Thread: Do oils deteriorate with age?

If you are talking oil IN your engine , yes it will as the low mileage won't allow the oil to get hot enough to evaporate water from combustion and also other aromatic by products of combustion.
If in a container it will last a long time AFAIK.
Most service schedules say eg 12,000KM OR ONE YEAR, and the above is why.

Regards Philip A

oils do deteriorate.
i change every 12 months even if ive only done 3000km

Originally Posted by PhilipA

If you are talking oil IN your engine , yes it will as the low mileage won't allow the oil to get hot enough to evaporate water from combustion and also other aromatic by products of combustion.
If in a container it will last a long time AFAIK.
Most service schedules say eg 12,000KM OR ONE YEAR, and the above is why.

Regards Philip A

This ^

I understand shelf life is still measured in a number of years but not forever in a container. I buy 20L drum and use it in three years which I understand is ok from my research. It’s quite hard to get true empirical evidence though

Oil and filter are cheap enough (especially when on sale), just change every 12 months - good insurance. I change diff oils every oil change as well, minimal cost to maintain diff.

technically its not the oil that degrades but the additives and detergents.

In storage oils will last ages - however after a while some of the additives can start to fall out of suspension in the oil.

Main issue with engine oils in service is water and cobustion by products that can combine to form acids in the oil which can start ot damage metal components inside the engine, which as mentioned above is why service intervals are XXXXkm or 1 year