What Every Driver Should Know About Motor Oil

What Every Driver Should Know About Motor Oil

We may not know how to change brake pads or even how to change a flat tire, but almost all drivers know how to add oil to their cars. You just pop the hood and pour in, right? Well, not exactly. To protect your engine from premature wear and tear, you should use motor oil is recommended.

To find out what you need, just check your owner's manual. In most cases, this will tell you to use either synthetic or conventional products. The former is generally required for high-performance vehicles, while the second offers sufficient protection against heat buildup for most of the other cars. There is also a synthetic mix for vehicles carrying heavy loads, such as trucks, vans, and SUVs.

What About Viscosity?

If you follow your owner's manual to the letter - and you should - it will instruct you to use a particular class of viscosity, or thickness, of oil. Because of different machines running at different temperatures, different values ​​needed to prevent overheating. Thickness and their suitability is determined by a series of numbers. The most common are the 5W-30 and 10W-30. What do these numbers mean?

Measured by the Society of Automotive Engineering, the figures show the thickness of the fluid during a hot and cold testing. To 5W-30, the first number (5) is the thickness of the oil when the motor is cold, and the second number (30) is the viscosity when hot. Due to the sheer value puts less strain on the motor, they preferred when the heat is not a problem. Instead, a thick fluid provide much-needed protection when the temperature rises. Thus, the classes you need depends on how hot your engine running.

Is It Really That Important?

Yes, it really is that important! Using the wrong type, or even a class, the product may result in permanent damage to the engine parts are vital. This is especially true if you have a vehicle that require synthetic motor oil, but you are wrong to use conventional. What very well could happen in this case is that the natural motor oil will break down under extreme heat, causing inadequate lubrication. With less lubrication, friction between moving parts can easily lead to serious, even irreparable damage. More than a few riders have blown their machines because they use the wrong fluids.

Cancel your warranty

Even if your vehicle is still under warranty, damage that occurs because you used the wrong motor oil may not be covered. It is also possible to void your warranty if you use a fluid that is too thick or too thin. There are even cases where cars have refused to cover the damage associated with non-approved fluids. To avoid this unpleasant scenario, make sure you always use a fluid that has been approved by the Automotive Petroleum Institute (API). You'll know it by the "sunburst" logo that always appear on the product label approved. So, if you do not see the sunburst it, do not buy or use the product.

As the lifeblood of your engine, the right motor oil can keep your vehicle running smoothly for years to come.