Advancing Oil Maintenance Practices: Insights from Viscosity Analysis

There is a lack of data to support the efficacy of traditional mileage and time-based criteria for oil changes in vehicles. In this study, used-oil samples from 63 vehicles were collected and analyzed. Besides dynamic viscosity, viscosity index and activation energy were evaluated as measures of thermal stability of viscosity. The results revealed that mileage and time of use are not significantly correlated with (p > 0.05) and are thus poor indicators of oil viscosity and viscosity thermal stability measures. These findings highlight the limitations of current criteria and underscore the need for new sensing and evaluation methods to reduce costs, waste, and environmental impact while ensuring vehicle performance.