Have you ever wondered why all vehicles use engine oils? Or why manufacturers make a fuss about changing a vehicle’s engine oil from time to time? If so then you are at the right place. Keep reading to find out why.
What is engine oil?
Any of the different materials used to lubricate internal combustion engines is referred to as motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant. Engine oil is the single most significant component used in car maintenance.
Engine oil is one of the main lubricants that have a big part to play in the combustion cycle.It ensures that the piston rings in the IC engine are correctly sealed and keeps the engine cool.
Historically, base oil and additives were all that was required to make motor oil. Its functions include lubricating engine components, lowering friction, cleaning, cooling, and protecting the engine.
Modern synthetic motor oil, however, does much more than just lubricate; it also protects against wear, maintains viscosity at a range of temperatures, inhibits acid buildup, and cleans and shields turbos and contemporary engine parts.
They usually start with base oils that have been improved with different additions. Base oils make up 70–90% of the total and are produced from natural gas or crude oil, while additives make up the final 10–30% and can be any number of different substances.
These additives include among other things:
- Detergents
- Anti-wear additives
- Dispersants
- Anti-foam additives
- Friction modifiers
- Antioxidants
- Corrosion inhibitors
- Viscosity index improvers
- Pour point depressants
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the different types of engine oils, how often you should change your oil and more.
Types of engine oil
There are several types of engine oils. Each of them have different origin and uses
Synthetic Oil
Also known as Full synthetics, they are the most expensive motor oils. This is because they are highly refined, and offer the best protection and economy to absolutely every vehicle.
When compared to conventional oil molecules, synthetic oil molecules are more uniform in shape and have fewer impurities.
The labels of the oils state if they have passed rigorous special testing for better, longer-lasting performance in all relevant domains, from viscosity index to deposit protection.
In general, synthetic motor oil outperforms conventional motor oil derived from crude oil in extreme high and low temperatures, maintains peak viscosity, and is more resistant to oxidation.
Synthetic Blend Oil
Semi-synthetic oil is also known as synthetic blend oil. In order to offer greater oxidation resistance and better performance at low temperatures, this type of oil combines a combination of synthetic and conventional base oils.
This improves its qualities without significantly raising the price. Semi-synthetic fabrics are discouraging since they don’t provide the greater amount of protection that a full synthetic does.
Conventional Oil
Conventional motor oil can be said to be a standard oil. It comes in a variety of viscosity grades and quality levels. It meets the basic API specs recommended, but does not have the added performance found in synthetic motor oils.
This oil is cheaper in the market compared to the other varieties. However, it is nowadays mostly used in older vehicles and motorcycles.One of the problems with mineral oil is that they offer little to no lubrication and protection against friction-induced heat.
Additionally, they function very ineptly in colder temperatures. Additionally, they are significantly more likely to break down when used in high-temperature applications. Additionally, mineral oil needs to be changed more frequently.
They most times only last for 5000 kilometres.
High-Mileage Oil
High-mileage motor oil helps to reduce oil burn-off and avoid oil leaks that might happen in older engines since it is formulated with special additives. It has special additives that guard seals, stop oil leaks, and lessen engine pollutants, engine smoke, and oil burn-off.
For vehicles that have gone 75,000 miles or more on the road, this type of oil is recommended.
Functions of engine oil
Engine oils have various functions. They are well needed for effective and smooth running of the vehicle. Read further to learn about what engine oils do for your car.
- lubricating and separating moving parts
Engine oil lowers friction by lubricating the moving parts to prevent metal-to-metal contact, which is also one of its major benefits. Engine oil creates a layer of protection over the moving parts of the engine, preventing metal pieces from coming into contact with one another.
- Neutralizes Acids and other contaminants
Acids are produced during combustion by the oxidation of other lubricants and the burning of fuel. Every time an engine runs, it produces contaminants and byproducts including metal pieces, soot deposits, acids, dust, and dirt that can cause all sorts of damage to the engine.
These pollutants are suspended inside the engine oil throughout circulation, preventing them from damaging engine parts by coming into touch with them.
This is because dispersants, which are added to engine oil during manufacture, enable it to preserve internal engine cleanliness and force suspension.
- Cooling engine parts
Additionally, lubricants take up heat from the contact surfaces and transfer it to a location where it may be safely dispersed, such the oil sump. The temperature of the vehicle is lowered because it lubricates the moving parts to reduce friction.
Compared to lubricating the engine parts that require little amount of oil, cooling the engine part requires a much larger amount.
- Optimizes Engine Performance:
Particularly when it comes to moving parts, metal surfaces can be challenging to get completely smooth. The engine oil plugs the tiny crevices between the piston and cylinder to maximise engine performance and avoid leaks and performance loss.
Further functions of engine oils are listed below
- Helping to prevent deposits from forming on internal engine components
- Enhancing engine fuel efficiency
- Providing protection across a wide range of temperatures
- Operating hydraulics in variable valve timing
- Helping protect the emissions system
How Often should I Change my Oil
How often should you change your oil? Many people are oblivious of how often oils should be changed. As a result of that they tend to leave their oils longer than they should originally be. This causes a lot of fault for the vehicle’s overall performance and efficiency.
This will be explained further in this article.
Generally speaking, it’s ideal to change your car’s oil every 3000-5,000 miles or as directed by the manufacturer. However,not all cars require the same change frequency. This depends on the car and the manufacturer’s recommendation.
Other conditions include the vehicle’s age, driving condition and the type of oil used. it is important to change your oil more frequently because motor oil deteriorates over time.
Your engine will break down more quickly the longer old oil is allowed to remain in it. Its cooling and lubrication capabilities will also be significantly reduced.
What happens if I don’t change my oil often?
By-products of combustion are gathered in your engine oil each time it runs. If impurities accumulate in the engine beyond the capacity of the oil, deposits, sludge, and wear are produced.
Broken down in simpler terms, it will begin to gel or solidify in an engine, eventually turning into slurry mud. This will prevent the oil from getting to all areas of the engine, starving the crankshafts, bearings, camshafts, and other portions of the valve train of oil.
Some people add new oil to the old oil instead of changing it. While this is possible it should only ever be done in case of an emergency. When new oil is added to the old oil, it decreases the effect of the new oil.
The oil filter would also not have been changed if you hadn’t changed the engine oil, which would mean that all of the dirt and debris isn’t being cleaned by the engine oil but rather is just being carried around the engine and coming into touch with moving parts.
Visit a car specialist to know which oil best suits your vehicle better.
Conclusion
Just as fuel is important in the running of any engine, engine oil is equally important.It is a very vital component in maintaining your car’s effectiveness and longevity. It is crucial to change your car’s engine according to recommendation so you don’t give room for wear in your engine.