Five things that shorten engine life

Modern engines are made in order to achieve maximum fuel economy, and at the same time reduce harmful emissions. At the same time, consumer characteristics are not always taken into account. As a result, reliability and engine life are reduced. When buying a new car, you should consider what the manufacturer is oriented to. Here is a short list of factors that reduce the unit’s working life.

1 Volume of the working chamber

The first step is to reduce the volume of the working chambers of the cylinders. Such engine modifications are designed to reduce the amount of harmful emissions. To meet the needs of a modern driver, a certain power is required (it was a couple of centuries ago that people arranged carts). But with small cylinders, power can be achieved only by increasing the compression ratio.

An increase in this parameter negatively affects the details of the cylinder-piston group. In addition, it is impossible to increase this indicator indefinitely. Gasoline has its octane rating. If it is excessively compressed, the fuel may detonate ahead of time. With an increase in compression ratio, even by a third, the load on the motor elements doubles. For this reason, the most optimal options are 4-cylinder engines with a volume of 1,6 liters.

2 shortened piston

The second point is the use of shortened pistons. Manufacturers take this step to facilitate (at least a little) the power unit. And thanks to this solution, increased productivity and efficiency is provided. With a decrease in the piston edge and the length of the connecting rod, the cylinder walls experience more stress. In high-speed internal combustion engines, such a piston often destroys the oil wedge and spoils the cylinder mirror. Naturally, this leads to wear.

3 Turbine

In third place is the use of turbocharged engines with a small volume. The most commonly used turbocharger, the impeller of which rotates from the released energy of the exhaust gases. This device often heats up to incredible 1000 degrees. The larger the engine displacement, the more the supercharger wears out.

Most often, it crashes for about 100 km. The turbine also requires lubrication. And if the motorist does not have the habit of checking the oil level, then the motor may experience oil starvation. What it is fraught with is not hard to guess.

4 Warming up the motor

Further, it is worth noting the neglect of warming up the motor in the winter. In fact, modern engines can start without preheating. They are equipped with innovative fuel systems that stabilize the operation of a cold engine. However, there is another factor that cannot be fixed by any systems - oil thickens in the cold.

For this reason, after downtime in the cold, it is more difficult for an oil pump to pump lubricant to all the components of the internal combustion engine. If you give a serious load on it without lubrication, some of its parts will deteriorate faster. Unfortunately, eco-standards are more important, so car manufacturers ignore the need for warming up the engine. The result is a reduction in the working life of the piston group.

5 «Start/Stop»

The fifth, which shortens the life of the engine, is a start / stop system. It was developed by German automakers to “turn off” the engine at idle. When the engine is running in a standing car (for example, at a traffic light or railway crossing), harmful emissions are more concentrated in one meta. For this reason, smog is often formed in megacities. The idea, of course, is in favor of profitability.

The problem, however, is that the engine has its own start cycle life. Without the start/stop function, it will run an average of 50 times in 000 years of service, and with it about 10 million. The more often the engine is started, the faster the friction parts wear out.