what wears an engine the most?

[aquariuscsm]

I think it's the constant expanding/contracting of all the internals and moving parts that just finally weakens their structures.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
1. junk/dirt coming in with the intake air
2. combustion chamber by products
3. metal that comes off the wearing engine parts?

seems like dirt coming in with the intake air would be the worst, yet so much attention is given to oil filters not much to air filters.
what gives?


it all depends:
1. how dirty it is. what and if filter used.
2. how cold, how incomplete combustion, and how much sulfur in fuel.
3. how big chunks of metal.

 

[edwardh1]

so, can you buy "better than oem" air filters? like u can for oil filters

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
so, can you buy "better than oem" air filters? like u can for oil filters

Unless you do alot of off road driving with some fine fine clay dust, I don't think any OEM paper filter is going to let enough dust through to damage anything.
Some tractors do have an inner and outer filter, but unless you like to tailgate Australian road trains in the outback, your regular filter will be fine.

 

[edwardh1]

so why do so many people thing they need better than oem OIL filters?

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
so why do so many people thing they need better than oem OIL filters?

Because Bitog? A better oil filter never hurts, but for most of us OEM quality is fine. If you're trying for a million miles on your motor, then getting the best filters will help.

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Dirty air. It's something you can work on.

Forget start up wear. There's not much to do about it except in some cases, oil, block or coolant heaters


Or a prelube system. Not especially complicated. If startup wear is such a big deal, how come they aren't fitted as standard? Um...

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: Nate1979
I'm going to guess that you are going to get a lot of guesses but it would be nice to see some documentation/proof instead.


+1.

Nice simple, obvious basic question that one might expect to have a readily available, research-based answer, but, if its out there at all, I bet its bloody hard to find.

Seems to be general in this field.

 

[Olas]

Dirty air, dirty oil, low oil level/pressure, cold starts, heavy load when cold, overheating and myriad other conditions *all* wear th engine, albeit at different rates.

Only way to stop wear is to change your car's status from 'car' to 'ornament'

In my eyes, wear is a good thing. It allows me to replace parts, and in doing that work i get to visually inspect every other component in that general area so I have an idea of which parts are wearing at what rate. Knowing this allows me to replace parts before they fail, eliminating downtime, breakdowns and tow-bills.

 

[Ducked]

http://papers.sae.org/2001-01-0370/

Ptak, T., Richberg, P., and Vasseur, T., "Discriminating Tests for Automotive Engine Air Filters," SAE Technical Paper 2001-01-0370, 2001, doi:10.4271/2001-01-0370.

"The initial gravimetric efficiency measured at the dust loading of 5 grams was in the range of 90%, well below the recommended value of 99%."

"Current filters remove approximately 40% of particles larger than 1 micron and 80% of particles larger than 2.5 microns."

Wear consequences of this ingestion (which sounds a lot, but the particles are very small)?... Dunno. They probably discuss it but I can only get to the abstract.