Introduction
If you own a vehicle, we are sure you’ve heard about getting regular oil changes. This is a crucial part of keeping your car on the road for as long and possible. Regular oil changes also help protect important components of your car’s engine and will also help prevent future issues from happening.
But what is engine oil and how does it work? What viscosity should I use? How often should my oil be changed? Can I change the oil myself? Should I use synthetic or conventional motor oil? All these questions and more will be answered in hopes of educating and guiding you when it comes time for your next oil change.
We have put together a complete and thorough guide on everything that there is to know about engine oils so that you understand why having the right grade and viscosity oil is crucial for your particular make and model.
Engine oil facts that everyone should know
Changing your engine oil
Engine oil, like any other fluid will eventually break down and therefore lose their lubrication properties. Conventional oil will break down much quicker than today’s advanced synthetic oil. Depending on the oil used, it should be changed as per manufacturers recommendations.
The old school crowd will tell you that the sooner the better. While that might have been the case back in the day, it is no longer a viable answer. Automobile engines and even engine oils have come a long way from even 30-40 years ago.
How often should engine oil be replaced
As a rule of thumb, engine oil should be replaced anywhere between 7,500 and 10,000 miles depending on your style of driving and how much abuse your vehicle is being put through. For example, if you have a work truck that is used mainly for hailing and towing, the oil should be changed closer to the 7,500-mile mark.
Viscosity
Before we get into what viscosity you should use in your car’s engine, let’s get you up to speed about what viscosity is and how it can affect your vehicle’s performance and lifespan.
Engine oil viscosity, or thickness refers to how easily the oil will flow at a pre-set temperature. The viscosity of oil needed for your car will vastly vary across the many different makes and models out there.
Benefits of a low viscosity oil
A lower viscosity oil will flow much easier when the temperatures dip below zero and will also help start your car much faster and easier during those difficult winter months. The downside to having a lower viscosity oil is that it will not provide as much protection from metal to metal contact when compared to a higher viscosity oil.
High viscosity oil benefits
Having a higher viscosity oil in your vehicle comes with its own unique set advantages as well as disadvantages. Generally, higher viscosity oil is reserved for engines that are worked to their limits because the thicker composition of the oil will help provide better protection and will withstand greater temperatures.
What viscosity to use
As mentioned above, be sure to consult your owner’s manual or go to reputable shop when it comes time to change your oil. This way, you can be sure that the right viscosity is used to keep your car’s engine in tip top shape.
Conventional and synthetic oil differences
Differences
Simply put, conventional motor oil is refined directly from crude oil, whereas synthetic engine oil is a man-made product that is engineered to provide the best features of conventional oil with none of the drawbacks.
Synthetic motor oil
Synthetic motor oil is better in every aspect as it does not contain impurities and therefore will prevent build-up or sludge from depositing in your motor.
That’s why, when we went over how often the engine oil should be changed, we said that you will get different answers from different people. Today’s engines are specifically built to operate with synthetic oil only and will need to be changed at 7,500-10,000 miles.
Conventional motor oil
Besides price, conventional motor oil will not have many benefits for vehicles regardless of age. Since this type of engine oil is much cheaper to produce and has an overall lower quality, it will therefore be lower in price.
Engine oil benefits
Your car’s engine oil has many jobs from protecting your motor to ensuring it will run as long as possible without issues.
Protection
One of the main requirements of engine oil is to provide sufficient protection against metal on metal contact under any conditions. This is crucial as it will provide a small film between the parts and help reduce premature wear.
Cleaning properties
Today’s modern engine oils are made up of added chemicals that act as a detergent which will effectively help keep your engine clean while you drive. Detergents can make up anywhere from 10-30 percent of the oil itself.
Long term benefits
The right motor oil can also help fight sludge and oxidation as well as aid in keeping oxidation and acids from forming. Who knew that engine oil can have so many important jobs?
Changing the engine oil
Back yard mechanics and automotive enthusiasts have been changing their own engine oil for years and with a little bit of common knowledge and common tools, you can do it too!
Required tools
All you need is a wrench or Allen key to take off the drain plug, a tool to remove the oil filter and, of course, fresh oil and a new filter.
How to
Changing your engine oil is as simple as it gets, and anyone can do it. Once you’ve got your tools, new oil and filter you can get to it.
Simply get a pan and put it under the drain plug then go ahead and start loosening the plug. Once all the oil is drained you can go ahead and replace the old filter with a new one.
After that step is completed, go ahead and reinstall the drain plug and begin adding the fresh oil while periodically checking the dipstick as to not overfill your engine.
Composition
We touched on this subject earlier in the article, but in this section, we will be taking an in-depth look at what engine oil is made from.
Begging steps
The begging process of making engine oil is remarkably similar to that of gasoline. It all starts off with pulling crude oil from the ground. The crude oil is then filtered, distilled and further refined to make today’s modern engine oils.
Further refinement
As we know by now, oils come in many viscosities and/or varieties. Once the crude oil is transformed into engine oil, it then can be thickened or thinned to get the necessary viscosity.
Adding detergents
Each manufacturer then adds their secret recipe of detergents and additives to set them apart from the competition. Knowing this, we can safely say that not all engine oil is the made same. Your car’s manufacturer will also recommend you use a certain brand as well as viscosity that is best suited for your motor.
The importance of viscosity
Oil viscosity has several roles which are vital for your engine’s health. Each engine is designed to work at peak performance with a specific viscosity.
Not following the manufactures recommendation of oil viscosity can lead to a host of problems including premature wear on critical parts, increased engine temperature, and improper lubrication. All this can cause issues that can be easily remedied, or, in worse cases, it can cause irreparable damage to your motor.
Automobile manufactures have poured countless hours and money into research and development to find out exactly which type of oil is best for each specific engine. Of course, small adjustments can be made based on the climate you live in and the mileage of your engine.
Choosing the right oil
Your local auto parts store might have you intimidated by the abundant choice of engine oils that are currently on the market. Luckily, we are here to help with this problem.
The owner’s manual is a wealth of information that most people never open. However, even though your car’s manufacturer suggests a certain type of oil, you must consider that the viscosity chosen by the auto maker was when the vehicle was new.
High mileage engine oil
As your car ages, rubber seals dry out and no longer work as they were intended to. Approximately over two thirds of the vehicles out on the road at any given time have over 75,000 miles. This is considered a high mileage vehicle and there are special high mileage engine oils designed to re-hydrate seals and clean the engine of sludge build-up that may have occurred over the years.
Your best bet if you have a car with higher mileage is to go to your trusted mechanic or auto parts store and ask them what oil they would recommend if they were in your shoes. It is more likely that they may have encountered your make and model over the years and will know what works best for your engine.
Mixing different engine oils
Simply put, today’s engine oils are designed and engineered in such a way that it will not harm the engine if two or more engine oils are mixed together.
Back when car’s required mineral oil, it was advised again mixing it with conventional motor oil as it would cause adverse effects that can possibly produce irreparable damage to the vehicle.
In todays world, it is completely fine to mix different brands and even viscosities together without immediate repercussions, although the same cannot be said about the long run.
What to do in care of an emergency
In an emergency where you are low on oil, one can top up with any other brand and thickness until they can get out of trouble. However, this shouldn’t become common practice as it can dilute the detergent properties of the oils which will cause them to not work as they were intended.
Stick with what works
We recommend finding the right oil that works for your situation and sticking with it. If you know that your car consumes oil in between changes, it is highly recommended you carry and additional quart of the same make and viscosity in your trunk for emergencies.
Not changing the engine oil on time
Nothing good will ever come from skipping your regular oil changes. Manufactures have implemented a guideline that the engine oil should be changed regularly at pre-set mileage intervals.
How often should the engine oil be changed
Gone are the times when we had to change the oil every 3,000 miles. Over that last few decades, oil quality has improved so much that we now have to change the oil every 7,000 to 10,000 miles.
Consequences of dirty engine oil
Not changing you engine oil on time will have several adverse effects on you motor ranging from minor issues such as sludge build-up and going all the way to having your engine seize up due to the oil loosing its lubrication properties.
Engine oil also picks up microscopic parts of debris as it makes its way through the engine and if its not changed on time it can cause damage instead of helping to prevent it. So, be sure to follow your owner’s manual recommended oil change intervals as this is the best way to help prevent issues with your engine.
Having little or no oil in your car’s engine
Think of your cars engine oil as the blood needed to keep your vehicle alive. Without it, your car will die, much like a human would without sufficient blood in their body.
Issues associated with having little or no engine oil
Running low or being completely out of engine oil is highly unlikely, but it does happen, and in most cases, you will not notice a problem until it’s too late. That is why you should check your engine oil level regularly if you know that your car uses or leaks this important lifeblood.
Checking the quality and level of the oil
To check the oil, you simply locate the dipstick pull it out to see where the level is in relation to the marking on the dipstick itself. In newer cars, this can be done via the infotainment system as most auto manufacturers have simply deleted the dipstick nowadays.
Conclusion
The motor oil in your car is a critical component and it should be look at as such. We know that it can be a frightening task when it comes time to change the oil because of the total number of available oils currently on the market.
This article is meant to educate you as much as possible about motor oil and which kind is best suited for your particular application. Although there is a lot of useful information in this article, it should only be used as an informational guide and you should not go against the manufacturer’s recommendations.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please be sure to let us know and we will do out best to get back to you in a timely manner!