Engine oil 1: Understanding motor oil
(引擎機油 1：了解機油)
You probably already know the basics of how a car engine works. An engine powered by fuel causes the wheels to turn. You don’t need to know about aerodynamics, electronics or what fluids like engine oil and coolants do.
你大概已經知道汽車引擎是怎麼運作的。燃油使引擎有動力並驅使輪子轉動。你不需要知道關於空氣動力學、電機學或是一些液體如引擎機油或水箱精如何運作。
However if you want to get the most out of your vehicle you should learn the details behind how it works and what you can do to improve performance. Therefore in this series of articles we are going to dig deeper into the engine, concentrating on engine oil.
然而如果你想多認識你的車輛，你應該要學著知道他是如何運作的細節以及你可以如何改善效能。
因此在這個系列的文章，我們將要更深入了解引擎，特別是引擎機油。
Why do cars need oil?
(為何汽車需要機油)
Every car is able to move thanks to fuel combustion. Basically, a mixture of fuel and air (in blue) enters each cylinder where the piston compresses it, causing it to combust. That results in the rotation of the crankshaft and this rotation is subsequently transferred to the wheels.
每輛車子因為燃油燃燒而可以移動。基本上，燃油及空氣(以藍色標示)的混合進入每個汽缸，然後活塞施加壓力，造成爆炸燃燒。這會讓區軸旋轉，而這旋轉隨後被傳送到輪子上。
Source: Giphy
Although the cylinders are missing from the image for the sake of clarity, you can see that there are lots of metal-to-metal contact points which, if not properly lubricated at all times, may cause severe damage to the engine.
為了看清楚，雖然影片中沒有提到汽缸，但你可以知道有許多金屬面會有所接觸，如果沒有辦法適當的持續潤滑，會造成引擎嚴重的損壞。
Source: Unstoppable
To ensure lubrication, oil gets pumped from the sump located below the engine to all metal-to-metal contact points such as the pistons, crankshaft and camshaft. The oil then drips back to the sump.
為了確保潤滑度，機油會從引擎下方的油底殼被送到所有金屬會有所接處的地方，例如活塞、曲軸和凸輪軸。然後機油再滴回到油底殼。
As you can see, this procedure reduces friction drastically in critical points of the engine, which easily reach more than 300ºC and need this lubrication to control temperature and avoid malfunctions.
如你所見，這個過程大幅的減少了引擎在嚴苛狀態下產生摩擦，而引擎很容易到達甚至超過300ºC，這需要潤滑油去控制溫度避免錯誤產生。
When do I need to change engine oil?
(我何時需要更換機油?)
Of course, oil doesn’t last forever. When passing through its circuit, the oil collects waste from the fuel combustion. Over time its effectiveness will diminish.
當然，機油不是永久不變的。當經過這些過程循環，機油會夾帶燃油燃燒後的水分。一段時間過後，機油效能會減少。
On top of this, your driving style or your car’s design can cause the oil to burn without you even noticing. This could happen when oil gets in the cylinder and mixed in with the fuel, causing it to also burn.
此外，你的駕駛方式或你的車輛設計，甚至讓機油在你不知不覺中而燃燒。在機油進入汽缸並和燃油混合之時候，也會產生燃燒的狀況。
For these reasons, you should change engine oil regularly and always check its light indicator. Depending on the vehicle and the type of oil, synthetic or conventional, is advisable between 10,000 and 30,000 km. Or 12 and 24 months respectively.
基於這些原因，你應該要定期的更換機油，並經常檢查指示燈。依據車輛及哪種類型的機油(合成油或礦物油)，建議在10000公里到30000公里更換。或是12到24個月。
If the vehicle is modern and run with synthetic oil, it is close to 30,000 km, while if the vehicle has more than 10 years or the oil is conventional, the opposite.
當汽車是較新型並使用合成油的時候，幾乎可以到30000公里換油。而當汽車已經超過10年了或使用礦物油，則相反。
To know with precision when to perform an oil change, you should take a look at your vehicle’s manual. Finally, if your current oil’s viscosity is higher than the recommended one, stick with the one you have.
要知道準確的換油時間，你應該要看看車主使用手冊。最後，如果你現在的機油黏度比推薦的高，就堅持使用。
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In the coming weeks we will talk about oil viscosity, synthetic vs conventional oils and how additives can improve a motor oil’s performance.
接下來的每個星期，我們將會聊到關於機油黏度、合成油與礦物油，以及添加劑是如何改善機油的效能。