Your car engine has many moving parts that work together to get your car moving. Engine oil is needed to protect these parts from wear and there are many types of car oils to choose from which might be overwhelming. The main difference between these types of car oils is their thickness and thus viscosity. Viscosity refers to the magnitude of internal friction in a fluid and thus how easy the oil flows. High viscosity oils are thicker engine oils and are more heat resistant. Engine oils get thinner and runnier with increased heat. Oil needs to be the right thickness to provide maximum protection for your engine. When the oil is too thin there is not enough protection from wear, then again if the oil is too thick it can’t reach all the moving parts in the engine and the car might struggle to start.
How do I choose the right type of car oil? There are many types of car oils to choose from and may be a bit overwhelming at first. The easiest way is to check your vehicles owner’s manual, there they will list the recommended engine oil with a code for example, 15W40 or 10W30.
What does this code mean? Let’s use 10W30 as an example, the “W” stands for winter and the number before the W in this case “10” translates into how well that oil performs or flows at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Living in very cold areas you need to use oil with a low “W” number like 5W. The number after the “W” translates into the oil’s viscosity at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). This number is the capability of the oil to resist flow (thinning) at high temperatures. 15W40 engine oil will thin out slower at high temperatures than 10W30 engine oil. 15W40 is used in engines that runs very hot like performance cars.
The 4 classes of car oils:
Conventional oil: this is the standard oil type for normal non-performance cars driving to work and back regularly. In cold temperatures 5W20 or 5W30 oils are recommended wile in warmer climates 10W30 or 15W40 are recommended.
Full Synthetic oil: these oils are used in high performance vehicles. Engines that run at very high temperatures and that need special protection. These synthetic oils are also used in heavy duty vehicles with heavy loads. Synthetic oils are expensive and luckily not all engines need them.
Synthetic oil blend: They are organic/synthetic oil blends. These oils are used in vehicles that hauls heavy loads and where the engine might run at high temperatures. They are ideal for SUV’s and pickup trucks where the engine might have added stress from pulling heavy loads.
High-mileage oils: These oils are designed for older cars with high mileage. These cars are prone to oil leakage. High mileage oils have high viscosities and treat specific engine parts to help with added protection and engine seals to prevent leakage.
Oil Additives:
Dispersant additives
These additives are used in petrol and diesel engines and works together with detergent additives to keep the engine clean. The function of dispersants together with detergents is to keep oil impurities and deposits small enough to keep in suspension and not clump together. The combination of these 2 oil additives also causes more acids to be neutralized forming in the oil. Keeping the engine oil clean is important, oil impurities forms deposits which forms sludge that can block oil passageways through the engine. These additives keep the oil clean and oil impurities in suspension to that it can drain out of the engine with the next oil change.
Detergent additives
Detergents keep your engine clean and running smoothly. These oil additives will neutralize acids formed in the engine oil and clean deposits from metal engine parts. They make deposits and oil impurities soluble to prevent sludge build up in your engine. Deposits and sludge build-up will affect engine performance and increase wear on engine parts. Detergents and dispersants work well together to keep the engine clean from deposits.
Anti-Wear additives
Anti-Wear additives forms a protective barrier on frictional metal parts where metal-to-metal contact occurs. They also protect the metal parts from acid formed by oxidation and minimize corrosion. These oil additives have antioxidative properties slowing down oxidation, neutralizing acids and repelling water. It is very beneficial to engines that perform at very high engine temperatures, such high temperatures add more stress to the engine increasing wear. These additives get depleted by adsorption from the metal parts in the engine.
Friction modifier additives
Friction modifiers reduce the friction between metal components in the engine. They are used in engine oil as well as automatic transmission fluids to reduce the friction between engine and transmission components. In engines, the goal is to increase fuel efficiency.
Viscosity Improver additives
These oil additives improve the viscosity index of the oil. They increase oil flow at lower temperatures and stop the oil from thinning out too much at high temperatures. Keeping the right consistency of engine oil is important to reach all the engine parts needing protection. Fuel economy is increased and there will be less wear on engine parts. Over time viscosity improver additives will lose shape reducing its effectiveness.
Antioxidant
Oxygen in the air reacts or “attack” substances, the base oil in the presence of oxygen oxidizes. Eventually acids will form, and parts will start to corrode. Oxidation always occurs and increases with temperature. Antioxidants inhibits oxidation and extends the life of the base oil.
Rust and Corrosion inhibitors
These oil additives neutralize acids formed by oxidation and prevent or minimize rust and corrosion on engine parts. They form a protective barrier on metal surfaces repelling moisture.
Anti-Foaming additives
Anti-Foaming additives reduce the formation of air bubbles in the oil which can result in a loss of lubrication for certain engine components.
Pour Point Depressants
The pour point of the oil is the lowest temperature where it will still flow. Pour point depressants can be handy in very cold climates. In paraffinic mineral oil when wax crystals form the oil may become solid with very low temperatures, because the wax crystallizes. Pour point depressants reduce the size of the wax crystals so that oil can flow normally.
Conclusion
When choosing the right type of car oil also take note on daytime temperatures when using your vehicle. If you live in extreme temperatures, you should choose a oil that fits your climate. You should choose an oil that are thinner when living in extremely cold areas or use additives that will prevent the oil from getting too thick (or even solid) at low temperatures.
The same thing can be said living in extremely hot areas, too thin oil will become even thinner and don’t lubricate the engine parts enough and increased wear and tear will result. Adding viscosity additives could resolve the problem.
When considering the type of car oil for your engine, no matter which one you buy from the shop they already have additives in them. Without additives the oil could not perform its duty. Newer engines with less wear and tear will still perform well and would not really benefit from added oil additives. High mileage vehicles where increased wear and tear of engine components are found, mixing in additives will not turn back the clock but it will minimize further damage to engine parts extending the engine’s life.
If you decide to use some oil additives, don’t just pour in a bunch of different additives, some additives do not go together, and you might end up damaging your engine. So do your research first.
Between oil changes the additives in the oil will eventually be used up, so mixing some additives into the oil to lengthen its protection might be a good idea.
