“What kind of engine oil should I use?” is a question every car owner has asked at least once. You are not sure why you are doing it or how often you need to change the engine oil, but some basic tips help you choose an engine oil for your car.
Yuma Honda will tell you how to choose the right engine oil in this blog post so your vehicle doesn’t fall behind!
There are four main factors to consider when choosing an engine oil: quality, viscosity, brand, and manufacturer’s specifications.
Manufacturers often do the testing to determine the correct viscosity for their engines, so using the engine oil recommended in your owner’s manual provides long-lasting protection against corrosion and rust by keeping water out of your engine’s inner workings.
What is Viscosity?
Viscosity refers to an oil’s thickness or thinness. Low-viscosity oils are thinner than high-viscosity ones at the same temperature, allowing them to flow more easily. As they cool, low-viscosity oils become thicker, and flowing becomes more complex, which is why it’s crucial to have the proper viscosity of engine oil.
Domestic cars usually require an SAE 5W-20 or SAE 5W-30 viscosity, whereas import vehicles generally use 10W-40. For severe cold weather conditions, some engines might need an even thicker oil like 15W-50. If you live in a region where the temperature drops below -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 degrees Celsius) or rises above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), you should opt for thicker viscosity.
Is Synthetic Oil Worth The Price?
Synthetic oils are better suited to extreme weather since they allow your engine to maintain its optimal temperature more efficiently than traditional mineral oils by staying fluid at higher temperatures and becoming viscous when it’s cold.
The oil is also engineered to cling to parts and not evaporate quickly. A higher-quality synthetic oil with a high “load carrying capacity” means the engine won’t have to work as hard and will experience less wear and tear.
Nanoparticles & Additives
With additives like molybdenum disulfide, boron nitride, or ceramics, nanoparticle motor oils can protect your engine from deposits that come from prolonged use of low-quality oil by removing existing deposits and keeping them from building up again in the future.
Engines run more cleanly and efficiently with the addition of detergents and dispersants in the new generation oils. In conventional oils, these additives may wear off after time, but modern lubricants have been specially formulated to resist this phenomenon.
Lubrication
Due to its thicker viscosity, conventional mineral oil lubricates less effectively between moving parts than synthetic motor oils. A synthetic’s viscosity changes far less as the temperature drops or rises, making it a much safer bet for very cold or very warm climates.
In summary, if you want your engine to work smoothly, efficiently, and safely for a long time to come, then you should invest in synthetic oil.
Yuma Honda serving Yuma, AZ, is here to help you with all your servicing needs including oil change.
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