Change oil more or less often? With pump or without? Fill filter?

1. What engine oil should be added if there is no imported one recommended by the manufacturer?

The main selection criterion is the quality class of the oil, more precisely, the level of its performance characteristics. You can’t go below recommended.

The most modern oils are called SP – they can be poured anywhere. They are fully compatible with older products – SN, SL and so on. Reverse replacement is only allowed as a temporary measure – if the engine has been left on the road without oil, for example. But at the first opportunity it is necessary to completely change the oil.

As for the oil brand, modern products undergo certification tests for compatibility with the main “colleagues” on the market, so the choice of a particular name is more often image than technical.

Most of the highest quality home oils are supplied to service stations – mainly official ones. Owners of new cars often go there, counting on the extension of the warranty. Therefore, the service line of oils from the same Lukoil is wider than retail ones.

Imported oils can still be found both on sale and in the military. However, counterfeiters began to actively trade, selling beautiful buses with unpredictable content.

In this situation, it is safer to switch to domestic products. On the websites of companies (Lukoil, Sintec and others) there are programs that select oils for your car.

2. Does the filter need to be filled with oil before installation?

The myth about the need to fill the filter arose long ago, with the advent of disposable filters. It seems that the oil goes to the friction pairs immediately, and not after the pump has long and stubbornly filled the inside of the filter.

With the advent of imported filters, the myth unexpectedly gained reinforcement in the form of an icon printed on the housing. It shows an oiler with a drop of oil above the filter. But this is not filling the filter with oil, but the requirement only to lubricate the rubber o-ring, which facilitates installation and prevents biting!

In modern engines with a powerful oil pump, it makes no sense to pour oil into the filter.. Not to mention that on some engines the filter is installed on a vertical wall or even upside down. Don’t fill it. And nothing, these engines run, they don’t make sense.

3. Does it make sense to shorten the replacement interval when switching to household products?

Many household motor oils are approved at the highest level – from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Renault, Ford, Volvo, GM, Cummins, MAN and others. Today they began to withdraw from official sites – but this has nothing to do with the technical side of the issue.

And the lack of approval does not mean that the product does not correspond to anything: this is largely an element of bureaucracy. But for your own peace of mind the service interval can be shortened – the engine will thank you.

4. Is it worth changing the oil by pumping?

Changing the oil in the engine by pumping it through the hose of the oil gauge (dipstick) has a right to exist. Sometimes the residue of used oil in the crankcase is even less than when changing the oil in the traditional way.

The process appears to be more environmentally friendly: the used oil is not spilled, but sent directly to a container for disposal. The method is especially useful for cars where the oil filter is accessible from above or from the wheel arch – then you do not have to climb under the car at all. But first you need to make sure that on your machine the motor configuration is such that the tube actually manages to pump out all the oil.

5. What is poured on the AVTOVAZ conveyor?

In all engines – Rosneft Magnum Maxtec 5W‑40. The exception is H4M engines (Lukoil Genesis RN 0W-30). The replacement interval is every 15,000 km for front-wheel drive models and 10,000 km for all-wheel drive models. Or in a year, whichever comes first.

6. How do top SP oils really outperform previous generations? When does it make sense to use lower quality oils?

The API SP performance category is a set of US requirements for low-ash oils, the additives of which practically do not remain on the piston crowns, valve plates and combustion chambers in the form of ash deposits. This eliminates spontaneous combustion of fuel in direct injection supercharged internal combustion engines and also prevents detonation.

Improved base oil formulation requirements to prevent carbon deposits on overheated small pistons and maintain minimum viscosity. This allows you to save some fuel and effectively remove heat from pistons with small areas of exhaust ducts.

For downsizing engines, the developers of which recommend exactly such oils, there are no other options. But for “ordinary” engines, SP oils, while suitable, are not necessary: expensive! Especially under severe operating conditions and with frequent oil changes. In other words, if you can do without the SP API, then it makes economic sense to do so.

Why do modern engines use oil? What is fraught with lack of oil for the engine? Should I use magnets to clean oil? We’ll answer these and other questions – check back often!