How important is it to use the correct oil in your car?
There was a time way back when automobile engines called for a straight 30w oil that the euphemism “Oil is Oil” had some validity. In those days engines were markedly simpler and internal tolerances were much greater than today’s engines. Today’s engines have very tight tolerances; the clearance between parts like bearing surfaces is less than half what it was 30 years ago. Most vehicles manufactured in the last ten years have variable valve timing. These engines have small passages in the engine block (that sludge easily) which supply oil pressure to the mechanism that uses oil pressure controlled by your car’s computer to control valve timing. It’s a great stride forward in making engines run well, more efficiently and with much more power. The downside to these improvements is they require engine oil to withstand higher temperatures and have much greater lubricity with a very thin film of oil.
What does this all mean? It means engine oil must perform better under much more extreme conditions! If it doesn’t, engine wear increases and engine failures result. It means that with the proper engine oil and appropriate change intervals, your engine can easily last 200,000 – 300,000 miles, or you might have problems with sludging and failures at less than 100,000 miles with poor quality oil and over-due oil changes.
There is a lot to consider when choosing engine oil. We here at DAVCO Performance go to great lengths to choose the best oil for your car and carry it in stock. Not just for your engine either but for your transmission, differential and transfer case to name some others. I personally review the oils we stock, matching them to your vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations along with the current API and ILSAC standards (American Petroleum institute and International Lubricant Standardization and Approval Committee.) The current API standards are SN, and ILSAC is GF5. You can find these designations on oil that meets their standards (usually on the back of the bottle). This is important to look for when shopping for oil; however, in truth most oils sold today meet those standards. SO WAIT! Is “Oil is Oil “not then still true? I mean there IS a standard that most oils meet???… Yes! But, not all!
AND THAT’S THE LOW END OF THE SCALE!
You see oil can just meet the standards or it can exceed the standards! This is very important to know particularly when choosing oil that will give your engine the most protection over its lifetime. Using an oil that exceeds the standards or has properties & additive package that’s best tailored to your car is vitally important. Knowing how much sulfur, phosphorous and ash content that’s in the oil helps balance the lubrication characteristics with how well that oil will treat costly components like your catalytic converter and O2 sensors. Catalytic converters are a costly item to replace if you don’t change your oil frequently enough or your oil is high in things like sulfur and phosphorous that bind to the catalyst in your converter causing it to slowly degrade and eventually fail.
Here at DAVCO you can rest assured that we chose oil appropriate for your car! Even our basic semi-synthetic oil is very high quality oil at a budget friendly price, currently $22.95 (up to 5 quarts, most cars) with coupon found on our website!
I have chosen it carefully as it is appropriate for many cars!
Keep in mind; we do our homework here so you don’t have to! We choose our products based on many factors not just price to give you, our valued customer the best service at the lowest cost!
Thanks for listening! We here at DAVCO look forward to serving you in the future!
Questions? Feel free to ask. Click on the “contact us” tab to send your questions!
