It’s important to change your engine oil at regular intervals, in general, the older the vehicle, the more often the motor oil should be changed. However, have you often wandered what the numbers and letters on the containers signify?

Why your engine oil needs regular changing
Engine oil lubricates the metal surfaces of your car’s engine. Without proper lubrication, friction buildup causes the parts to grind together and tear apart during the transfer of heat from the combustion cycle. Oil also helps clean away the chemical by-products of the combustion process and minimizes oxidation. Throughout this process, it becomes dirty and thins out, and needs regular replacement.

What the numbers and letters mean
Motor oil is divided into three types: fully synthetic, semi-synthetic and mineral (standard) oil. 5W-30 motor oil, for instance is a semi-synthetic blend. The number before the W is the “cold” viscosity rating of the oil, while the latter number is the “hot” viscosity rating. The lower the cold number (W stands for “winter”), the easier it is for your car’s engine to turn over when you attempt to start the car in cold climates.
• Mineral oil is generally the cheapest.
• Standard motor oil is effective at protecting your engine and it’s also cheaper than semi-synthetic and synthetic oil. However, it must be changed more often, as it becomes dirty and thins out more quickly.
• Semi-synthetic motor oils are derived from standard oil.
• Semi-synthetic motor oil is closely related to standard mineral motor oil. Semi-synthetics are primarily made of polyalpholifins, which comes from “the purest part of the mineral oil refraction process.” Thus, semi-synthetic can be mixed with standard motor oil without causing the car’s engine to seize.
• Pure synthetics for heavy gearboxes.
• Pure synthetic oils (aka polyalkyleneglycols) are most often used for industrial purposes in vehicles with heavily loaded gearboxes. It’s high-performance stuff. Finely tuned via molecular recombination, fully synthetic motor oil cannot be mixed with other oils.
• Go with quality, lightweight oil.
• Choose engine oil that meets the demands of your environment. Modern engines function well with lighter, thinner oils.

Misconceptions
One of the biggest misconceptions in the synthetic vs. mineral debate is that synthetic oil lasts longer. While the synthetic lubricant is of higher quality and may last longer, the additives in synthetic oil are essentially the same as in mineral oil and will degrade at the same rate. As a result, oil changes should be performed just as often.
Remember to change your oil regularly the usually recommendation is between 8.000 to 10.000 kilometers on average.
Tenerife News edition 425