Negatives of more oil

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two gallons in a 6 quart sump, or a properly designed two gallon versus six quart sump ?

Longer warm up time for the latter, more things than can be imagined for the former.
 
Other than taking a little longer to get up to operating temp I can't see any possible negatives. Manufacturers are already doing it. My 5.0 takes almost 8 qts. If the OCI isn't increased your wallet will be a little lighter.
 
Added weight, longer warm up times to name a couple, wow you people contradict yourselves once again. while being obsessed with "light" oils you think indiscriminately increasing oil capacity is a good thing.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
No negatives, only positives. More oil has less work to do and lasts longer.

Longer warm up times and added weight are positives? hmmmm.
My old Nissan Sentra had a barely 3 qt sump and was abused almost its entire 250,000 miles on 7,000 OCI's, Never a single problem. increased capacity does not equate to longer life.
 
The added weight ranks right there with the concern for the additives separating out because of added oil capacity.
 
In an engine/vehicle that is designed for it and needs a larger sump, there are no negatives. In a smaller engine that doesn't need a multi-gallon sump, there's just no good reason to have a huge oil capacity.

That's why large diesel engines have multi-gallon oil capacities, and the average car just needs a gallon or so.

Originally Posted By: hatt
The added weight ranks right there with the concern for the additives separating out because of added oil capacity.


How does the quantity of oil impact the amount of "additive separation"? Do large diesels with multi-gallon sumps have more issues with additive separation? Does a Detroit Diesel DD16 with an 11+ gallon oil capacity experience extreme "additive separation"? Does my old Ford tractor with a 6 quart capacity (running the same HDEO as the DD16) have less additive separation than the DD16 just because of the quantity of oil in the sump?

Would a 55 gallon drum of BrandX 5W-30 motor oil have more "additive separation" than a single gallon or quart of BrandX 5W-30 motor oil?

Please, explain your "additive separation based on quantity" theory. I'd really like to know more.
 
Manufacturers are increasing sump sizes because oil quality has improved and there is pressure to extend drain intervals. Because most people never check their oil level between changes, the larger sumps give more safety margin.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit


Please, explain your "additive separation based on quantity" theory. I'd really like to know more.


Yeah mee too, should be good entertainment...
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Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit


Please, explain your "additive separation based on quantity" theory. I'd really like to know more.


Yeah mee too, should be good entertainment...
35.gif



You mean to tell me that a place where people are so nit picky that they smell their oil and filters this is a crack pot theory? People here agonize over how their filters and oil are stored and add all sorts of stuff to their vehicles to make it last just a tiny bit longer.

We all know that addatives settle out in a bottle of oil. It is evident by the dark stuff at the bottom of the bottle. For the sake of argument lets just say you had a geo metro with a 55 gallon sump. It would take so long to circulate almost all of the oil in the sump that addatives and contaminates would settle out in the corners away from the pickup. Compair that to the normal sump size and think how often the oil will be turned over compaired to the 55 gallon one. The more oil the less it circulates. It doesn't how much you have but the more oil in the sump the more will separate. It probably won't be enough to make a noticible difference in the longevity of the vehicle but it is still going to happen.
 
I've got a bottle of QSUD(clear bottle) that's been sitting on the bench for several years. Nothing has ever settled out of that oil. Of course contaminants would settle out but unless you're using an absurd example, like a 55 gallon sump in a passenger car, it doesn't matter.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
I've got a bottle of QSUD(clear bottle) that's been sitting on the bench for several years. Nothing has ever settled out of that oil. Of course contaminants would settle out but unless you're using an absurd example, like a 55 gallon sump in a passenger car, it doesn't matter.


Agreed... Once at operating temp each quart is going to take maybe 30 seconds to circulate(if that), so difference of 8qt vs 6qt is ONE minute... This will no doubt vary by size of engine, oil will pass through a V8 quicker than a four as there are approx twice as many points that receive oil...
 
There are a few advantages to having a larger oil capacity.

1. Increased safety margin if the oil runs low.
2. Increased OCIs(maybe)
3. You can brag to your buddies that your crankcase hold more oil so that makes you "manlier"

Disadvantages.

1. Increased price of oil change.
2. Engine must be larger to accommodate increased oil capacity.

I don't believe there is any proof that more oil equals longer engine life. There are older Hondas out there that have over 300K and their engines only hold 3.5 - 4 quarts.
 
i think the increased price is not to be

If you had like a 3gallon sump; it becomes a big deal to change the oil.
If for some reason you needed a service mid OCI; then you may need to dump good oil prematurely.


There's a lot of those short-tripper threads recently, where it is disadvantageous for that group
-longer warmup, which apparently will be the death for the short tripper engines.
-increased cost when dumping based on a timed schedule instead of mileage
 
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