Engine oils are an important part of the internal combustion engine. Whenever you service your call first thing to be changed is the engine oil. This shows how significant engine oil is for cars. If you own a car or planning to buy a car you must understand and have an idea about the engine oil to ensure the health of your car. In this article, we will explain to you what is engine oil. why engine oils are used? How many types of oil are used in cars? How to read the engine oil specifications.
Content:
What Is Engine Oil?
Why Engine Oils Are Used?
How Many Types Of Oil Are Used In Cars?
What Does The Grade Of Engine Oil Mean?
What Grade Of Engine Oil Is The Best?
What Is Engine Oil?
Engine oils are the liquid lubricants used for lubrication in internal combustion engines. Engine oils are a mixture of base oil with added additives and detergents to enhance their property to lubricate and reduce friction at a higher temperature.
Why Engine Oils Are Used?
- Internal combustion engines operate at high temperatures. The primary of engine oil is to lubricate the engine and reduce friction. Base oil is added with an anti-friction supplement.
- Engine oils play a vital role in removing the temperature from the moving parts through circulation. This property of the engine oil can be achieved by adding additives along with base oil.
- Engine oils are added with detergents to keep the engine clean from sludge. When you flush the engine oil during the service these impurities come out from the engine.
- A good engine oil ensures the long life of the engine parts and improves the efficiency of the car.
How Many Types Of Oil Are Used In Cars?
Now we know what is engine oil and its purpose. Let us know how many types of oil are used in cars. Engine oils are classified into 3 types based on their composition and application. Basically, the major difference between the 3 oils is base oil.
1. Mineral oil or Conventional Oil
2. Synthetic Oil
3. Semi-Synthetic Oil
Mineral Oil Or Conventional Oil
Mineral engine oils are the crudest types of engine oil which are refined from natural petroleum oils. In Simple words, Mineral oils are directly derived from petroleum oils. The base oil of mineral oil is crude oil and is later refined to remove unwanted impurities and undergo treatment at different temperatures. Base oil is added with additives to get the desired anti-friction properties.
- Mineral oils are thick and they flow very slowly compared to other oils.
- These oils are available at much lower prices and are often used in old vehicles.
- Minerals oils have less operating range and need to be changed frequently.
- Mineral oils have 70-80% base oil and are added with additives such as detergent, anti-friction, etc.
- Since the mineral oils are thick and viscous they yield less fuel efficiency compared to other oils.
Synthetic Oil
Synthetic oils are advanced types of engine oil. Here base oil is made artificially at the laboratories with a prescribed chemical process. Synthetic oils are highly efficient and have better anti-friction properties. They are formulated and designed to get the best performance from the engine.
- Synthetic oils are superior and work stable at higher temperatures or stress.
- They are expensive and performance-oriented oils.
- Synthetic oils can be used for a longer period of time and the frequency of the oil change is less.
- Most modern-day performance-oriented cars use synthetic oils.
Semi-Synthetic Oil
As the name indicates the base of the Semi-synthetic oil is derived from crude oil as well as a synthetic chemical process. In simple words, a certain amount of synthetic oil is mixed with mineral oils. Semi-synthetic oils are cost-efficient engine oils that provide performance almost the same as synthetic oil. They are also known as synthetic blend oils.
- Semi-synthetic oils are cheaper than synthetic oil but it offers the benefits of synthetic oil and similar performance at high temperature or stress.
- Semin-synthetic oil has a running life more than mineral oil but less than synthetic oils.
- They are considered to be cost-effective engine oils that offer good performance at the given price.
How Many Types Of Oil Are Used In Cars?
| Mineral Oils | Synthetic Oil | Semi-Synthetic oil |
| Mineral oils are directly derived from petroleum oils and are used as base oil. | Base oil is made artificially at the laboratories with a prescribed chemical process. | Semi-synthetic oil is derived from crude oil as well as a synthetic chemical process. |
| Less expensive | More Expensive | Average Price |
| Short running life | More running life | Moderate running life |
What Does The Grade Of Engine Oil Mean?
Hope you have seen the engine oil labeled in specific codes in the market. For example 10W40, 5W30 Etc. These are called the oil grade and they determine the characteristics of the oil at the different condition
Let’s take an example of oil 10W40
- The first number 10 determines the oil viscosity or thickness at cold temperatures.
- Here middle letter W refers to Winter
- The last number 40 determines the oil thickness at operating temperature.
- The smaller the number the thinner the oil that has a good flow.
- 5W30 has a better flow than 10W30 at cold temperatures as 5 is lower than 10.
- 10W30 has a better flow than 20W40 at operating temperature 30 is lower than 40.
What Grade Of Engine Oil Is The Best?
After knowing the basic idea about engine oil, the question arises What grade of engine oil is the best for the car? Well, we have explained to you about mineral oil, semi-synthetic oil, and synthetic oil. You can not predict the engine oil by looking at the car or its performance. You must go by the car manufacturer’s recommendation.
If the user manual indicates the recommended oil is a particular type and a particular grade it is better to go with the manufacturer’s recommendation to get the best result.
Conclusion:
We hope we have explained to you briefly about the engine oil. Engine oil is used for the lubrication, cleaning, and cooling of the internal combustion engine. 3 types of engine oils are Mineral oils, Synthetic oils, and Semi-Synthetic oils. If you have any further queries please do comment and let us know.