Nobody particularly likes the slow process of an oil change. The meter seems to turn into an hourglass before the next mark when oil has to be changed. To speed it up and ensure better environmental standards, one of the leading lubricant technologists Caltex has come with a new approach called Nexcel. It is a modular oil filter technology that may change the whole concept of how automobiles are made and serviced over the years. It replaces the entire manual drain and change filter process with the use of a simple cartridge that holds both the filters and the lube supply of the car. The cartridge is replaced with a new one while the older one is recycled, and the used oil can be used for another purpose.
The addition of the cartridge based system will allow shorter lead times for auto manufacturers and even shorter oil changing times as well. It typically takes 20 minutes or so to change the oil, while, with the help of this cartridge based system, it can be changed within a mere ninety seconds. Other benefits of the revolutionary system include a significant reduction in CO2 emissions in modern engines and recycling option of used oil. Generally, the oil is drained out, and most of it gets flushed into the environment which is a dangerous proposition. The oil is known to have recycling capability and can be converted back into various kinds of lubricants. This act can save over 200,000 tankers worth of new lubricants every year!
The system is not in infancy as it has been successfully tested in various cars from minute ones to cutting-edge high-speed racing cars. The design didn’t falter during extensive testing and survived a deceleration of 1.8G that roughly translates to a 100 Km/h going car stopping in just 1.6 seconds. The oil flow has also been tested to contain a flow of over 600 liters per minute or 20 times more than an average suburban car, and it passed the test.
It has been developed very fast, and automakers will have to look into it one way or another considering government puts regulation on the usage of lubricants to encourage their recycling. To facilitate this, Castrol is in discussions with various car manufacturers around the world. Check out the video below for more:
