An Experimental Study of the Effect of Cylinder Bore Finish on Engine Oil Consumption

Past oil consumption reduction efforts were motivated by operating cost, petroleum conservation, or customer quality perception concerns. Recent efforts have been driven by exhaust catalyst poisoning considerations. The need to certify emissions to a higher mileage level and optimization efforts on the emission control systems have resulted in higher objectives for oil control.

This paper focuses on one important factor in the control of lubrication oil consumption in internal combustion engines. Previous studies have related bore finish to oil consumption through either theoretical or experimental techniques. In this study, a mathematical model is derived statistically from experimental data utilizing regression analysis and a new transient radiotracer oil consumption measurement technique. The model predicts oil consumption levels expected with variations in cylinder bore finish, and suggests the important surface finish parameters to specify and control for minimum oil consumption.