Motor Oil Myths

MYTH 1:  You should change your oil every 3000 to 5000 miles...

Actually, Motor Oil does not go bad.  Why do you change motor oil?  Because it becomes contaminated with carbon and dirt.

Cerma Motor Oils are formulated to minimize the contamination that occurs within your engine.  Cerma's Run Clean Technology breaks down the carbon so that the oil filter will capture virtually all damaging materials for up to 15,000 (Cerma) and 30,000 miles (CEMAX).

 

MYTH 2:  When engine oil turns dark, it's dirty and should be changed...

Wrong. In fact, just the opposite is true -- the oil is working just the way it's supposed to, dispersing the tiny particles that can result in engine sludge and holding them in suspension in the oil itself so that they can't build up along the engine walls. That's why the oil appears darker.  

Specifically with Cerma Motor Oils, this in no way impedes the oil from performing its normal functions of lubricating and protecting the metal surfaces inside the engine. In fact the Cerma process will move these particles from the oil flow into the filter.  Use the oil change interval recommended by your vehicle's manufacturer to decide when to change the filter, not the color of the oil on the stick.

 

MYTH 3:  The "W" in 10W-30 oil stands for "weight"...

When you buy engine oil, it's important to know the oil's viscosity, a property that corresponds roughly to its thickness. The less viscous the oil, the more smoothly it moves through your engine and lubricates the moving parts. The best oil for a particular engine is an oil whose a viscosity is neither so high (thick) that it will barely flow or so low (thin) that it will slip through your engine like water.  Unfortunately, oil changes its viscosity with temperature and the multi-grade rating gives you both the hot and cold viscosities.  For 10W-30 oil, the 30 is the viscosity rating for warm oil, and the 10W is the viscosity rating for cold oil, according to a standardized rating system developed by the SAE for winter oil use.  And that's what the "W" stands for: "winter".  

Cerma Motor Oils are offered in various multi-grade options to fit all needs.  In addition, using Cerma Engine Treatments will allow vehicles to run at the lower end of the manufacturer's suggested weights, offer the same protection, and benefit from fuel economy increases.

 

MYTH 4:  Engine oil additives will improve your engine's performance...

This is true -- except that "additives" have already been added before you buy the oil.  This is what is called the "additive pack" of a motor oil.  Motor oils will come with additives that improve their viscosity index -- the range of temperatures under which it flows properly through the engine -- and that give it properties that keep your engine free of sludge. Most will also include rust retardants to prevent corrosion and chemicals to protect metallic surfaces.  With all these additives already in the oil, there is no reason to put additional additives in the engine.  

This is also true for Cerma Motor Oils.  Cerma's proprietary SiC technology is incorporated into all of our oils, creating the world's only self-cleaning system that forces carbon and other dirty components into the oil flow and out into the filter.  

However, what is not true, is that additives are just that, chemicals that mix with the oil. Cerma Engine Treatments are Catalysts and therefore do not mix with the oil, thus providing additional benefits as a metal treatment, forming a Silicon Carbide matrix along the surface of entire engine and not allowing carbon and lacquer to build up along the engine walls.

 

MYTH 5:  Synthetic engine oils can cause oil leaks...

Back in the 1970s, when synthetic engine oils (those based not on petroleum but on chemical base stocks such as polyalphaolefins) first became popular, they didn't always work well with the seals and gaskets in a vehicle's engine. They could cause the seals to shrink in ways that petroleum-based oils did not, resulting in oil leaks. Since then, synthetic oils have been reformulated so that seal shrinkage does not occur.

In fact, Cerma Motor Oils will create additional protection inside the engine that other synthetic oils do not, and the seals will work at peak efficiency.

 

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