Motor Oil Gas Mileage Tips
Hi, This is ED
Have you ever wondered what those strange markings mean on your motor oil at the gas station? Here's some gas mileage tips.
Engine oils primarily stop all the metal surfaces in your engine from grinding into each other blowing apart from friction while shunting heat away.
Now an engine oil must also be able to hold all the nasty dirty by-products of combustion, such as silica and acids.
Have you ever wondered what those strange markings mean on your motor oil at the gas station? Here's some gas mileage tips.
Engine oils primarily stop all the metal surfaces in your engine from grinding into each other blowing apart from friction while shunting heat away.
Now an engine oil must also be able to hold all the nasty dirty by-products of combustion, such as silica and acids.
Blood
The three types
There are three types of engine oil.
Mineral oils are based on oil that comes from dear old Mother Earth which has been refined.
Synthetic oils are entirely man-made oils. A process breaks apart the molecules that make up a variety of substances, like vegetable and animal oils, and then recombine the individual atoms that make up those molecules to build new, synthetic molecules. This process allows some "fine tuning" to the molecules as they are built. Clever stuff. But Polyglycols don't mix with normal mineral oils.
The only other type is semi-synthetic, which is a blend of the two. It is safe to mix the different types, but it's wiser to switch completely to a new type rather than mixing.
Mineral oils are based on oil that comes from dear old Mother Earth which has been refined.
Synthetic oils are entirely man-made oils. A process breaks apart the molecules that make up a variety of substances, like vegetable and animal oils, and then recombine the individual atoms that make up those molecules to build new, synthetic molecules. This process allows some "fine tuning" to the molecules as they are built. Clever stuff. But Polyglycols don't mix with normal mineral oils.
The only other type is semi-synthetic, which is a blend of the two. It is safe to mix the different types, but it's wiser to switch completely to a new type rather than mixing.
Blood Type
What do oil ratings mean?
As a quick primer - the number before the 'W' is the 'cold' viscosity rating of the oil, and the number after the 'W' is the 'hot' viscosity rating.
Example, a 5W40 oil is one which behaves like a 5-rated single grade oil when cold, but doesn't thin any more than a 40-rated single grade oil when hot. The lower the 'winter' number (hence the 'W'), the easier the engine will turn over when starting in cold climates.
As a great gas mileage tip, if you live in a cold climate, you need the lower-rated ones like 0W or 5W to help get your engine to start better in a cold environment. For temperate climates, its okay to start out with the 10W range of oils.
Here's a fast rule of thumb to the different grades of oil and their characteristics.
Fully Synthetic Characteristics (0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-40)
- Fuel economy savings
- Enhances engine performance and power
- Ensures engine is protected from wear and deposit build-up
- Ensures good cold starting and quick circulation in freezing temperatures
- Gets to moving parts of the engine quickly
Semi-synthetic Characteristics (5W-30, 10W-40, 15W-40)
- Better protection
- Good protection within the first 10 minutes after starting out
- Roughly three times better at reducing engine wear
- Increased oil change intervals - don't need to change it quite so often
Mineral Characteristics (10W-40, 15W-40)
- Basic protection for a variety of engines
- Oil needs to be changed more often
I hope this helped give some gas mileage tips on what engine oil to choose in your area.
ED
Example, a 5W40 oil is one which behaves like a 5-rated single grade oil when cold, but doesn't thin any more than a 40-rated single grade oil when hot. The lower the 'winter' number (hence the 'W'), the easier the engine will turn over when starting in cold climates.
As a great gas mileage tip, if you live in a cold climate, you need the lower-rated ones like 0W or 5W to help get your engine to start better in a cold environment. For temperate climates, its okay to start out with the 10W range of oils.
Here's a fast rule of thumb to the different grades of oil and their characteristics.
Fully Synthetic Characteristics (0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-40)
- Fuel economy savings
- Enhances engine performance and power
- Ensures engine is protected from wear and deposit build-up
- Ensures good cold starting and quick circulation in freezing temperatures
- Gets to moving parts of the engine quickly
Semi-synthetic Characteristics (5W-30, 10W-40, 15W-40)
- Better protection
- Good protection within the first 10 minutes after starting out
- Roughly three times better at reducing engine wear
- Increased oil change intervals - don't need to change it quite so often
Mineral Characteristics (10W-40, 15W-40)
- Basic protection for a variety of engines
- Oil needs to be changed more often
I hope this helped give some gas mileage tips on what engine oil to choose in your area.
ED
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