Engine oil is a very important part of your car, bike, truck etc. Engine oil lubricates all the parts of the engine of your vehicle. The engine consists of moving parts that are made up of metal, that need to be lubricated with engine oil regularly, in order to work smoothly. If you use the right engine oil, it can do wonders for your vehicle. On the contrary, if you ignore the importance of engine oil, your vehicle is headed for disaster. Engine oil is a very important part of regular maintenance of your vehicle. While maintenance, one of the important questions asked is if the engine oil is regularly put in the car or not. So, in this blog post, I am going to list the right engine oil for your vehicle, in India. This is going to be a bit tedious, but I will try to list it as easily as possible.
Before I start listing, I would suggest you, the reader, that if you are getting too confused as to which engine oil to use and worrying about it, first things first, check the owner’s manual of your vehicle, be it a car or a bike or whatever vehicle you are referring to. The owner’s manual will list the recommended oil weight, whether it is a standard format, or something more unusual. Anyway, I will move on.
There are various categories of engine oil. They are as follows-Mineral, Semi-synthetic and Synthetic oil. Mineral oil is the crudest form of engine oil. It is the engine oil from where onwards the evolution of engine oil started and better oils started getting invented. Mineral oil is cheap and nowadays it is used in older vehicles and motorcycles. The biggest problem with mineral oil is that they offer little or no lubrication against friction. They are also, inefficient and do not perform well in colder temperatures. They are more susceptible to breakdown and require frequent replacement. They don’t last more than 5000 km. Synthetic oil is the most advanced form of oil. It is the engine oil that delivers excellent protection and contributes to greater fuel-efficiency. Synthetic oils go through a great amount of treatment in the laboratory. Synthetic oil is mineral oil with added chemicals. Synthetic oils can also be used to remove impurities in the engine. The molecules of synthetic oil are also consistent in size and shape, offering supreme lubrication. Fully synthetic oil functions at its optimum at both low and high temperatures, even in stressful conditions. There is a lot of science and effort behind making synthetic engine oil, which makes it really expensive. But, don’t worry if it is too expensive, because another option, if you want to take care of your car on a budget, is using semi-synthetic engine oil. It is the middle ground, between mineral oil and synthetic oil, both in price and quality. It offers the quality of a synthetic and the affordability of a mineral engine oil. This kind of engine oil provides as much as three times the protection compared to mineral oils. Semi-Synthetic engine oil is also known as Synthetic blend oil. Here, a small amount of synthetic oil is mixed with mineral oil. This boosts its properties without escalating the cost by much. The addition of semi-synthetic engine oil enhances its viscosity and wear resistance at higher temperatures and stress. Synthetic-blend engine oils can also offer better performance at lower temperatures compared to mineral oils.
Okay, so that basics are clear. You know the various types of engine oil. Now, once you have decided that which type of engine oil you are going to purchase, then you are going to see these alpha-numeric codes-0W30, 15W40,5W20 etc. I am imagining that you might be confused. What do these codes mean? Which one is right for my car?
Let me explain. These alphanumeric codes, whose examples I just mentioned above, are the viscosity ratings of the engine oil. Now, what is viscosity? Viscosity of a fluid refers to the fluid’s resistance to flow. To keep it simple, basically, a fluid with low viscosity will flow easily whereas a fluid with high viscosity will flow with more friction and more difficulty. Engine oils have different viscosity ratings and thus have different functions. The viscosity rating determines the purpose of the engine oil and what it is designed to do, what temperature and condition it is designed to function at. I will tell you what it means, wait. So, let us take the example of 5W40. This is the viscosity rating of an engine oil. So, W stands for winter and represents how the oil will react to a cold start. The number that precedes W, in this case 5, is the viscosity of the oil when the oil is cold, and the number after W, in this case 40, is the viscosity of the oil when it is hot. Generally speaking, the viscosity of the oil remains the same during its lifetime, but when the oil is used for some time, due to the extreme heat and pressure in the engine, the oil oxidizes and its viscosity increases.
Anyway, now that I have explained the types of oil, and also the viscosity rating, I will explain the additional contents or additives in engine oil which makes engine oil very effective in maintaining the engine. They are as follows-Viscosity-index improvers, Detergents, Dispersants, Anti-wear agents, Friction modifiers, Pour-point depressants, Antioxidants, Foam inhibitors and Rust or corrosion inhibitors. Viscosity-index improvers reduce the oil’s tendency to thin with increasing temperature. Detergents in oil remove some deposits-primarily solids. Their main purpose is to keep surfaces clean by inhibiting the formation of high-temperature deposits, rust and corrosion. Dispersants disperse solid particles by keeping them in a solution so they don’t come together to form sludge, varnish or acids. Some additives work both as detergents and dispersants. Anti-wear agents protect the metal surfaces if the oil’s coating, the lubricating film, breaks down. A zinc and phosphorous compound is used in anti-wear agents, also other phosphorous and sulfur compounds. Friction modifiers reduce engine friction and thus, can improve fuel economy. Graphite, Molybdenum and other compounds are used for this. Pour-point depressants are used in engine oil so that it can flow in the cold. With tighter emission regulations, engine temperatures have increased. At higher temperatures, the oil oxidizes more readily. So, antioxidants are used so that the oil does not oxidize easily and it gets thickened. The crankshaft rotates regularly, and because of that, the oil in the oil pan gets turned into foam. Foam is not as effective in lubrication as an oil stream, so foam inhibitors help in preventing the oil from foaming, because of them the foam bubbles collapse. Rust or corrosion inhibitors protect the metals from acid and moisture, the two things that can cause the metal to rust.
So, I have also explained the additives that are put in engine oil. Now I will talk about some of the grades of engine oil used in India, and their uses. These oils will be named by their viscosity rating. They are as follows-0W40, 5W40, 5W30 or 10W30, 10W40 and 15W40 or 25W40. 0W40 is considered to be the most superior in the Indian market. It performs efficiently at both hot and cold temperatures, as the viscosity rating suggests, with the least sludge. It makes it ideal for modern-day petrol and diesel cars. 5W40 is considered to be good for diesel cars. It can perform equally good as 0W40, but not in cold conditions, because as the viscosity rating suggests, the 0W40 oil would have lower viscosity in low temperature conditions compared to 5W40, and lower viscosity means that it will flow more smoothly compared to 5W40 in cold conditions, where smooth flow of oil is extremely important. 5W30 or 10W30 is ideal for modern petrol engines. It is cost-effective and has a low viscosity which fits well with modern age petrol engines and gives good fuel efficiency. 10W40 is available in mineral and semi-synthetic variants and is suitable for the Indian climate. It is a cost-effective option with efficient performance. Lastly, 15W40 or 20W50 are the oils that are generally recommended for older engines and is a lot thicker than its counterparts.
Now, how often should you change your oil? The engine of a car or bike varies from brand to brand. In some cases, driving conditions also determine when to change engine oil. Driving conditions in India are more different than the driving conditions in the US or Europe. Traffic, potholes, rough roads, stop and go etc. put a lot of stress on the engine. Most engine oil experts recommend that you must change your oil at 7500-10000 kms. If you are using mineral based oil, then change it at 5000-5500 kms.
So, these were somethings about engine oil. Thank you for reading my blog!!!
