How to Select the Best Engine Oil for Your Car?

Engine oil is vital for automobiles as it keeps the engine clean, helps it function smoothly and reduces friction between moving parts. Since it performs such a crucial role, it is important to choose the right engine oil for each vehicle.

Knowing the type of engine oil is important as each oil has a specific advantage suitable for specific vehicle.

Know about engine oil

Engine oils can broadly be classified below:

• • Mineral oil is the refined petroleum oil that is most suitable for older vehicles. This engine oil is affordable but requires a frequent oil change.
  • Synthetic blend or semi-synthetic oil is a mix of natural and synthetic oils that are affordable and work well even at higher temperatures. If you need to carry heavy loads such as pulling a boat, you can do well with synthetic blend engine oil.

• Synthetic oil  has no impurities, offers better performance, and works at extreme temperatures to reduce stress on the engine. It also offers fuel economy as compared to mineral oil.

Factors to consider when choosing engine oil 

Choosing the right engine oil requires considering a few factors that have a direct and indirect impact on the engine functioning. These are:

  Type of vehicle

The type of vehicle is the primary factor in determining engine oil. Whether it is old or new, runs on petrol or diesel, has a higher performance engine or not, the brand, and the series, etc., are all vital elements to consider.

  Environmental factors

Whether the vehicle operates in extreme temperature conditions affects the engine oil choice. If the weather conditions are in both extremes then the engine oil should be the one that can perform well under low as well as higher temperatures.

  Driving circumstances

City driving can take a toll on the engine causing it to age faster. Such stressful conditions need high-performance engine oil.

  Quality of oil

The viscosity of oil is its resistance to flow smoothly. Higher viscosity oil flows slowly, and lower viscosity oil flows faster through the engine. Low viscosity oils are suitable for cold weather, while the high viscosity oils fare well in higher temperatures. Viscosity is shown as 5W-30 where W denotes winter. The lower the number, the better the oil is for cold conditions. The other number denotes a thicker engine oil.

  Wrapping Up

The most common choice of engine oil these days is synthetic oil because of its suitability with extreme climatic conditions and driving circumstances. The other factor to check on is the viscosity of the oil, mentioned in the owner’s manual of the vehicle.

 

However, it is advised to refer to owner’s manual for choosing the right viscosity grade