Struggling to decide which motor oil to choose? Understand these points, and you’ll never waste money again!
发布时间：2022年03月14日 15:27
Today, let’s talk about how to choose motor oil—and how to make the right choice!
Changing the engine oil is probably the most frequent maintenance task for a car. But what kind of oil is best suited for you? Keep reading!
Currently, all the motor oils that car enthusiasts see are produced by adding additives to base oils. Depending on the different grades of base oils and the types of additives used, motor oils are classified into three categories: mineral oil, semi-synthetic oil, and fully synthetic oil.
What is mineral oil? Mineral oil has the lowest base oil grade—it uses the bottom fraction from petroleum refining as its base oil. Its biggest advantage is that it’s inexpensive, but its performance is generally mediocre. Therefore, although it can meet the minimum requirements of our engines, it degrades the fastest, necessitating frequent oil changes.
What is semi-synthetic oil? Semi-synthetic motor oil is made by adding synthetic components to a lower-grade base oil and then incorporating additives. It offers performance that’s one level higher than mineral oil, with slower degradation and slightly higher viscosity.
What is fully synthetic oil? Fully synthetic motor oil is a high-quality lubricant made by combining the highest-grade base oils with carefully selected, high-performance additives. It’s the best-performing type of motor oil, offering superior performance in terms of wear resistance, stability, and resistance to degradation. Of course, it also comes with the highest price tag.
How to choose engine oil? 1. For most family cars that aren't driven aggressively, a semi-synthetic oil is a good choice if you want to be a bit more particular—its price is reasonable and its performance is quite good.
2. If you drive a sporty performance car or an advanced-engine vehicle, and you tend to floor the accelerator pedal regularly, we recommend switching to fully synthetic motor oil—it’ll be even more suitable.
3. As for mineral oil, it’s actually perfectly fine for use in entry-level passenger cars—but it needs to be changed frequently, every 5,000 kilometers. This can be somewhat inconvenient, and when you factor everything in, the cost ends up being not much different from that of semi-synthetic motor oil.
When choosing motor oil, in addition to selecting the right oil category, we also need to pay attention to the oil’s viscosity grade.
What is an oil viscosity grade? An oil viscosity grade indicates the oil’s viscosity rating. For winter low-temperature applications, the grades are 0W, 5W, 10W, and 15W. The “W” stands for “winter,” meaning these oils are intended for use in cold weather. The number preceding the “W” represents the oil’s viscosity at low temperatures—lower numbers indicate higher fluidity and better cold-resistance.
High-temperature summer grade: 20, 30, 40, 50. The numbers indicate the viscosity at 100°C; the higher the number, the higher the viscosity and the greater the resistance to high temperatures. All-season, winter-and-summer universal grade: Oil specifications such as 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30, etc., meet both low-temperature and high-temperature viscosity requirements. Due to their wide range of applications, these oils have become the mainstream type currently available.
Generally, subtracting 35 from the number preceding the "W" gives you the lowest external ambient temperature at which the lubricant can be used—also known as the freezing point. For example, the freezing point for 0W is -35℃, for 5W it’s -30℃, and so on.
The engine oil shouldn't be too thick or too thin;
It’s too viscous, resulting in poor oil fluidity, high pressure on the oil pump, low delivery efficiency, and compromised lubrication performance. Additionally, it increases resistance on various engine components, leading to higher fuel consumption.
If it’s too thin, the lubrication quality of the engine oil will also decline, accelerating wear.
How do you choose motor oil with different viscosity grades?
1. Depending on the local temperature, if you're not in Northeast China and the winter temperature doesn't drop below -15℃, you can generally use all-season motor oil—either 10W-30 or 10W-40 will do. However, if the winter temperatures are extremely low, you'll need to switch to winter-grade motor oil. Simply calculate the appropriate grade based on the local temperature using the recommended calculation method.
2. Depending on the condition of the engine, if it’s an older vehicle, with significant wear and large clearances in its components, it’s advisable to use a higher-viscosity oil—for example, if you’ve been using 5W-30, you could switch to 5W-40. However, if it’s a new vehicle, a more fluid oil—typically 5W-30—is recommended. You can refer to the vehicle’s owner’s manual and follow the manufacturer’s specifications for the correct oil grade to use.
3. Based on your driving habits—for example, if you enjoy aggressive driving and your engine frequently operates above 3,000 rpm, heating up quickly and causing the oil to thin out easily—we might consider using an oil with a higher viscosity rating, meaning the number following the "W" is higher.
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