Smart Motor Oil Purchasing Tips

Any time you invest money in a product, you want to be sure that you are getting exactly what you look for. It's important to note, however, that many product reviews are directly from the manufacturer, so using them as your guide may not be the best choice. This is true when it comes to motor oil reviews, if you simply go by what you hear on a commercial or from what you read in a review, you could end up causing serious problems for your car. Every car is not the same. While the review for a particular type of oil, in a particular car, under very specific circumstance might be great, that doesn't mean it would be the best choice for your automobile.

Take it with a grain of salt
Okay, we know that manufacturers are always going to tout their own product, so take any motor oil reviews that you read with a grain of salt. Don't dismiss these reviews, but consider them along with the following information:

What oil type is best for your car, according to the vehicle's documentation? Make sure that you choose an oil that is the right viscosity according to the manufacturer.

Is the oil being reviewed petroleum based or synthetic? Neither is superior for every situation. Synthetic may be best for some cars, but that doesn't mean it is the best for yours.
Image via Wikipedia

What is your driving style? If you do a lot of heavy load work with your vehicle, it is going to change your oil needs, so take the style and needs of your driving into consideration.

Reviews can be helpful to make the right decision, but they should always be used in conjunction with some serious fact finding of your own.

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Should You Worry About Comparing Motor Oils?

Whether you're a professional mechanic, or someone who enjoys tinkering around with cars, you know that every car is different. You wouldn't go to change your spark plugs and choose the first set you got your hands on would you? Of course not. You know that every car needs the plugs specific to that make and model. It's curious how people can easily understand this fact, yet give very little thought to motor oil comparison when the time comes to get an oil change. To get the best performance and lower maintenance bills choosing the correct oil for your car, and driving conditions, is essential.

Compare and Contrast
It's essential to do some research about the oil that your car really needs. Motor oil comparison should be one of the building blocks of this education on choosing the correct oil. As you know, every car's engine needs oil to run, but you have to make the right choice for it to run its best.

Start by learning about viscosity. You hear this term a lot, but very few people know what it means and how it should play into your motor oil selection. You can ask a trusted mechanic, but there's a good chance that they don't understand this important variable either. Check your vehicle's documentation to see what viscosity oil you should use. Remember, though, that if you are using synthetic oil you may be safe with choosing lower viscosity oil. Just make sure that you are using a high quality synthetic if you decide to go this route.
Image via Wikipedia
Compare oils and educate yourself on the best oil for your car. Doing so can save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your car ownership.

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Shopping for the Right Motor Oil

When you buy motor oil, you are making much more than a simple purchase. Choosing the right oil is necessary to avoid engine damage and to get longer engine life. Too many people assume that oil is oil and grab whatever is cheapest, or whatever they are used to using. This habit of giving little thought to your oil is what leads to so many car problems every year and it will ultimately wear your car's engine out prematurely.

The Most Common Maintenance Task
Not everyone is a mechanic or all that interested in the workings of a car's engine, but every car owner is familiar with oil changes. The standard line that you hear is to have your oil changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles. This reminder that you hear from the oil change places and mechanics makes the oil change the most frequent maintenance task that people have performed on their car. Yet, even though people make this change every few months, very little thought goes into what kind of oil is going into the car at each of these changes.

Whether you buy motor oil and change your car's oil yourself or pay a mechanic to do it, it's important to learn what type of oil is going to be the most beneficial for your car. For some cars it will be synthetic oil, for others it won't. There are variables that make each scenario unique, and the right oil must be picked based upon that scenario. Find out more about choosing the best oil for your car. You will have dozens of oil changes over the years. Don't you want to use the oil that will be the most beneficial to your car's
engine?Image via Wikipedia

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Which Oil is the Best? The Answer Might Surprise You

If you listen to the car motor oil commercials, or even ask most mechanics which type of oil is the absolute best, you're likely to hear "synthetic oil" as the answer. For years now synthetic motor oil has been touted as the best oil for every type of car. In many cases, synthetic oil is the right choice, but there are more variables to consider.

All motor oils, conventional or synthetic, are crucial to a car's performance and choosing the right car motor oil can save you a lot of money over the lifetime of your car ownership. Many people pick synthetic oil for their cars, in hopes of gaining benefits, like a higher trade-in value or better fuel economy. These benefits, however, may not apply to every car owner who switches to synthetic oil. For example, it is true that using synthetic oil protects engines from long term damage. But if a car owner trades in their vehicle on a regular basis, they may not be benefiting from this long term engine protection, so the extra investment in synthetic oil would not pan out in any noticeable savings in this scenario.
Image via Wikipedia
Don't fall into the trap of assuming that the more expensive alternative is necessarily the most beneficial for your particular motor oil needs. Every car and driving situation is unique and calls for a very specific type of oil. You could be paying more for synthetic oil, in the belief that you are reaping benefits, when those benefits don’t even apply to your unique circumstances. When deciding on the best oil for your car, you must weigh the benefits against the costs to make an educated decision.

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Making Informed Motor Oil Decisions

Can you imagine being very ill and having a physician ordering blood for you? This is not an uncommon scenario, but how about putting a twist on it and hearing the doctor tell the nurse, "It really doesn't matter what type of blood, any human blood will do", this would probably get you more than a little concerned. We all know that you just can't do this.

What about your car's oil requirements? Are you of the mind that any kind of motor oil is acceptable? Many people are, and this nonchalant attitude about the life blood of their vehicles ends up being very costly.

Everyone knows that motor oils are available in a few different varieties, but the general attitude is that you can use pretty much any approved motor oil on any automobile. This, however, is not true. There are some very important considerations to think about. Like people, every car is different. Not only that, but every car is used in a different capacity too. The way one driver routinely drives her Lexus may vary greatly from another driver, who owns the same type of car. The bottom line is that the car type and how it is going to be driven greatly affect the types of motor oils that should be used.

The general belief that any oil will do causes thousands of dollars in damage to cars over time. Every car owner owes it to themselves to find out the exact kind of oil that they should use for their car and their unique driving needs. You wouldn't accept any blood in your body, don't accept just any oil for your car. Find out the facts that mechanics aren't telling you about picking the perfect oil for your situation at The Motor Oil Bible website.
Image by Ollie Crafoord via Flickr

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Performance Motor Oil - Help Your Engine Help You

Besides using high performance motor oil, what can one do to improve engine function?  Are there other products one needs to usealong with quality motor oils?  What are they? First, it is important to utilize an efficient air filter.  There are primarily four options: cellulose media air filters, foam media air filters, cotton gauze media air filters, and nanofiber air filters (AMSOIL).
 Image via Wikipedia
While foam media and cotton gauze filters offer good air flow qualities, they are not as efficient as cellulose or nanofiber filters.  Cellulose media filters build up a “dust cake” during their early life which helps increase their efficiency in removing contaminants from your air intake.
AMSOIL nanofiber filters are absolutely efficient down to 2 microns.  While the superior air flow qualities of foam and cotton gauze filters may be preferable for racing applications, cellulose and nanofiber filters are clearly preferable for protecting your engine from contaminants coming in through your air intake. Second, it is also essential to use a quality oil filter.  Traditional, off-the-shelf, cellulose filters are only 70 to 80% effective and only efficiently filter particles of a 30 to 40 micron size.  High efficiency filters, which are made
of combination of glass, synthetic and cellulose fibers, are often effective down to 15 to 20 microns.  As the majority of engine wear is caused by particles between 5 and 20 microns, it only makes sense to make use of an oil filter which can capture a larger percentage of these contaminants.  Doing so will significantly reduce the amount of wear to your engine from these particles. As you can see,using quality filters is important for protecting your engine.  While using a high performance motor oil will help your engine run more
smoothly, it is also important to employ quality air and oil filters in conjunction with this oil. Doing so will maximize the reduction of particles which can cause wear in your engine.

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Are you Performing Motor Oil Comparisons?

Let's say you want to do a motor oil comparison for how two different oils perform in your engine.  What steps would you take?  How could their performance be compared? Oil analysis can tell you how well your oil is holding up and whether your oil and/or air filter are ready to be changed.  A sample of about 3 ounces must be taken from your engine.  However, the sample is obtained (by sampling pump or valve, or by taking it from the drain pan plug), you must be sure to take it immediately after you shut down the vehicle, for this ensures that contaminants will be equally distributed throughout the system.  This sample is then sent away to a lab for analysis.

Oil analysis generally run from 10 to 25 dollars.  If you choose a 10 dollar test, chances are you will only receive information about wear metals present in your engine oil.  However, if you elect to get a more expensive test done, you will get more information.  You will be informed not only about wear metals, but about other contaminants (glycol, water, fuel) and their percentages in your oil. 

You will find out whether your oil's viscosity is consistent with what you put in.  Soot levels and oxidation and nitration percentages will also be included in your report, numbers which will also indicate how the oil is holding up.  You might also be informed about your oil's TBN-its acid neutralizing capability. All of these measurements will help you determine how well a given motor oil is working within your engine.  One way to do a motor oil comparison would be to do an oil analysis for each oil you use in your car.

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Time to Buy Motor Oil Filters

Image via WikipediaWhat are the important things to consider when one goes to buy motor oil filters?  As with motor oil, it pays to invest in a quality product.  Your engine's performance depends on efficient oil filtration and you should not cut corners when it comes to your oil filter.

Your oil filter is important because running your engine produces contaminants which need to be removed.  These particles cause engine wear-so you want to filter out as many of them as possible.  Which type of oil filter is most effective for this task?

Oil filters are rated for overall efficiency-the percentage of all contaminants removed.  Contaminants are measured in microns and it has been shown that most engine wear is caused by particles between 5 and 20 microns, so you want a filter which can remove particles this small.  Normal, off-the-shelf cellulose filters are 70 to 80% efficient and this means they are only absolutely effective with particles around 30 to 40 microns.  They are nominally efficient at 20 microns, which means that all of these particles will not be caught.  High efficiency oil filters, however, which are made from some combination of glass, cellulose and synthetic fibers, are absolutely effective down to 15 to 20 microns and are nominally efficient down to 5 to 10 microns.  
Obviously  these filters remove more contaminants than cellulose ones.  By utilizing this advanced level of filtration, you can reduce engine wear significantly (40-70%).

Good oil filters will have such features as metal endcaps, silicone anti-drain valves, an HNBR nitrile gasket, a heavy duty baseplate, thick outer housing and wire mesh backed filtration media.  You may not find all of these features in any one filter, but you should look for as many of them as possible.  Remember that when you buy motor oil filters, purchasing a high efficiency model can help extend your car's life considerably.

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