It’s a slippery subject, so to speak – Engine oil.

There are many different types of engine oils out there, so what’s the right type of oil for your vehicle?

When we discuss engine oils, first let’s break them into two main categories; regular and synthetic.

Regular engine oil basically comes from crude oil. It can break down and become less effective, quicker, especially under extreme temperatures or heavy loads.

Synthetic oil, on the other hand is a chemically produced lubricant that is made from combining base oils with additives.  This means it has a more stable, uniform and controlled molecular structure. What this means in terms of performance is that synthetic oil will maintain a more consistent viscosity and offer better resistance to oxidization and thermal breakdown (breakdown under heat).

Overall, synthetic oil is better for your engine than regular oil. It will help reduce engine deposits, perform better under tougher conditions and last longer, which means longer periods between oil changes!

On the flipside, synthetic oil is generally more expensive than engine oil and often isn’t necessary on older vehicles.

So, you’ve decided which ‘type’ of oil you’re going to put in your vehicle but now you have to figure out which grade of oil. 10w30, 5w30, 10w40… what do all these numbers mean, anyway??

Basically, it all comes down to viscosity, or the ‘thickness’ or ‘thinness’ of the oil. Thicker oils have a higher viscosity, thinner oils have a lower viscosity.

So, take 10w30 oil, for example.

The ‘W’ stands for winter and signifies how the oil will behave in cold temperatures, specifically at startup. The number before the ‘W’ is the oil’s low temperature viscosity; in other words, how thick or thin the oil is when cold.

The number after the ‘W’ is the oil’s viscosity at normal operating temperature. A higher number means better protection at higher temperatures.

For example, a 5W-30 oil, at low temperatures flows better than a 10W oil. And the “30” indicates how it flows once at normal operating temperatures (thicker than a 5W-20 oil).

At the end of the day, it’s always a good idea to check the manufacturer’s recommended oil for your vehicle, and when you swing by our Big O Tires shop for an oil change, we can help you determine that too. We can answer all those slippery oil questions, so come see us!