Driving broken car may be dangerous

e bulk of a typical motor oil consists of hydrocarbons with between 18 and 34 carbon atoms per molecule.7 One of the most important properties of motor oil in maintaining a lubricating film between moving parts is its viscosity. T

Driving broken car may be dangerous premium oil for Lotus

Properties of engine oils

Most motor oils are made from a heavier, thicker petroleum hydrocarbon base stock derived from crude oil, with additives to improve certain properties. The bulk of a typical motor oil consists of hydrocarbons with between 18 and 34 carbon atoms per molecule.7 One of the most important properties of motor oil in maintaining a lubricating film between moving parts is its viscosity. The viscosity of a liquid can be thought of as its "thickness" or a measure of its resistance to flow. The viscosity must be high enough to maintain a lubricating film, but low enough that the oil can flow around the engine parts under all conditions. The viscosity index is a measure of how much the oil's viscosity changes as temperature changes. A higher viscosity index indicates the viscosity changes less with temperature than a lower viscosity index.

Motor oil must be able to flow adequately at the lowest temperature it is expected to experience in order to minimize metal to metal contact between moving parts upon starting up the engine. The pour point defined first this property of motor oil, as defined by ASTM D97 as "... an index of the lowest temperature of its utility ..." for a given application,8 but the "cold cranking simulator" (CCS, see ASTM D5293-08) and "Mini-Rotary Viscometer" (MRV, see ASTM D3829-02(2007), ASTM D4684-08) are today the properties required in motor oil specs and define the SAE classifications.

Oil is largely composed of hydrocarbons which can burn if ignited. Still another important property of motor oil is its flash point, the lowest temperature at which the oil gives off vapors which can ignite. It is dangerous for the oil in a motor to ignite and burn, so a high flash point is desirable. At a petroleum refinery, fractional distillation separates a motor oil fraction from other crude oil fractions, removing the more volatile components, and therefore increasing the oil's flash point (reducing its tendency to burn).

Another manipulated property of motor oil is its Total base number (TBN), which is a measurement of the reserve alkalinity of an oil, meaning its ability to neutralize acids. The resulting quantity is determined as mg KOH/ (gram of lubricant). Analogously, Total acid number (TAN) is the measure of a lubricant's acidity. Other tests include zinc, phosphorus, or sulfur content, and testing for excessive foaming.

The NOACK volatility (ASTM D-5800) Test determines the physical evaporation loss of lubricants in high temperature service. A maximum of 14% evaporation loss is allowable to meet API SL and ILSAC GF-3 specifications. Some automotive OEM oil specifications require lower than 10%.

Źródło: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil


How to take care of your car?

Historically, the car was a mostly a sign of prestige and status of the property owners. Today the car is primarily practical importance - we use it every day commuting to work, shopping or drive children to school or extracurricular activities. But in order to be able to enjoy the use of the car for many years, it is necessary to take care of him. Changing the oil on time, brake pads and other wearing parts during normal operation despite appearances, can greatly extend the life of the car. It should also be remembered that such regular maintenance is also the issue of safety of the driver and passengers, so it can not be taken lightly and put off.


Is it worth donate cars to the workshop?

Repair workshop? This is certainly the most popular way to deal with technical problems on our cars. But we can always be sure that the repair goes as it should, and does not appear at this unforeseen problems? Of course not. That is why we should always use a reputable, proven workshop, which will guarantee us that made their work will be reliable and safe for our car. Only such places can make our car back on the road quickly, so sometimes you might even want to pay more for a decent service than to give yourself additional problems.