Motor oil is the life blood of your car.
Motor oil performs several functions, including helping your engine start easily, lubricating engine parts, reducing friction, protecting against rust and corrosion, keeping engine parts clean, minimizing combustion chamber deposits, and cooling engine parts.
So what is the best motor oil for you? It can be as simple as consulting the api standards, which are put out each year by the American Petroleum Institute.
The Society of Automotive Engineers established a numerical grading system for classifying motor oils according to their viscosity characteristics to help determine what is the best motor oil for you?
Improper disposal of motor oil can have a detrimental impact on the environment, particularly on bodies of water and crops. Some viscosity grades, including 0, 5, 10, 15 and 25, are suffixed with the letter W, designating their “winter” (not weight) or cold-start (lower-temperature) viscosity.
So when should you change your motor oil? Most oil change places or auto dealerships recommend every 3,000 miles or three months, whichever comes first.
While most Americans know how to how to properly treat their car with motor oil, many more do not follow the api standards in terms of disposal. According to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency, 20 million gallons of used oil are improperly disposed of each year.
Unfortunately, the United States lags behind Europe in re-refining. Approximately 50 percent of motor oil in Europe is re-refined, compared to only 10-15 percent in America.
Motor oil is an integral part of your car’s life. If you are having any questions, please consult the api standards, which are widely circulated and can be found on api.org. Learn more about this topic here.
