Types of engine oil

Section Composition and types of engine oil, article 1 of 5144 words, 1 minute

What types and groups is engine oil divided into?

In this section: 5 articles
  1. Types of engine oil
  2. How is engine oil made?
  3. Why do I need to know so much about engine oil?
  4. Why Are There So Many Different Engine Oils?
  5. The role of the base oil and additives in engine oils

Depending on various properties, engine oils are divided into groups by certain parameters:

1. By the chemical make-up of the base (mineral, semi-synthetic, synthetic oil ). 2. By viscosity (SAE classification ). 3. By the additive package and quality (API and ACEA classifications) 4. By carmaker approvals (oil approvals ).

It's worth noting right away that none of the categories listed above directly tells you which oil is better and which is worse — all these oils are simply different and suited to different engines. So to correctly choose engine oil for your car, you need to know which oil actually suits your engine. The exception, perhaps, is the first category — the chemical make-up of the base — since carmakers rarely insist on using any one specific option. It's with this category that we'll start, but first a few words are in order about what engine oil actually is.