How Long Will This Mercedes Run With No Oil?
This Mercedes Tries Its Best to Survive With No Oil. Spoiler Alert, It Doesn’t Work
We all know that oil changes are essential to the health of your car, but have you ever wondered what would happen to your car if you let it run without any oil? Well, you can satisfy your curiosity without killing your favorite engine. How long will a 1994 C180 Mercedes run without oil?
The Subject
This little Mercedes looks like it’s had quite a run — a 23-year-old car with more than 200,000 miles on the odometer that still runs is nothing to shake your head at.
With a small inline 4-cylinder engine that puts out 121 horsepower, this little car in its heyday could hit 0-60 in 10.3 seconds and finish a quarter mile in 17.5 seconds. Not too bad for a tiny 4-cylinder!
This particular car was purchased by Car Throttle for £200 and has been put through its paces as a drifter, but it’s not going to last much longer. To send it out with a bit of fanfare, the channel decided to see how long it would survive doing laps on the track after emptying the engine of oil. Check it out:
The Starting Line
After draining the oil, the timer is started with an estimation that it will only last for about 4 minutes. The car itself already has a sticky throttle, but it still tears its way around the track in second gear. Shifting to drive shows that the engine is in unhappy with the state of things because it sounds like an old Mercedes diesel taxi.
10 Minutes In
After more than doubling the original estimation and listening to the driver complain that he’s getting bored, the little C180 is still going strong. It might be getting a little intimidated because the scrap collection van has arrived and is waiting for the end of the race.
The End of the Road
Five minutes later, the 23-year-old car finally gives up the ghost with a miniature fireball emanating from its belly, followed by a cloud of white smoke emanating from what was once this Benz’s aura. At final count, the car survived 17 minutes with no oil before one of the piston rods finally gave up and blew a hole through the bottom of the oil pan, leaving fragments of rod and bearing on the track behind it.
There is no better car death than going out in a literal blaze of glory. Plus, now you know what will happen to your car if you run it without oil! Obviously, don’t try this at home. It’s still recommended to get your oil changed every 5,000 or so miles, and to never let it run out. If you’re hardcore, you can even do an oil analysis to alert you of any issues before they become major. Hopefully not as major as blowing a hole in the bottom of your car. Curiosity satisfied — and only one car had to be sacrificed in the process.
CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Curious Experiment
