What is a break in oil change and why is it done?
In: Engineering
Choices you make at the start of the life of an engine may or may not impact the useful life of the engine – would you be willing to spend $70 extra on a new car just for the added ‘assurance’ that you might get 50k or 100k miles extra out of it? To many people that seems like a no-brainer.
On the other side of this coin sits ample examples of cars that spent their first 3-5 years as rentals, barely getting sufficient maintenance of any kind and then still going for 15-20 years later.
The thing is, there is a lot of “institutional knowledge” and “heresay” about engines and oil. A lot of this is based off of much older cars with significantly worse oil quality (pre-synthetics) and manufacturing technology. Precision mass manufacturing and synthetic oils have largely made wear-related failures of engines disappear – as long as you keep with the manufacturer’s service intervals and use the recommended oil, you’re most likely to get a long useful life out of the engine without spending unnecessary money on maintenance.
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