When it comes to working of a car engine, oil plays an inevitable role. But, have you ever thought what’s the function of oil in a car engine? Or why does the engine need oil? Well, oil is just inseparable part of the working of a car engine. Let’s talk about some of the very important theories which will help you learn the various aspect of oil in terms of its nature, functions, grade and types of engine oil:

• Oil Viscosity: You must have seen the viscosity reading, like 10W50 or 20W50  that comes printed on the oil cans. This indicates the measure of oil’s resistance to flowing. The alphabet ‘W’ here refers to ‘winter,’ so do not confuse it with ‘watt’ or ‘weight.’ As we all know, the viscosity changes with temperature and in terms of car engines, lower the viscosity, better is the performance! With higher temperature, oil tends to become thin and thus, it circulates faster through the various components of the engine. However, it should also be kept in mind that too low viscosity of the oil will also not work, since it causes metal between the engine components to contact.

• Functions of Engine Oil: The basic function of oil is to protect metal surfaces in the engine from grinding together. During the working of the engine, oil helps in reducing friction between the various components, which ultimately minimizes heat, noise as well as wear of the engine. Another function of oil is to transfer the extra heat to the cooling system. Oil also cleanses the engine by dissolving and filtering dirt.
• Grade: SAE (Society of Automotive Engine) has set a numerical code to grade different types of engine oils, based on the range of viscosity at a particular temperature. Oils can be single grade or multi-grade. The former ones are basically used for engines that operate at high temperatures. These oils are numbered 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60. And multi-grade oils can be used for all applications.
• Types of Engine Oils: Basically, there are three types of engine oils- mineral, synthetic or semi-synthetic and pure synthetic. Mineral oils refers to the oils that are taken from the earth’s crust. They are being refined in order to use in various applications. Synthetic oils are derived from mineral oils, however these are not purely synthetic. Pure synthetic oils are derived from mineral oil under pure conditions. These are mainly used for gearbox and other sections of the industrial sector.

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