Here we tell you what kind of oil does a car need and when you suppose to get the oil changed. Basically there is only one type of oil in your car you need to maintain to keep the engine runs in good condition, which is the engine oil. This is because the oil responsible for lubrication as well as to cool down the engine. However, it requires the right knowledge in choosing the right oil to give the engine longer life time.

As there is too much motor oil available in the market, it is often make consumer confuse about what kind of oil their car really need. Using the wrong oil may shorten the life time of the car engine and resulting bad running condition. Therefore here we shared the top 3 methods to choose the right oil for your car.

Find the right oil that your car need

The owner manuals that gave to you when you purchase your new car have stated clearly what kind of oil best suitable for the car and how much oil you should put into the car. Try to look download it from internet if you have lost yours.

Learn to read the oil viscosity

All the engine oil comes with a weighty subject to determine the viscosity of the oil. The character “W” is used to determine it. Usually there will be numbers before and after the “W”. The number before the “W” is the cold viscosity rating and the number after it is the hot viscosity rating of the oil. This means low number before “W” allows you to start your car easily in cold climates.

Basically there are 3 main types of oil viscosity, once you have learned how to read it, things will be easier: Fully Synthetic:0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-40. Semi-synthetic:5W-30, 10W-40, 15W-40. Mineral(Low quality oil): 10W-40, 15W-40.

Check on the oil type

Some oil is specially only for diesel car or only for gasoline car. Oil refiners will usually place the labels on the container. For example, A3, A5 or SM for petrol engines, B3, B5 or C14 for diesels. Read it carefully and do not use diesel engine oil for gasoline car, vice versa.

See also oil related: How much oil does my car take, How much oil do I put in my car, How much oil does my car hold.

As today’s cars last longer, oil refiners has produced formulated oil for higher mileage cars. When a car has more than 80,000 miles on the odometer, it is considered a high mileage car. Older cars and high mileage car tends to have oil leaking because of the crankshaft seals may have lost the flexibility. In this case, the special formulated oil can work as seal conditioners to give the engine a better run.

In addition, it will be better to choose thicker oil (higher code oil) for high mileage cars as high mileage cars need more tolerances. Other than that, put a little bit more oil into the engine if you noticed there is some oil leak out to the floor.

In conclusion, most of the ordinary car requires oil changed for every 3000 to 5000 miles. You will have to know when to change the oil as well as the oil filter to maintain the car at good condition.