The oil that is in your vehicle’s engine plays a very important role in the operation of the engine. In fact, engine oil serves three different roles as it circulates in a running engine – it keeps numerous parts of your vehicle’s engine properly lubricated, cooled, and cleaned. Oil can benefit your car’s engine in many other ways too, such as by improving its fuel economy or performance.
The oil that is in your vehicle’s engine needs to be routinely replaced for the vehicle to perform optimally. However, as you are shopping for new oil to place in your vehicle’s engine, you will come across a multitude of options. Below we’ve rounded up some of the best engine oils on the market in Australia to help you in your search and ensure your vehicle can perform at its best.
Best Synthetic Engine Oil: Nulon 5W-30 Synthetic Long Life Performance Engine Oil
Nulon Full-Synthetic 5W 30 Long Life Performance Engine Oil is an oil that promotes high performance from an engine while also providing effective protection. This is an engine oil with a low viscosity, allowing the oil to move around an engine easily. Nulon 5W 30 is an excellent choice for both cars and larger vehicles like trucks, depending on what the specific oil requirements for their engines are.
Nulon 5W 30 provides many great benefits to a vehicle’s engine. The oil blend works well within a wide range of temperatures due to its low viscosity, making it optimal for cold weather starts and high temperature performance driving. For vehicles that are equipped with turbochargers, Nulon 5W 30 reduces the oil build up on turbochargers, allowing them to operate more efficiently and provide optimal performance.
Runner Up: Penrite HPR Range
Penrite engine oils are some of the most popular on the market, and within their HPR range you can find nearly every viscosity rating. There are various HPR oils that are available for both gasoline and diesel engines, providing you with a multitude of options when you are shopping for oil for your car.
HPR is Penrite’s range of high performance oil blends. Much like Nulon Full-Synthetic 5W 30, many of the Penrite HPR oils operate well under a range of temperatures. Penrite has formulated many of the HPR oil blends with extra minerals, which provide added protection to engines. Whether your car needs a thicker oil or a thinner oil, you will find something for it in the Penrite HPR selection.
Also Great: Amsoil ASL1G SAE 5W-30 Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil
Amsoil ASL1G SAE 5W-30 Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil is a high performance engine oil that protects engines from loss in horsepower due to wear. This oil blend has a low viscosity, making it a great option for cars that need easily-movable oil blends. Amsoil 5W 30 Signature Series Synthetic Oil also protects the turbochargers of vehicles from premature wear.
Amsoil ASL1G SAE 5W-30 Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil is able to protect the components of engines by forming a film of fluid around these components, reducing the damaging effects of frictional forces. Additionally, the oil includes special additives that promote lubrication between an engine’s components. Amsoil guarantees the 5W 30 Signature Series oil for up to 25,000 miles or one year, proving the brand’s confidence in their high-quality product.
Also Great: Castrol Magnatec Motor Oil
Castrol Magnatec is a series of oil blends that are available for a range of vehicle types, from cars to 4WDs, SUVs and trucks. There are Magnatec blends that are available for various engine conditions as well, such as Magnatec Stop-Start and Magnatec Fuel Saver. If your car has a mileage that is high, or if it needs an oil with a low viscosity, you will find something for the car in the Castro’s Magnatec selection of oils.
The particles of the Castrol Magnatec oil blend are able to attach to the components and stay attached under a variety of conditions, including when an engine is turned off. Therefore, when a driver turns the engine of their vehicle back on, the Magnatec oil is readily available to provide lubrication to the engine’s parts. This property allows Castrol Magnatec to stand apart from its high performance oil competition.
Best Petrol Based Engine Oil: ULX110 Motor Oil
If you are looking for a petrol-based engine oil for your vehicle, you can’t go wrong with ULX110 Motor Oil. From 5W 20 to 25W 70 and more, ULX110 offers a range of high-quality engine oils. These oils have been continually tested through multiple cycles of high performance research and development. The ULX110 line of oils are guaranteed by the brand for high performance.
ULX110 Motor Oil outperforms several other oils, both petrol-based and mineral-based, due to its mixture of high viscosity oil with quality additives. From oxidation inhibitors to anti-wear additives, there are a variety of compounds that are mixed into the oil blends that ULX110 offers, providing a range of protective qualities to engines.
What does motor oil do?
Motor oil is responsible for doing several things in a vehicle’s engine. As the engine of a vehicle runs, its internal components move rapidly against one another. Motor oil lubricates these metal components and prevents them from grinding against one another. The lubrication that is provided by motor oil reduces the damaging effects of friction within an engine and prevents the formation of excessive heat due to friction as well.
Motor oil also cools an engine as it circulates around the running engine. The oil absorbs heat and dissipates it throughout the engine. The heat dissipation allows the heat to leave the engine quicker and easier.
Motor oil also has cleaning properties. As motor oil passes over the internal components of an engine, it cleans off the parts of the engine and carries away any excess debris from those components. When the oil passes through the engine’s oil filter, the filter picks up the engine’s debris and retains it.
Types of motor oil
Conventional Oil
Conventional oil is a standard type of oil that provides basic properties for an engine, such as lubricating, cooling, and cleaning. Conventional oil is developed from crude oil and typically does not include many additives, detergents, or other features. Conventional oil is the motor oil that many other oil types are derived from.
Full Synthetic Oil
Full synthetic oil is a premium motor oil that works very well in many performance engines. Full synthetic oil is one of the most refined oils and features a variety of additives that increase the performance of vehicles and decrease the amount of wear that their engines experience. As with every oil type, however, full synthetic oil is not designed for use with every engine.
Synthetic Blends
Synthetic oil blends vary in what they have to offer. Synthetic oil, compared to conventional oil, has synthetic components that improve the performance of engines. However, compared to full synthetic oil, synthetic oil is not as refined and does not contain as many additives, providing a perfect balance for cars and trucks that do not need the extra oil particles.
High Mileage Oil
High mileage oil is designed specifically for vehicles that have high mileages. The mileage that is designated for high mileage oil use is 75,000 miles and above. Vehicles that have mileages in the higher ranges need special care because of the wear that they have experienced during their lifespans.
High mileage oil contains special additives that are able to preserve and enhance the condition of an engine. Some high mileage oils, for example, offer properties that prevent oil leaks by clogging seals that are leaking. Other high mileage oils are able to protect older seals from experiencing additional wear.
Special precaution must be taken when switching to high mileage oil from another oil type, such as synthetic oil or full synthetic oil. The viscosity of the oil is especially important due to how prone high mileage engines are to oil leaks.
Viscosity Ratings
The viscosity rating of an oil is very important for an engine. Viscosity refers to the thickness and thinness of an oil. Viscosity affects how the oil will move around an engine and how the oil will absorb the temperature of the engine as well.
Thicker oil, for example, will move around an engine slower but will also absorb more heat than a thinner low viscosity oil. An oil with a high viscosity rating will have more resistance to flow than an oil with a lower viscosity rating.
When you see the name of an oil, like 10W 30 or 10W 40, the numbers of the oil are both references to the oil’s viscosity. The “10W” in 10W 30 describes the dynamic viscosity of the oil, which is the amount of energy that it takes to move an object through the oil.
Similarly, the “40” in 10W 40 or the “30” in 10W 30 describe the kinematic viscosities of the oils. The kinematic viscosity essentially describes how quickly the oil will flow.
Oil Additives
Additives are added to oil by brands for a variety of reasons. Some additives protect engine components from oxidation, others protect older engine designs, and some improve the fuel economy of vehicles. These products are designed to add specific properties to motor oil.
Fuel additives are for sale separately as well. There are several types of additives that you can add to the oil that is currently in your vehicle. Adding additives to oil can change its viscosity, however, so be cautious of how much you put in your car.
Service Classifications
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has a classification system for how well engine oils meet quality standards. The service classification of an oil determines how healthy an oil is for an engine, as some engine oils can actually cause damages. There are two letters on the package of oil that denote what service classification that oil is in.
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Tips for Selecting Engine Oil
There are a variety of brands and oil types that are available on the market. When you are selecting an engine oil for your car, determine what you value most in an engine oil and what you want the oil that is in your car’s engine to do. Do you want for your car to have better fuel economy? Do you want a synthetic blend of oil that is well-rounded in what it can provide for your car?
Your choice in a motor oil blend should align what your car needs with what benefits you want the oil to provide for the car. There are several factors that may ultimately guide you to the perfect oil for your car, such as its mileage or if the car is older and has experienced a lot of wear.
The first step you should take in finding the right engine oil for your car is to refer to the vehicle’s owner’s manual. In the manual you will be able to see valuable information, like whether your car needs a synthetic blend of oil or not, or how much oil needs to go into your car.
You will also find information on the viscosity that your car’s oil needs to be or the mileage at which you need to have your car’s oil changed. The guidelines that your car’s manufacturer recommends for the vehicle are based on its specific engine design.
If your car is older and you have lost its owner’s manual, you can most likely find a copy of the manual online. You may also be able to find websites or forums that are dedicated to your car’s make and model.
Conclusion
Between viscosity, weight, classification, and more, there is a lot to learn about engine oil. The oil that you choose for your car needs to be tailored for its engine so that the car can perform optimally.
