TimMullen said:
:wave: Bad analogy - I haven't had a bath in many years. I do shower daily however...
Sorry, I was just trying to make sure this discussion stayed jovial. I hope I didnt offend you.
[/quote=TimMullen]I think that you would find that the thermostat restricts the flow of oil depending on the temperature, but any air on the system would readily flow through the system - kind of like the coolant thermostat.[/quote]
The engine oil flush machine does its cleaning (with an oil based cleaner as to not hurt the engine) with the engine running and to full operating temperature. So any kind of thermostat would be open fully. A adaptor is screwed onto the oil filter housing (just like a new filter) and has two lines (in and out) that go into the machine. The machine has a 5 micron filter (which a new one is used every time) to capture sludge/metal,etc. 15 to 20 min after hook up, you stop the flush process, drain the oil, blow air thru the system inject MOA, refill the system, new filter, top off.....DONE! 30 mins tops.
[/QUOTE]For the record, Lotus does not specify a brand of oil. They name Havoline as an example, and provide the specs that must be met.[/QUOTE]
I didn't mean to imply that they did. That was ment to empower readers with the knowledge that ANY oil that they want to use, as long as it meets manufacturer specification and the American Petroleum Institute specification, CAN BE USED!!! As well as, a manufacturer CANNOT VOID a warranty if said oil meets the criteria.
[/QUOTE]Back to the subject of leaving in the "dirty oil". Consider that there's twice as much oil in the Elise's system (OK, I know that's not accurate, but it makes the explanation better) as a regular car. In a given mileage, it only gets half as dirty. Change out half, and the "new" oil is on a quarter dirty. It will never be as clean as completely fresh oil, but it will never be more than half dirty. Unlike regular cars that go from clean to completely dirty in the given mileage.[/QUOTE]
Engine oil is made to do some specific jobs. One is to lubricate another is to control deposits (Carbon) and Acids (Sulfuric and others) by suspending them. "Used oil", when it can no longer lubricate (not likely anymore) or it can no longer hold any more acid or deposits (this is really why we change our oil nowadays) deteriorates new oils ability to control acids and deposits at an EXPONENTIAL rate. Which, matematically, means that the old oils inability to do its job will affect the new oils ability to do its job faster than the new oil can keep up. When the oil cant keep up with the deposits and acids they fall out of suspension and become sludge.
[/QUOTE]Yes, it would be better to change out all the oil. But in order to do that, you are going to have to make and break fittings to the coolers, and introduce air into the pressurized oil system - which must be a concern, even for the flushing system since it uses a special "startup lubricant" as part of the flushing (note the Lotus warning about using "additives" in the oil system. I suspect that the possibility of causing damage to the engine by draining and refilling the coolers out weighs the advantage of a complete oil change. I certainly doubt that it is worth the additional cost and effort.[/QUOTE]
Again, it only takes 30 min to do this service. The adapter screws on to the oil filter housing.
As far as "additives" go, stay away from teflon or any other P.T.F.E.'s (solids) of course, but without "additives" no engine oil ever made would protect your engine. All oils have additives. Crude oil, base stock or any other form of raw material needs an additive package to perform. The additive package actually determins how much the oil costs. A $.99 quart of oil doesn't have as much additive as a $9.00 quart of oil. MOA is a pure 11oz can of (liquid) additive. Additives are our FRIENDS, not a dirty word. They are the "good stuff" in our oils. They are what take care of carbon and acids in our oils.