What Kind of Oil Does My Car Need?

You’ve decided to change the oil in your car, but now comes an odd question. What kind of oil does my car need? The answer might surprise you.

Not all oils are the same. As you can probably imagine, a massive freight truck engine has different needs than those of the engine of a Ford Fusion. The key is the stress and heat put on the engine. Different oils are designed to do different things. That being said, every engine oil is designed to cool the engine, keep the internal combustion area clean, cut down on friction and limit corrosion. Some just do it better than others.

Understanding Your Oil

Car owners have purchase oil for years without having a clue what the classifications on the product mean. For instance, do you know what 10W-40 means? The 10 refers to an indexed field of temperatures at which the oil will still flow adequately such as say 5 degrees outdoors. As you can probably guess, the 40 refers to the high end of the scale. The “W” refers to the fact the oil can be used in Winter.

So, what kind of oil does my car need? You are not going to find the answer here unfortunately. Every car is designed to incorporate a specific type of oil. You need to look in your owner’s manual. Yes, I realize this goes against everything a man holds dear, but it has to be done. Your manual will detail out both the specific specifications of the weight of the oil you are as well as frequency of changes.

Everything seems to be an advertising opportunity these days. In the case of oil, most manufacturers will recommend a specific type of oil as well. It might be Pennzoil, Castrol, Mobile or whatever. Unless you are driving a Ferrari or something specialized, it usually doesn’t matter what brand you use. That doesn’t mean you should go with something cheap. This is an area where you get what you pay for. If you can afford it, go with Mobile 1.

What kind of oil does my car need? Break out the owner’s manual and find out!

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