Breaking the Four Old Notions in Lubricant Consumption: Rational Lubrication Becomes the Main Theme

As China's car ownership passed 100 million for the first time, the Chinese people have entered the automobile era, and ordinary consumers' need for understanding car use and maintenance has become ever more obvious. Among these issues, the selection and use of lubricating oil has become one of the most common and typical problems. Problems that trouble people because of a lack of knowledge have gradually come to the fore, and some mistaken ideas have even emerged. In summary, these are the four old notions covering worshipping everything foreign, fetishizing API grades, heeding sales talk and assuming that good cars need good oil, which have misled consumers' rational spending. Recently, the oil-use concept of rational lubrication and the auto care view of maintenance instead of repair advocated by industry experts have become the main theme of scientific spending on auto care and also the way to break through the four old notions.

Mistaken idea one: only high-grade lubricants are good lubricants
Relevant surveys of lubricant consumption show that more than 40 percent of respondents believe that only high-grade lubricants are good lubricants. As a result, many people disregard factors such as their own vehicle model, oil-use standards and operating environment, treat the grade and viscosity grade of lubricating oil as absolute criteria, and blindly choose high-grade, high-viscosity lubricants.

This mentality leads to many mismatches between car and oil. For example, when winter temperatures are low, high-viscosity lubricant products have relatively poor flowability and cannot provide good lubrication and protection for the smooth operation of the vehicle, easily causing engine cylinder scoring. In view of this, technical experts from Kunlun Fast Oil Change Center suggest that when choosing lubricant for an engine, owners must follow the concept of rational lubrication and comprehensively consider factors such as their engine model, usage, climate and environment and road conditions, so as to choose the lubricant product that suits their car; only then can it provide good protection for the normal operation of the engine and help extend its service life.

Mistaken idea two: the older the car, the worse the oil it should use
Buying a car is only the beginning of a long consumption process; from the time of purchase until the car is scrapped, various maintenance and repair costs arise along the way. Many people blindly choose high-grade lubricants for their cars, while others neglect the care and maintenance of older vehicles because they have been in use for a long time; among them, about 40 percent even believe that the older the car, the worse the oil it should use.

Whether out of consideration for maintenance costs or simply from a lack of understanding, the above views are incorrect, and the auto care concepts of rational lubrication and maintenance instead of repair are always the scientific way. Relevant data show that although lubricating oil accounts for only 1 to 5 percent of the cost of using a car, the vehicle repair costs caused by wear-related failures account for about 25 percent of the cost of using a car. Therefore, the longer a car has been in use, the more attention should be paid to its maintenance. Regarding the choice of lubricant, Kunlun experts remind owners to make their choice according to specific conditions such as vehicle model and operating environment.

Mistaken idea three: foreign brand lubricants are simply better than domestic ones
In this survey, nearly 24 percent of people felt that foreign brand lubricants are simply better than domestic ones. Therefore, when buying lubricants they blindly choose foreign brand products, as if only in this way could they feel assured. In fact, such thinking is one-sided.

First, most foreign brand engine oils have relatively low viscosity and cannot fully meet the viscosity requirements of domestically produced vehicles for engine oil. In addition, the thermal expansion coefficients of the materials of various domestic engine parts and their fitting clearances are larger than those of imported vehicles, and most domestic engines are not equipped with oil coolers; if imported oil is blindly used, the oil is very likely to become too thin at the engine's normal operating temperature, causing oil pressure to be on the low side, failing to meet normal lubrication needs and aggravating engine wear.

In addition, compared with foreign brand lubricants, domestic engines have more advantages in product applicability. The continuous progress of domestic lubricant brands in independent R&D and innovation has driven up the quality of lubricant products, so that not only is product quality comparable to that of foreign brands, but prices are also more advantageous, giving higher cost performance.

Mistaken idea four: the lubricant brand designated by the automaker is the most suitable lubricant for that car
Faced with the many lubricant products of various brands and models on the market, it is really not easy for consumers to choose a product with good quality, outstanding cost performance and suitability for their car. At such times many consumers choose the manufacturer's designation. This group accounts for more than 30 percent, and they believe that the lubricant brand designated by the automaker is the most suitable lubricant for that car. In fact, so-called manufacturer designation is more a marketing method of brand cooperation between automakers and lubricant manufacturers. After the car's first maintenance and in later use, affected by factors such as the running-in and usage conditions, owners can choose suitable lubricant products according to actual requirements for grade, viscosity, region and temperature. At this point, sticking to one choice all along is not the only option.

For reasons such as vehicle age or consumption habits and preferences, many car owners hold different views, but the solution in all cases can be summed up as the concept of rational lubrication. Which lubricant product to choose must be decided through comprehensive consideration of actual vehicle conditions, road conditions, emission standards and environmental factors; only what suits is correct. Industry experts say that in recent years domestic lubricant brands represented by Kunlun Lubricant have actively strengthened technical exchanges and cooperation with engine manufacturers to jointly promote the R&D and production of products suited to engines. This not only helps extend engine service life but can also achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction, ultimately improving the efficiency of energy use, to the benefit of the country and the people.