Oil Treatments: What They Do & How They Protect Your Vehicle

Today’s engines pack big power in small packages, placing heavy demands on oil formulations. While modern lubricants offer a host of innovative properties, they occasionally need a little outside help. Learn how oil treatments – like those offered by Lucas Oil Products – can boost your powerplant’s vascular support, and keep it pumping power for years to come.

Given the cost of today’s vehicles, it simply makes sense to properly maintain your car. In addition to maximizing its lifecycle, a little TLC goes a long way to protecting against depreciation when the time comes to trade or sell. However, while most folks spend a lot of time worrying about cosmetics like paint, chrome, and various dents in bodywork, none of those elements matter if the engine doesn’t run properly once you turn the key.

We get it, engine maintenance can be kind of boring. More importantly, it can feel potentially scary when comparing the requirement against average consumer knowledge. Nevertheless, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, today’s technologies offer numerous ways to get engine-educated, through the internet, hosts of YouTube tutorials, or articles like this one to help the novice along.

Aside from those opportunities, manufacturers also offer plenty of education on the cheap these days. One of the most helpful engine maintenance companies in the market is Lucas Oil Products. Let’s take a deep dive into oil treatments, and what suppliers like Lucas can teach us together.

What Are Oil Treatments?

Before we get into ‘treatments’, let’s gain an essential understanding of what ‘oils’ do in an engine. Obviously, these fossil-based products lubricate moving parts. As a result, they mitigate friction during engine operations.

However, there’s more too it than simply making things move more easily. Today’s engine oils consist of ‘blending’ base minerals, with various additives that guard against corrosion, sludge build-up, and affiliated containments that create heat. The end goal being to help keep an engine operating at an optimal temperature.

As a matter of fact, most of today’s premier motor oils contain additives from 15% to 35% by volume – or, in even simpler terms, 4.8 ounces to 11.2 ounces within every quart (32oz). Consequently, today’s engines are already experiencing the value of additives, whether a customer knows it or not.

But, as one might expect, each time an engine runs through its combustion cycle, both lubricant and additive characteristics begin to break down due to heat created by the process. As the evolution repeats itself over time, protective additives and the base oil itself begin to oxidize and decompose, thereby leaving engine components prone to excess wear.

As a result, aftermarket providers began to acknowledge the problem and formulate products to help resolve the concern – hence, oil treatments.

Types Of Oil Additives & Their Goals

As suggested earlier in this article, blended motor oils typically include a number of additives. However, regardless of the manufacturing approach, and whether chemical additives are blended or used as stand-alone helpmates, the same mechanical goals apply.

Viscosity Index Management

In simple terms, viscosity relates to the thickness of a liquid. In relation to motor oils (and its additive characteristics), the word refers to how easily oil can move throughout the engine complex.

Depending on whether the engine is cold or hot – or in practical terms, thick or thin – the same level of lubricant protection must apply regardless. As a result, index additives (also referred to as Viscosity Index Improvers) are introduced to create a degree of ‘smartness’ within the process.

When an engine is cold, chemical elements within additives thin the oil’s viscosity. This aids the cold lubrication process, while keeping the engine happy as it comes up to operating temperature. Once the engine warms up, a reverse process applies. As the level of lubrication thins out due to heat created by mechanical friction, index improvers limit the thinning process and work to maintain and stabilize an optimal level of lubrication throughout the engine’s operating range.

Detergents

As suggested earlier, over time motor oils begin to break down through oxidation and decomposition. These processes can reduce efficiency, leading to increased friction and excess heat. Added detergents clean and optimize internal components, which aid and ensure efficient lubrication throughout the engine.

Dispersants

As a directly-supportive element with detergents, dispersants help the decomposition and removal of contaminants throughout the engine complex. The latter characteristic is most important, since any impurities pushed throughout the engine can lead to increases in heat or in some cases, direct component failure.

Anti-Foaming Agents

These chemicals reduce and mitigate foam as oil moves in and around the engine. The goal is to reduce the incidence of foaming across various surfaces, thereby reducing air pressure and the creation of cavitation – characteristics which can limit the efficiency of lubrication. When oil fails to move properly across the surfaces of internal components (sometimes called ‘scavenging’), the engine suffers reduced friction and increased operating temperatures.

Corrosion And/Or Rust Inhibitors

In the same way that detergents apply, various corrosion-defeating chemicals are introduced to meet the same requirements. In this event, any corrosion can lead to mechanical inefficiencies which can ultimately lead to unwanted heat.

Antioxidant Elements

Like any petro-based product, oxygen can work its way into components throughout the engine complex in a number of ways. The application of oil additives help mitigate these characteristics, thereby aiding and supporting the efficient operation of the combustion cycle.

Miscellaneous Chemical Additives

The process of acidic build-up in engines over time is another problem that oil treatments help to mitigate. In this event, high-temperature engines (like smaller compact vehicles) tend to put considerable wear on engines. The characteristic tends to break down motor oils, and leads to incidents of alkali build-up throughout the engine complex. This, in turn, limits combustion efficiency and increases heat. At the same time, alkali characteristics also speed up the breakdown of base oils that aid inefficiencies in lubrication – which, again, leads to increases in heat.

How Do Oil Treatments Work?

Depending on the particular additive, there are a number of different ways to get the job done based on the formula’s goal. The first and traditional method calls for the additive to coat necessary components with a protective formula. This method is called for when friction and efficiency are required.

Another method targets cleaning and rust removal. In these cases, particular oil treatments generate chemical reactions that scour the faces of various engine components. Once the cleaning phase is complete, motor oil will be readily attracted to the newly freshened parts-faces, thereby completing a nearly simultaneous process.

Other times, particular additives based on enhanced film strengths cause motor oil to attach to a part. This allows lubrication to stay on necessary parts once an engine shuts down, mitigating any negative effects of cessation.

Finally, some additives plug seals in and around components, thereby aiding and extending engine life. These products also support emissions requirements, since sealing gaps and open spaces in seals and valves will reduce smoke exhaust.

Oil Treatment Types

As a general rule, the phrases ‘fuel treatments’ and ‘oil treatments’ are not exclusive. Additives that involve themselves with fuel systems and oil-related products can involve themselves with several things simultaneously, like cleaning and lubricating products. However, it should be noted that products labeled ‘oil additives’ are more typically specific to the type, requiring introduction directly with the oiling system.

Be sure that you read the instructions in any/all additive products before you buy or use them. It is also wise to consult a reputable aftermarket parts supplier, your mechanic, or simply contact the brand manufacturer directly before you utilize additives in your engine.

In the age of strict emissions requirements, and ethanol gasoline, additives serve successfully when maintaining vintage and late-model engines. When used properly, oil/fuel additives are entirely safe for today’s engines. They provide for extended engine life, and are useful as part of an overall maintenance program. Moreover, in difficult situations, they can even keep an engine running when it shouldn’t.

Altogether, fuel and oil treatments like those produced by Lucas Oil Products should be a central part of any shop or garage process. To learn more about Lucas Oil Products’ robust lineup of lubricants and additives, visit https://lucasoil.com.