Short OCI - engine wear / oil break-in?

[stefun]

Hello,


Since I bought my first car I have been doing a lot of reading on different technical forums dedicated to the car that I drive and I have stumbled upon a thing that is intriguing.
Some guys there argue that short OCIs are actually a lot worse and can create a lot of wear compared to a long OCI (using same engine oil). Some also mentioned that a synthetic oil will reach it's peak "performance" after around 7000 miles. Of course, nobody mentions driving conditions, driving style, weather, fuel quality and other factors that might affect an oil's characteristics over time; and nobody gives any logical / technical explanations to backup their statements.

What is this reasoning based on?

Myself, I really doubt that an oil can have a "break-in" period and can actually get better over time.
Also, the time it would take for any protective films to form on the inside surfaces of the engine should be negligible and the wear that might occur I would guess is negligible as well.

But again, I might be wrong as well

What are your opinions on this?

 

[CurtisB]

I don't think a short OCI is harmful to anything but your wallet. The only harm is underutilizing a pricey synthetic oil with a short change interval that is completely unnecessary.

 

[crazyoildude]

everytime you change your oil your engine runs dry dor a few seconds even if u fill the filter up with oil

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
everytime you change your oil your engine runs dry dor a few seconds even if u fill the filter up with oil


Well, that's just not true at all.

 

[JR]

Oil do not have run-in. As to the run dry after oil service is and isn't true. There is a few seconds of zero oil pressure so its dry. but a residue of film is left from the oil drained oil so the engine really isn't dry.

ken

 

[nitehawk55]

Certainly enough oil on the journals to lubricate for the short time it takes for the oil pressure to come up .

While synthetic oils can certainly go the distance ,changing at shorter OCI's won't hurt anything and if that makes you feel good ...do it !

OP , what type of car are you driving ?
I lived in Soest for 3 years back in the 60's .

 

[kr_bitog]

I think there is an article couple years back mentioning the topic, but IMO except you do very short OCI (change oil every few hundred kms on normal driviing), the benefit of short OCI still higher.
I believe this is related on the chemical reaction of the additive with the metal surface, which in scenario you change the oil brand, that may take a while to stabilize, so if the oil brands keep changing during this very short OCI, it additional lubrication benefit may not be established.

In the past, whenever I add in MoS2 on my mineral oil in Civic, the engine feel worse, and it only getting much better peak performance after 5000 km.

 

[SuperDave456]

Toyota and Honda both have break in oil's in their factory fill.

It's a high Moly blend, and from what I read it really does cut down on oil consumption later in life if you run it for the full OCI as they recommend.

As far as length of OCI, 5000 miles on conventional, and 7500 on conventional seems to be a good starting point for oils.
Anything shorter, unless you have another issue, seems to be a waste from all the recent UOA's Ive seen.

 

[Errtt]

Probably thinking about the time/miles/oxidation it takes to build moly layers. Got to give it some time/miles to layer up. Something like that.

 

[stefun]

Originally Posted By: nitehawk55

OP , what type of car are you driving ?
I lived in Soest for 3 years back in the 60's .


Nothing fancy, a BMW 320i E46 from 2002 - it has a inline 6 cylinder 2.2 liter engine.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Toyota and Honda both have break in oil's in their factory fill.

It's a high Moly blend, and from what I read it really does cut down on oil consumption later in life if you run it for the full OCI as they recommend.

As far as length of OCI, 5000 miles on conventional, and 7500 on conventional seems to be a good starting point for oils.
Anything shorter, unless you have another issue, seems to be a waste from all the recent UOA's Ive seen.

Toyotas come from the factory with a really funky Denso filter. It's extremely high efficiency depth filter but may not have great flow characteristics. The speculation is that it's designed to trap high amounts of wear particles during the breakin period.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: stefun
What are your opinions on this?

Read Dave Newton's paper on the main BITOG page. It's very informative. You have to remember that oils are a compromise. They must work reasonably well when cool and when hot. They must work at the beginning of the interval and when it's time to drain them. The theory is that detergent packages interfere with anti-wear compounds at the beginning of an interval.

Note that pure racing oils have little to no detergent and low TBN reserves and high anti-wear levels. The compromise they seek is that the wear must be minimized right now, yet the oil does not need to have a long life whatsoever.