com/car-care... https://thewirecutter.com/review... Why Expensive Oil Is A Waste Of Money https://www.micksgarage.com/blog... https://www.edmunds.com/car-care... https://auto.howstuffworks.com/o... Turbocharged engines run smooth on Mobil 1 | Mobil™ Motor Oils https://www.blackstone-labs.com/... https://www.blackstone-labs.com/..
What is the annual cost of maintaining a luxury car?
The most expensive thing most Americans own, after their house, is their car. On average, Americans spend 5% of their income on purchasing a car. Another 5% goes towards ongoing maintenance and insurance costs. But not every car costs the same to keep it running. And different cars have varying risks of leaving their drivers suddenly immobilized. At YourMechanic, we have a massive dataset of the make and model of the cars we have serviced and the type of maintenance done. We decided to use our data to understand which cars break down the most and have the highest maintenance costs. We also looked into which types of maintenance are most common to certain cars. First, we looked at which major brands cost the most to maintain over the first 10 years of a car’s life. We grouped all years of all models by brand to compute their median cost by brand. In order to estimate annual maintenance costs, we found the amount spent on every two oil changes (as oil changes are generally done every six months). Which Car Brands Cost the Most to Maintain? Based on estimates of total car maintenance over 10 years Rank Car Brand Cost 1 BMW $17,800 2 Mercedes-Benz $12,900 3 Cadillac $12,500 4 Volvo $12,500 5 Audi $12,400 6 Saturn $12,400 7 Mercury $12,000 8 Pontiac $11,800 9 Chrysler $10,600 10 Dodge $10,600 11 Acura $9,800 12 Infiniti $9,300 13 Ford $9,100 14 Kia $8,800 15 Land Rover $8,800 16 Chevrolet $8,800 17 Buick $8,600 18 Jeep $8,300 19 Subaru $8,200 20 Hyundai $8,200 21 GMC $7,800 22 Volkswagen $7,800 23 Nissan $7,600 24 Mazda $7,500 25 Mini $7,500 26 Mitsubishi $7,400 27 Honda $7,200 28 Lexus $7,000 29 Scion $6,400 30 Toyota $5,500 Luxury imports from Germany, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, along with domestic luxury brand Cadillac, are the most expensive. A Toyota is about $10,000 less expensive over 10 years, just in terms of maintenance. Toyota is by far the most economical manufacturer. Scion and Lexus, the second and third most inexpensive brands, are both Toyota subsidiaries. Together, all three are 10% below the median cost. Most domestic brands, like Ford and Dodge, are in the middle of the pack. While luxury cars call for the most expensive maintenance, many budget vehicles rank relatively high. Kia, an entry-level brand, surprises with maintenance costs 1.3 times the median. In this case, sticker prices don't represent maintenance costs. Knowing the relative maintenance costs of brands can be informative, but it’s also important to consider how car costs change with age. This chart looks at the median annual cost of maintenance across all brands. Maintenance costs increase as the car ages. A stable, consistent increase of $150 per year in costs exists for years 1 through 10. After that, there is a distinct jump between 11 and 12 years of age. After age 13, costs plateau around $2,000 per year. This is likely because people disown their cars if maintenance costs are higher than their cars’ worth. Even within brands, not all cars are created equal. How do specific models compare directly to one another? We drilled down by splitting up all cars by model to look at 10 year maintenance costs. Which Car Models Cost the Most to Maintain? Based on total car maintenance costs over 10 years Rank Car Brand Cost 1 Chrysler Sebring $17,100 2 BMW 328i $15,600 3 Nissan Murano $14,700 4 Mercedes-Benz E350 $14,700 5 Chevrolet Cobalt $14,500 6 Dodge Grand Caravan $14,500 7 Dodge Ram 1500 $13,300 8 Audi A4 Quattro $12,800 9 Mazda 6 $12,700 10 Subaru Forester $12,200 11 Acura TL $12,100 12 Nissan Maxima $12,000 13 Chrysler 300 $12,000 14 Ford Mustang $11,900 15 Audi A4 $11,800 16 Volkswagen Passat $11,600 17 Ford Focus $11,600 18 Chevrolet Impala $11,500 19 Honda Pilot $11,200 20 Mini Cooper $11,200 The 20 priciest car models in term of maintenance cost all require, at a minimum, a staggering $11,000 to maintain over 10 years. These estimates include expensive one-off costs, like a transmission rebuild, that skew the mean higher. According to our data, Chrysler's Sebring is the most expensive car to maintain, which is likely one of the reasons why Chrysler revamped it in 2010. German imports (such as BMW’s 328i and Mercedes-Benz’ E350) along with many manufacturers’ luxury or full-sized models (such as the Audi A4 Quattro) are quite expensive as well. Now we know which cars are money pits. So which vehicles are a thrifty, reliable choice? Which Car Models Have the Lowest Maintenance Cost? Based on total car maintenance costs over 10 years Rank Car Brand Cost 1 Toyota Prius $4,300 2 Kia Soul $4,700 3 Toyota Camry $5,200 4 Honda Fit $5,500 5 Toyota Tacoma $5,800 6 Toyota Corolla $5,800 7 Nissan Versa $5,900 8 Toyota Yaris $6,100 9 Scion xB $6,300 10 Kia Optima $6,400 11 Lexus IS250 $6,500 12 Nissan Rogue $6,500 13 Toyota Highlander $6,600 14 Honda Civic $6,600 15 Honda Accord $6,600 16 Volkswagen Jetta $6,800 17 Lexus RX350 $6,900 18 Ford Fusion $7,000 19 Nissan Sentra $7,200 20 Subaru Impreza $7,500 Toyota and other Asian imports are the least expensive cars to maintain, with the Prius living up to its well-known reputation for reliability. Along with many Toyota models, Kia’s Soul and Honda’s Fit hold close to Prius’s low-cost lead. Toyota’s Tacoma and Highlander are also on the low-cost leaderboard, even though the list is dominated by compact and mid-sized sedans. Toyota completely avoids the the most expensive models list. So what, specifically, makes some brands more expensive than others? Some brands have a higher incidence of routine maintenance. But some cars tend to have the same problems time and again. We looked at which brands have maintenance requirements that occur unusually often for that particular brand. For each brand and issue, we compared the frequency to the median across all the cars we serviced. Unusually Common Car Issues Based on issues found by YourMechanic and compared to the median car Car Brand Car Issue Issue Frequency Mercury Fuel pump replacement 28x Chrysler Exhaust gas recirculation/EGR valve replacement 24x Infiniti Camshaft position sensor replacement 21x Cadillac Intake manifold gasket replacement 19x Jaguar Check Engine Light is on inspection 19x Pontiac Intake manifold gasket replacement 19x Dodge Exhaust gas recirculation/EGR valve replacement 19x Plymouth Not starting inspection 19x Honda Valve clearance adjustment 18x BMW Window regulator replacement 18x Ford PCV valve hose replacement 18x BMW Idler pulley replacement 18x Chrysler Overheating inspection 17x Saturn Wheel bearing replacement 17x Oldsmobile Not starting inspection 17x Mitsubishi Timing belt replacement 17x BMW Drive belt tensioner replacement 16x Chrysler Camshaft position sensor replacement 16x Jaguar Battery service 16x Cadillac Leaking coolant 16x Jeep Crankshaft position sensor replacement 15x Chrysler Engine mount replacement 15x Mercedes-Benz Crankshaft position sensor 15x Mercury is the brand that suffered most chronically from a design flaw. In this case, Mercury cars most frequently had fuel pump issues (Mercury was discontinued by parent company Ford in 2011). We can see some issues cross from brand to brand within the same manufacturer. For example, Dodge and Chrysler, which are both part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) conglomerate, can’t seem to get their exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves working correctly. Their EGRs need to be fixed at roughly 20 times the national median rate. But there’s one problem customers care more about than any other: which cars will simply refuse to start? We answer this question in the below chart, which limits the comparison to cars 10 years old or less. Car Brands Most Likely Not to Start Based on service by YourMechanic and compared to the median model Rank Car Brand Frequency of Car Not Starting 1 Hummer 9x 2 Mercury 6x 3 Chrysler 6x 4 Saturn 5x 5 Dodge 5x 6 Mitsubishi 4x 7 BMW 4x 8 Suzuki 4x 9 Pontiac 4x 10 Buick 4x 11 Land Rover 3x 12 Mercedes-Benz 3x 13 Chevrolet 3x 14 Jeep 3x 15 Ford 3x 16 GMC 3x 17 Acura 3x 18 Cadillac 2x 19 Scion 2x 20 Lincoln 2x 21 Nissan 2x 22 Mazda 2x 23 Volvo 2x 24 Infiniti 2x 25 Kia 2x Although this could be a reflection of some owners’ diligence just as much as the cars' build quality, the results of this list are quite damning: three of the top five brands were discontinued in the last several years. In addition to the now-defunct brands, the premium segment (such as Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, and BMW) is represented in this list. Notably absent are many of the brands from the least expensive list: Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai. But the brand doesn’t reveal everything about a car. We dove into the particular models that don’t start with the greatest frequency. Car Models Most Likely Not to Start Based on service by YourMechanic and compared to the median model Rank Car Model Frequency of Car Not Starting 1 Hyundai Tiburon 26x 2 Dodge Caravan 26x 3 Ford F-250 Super Duty 21x 4 Ford Taurus 19x 5 Chrysler PT Cruiser 18x 6 Cadillac DTS 17x 7 Hummer H3 11x 8 Nissan Titan 10x 9 Chrysler Sebring 10x 10 Dodge Ram 1500 10x 11 BMW 325i 9x 12 Mitsubishi Eclipse 9x 13 Dodge Charger 8x 14 Chevrolet Aveo 8x 15 Chevrolet Cobalt 7x 16 Mazda MX-5 Miata 7x 17 Mercedes-Benz ML350 6x 18 Chevrolet HHR 6x 19 Mitsubishi Galant 6x 20 Volvo S40 6x 21 BMW X3 6x 22 Pontiac G6 6x 23 Dodge Caliber 6x 24 Nissan Pathfinder 6x 25 Saturn Ion 6x The worst cars failed to start 26 times as often as the median, perhaps explaining why some of these models got the axe: the Hyundai Tiburon, Hummer H3, and Chrysler Sebring (all in the top 10) were discontinued. Some premium models make it into the shameful list as well, including BMWs and several Mercedes-Benz models. For as long as cars have existed, Americans have debated car ownership and the questions of cost and reliability. This data reveals which companies live up to their reputation for reliability (Toyota), which brands sacrifice reliability for prestige (BMW and Mercedes-Benz), and which models deserved to be discontinued (the Hummer 3). Still, car maintenance is about much more than the median cost. Factors such as how well a car is maintained, how often it is driven, where it is driven, and how it is driven all affect maintenance costs. Your mileage may vary. Source: ,The Most and Least Expensive Cars to Maintain | YourMechanic Advice
Are 85000 mile tune ups necessary?
In short, NO, but let me explain. Both the dealership and the manufacturer have recommended maintenance. The manufacturer has maintenance recommended based on mileage and usually that is based on severe use or in harsh conditions (not all are). This is general items to increase the longevity of your vehicle. The dealership tends to have their own recommended maintenance based on mileage this tends to have much more work to increase longevity of your vehicle and increase their profits. Timing belts do these at recommended intervals based on time or mileage. If it breaks the damage can be severe and the repair very expensive. Spark plugs depending on type. Copper plugs- for the most part only older vehicles or Chrysler use these; every 30,000 miles or upgrade to better plugs. Platinum plugs- most are good for 100,000 miles, have them checked by pulling a couple if worn replace them, Iridium plugs- these are by far the best plugs and in some cases cheaper than platinum, 100,000 miles check and replaoverlook3part. p. Plug wires or boots replace with plugs-may not be necessary but should be no more labor and the labor to replace is more than the cost of the part. Transmission fluid, coolant, differential fluid all need to changed but when needed. Ideally these should be checked with every oil change. When transmission. Fluid begins to turn brown service the transmission. If the fluid is dark or black, DO NOT SERVICE IT, it's. Too late just drive till it goes out if you service it it won't. Last long. This is something I. Have seen many times. Coolant service as needed there is now a rainbow of colors old green or ethylene glycol usually. 30,000 miles or 3 years, polypropylene glycol or extended life 5 years or 60,000 miles checked by pH and freeze point replace if needed. Differential fluid can last a long time. Checked every oil change towing does affect it's.life. if you put a boat in the water have it checked if the vent is not working right can suck in water and a quick change will save major damage. Manual transmission and transfer case, checked every oil change to every other change when needed. Most of these are a simple drain and fill labor should be cheap but much of the fluid is not anymore. Find out what fluid your vehicle uses and check price of fluid. The PC valve is a often overlooked part. It is usually cheap but can cause lots of problems. Every engine has blow by, the PC(positive crankcase ventilation) removes this and burns it with the incoming intake air. If it becomes plugged then pressure can build which will push oil past the seals(crank seal, rear main seal, cam seals) depending on the vehicle these can be very expensive to replace. Not all vehicles have pcv's that can be easily replaced. Personally, I. Would recommend changing it every year, this is way more often than necessary, but most are less than $10 . it is probably the single most insignificant part that has the potential to cause the most problems. Many services are marked way up on labor or parts. Always ask for your old parts provided there is not a core charge(your old part is sent back to be rebuilt) just to make sure if you have any doubts. There are good and bad mechanics, shops, and dealerships everywhere. Find someone or somewhere you trust. Most places with work on any make or model. Just ask. I have worked at a Chevy. Dealer and seen Isuzu, Dodge and Kia in the shop because they never turned down work. This is by no means complete, and different makes and models may need different services. I gave a very general run through. Your vehicle is usually your 2nd largest investment next to a home, if you take care of it they can last a long time, but no point in wasting money on unnecessary services.
Which is the best oil for a Bajaj V15?
Are you in NORTH OR SOUTH AMERICA or India is the final question to answer: Use multigrade as per your climate where you live. 10w 30- 10w 50- 20w 50 is what Bajaj recommends :,Bajaj Genuine Oils for Service Understanding Engine Oil,. Car dealers' service departments are also guilty of incorrectly listing the mileage for the next oil change. We've seen them recommend a 3,000-mile oil change on a car with a 10,000-mile interval and also list a 5,000-mile recommendation on a car that has a variable oil change schedule. Among 2013 and later models, the majority of automakers call for oil changes at either 7,500 or 10,000 miles based on a normal service schedule, more than double the traditional 3,000-mile interval. The longest oil change interval is 15,000 miles for all ,Jaguar, vehicles. The shortest oil change interval is 5,000 miles in some ,Hyundai, and ,Kia, models with turbo engines and Toyota vehicles that call for non-synthetic oil. ,Toyota, has been shifting its fleet to 10,000-mile oil change intervals using synthetic oil. Mercedes has a list of over 50 Oil manufacturers that are conform to Benz. Pick any one you desire as per your climate and correct Engine Oil if you have a Turbo Charger. Mercedes-Benz Specifications for Operating Fluids The Synthetic Oil is good for 15,000 miles as per Porshe, Benz, Volkswagen …..if you do not have a Turbo. Note: If you have a turbo you require Turbo Oil. Turbo rotate at 200,000 RPM & 1857 F temp. Turbo require synthetic as regular oil does not have the oil film capacity and parameters under those severe conditions and excessive temperatures, Porsche's recommendation to run ,Mobil 1, 0W-40 / 15,000-mile oil change interval for the newer engines, with the special oil filter and changing the Air filter. Heat is another factor. Engines can reach temperatures well in excess of 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). Those high temperatures tend to change the chemical composition of oil. Synthetic oils handle heat better, but conventional mineral engine oils break down at high temperatures and lose their original chemical composition after repeated use. Traditional thinking always said you should change your engine oil every 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers). With synthetic oil, you can go much longer between oil changes. For instance, BMW recommends an oil change every 15,000 miles (24,140 kilometers) for the MINI Cooper. Get an Oil Analysis, ,The issue of what constitutes "normal" versus "severe" driving has long been a point of contention among vehicle owners, mechanics and dealership service departments. All have their own motivations for their recommendations. But the best way to determine how you drive your vehicle is to ,get your oil analyzed,. An oil analysis will tell you the condition of your oil, and it also can reveal any problems that your engine may be experiencing. Some ,sample tests,can show traces of fuel and coolant in the engine oil, which are early signs of engine problems. When you get your results back from the lab, you'll also get a recommendation on how much further you can go between oil changes. Synthetic oil is good for up to 20,000 +miles as per oil analysis on 1000 fleet vehicles. Oil Samples are sent to the lab on a timely basis. Some oil analysis are good up to 30,000 Miles (50,000 Kilometers) with very little oil degradation in some very good North American conditions. Bad or incorrect Turbo synthetic oil are the issue in 90% + of failures... https://www.micksgarage.com/blog... If you have a Turbo. Be carefull on the oil change as the Turbos will go bad as they rotate at 200,000 RPM. Use the correct type of synthetic oil for the turbo. Turbocharged engines run smooth on Mobil 1 | Mobil™ Motor Oils Since the purpose of oil is to lubricate, clean and cool the engine, a TBN (total base number) is used to measure the deterioration of the oil by assigning a number that is usually between 0 and 8. The TBN of the 30,000-mile oil was 3.7. Blackstone Labs sends the oil through a ,spectrometer, to learn how much of that oil—in parts per million—is made up of wear elements like aluminum (which may come from pistons or the engine case), chromium (from piston rings), iron (from cylinders, camshafts, or other parts of the valvetrain), copper (from bushings, bearings, oil coolers), lead (from bearings) and tin (also from bearings). What this means is that Blackstone has thousands of reports showing wear particle concentrations of certain engines using certain oil types for certain oil drain intervals. In its July ,newsletter,, the lab decided to use this data to compare different brands, and the findings suggest that buying expensive oil may not provide much of a benefit to engine longevity. There are several other issues that must also be considered as to why the manufacturers specific oil must be used with today's cars. One of which is emissions warranties are getting to be longer and longer. A PZEV can have portions of its emissions system such as the catalytic converters warranted for 150,000 miles. That's good news for the consumer who understands the details and takes proper care of their car. So what does that have to do with engine oil? Some of the additives that make the oil pass it's initial testing if not fully formulated can flash off and be picked up by the PCV system and end up passing through the exhaust. SAPS which is Sulfated Ash, Phosphorus, and Sulfur need to be controlled as they can degrade both O2 sensors and catalytic convertors when they make it into the exhaust stream. Lowering SAPS concentrations which means reducing useage of ZDP, and ZDDP for example in favor of Molybdenum, and Borate compounds can greatly enhance a motor oils ability to protect the engine, while reducing the vehicles lifetime contamination of important emissions components. ZDP however is much less expensive for the oil companies to use than those other alternatives. The TBN (Total Base Number) test that helps determine how much life your oil had remaining. The first engine Travis Heffelfinger (the Blackstone Lab senior analyst who authored the study) looked at was the Subaru EJ 2.5-liter engine, for which the lab has 5,234 reports completed. Those 5,234 reports are associated with oil samples that, on average, were used in the engine for 3,900 miles before draining. Travis then broke down those 5,234 reports by oil type, which owners tell Blackstone when submitting their samples. The second row in the table above shows that 1,321 samples were Rotella T6 5W-40, 483 were Mobil 1 5W-30, 184 were Subaru brand 5w-30, and so on. Row three shows the average drain interval for each brand and type of oil (they’re all fairly close to 4,000 miles), and rows four through eight indicate parts per million of various wear particles. The takeaway, Heffelfinger writes, is that despite the additive contents (rows nine through 15) being different (in part, because different brands use different additive blends that all accomplish the same goals), wear across the board seems quite uniform. He writes: For wear metals, though, there’s not nearly as much variation. Iron is between 8 and 11 ppm all across the page, and copper is between 7 and 12 ppm for each set of averages. Other metals had even less variation, and no single oil type had the lowest level of all metals. Because the oil drain intervals weren’t all exactly the same, Heffelfinger goes on, showing a bar chart of iron wear rate (which is known to increase in proportion to vehicle mileage) per 1,000 miles driven. What the chart shows it that, even if you normalize the iron wear by mileages on the oil sample, the difference across the board—the lowest wear rate is 2.03 ppm per 1,000 miles, the highest is 2.58— is miniscule. In other words, for every 1,000 miles, the Rotella T6 wears just over one half a part per million slower than the Royal Purple. As Heffelfinger writes in his report, that’s “...almost completely negligible. In a typical engine, a half a part per million of the oil in the sump is such a small quantity that you wouldn’t be able to see it without a microscope.” To bring that point home, he says that a half a part per million of a 660,000 gallon Olympic-size swimming pool amounts to just over five cups of water, meaning “if you know it’s there, it might bother you, but realistically, you’ll never notice the difference.” Heffelfinger crunched similar data from GM 5.3-liter V8 engines, Cummins 6.7-liter ISB engines, and Volkswagen 1.9-liter TDIs. You can read the full analysis ,here,. While some of the data points—like the amsoil in the tables above—seem to show less wear from one oil type versus another on a per-mile basis, Heffelfinger doesn’t think the difference is significant enough. He ultimately concludes that, in terms of wear rate, oil brand really doesn’t seem to be a huge factor, stating: We see much more variation in wear levels from the type of engine, the time on the oil, the viscosity, the use the engine sees, etc. Whatever differences exist from oil brand to oil brand, we don’t see a lot of difference in terms of wear for most types of engines. It’s worth noting that the data is only based solely on what owners and fleet managers have sent in to Blackstone with various drain intervals, so there are some limitations. For example, there might be a bigger difference in wear rate among brands if all of the oil samples had much higher mileage on them. Or perhaps longer oil use wouldn’t bring one brand to the forefront—we don’t really know based on the data. Plus, we don’t know much about the driving styles or weather conditions associated with each sample; averaging the samples will help to limit the effect of these factors, but it’s not a perfect solution. Still, looking at wear metal contents for different engines, and breaking results up by oil type is an interesting study. And despite its limitations, the report’s conclusion really isn’t too surprising. Engine oils have to meet certain specs to be ,API, certified, and even the cheapest of modern oils are known to do a good job at keeping engine wear down (modern engine designs have a lot to do with this, too) Relative Viscosity Retention Comparisons Among Five Brands of Automotive and Motorcycle Oils by John C. Woolum/ Ph.D. Professor of Physics California State University, Los Angeles The central dogma of motorcycle oil manufacturers and distributors has always been that motorcycles put different demands on their lubricants than do automobiles. In particular, they point to the facts that motorcycles run at higher temperatures and use the same oil in their transmissions as in their engines. The transmission gears supposedly put extreme pressures on the oil molecules, thus causing the long oil polymers to break down. High temperatures can have the same basic effect, as well as additional effects such as the increase in oxidation products. When the size of the oil polymers decreases ("cut up by the transmission gears," as at least one manufacturer claims), the oil thins. In other words, its viscosity decreases, as well as its ability to lubricate properly. For example, what started out as a 40-weight oil could effectively become a 30-weight oil, or even a 20-weight, after prolonged use. What this means, effectively, is that if the claims of the motorcycle oil producers are valid, they can easily be verified through measurement of viscosity changes on various oils as they are used in different applications. Measuring the viscosity drop in oils did not seem like too difficult a task, especially since measuring viscosity of solutions of large molecules is a common practice in many biophysics laboratories - mine included. My lab had all the correct equipment - in fact the viscometers that I normally used for solutions of DNA and proteins were originally designed for oil measurements. Setting the Stage THE TEST As we noted earlier, the viscosity-retention figures reported in the table were the result of a series of tests conducted by Dr. John C. Woolum, Professor of Physics at California State University. Since the validity of these tests is likely to be called into question by motorcycle oil marketers, following are Dr. Woolum's lab notes and explanations of the procedures he followed. Viscosity is a measure of the friction between two layers of a liquid sliding relative to one another. It is usually measured in poise, or grams per centimeter per second (g/cm. sec). The basic principle of many viscometers is to measure the time required for a known amount of a liquid to pass through a capillary tube under gravitational force. The time taken will depend on the viscosity and the density of the liquid. The more viscous or less dense the liquid. the longer the time it will take to flow through the capillary. Therefore in reality, this kind of viscometer does not measure viscosity directly, but rather the ratio of the viscosity to the density of the liquid being tested. This ratio is called the kinematic viscosity. and the common unit for expressing it is in stokes or poise cm^3/gram. The viscometer used for my measurements was an Ostwald-type, Cannon-Fenske 200, designed to measure kinematic viscosity in the range of 10 to 100 centistokes (a centistoke is one-hundredth of a stoke). The oils being measured had kinematic viscosity between about 10 and 25 centistokes. For the test samples, I decided to use two types of oils designed specifically for motorcycles and three types of fairly standard automotive oil. The automotive oils were: Castrol GTX 10W40 (petroleum based, $1.24/qt.), Castrol Syntec 10W40 (synthetic, $3.99/qt.) Mobil 1 15W50 (synthetic, $3.48/qt.). The motorcycle oils were Spectro 4 10W40 (petroleum based, $4.99/qt.) and Honda HP4 10W40 (petroleum/synthetic blend, $5.99/qt.). Each of these oils was run in the same motorcycles 1984 Honda V65 Sabre-under as near to identical conditions as possible. The oils were sampled for testing at 0, 800 and 1500 miles each. As temperature has a strong effect on viscosity, I had to make certain it was carefully controlled for the experiments. Using a laboratory temperature control chamber, all measurements were made at 99 degrees Celsius (error factor of plus or minus 0.5 degrees), which is about 210 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the most common temperature used for oil viscosity measurements. It usually took about 15 minutes for each sample to achieve equilibrium within the chamber. Each oil's kinematic viscosity was compared with its own kinematic viscosity at 0 miles to establish the viscosity ratio. In addition, measurements were made of each oil's density at each state of the tests. The densities were found to change by less than one percent, which is about the limit of the accuracy of the measurements. Therefore, a ratio of the times taken for the oils to pass through the viscometer effectively gives the ratio of their actual viscosity, since the densities cancel out. What this all means in layman's terms then, is that the ratio established for each oil at the end of each test is a percentage of the amount of original viscosity retained at that point. For example. the Castol GTX sample at 800 miles showed a relative viscosity of 0.722, meaning it had retained 72.2 percent of its original viscosity. Or, if you want to look at it the other way, the Castrol had lost 27.8 percent of its viscosity after 800 miles of use in the motorcycle. Just for comparison sake, I also tested the viscosity drop of the Castrol GTX automotive oil after use in a 1987 Honda Accord automobile. At 3600 miles of use, the Castrol GTX showed a relative viscosity of 91.8 percent. As the Mobil 1 had retained so much of its viscosity after the 1500 mile test, it was the only oil I allowed to run longer in the motorcycle. After 2500 miles, the Mobil 1 recorded a relative viscosity of 79.1 percent. Also, it is worthy of note that from a testing standpoint, the two most similar oils were the Castrol GTX automotive oil and the Spectro 4 motorcycle oil. By similar, I mean that they tested as having almost the same absolute kinematic viscosity and density right out of the container. So starting out as equals, the Castrol maintained its viscosity several percentage points higher than the Spectro, under the same use in the same motorcycle yet the Spectro costs about four times the price of the Castrol. The Error Factor As a scientist, I must always ask myself. Are there possible errors in these measurements that would make them invalid? One possibility here would be that there was more particulate matter (contaminants) in some oil samples than in others, which would increase the viscosity numbers of that oil. Particulates disrupt the streamline flow and so increase the viscosity. (Einstein was the first to derive the quantitive expression for the increase in viscosity due to spherically, shaped particles.) Large particulates should have been removed by the oil filter, and a new filter was used for each test. Still, to determine the effect of smaller particulates the oil samples were centrifuged at 11,000 g (11,000 times the acceleration of gravity) for a period of 10 minutes. A considerable amount of particulate matter was found and removed in all of the 800 mile and 1500 mile samples. However, the change in viscosity made by eliminating these particulates was found to be negligible. Another possible source of error would be that the conditions to which the oils were subjected were different. In all cases, the distances were comprised of approximately 70 percent city riding and 30 percent freeway riding. The range of temperatures and the average ambient temperature during which the motorcycle was ridden were approximately the same. If anything, the average ambient temperature was higher during the operation of the motorcycle with the Mobil 1 oil, which should have put it at a disadvantage, yet it scored the highest overall in the viscosity retention tests. Of course the motorcycle did age somewhat during the testing period, which took place over a year-long span. It registered about 4000 miles at the beginning of these tests and about 14,000 at the end. The order in which the oils were tested was: 1) Castrol, 2) Spectro, 3) Mobil and 4) Honda. Other Criteria The motorcycle oil producers have suggested that other criteria. such as the amount of wear metals and contaminants, might be unacceptable when using automotive oil in a motorcycle. To test this theory, I sent a sample of the Castrol GTX at 1500 miles to SpectroTech. Inc., for a complete oil analysis. Their findings were that all contaminants (water, dirt, coolant and sludge) were normal. SpectroTech also reported that all wear elements (antimony, titanium, silver, copper, lead, tin, aluminum, nickel, chromium, cadmium, sodium and boron) were normal except for iron, which was reported as "mildly above normal" at 51 parts per million. SpectroTech lists acceptable levels for all of the above listed metals except iron, for which they state, "values vary greatly with systems and parts." so it is not clear what exactly is meant by "mildly above normal." Perhaps it was in comparison to cars with 1500 miles on the oil. Also, this could have been due to cam wear, since the early Honda V-4s were known for excessive cam and rocker arm wear. In any case, again I could find nothing to support the argument that automotive oils were somehow less effective than motorcycle-specific lubricants when used in a motorcycle. Bottom Line It could appear from this data, then, that there is no validity to the constantly-used argument that motorcycle-specific oils provide superior lubrication to automotive oils when used in a motorcycle. If the viscosity drop is the only criterion, then there is certainly no reason to spend the extra money on oil specifically designed for motorcycles. There does, however, appear to be a legitimate argument for using synthetic and synthetic-blend oils over the petroleum based products. MCN's Conclusions In speaking to a number of people involved in the production, marketing and distribution of motorcycle-specific oils, we could not find anyone who could present a valid argument for discrediting the testing done by Dr. Woolum. In general, they all tried to turn the conversation another direction by bringing up other possible advantages to using their products, while ignoring the viscosity-retention question. Yet without exception it is their own advertising that consistently brings the subject up, touting the special shear-stable polymers as the primary reason motorcyclists should purchase their products. It is this practice to which we take exception, as we have been unable to find evidence to support these claims. In short, it seems to be nothing more than a clever marketing ploy designed to enhance their products' image and separate motorcyclists from their money. MCN is ready to print any research or test results provided by the oil companies to support their claims of superior viscosity retention, with this one proviso: The comparisons must be against actual, SG-rated oil products that can be purchased off the shelf at the average auto parts store. Tests against generic, basic-stock mineral oil or against the lower-rated SE and SF oils would lack any credibility in a real-world context. Despite more than six months of research, reading all the claims and counter-claims printed by dozens of industry experts and lubrication experts, MCN cannot and does not purport to know all there is to know about the differences between automotive and motorcycle oils. However, what we do know is that we can find no substantive evidence that using a high-quality, name-brand automotive oil in an average street motorcycle is in any way harmful or less effective in providing proper lubrication and protection than using the more expensive, motorcycle-specific oils. Figure I Petroleum Based, Multiple Viscosity, SG-Rated, Oils Best Retail Prices Found Motorcycle Oils 1-Honda GN4/ $2.95 2-Kawasaki Premium / $2.65 3-Maxum 4 Premium / $3.79 4-Motul 3000 / $ 4.99 5-Spectro 4 / $4.99 6-Torco 4-Cycle / $3.25 7-Torco MPZ / $3.95 Average Price/qt. :$ 3.80 Automotive Oils 1-Pennzoil / $ 1.24 2-Havoline / $ 1.09 3-Quaker State / $ 1.23 4-Motorcraft / $ 1.09 5-AC Delco / $ 1.24 6-Castrol GTX / $1.24 7-Valvoline / $ 1.23 Average Price/qt.Price :$ 1.19 Average Price Differential: 319.5% Synthetic Based and Petroleum/Synthetic Blend Multiple Viscosity, SG-Rated Oils Best Retail Prices Found Motorcycle Oils 1-Honda HP4 /$5.99 2-Golden Spectro 4/ $5.99 3-Maxum 4 / $6.48 4-Maxum 4 Extra /$9.79 5-Motul 3100 / $4.99 6-Torco T4-R / $5.95 Average Price/qt.: $ 6.53 Automotive Oils, 1-Mobil 1 / $3.99 2-Castrol Syntec / $3.48 3-Valvoline Hi-Perf / $3.59 4-Valvoline Racing / $3.59 5-Pep Boys Synthetic / $2.99 Average Price/qt.: $3.53 Average Price Differential: 185.0% Figure II Relative Viscosity Retention (as a percentage of initial viscosity retained after normal use in the same motorcycle) 800 Miles 1-Mobil 1 / $86.6% 2-Castrol Syntec / 78.1% 3-Castrol GTX / 72.2% 4-Honda HP4 / 69.2% 5-Spectro 4 / 68.0% 1500 Miles 1-83.0% 2-74.5% 3-68.0% 4-65.6% 5-63.9% Testing Motorcycle Oil For motorcycles, the additional friction modifiers can affect wet clutch performance, and these engines typically require a higher level of the anti-wear additives (zinc and phosphorus). Passenger car oils use friction modifying additives to reduce friction in specific areas of the engine such as the valve train and piston ring/cylinder. Friction modifiers react with metals forming a molecular layer that reduces friction between moving surfaces. In a typical motorcycle engine with an oil immersed clutch (wet clutch), friction modifiers may be absorbed on the clutch plates rather than on the metal surfaces. I use Rotella T6 Full synthetic 5w40 better than API SG and SJ it has the Japanese wet clutch spec JASO-MA certification so it won't cause slippage in motorcycles. Check the forums lots of bike users know this secret great quality oil with no friction modifiers made for diesel trucks so it's priced right for a Jug. it's is more "durable" is the best way to describe it.. It didn't matter unless the temperature was 300-400 degrees (F) Coolant in an engine is kept below around 200 (f). I think synthetic oil looks better for longer, and seems to hold its viscosity for longer (dino oil is more watery after 3-5k miles)...and clearly synthetic stays thinner (flows better/faster) is cold weather which I love on -15 to 30 degree (F) days. One nice thing about synthetic oils is Mobil 1 Synthetic which is a petroleum based oil which is superbly processed and has special additives to make it exceptionally high quality. I've been using it for many years and it has kept every single engine in my cars and motorcycles like brand new. In my bike ordinarily I use 20w-50 Super Synthetic which has kept the engine in my BMW R1200GS like new. I have 53,500 miles on it and every time I check the valve clearances they haven't changed at all. The special area in which synthetics excel is temperature tolerance. In the early days of jet engines, only petroleum-based oils were available to lubricate their hot-running shaft bearings and accessory drives. As jet engines developed, bulk oil temperature rose, and heat degradation of petroleum oils became a problem as heat either broke oil molecules into shorter lengths or polymerized them into gums or varnish. What is the Best Motorcycle Oil for Your Bike? http://www.mobil1.co.nz/products... Why things are the way they are: Motorcycle oil Synthetic Oil Synthetics have some benefits that you can’t always get with conventional oils. Synthetic oils often have premium additive packages, which means they often help an engine resist wear, oxidation, and stay better lubricated than engines run on conventional oils that may use lesser-quality additives. The area where synthetics really outperform conventional oils is in the temperature department. They are able to resist damage that occurs from heat at higher temps than conventional oil can withstand. All oil molecules can break down into shorter lengths and eventually become a deposit, like varnish, but synthetics can often go the distance where a conventional oil might break down. This can be a consideration with air-cooled machines specifically because they see much wider temperature fluctuations than their liquid-cooled counterparts. Factory made polymer based oils are completely synthetic without any natural component and hence they do not disintegrate giving them a longer shelf life. http://www.machinerylubrication.... Benz 229.5 Multigrade engine oils (Specification 229.5) Mercedes-Benz Specifications for Operating Fluids Understanding Engine Oil,. http://www.stephensservice.com/b... https://www.popularmechanics.com… https://www.edmunds.com/car-care... https://thewirecutter.com/review... Why Expensive Oil Is A Waste Of Money https://www.micksgarage.com/blog... https://www.edmunds.com/car-care... https://auto.howstuffworks.com/o... Turbocharged engines run smooth on Mobil 1 | Mobil™ Motor Oils https://www.blackstone-labs.com/... https://www.blackstone-labs.com/..
HOME