Manufacturing Technology 2025, 25(5):655-661 | DOI: 10.21062/mft.2025.068

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Fuel on Engine Oil Life

Pavol Mikuš ORCID..., Alena Breznická ORCID..., Marcel Kohutiar ORCID..., Michal Krbaťa ORCID..., Milan Jus ORCID..., Lucia Kakošová ORCID..., Jozef Fekiač ORCID...
Faculty of Special Technology, Alexander Dubcek University of Trenčín, Ku Kyselke 469, 911 06 Trenčín, Slovakia

The fuel content of engine oil is a significant factor affecting its degradation processes, lubricating properties and overall service life, especially in the case of modern internal combustion engines equipped with turbocharging, direct injection and exhaust gas recuperation systems. This study analyzes the dilution of engine oil with fuel in diesel and gasoline engines of vehicles with different degrees of wear, represented by the number of kilometers driven. The main objective of the research is to identify the relationship between the fuel concentration in the oil and changes in its physicochemical properties, as well as the potential impact of this phenomenon on the service life of the lubricant and the suitability of the set replacement intervals. The fuel content was quantified using precise quantitative spectrometric analysis, which allowed comparing engine oil samples taken under different operating conditions, including hot and cold starts, urban and highway operation. The results obtained show that vehicles with higher mileage and higher frequency of cold starts exhibit significantly higher rates of oil dilution by fuel, which directly affects the reduction of its viscosity and lubricating ability. The findings of this study provide important insights for the development of recommendations in the field of engine maintenance, especially with regard to optimizing engine oil change intervals, in order to prevent excessive wear and damage to engine components due to lubricant degradation.

Keywords: Oil, Viscosity, Fuel, Durability, Reliability, Contamination
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The article could be published with the support of the project KEGA 005TnUAD-4/2024 Creation of interactive teaching texts for education using E-learning on Faculty of Special Technology, Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín 

Received: August 4, 2025; Revised: November 6, 2025; Accepted: November 19, 2025; Prepublished online: December 6, 2025; Published: December 8, 2025  Show citation

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Mikuš P, Breznická A, Kohutiar M, Krbaťa M, Jus M, Kakošová L, Fekiač J. Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Fuel on Engine Oil Life. Manufacturing Technology. 2025;25(5):655-661. doi: 10.21062/mft.2025.068.
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