Tags: Northampton garage, Conventional oil, Synthetic oil, Automotive Engineering, Part-synthetic oil.

← Back to NewsPosted on: 05/07/2022

What is the Best Oil for my Car?

If you have been wondering what is the best oil for my car, then read on. If you don’t know much about cars, then chances are you have no idea how important oil is. It’s the main lubricant for all the moving parts of your car’s engine so it’s a pretty crucial fluid to keeping you on the road, so don’t ignore the light on the dash when it comes on.

There are three types of oil:

Conventional oil – think of this as your organic oil, which is basically refined crude oil that’s been pumped up from the ground.

Synthetic oil – as the name would suggest it’s been manufactured. Each molecule has been carefully put together and it’s because of this that synthetic oil has fewer imperfections in its chemical build-up.

Part-synthetic – this is called synthetic blend or semi-synthetic and it means that the oil is made up of conventional mineral oil and synthetic base oil. It was designed to provide some of the benefits of synthetic oil, but with a cheaper price tag.

When it comes to knowing which type of oil to put into your car, it’s worth remembering that synthetic oil will always outperform conventional oil because it reacts well to extreme temperatures. Synthetic oils also have much better lubrication so are more economical and provide better performance all round.

For those of who you don’t enjoy tinkering underneath the bonnet, then you will definitely want to invest in some synthetic oil as it doesn’t need to be changed as often as conventional oil.

Of course, synthetic oil will hit your wallet a bit more than conventional, but with better overall car performance and longer oil change intervals, synthetic is probably far more cost effective.

Before you open the oil tank though, it’s always worth having a quick look in your vehicle’s manual to see if the manufacturer has made an oil recommendation. You should also check to see if that if you use the wrong oil that it won’t void your warranty. Many newer vehicles require synthetic oil, but there are some out there that haven’t yet been approved for certain diesel engines.

If you have the option to choose between synthetic and conventional and still aren’t sure which to pick, come down and have a chat with Nigel and the team at Automotive Engineering as we’re happy to help.