What viscosity oil should be poured into a car engine in the summer and what oil should be poured in the winter? What is the difference between mineral oils? What are the main features of synthetic oils? Will there be any problems when switching from “mineral” to “synthetic”? What does a motorist need to do?
It is probably not a secret for everybody that the viscosity of the oil for a car is encoded on its package.
Let’s analyze what “SAE” means? SAE stands for “Society of Automotive Engineers”. This abbreviation is an international standard that regulates the viscosity of the oil. As an example, let’s look at the designation SAE 8W-30. The designation “8W” informs us that this oil is a winter oil (winter – winter – W).
In other words. With a correct choice of this parameter, you can easily, and most importantly without serious consequences, drive a car in winter. Viscosity grade “30”, concerning our example, is a “summer” grade. It indicates the extent to which such a car oil is able to keep its performance in the engine zones at high temperatures.
If only one of the parameters discussed above is written on the oil, it will tell us that such oil is seasonal. SAE 30, is a summer seasonal oil and SAE 8W is a winter seasonal oil.
If two grades appear in the designation, we can conclude that our oil is unseasonal. It can therefore be used all year round. These are the oils that car manufacturers usually recommend.
When choosing a “winter” viscosity grade of automobile oil, one should consider the average winter temperatures in the region where the vehicle is being driven.
Of course, you can independently choose an auto oil for your car, using certain selected parameters. But I want to say that the selection of automotive oil by the car brand will be the best option for the motorist. After all, automakers do not recommend certain brands of oils, synthetic and mineral, for a reason. They are tested for a long time and the best variants of oils are selected for long-term work of the internal combustion engine (ICE).
Usually, the recommended oil brand for the car is in the service book of the car. If it is absent, it is recommended to pick up oil by the VIN number of your car. By the way, you can find out the whole history of your car by the VIN number.
The main difference between these oils lies in the molecular structure of the oil base (base). In production of synthetic oils molecules with set, operational optimal properties are “synthesized” (built). Unlike mineral oils, synthetic oils have maximum thermal and chemical stability.
Chemical stability means that synthetic oils will not undergo various chemical transformations (paraffinization, oxidation, etc.) in the engine. They worsen its operational properties.
Thermal stability means that optimal values of oil viscosity will be preserved in the oil in a wide range of temperatures, which means safe and easy engine start in cold weather.
At the same time, the engine protection will be maximized when working at high loads and speeds, in its highest temperature zones. Due to their molecular structure peculiarities, synthetic oils have a higher permeability and fluidity.
Of course, you can pour mineral oil into your engine after synthetic oil. You can switch from using one type of car oil to another at any time, as long as your car’s engine is in good working order.
To prolong the work of the power unit with the mileage of a used car over 200 thousand kilometers, professional drivers usually change the synthetic oil for mineral.
But using synthetic oil after mineral oil on a used car can lead to engine performance problems.
Of course, not every motor will break down, but it’s up to you to decide what kind of oil to pour into the motor of a used car.