Everyone knows the function of engine oil is to lubricate the various engine parts. But, my friends, it does not stop there… engine oil also serves two other purposes- cooling and cleaning.
Apart from keeping the temperature inside the engine under control (which can otherwise easily go above 135° Celsius), it also cleanses the engine from the carbon build-up and dirt particles with the help of the detergent in it (yes, detergent… but please don’t put surf in your engine to clean it!!).
A car running without engine oil will help in the friction increasing between the metal inside and thereby increasing the heat to such a level that their surfaces weld themselves to seize the engine.
On the other hand, oil that has not been changed for a long time will do three things:
1. it won’t cool as effectively:
old engine oil will lose it’s properties after the wear and tear in the heat inside to be able to provide proper cooling after some time, also the dust inside will amplify the problem.
2. it won’t clean as effectively:
the detergent will help clean the carbon and keep dust from sticking to the surfaces for some time but like the blood in our body, it needs to be recycled.
3. it won’t lubricate as effectively:
eventually, because it is not changed, the dust particles will start congesting inside and the faithful detergent will wear off. All this will contribute to the fact that, where oil was supposed to eliminate friction, the thick-abrasive-dirty oil will now itself be increasing it.
The above three points, with immense success, will lead to a much faster engine failure.
The process of regularly changing oil seems a bit annoying to many people and keeping the same in mind, Man, as usual, has made his own version of the natural oil and called it- the Synthetic Oil. Car companies have also started making advancements in technology to make oil last longer. The Synthetic oil mixed with new technologies can delay the time required for oil changes three-folds.
Mini Cooper comes with a recommendation of an oil change every 24,140 kilometers (15,000 miles) instead of the traditional belief of 4,828 kilometers (3,000 miles).
Coming back to oil changes, the earlier mentioned three points won’t happen all at once if you forget to change the oil one month or travel a couple of hundred kilometres. You will have to keep forgetting for a longer period of time and travel a couple of thousand kilometres before this can turn into a reality but please do also keep in mind that in your dear car’s dear engine, the process for all this has already begun. So, even if it is not happening instantly, don’t think all is fine. Your engine is taking the trashing of a lifetime and if you love your vehicle the way I do… do yourself a favour, do change the oil regularly.
