Theory – Lower Oil Level, Lower Dilution
Theory:
The lower the oil level in your engine, the quicker the warm up and, by extension, less gas in your oil. The reverse can be true for heat though — the quicker the cool down when stopped, coasting.
Does anyone keep their oil level lower than the max? Have you realized any benefits?
The lower the oil level in your engine, the quicker the warm up and, by extension, less gas in your oil. The reverse can be true for heat though — the quicker the cool down when stopped, coasting.
Does anyone keep their oil level lower than the max? Have you realized any benefits?
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Well after my fix and totally cold weather I can not subscribe to the theory. My oil was actually on the lower end of full after the "Fix". The CRV is still cold and has the same cold engine as before.
I like the thought tho.
I like the thought tho.
Why was it at the lower end? Dealers seem to have a hard time getting the oil level right.
The upper dot...aka full mark.
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Interesting Theory. The big question is just how hot is the Engine Oil getting? Is it above 212? Have people actually been measuring this?
And is there a significant difference in how quickly the engine heats up oil when there's one less quart of oil?
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So......if the oil level is below the upper dot, the oil level is less than it should be?:confused2:
I was unclear as to what "oil was lower than expected" meant.
I was expecting the oil to be in middle of the orange thing. Maybe the top dot on the dip stick.
Anything above the upper mark means the oil level is too high, which could indicate an oil dilution problem if you have a 2015 or newer CR-V.
Below the lower mark means your oil is low and you need to add a quart.
Between the marks is normal.
Less oil means higher dilution percentage - temperature is not a major concern as the heated fuel leaking around the piston rings is pretty warm to begin with after about 10 seconds. Just feel the exhaust - it is not cold.
The cure is a 6 quart oil pan instead of a 3 quart that the factory puts on. 6% dilution in 3 quarts is 3% in 6 quarts. Well below the 5% damage threshold. 1/2 quart is in the oil filter. To save $15 in oil and 3 lbs in weight we have a problem with oil dilution.
My 2 cents.
The cure is a 6 quart oil pan instead of a 3 quart that the factory puts on. 6% dilution in 3 quarts is 3% in 6 quarts. Well below the 5% damage threshold. 1/2 quart is in the oil filter. To save $15 in oil and 3 lbs in weight we have a problem with oil dilution.
My 2 cents.
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We have some race car folks here, maybe they will enlighten us regarding oil temps they have monitored (but then racing conditions are a whole different can of worms).
I'm thinking oil temp would rise slower the coolant temp, and maybe not reach even reach coolant temp, especially in the winter months (oh no, I just thru in a variable). During summer months (another variable), I would think oil temp would still rise slower than coolant temp but could eventually exceed coolant temp. The variables might become infinite.
unno:I'm also thinking as long as whatever oil level maintained proper/constant lubrication, oil temps would remain about the same (lower level/higher level. My cojones are not big enough to experiment with different oil levels.......I'll just leave it at "between the min/max marks is the perfect oil level".
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Not really. You’re omitting the fact that less oil creates less relaxation time and Increased cycle passes of the oil. This creates a non linear situation as far as evaporation of light volitiles in the oil. The easiest to understand is that with less oil, the oil will have a faster temperature rise, which will aid in timely evaporation of liquids such as unwanted gasoline. It’s not linear and simple as saying double the oil capacity would halve the gasoline dissolved.
That is what the makers of GDI systems recommended to do when you converted from TBI to GDI. If you look at the larger engines like the Honda 3.5L they went to a 7.0 quart oil pan for Earth Dreams GDI engines from the 4.0 quart oil pan on non-earth dreams engine to lower the percentage of fuel dilution. Why Honda failed to do that for the 1.5L Turbo makes no sense. Honda's new cure it to make the MM go to 5% quicker so they won't have to repair lots of engines under warranty. With my 2 previous Honda 3.5L engines I almost always made 9000 miles to get to 15% on the MM. I wonder if the extra 1.5 MPG are worth the GDI shorter oil life and engine life if fuel dilutions is constantly over 5%. Maybe Honda is hoping the the faster erosion of the piston rings due to fuel dilution will cause oil to be burned faster causing the owner to add a quart of oil every 800 miles ending the overfilled oil on the dipstick.
Also it appears that the valves are not being cleaned up like a TBI did - there are already many Honda GDI engines with lots of buildup on the intake valves. Most other GDI engine makers ended up putting a TBI on the engine for idling to clean the intake valves.
Too many bean counters have reduced Honda to matching General Motors in quality. Old man Hondo is rolling in his grave. He was an engineer and did not compromise quality for profits. He also seen to be the last to use new technology and introduced it slowly. Honda was the last to put factory air, cruise control and fuel injection to their vehicles - Fuel injection was only on some Hondas until 1990. Earth Dreams (GDI) was rolled out as fast as GDI suppliers could provide Honda with product.
Every GDI engine will have more fuel dilution than a TBI engine. Heck - even the Diesel engines have larger oil pans for the exact same reason. My old 1977 2.4L Mercedes (240D) had a 6 quart oil pan and a 3000 mile oil change requirement with a $30 oil filter cartridge.
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