Change Engine Oil Hot or Cold (Tested) Long vs Short Oil Drain Timelapse

Is it best to change your engine oil hot or cold? How long should you let the oil drain? In this test I will show the difference between how much oil comes out when it is hot and cold and the different amounts that drain out over the course of 12 hours.

[TaylorZ]

Great demonstration, concise and to the point. I'm so tired of 15 minute videos for things that can easily be answered in 2 or 3 minutes.

[thenabinator]

My question was never about speed, but rather the difference in volume of oil between a hot & old drain. My theory was a cold drain would yield more oil since all oil had time to drain into the sump from all parts of the engine. But since a hot drain yielded even more oil - and took less time - the theory is blown. Happy to be proven wrong on this. Thanks!!

[bladder]

Bottom line is that a hot oil drain netted you an additional 1.7% oil over the cold oil drain. In the grand scheme of things that is completely negligible. Even fully drained, engines retain quite a bit of the old oil anyway -- many times more than that tiny amount. Modern engines aren't really as fragile as people imagine. Engine failure is probably pretty far down the list for why cars end up getting scrapped. The main thing is that the oil is changed *regularly*, as you are constantly putting in a new supply, no matter how much of the previous oil remains.

[TheUnkindness]

I personally do both ''at the same time''.
I usually change the oil after my car has been stored for a few months for winter, at that point all the old oil sunk into the pan so I drain it cold to remove as much old oil as possible.
Then, I add unused but not fresh oil that I had left from my previous oil change, just enough to reach the dipstick and turn on the engine until it reaches operating temperature and turn it off. This allows for the unused oil to chase the old oil from the nooks and crannies, then I can simply drain the hot unused oil with the contaminants it managed to stir up and fill it up completely with fresh new oil.
Best of both worlds.

Yes, I do suck the fun out of life.

[gusgiesel]

I drain oil when hot, not to get the most oil out of the engine but to remove any sediment at the bottom of the pan. Any sediment present would be stirred up while the oil is circulating. I realize sediment may not be present in the pan depending on condition of the engine and regular servicing... maybe we can do a video showing a wire or stick rotated inside the drain hole to pick up any sediment in the bottom of the pan.

[impalaconvert]

From what I am hearing (and seeing) here 5w/30 when it is hot is actually thinner than 5w/30 that is cold. Probably better to drain hot, just give it at least an hour to drain down as much as possible from the engine to the pan and out the drain hole. Now if pans only had a hinged bottom like a toaster so you could wipe out any sediment!

[burnetthopkins]

Thanks for going to the effort to run this experiment, and show the actual difference. I always find it interesting that most people, when the debate the "importance" of this topic, forget that all engines retain a significant amount of oil, that can only be removed by engine teardown. Engines I am familiar with retain anywhere from 0.8 quarts to 1.6 quarts. Even a 24 hour drain will never get this oil out of the engine.

With this in mind, it seems like a moot point to spend extra time to get those last few ounces out at oil change.

[happygarage]

I prefer to change engine oil when hot, and the test confirmed why, any carbon or particulate is still suspended in the oil allowing more to be drained out, vs settling in the bottom of the oil pan. Nice demonstration.

[geraldharrell]

This was exactly what I wanted to know. I typically change oil when hot, and now I know it is the right thing to do. Thanks.

[sarannadams]

Thank you for a short, easy to understand video. You confirmed why my dad always drained it hot and why I do. But my husband doesn't and he takes care of our vehicles now. He does a good job, but it is something we disagree on. In the end, not worth the argument! 😂💗

[MattB]

Good to see that it really is negligible. If my car is already warmed up from driving, I'll drain it - but I'm not going to run it just to get the oil hot.

[ranger]

i believe the recommendation of changing oil hot after it has just run is mostly to stir up all the contaminants into oil so it will pour out with the oil easier rather than sitting on bottom of the pan.

[LA_Commander]

Having burned my hands during hot oil changes, I always prefer to drain my oil while it's cold, or at least cooled-down. I haven't burned my hands since and all my vehicles have reached 300, 000 miles or more after years of service. The key takeaway here is to change that oil regularly.

[drumvannelle]

Your videos are really very interesting and simple. Thank you 🙏

[ranger]

I like to put in a few ounces of new oil in engine to help rinse out some of the old oil after the first 5 minutes or so not sure if it does much good since there is always oil hiding in nooks and crannies of engine that will never drain out.

[ericrivera]

Oil expands when hot that’s why it looks like more drained out

[Tk-ouec]

I’ve always drained cold in my old classic. This car will sit sometimes for maybe three weeks so I know the oil (or most of it) has drained down into the sump.
Never once had a drama doing it this way. And no burning fingers either. I usually let it drain for approximately one hour anyway.
As you showed in this demonstration, there is stuff all difference anyway.

[CarlosAp]

Great video! It would be important to know the amount of oil that remains inside the engine after draining for 12 hours.

[imortaliz]

i dont just change the oil when its hot i really go out and give the car a good ringing to dislodge any contaminents inside before changing it

[graphitedak]

The color difference between the two samples is what sold me. I'd prefer to get more contaminants purged during an oil change. Hot looks like the way to go. Thank you.