AUTOMOTIVE LUBRICANTS

With the high demand for automotive lubricants in our society and the tremendous size of this market, as one can imagine, there are hundreds of companies working to attract your attention and your business. These range from the companies that would like to change the oil in your car in fifteen minutes flat to those that would like to have your vehicle ready for the next stock car race.

The problem, from your standpoint, is simply how to make an informed decision in selecting the correct product for your car with a minimum of your time and effort. Our goal is to help you do just that by providing a quick reference to information on the subject of automotive lubricants and to present to you suppliers who have products that can meet your needs.

MOTOR OIL
If you are driving a relatively new car you will want to be certain you adhere to the manufacturer’s specification for the motor oil to be used. Certainly this is true during the period of the manufacturer’s warranty. Reference to your owners’ manual should provide a simple answer to your questions.

If you must make the choice in selecting a brand of motor oil and its specifications, there are two factors of primary importance to consider. One is the viscosity grade of the oil, which is defined as its resistance to flow (or pour-ability), and the second is its service level, meaning its composition and quality. Fortunately there is a way of classifying and coding each of these factors which permits you to tell whether a lubricating product might be appropriate for your use.

Product “service codes” have been established through testing which indicate an engine oil meets the requirements necessary to properly perform in an engine. These requirements are defined by the automobile manufacturing industry. Motor oil manufacturers place labels on their products indicating they have passed these tests. As motor technology and the requirements of emission control equipment change new oil products, new tests and category codes are created.
 
The viscosity grade of oil is rated by the SAE (American Society of Automotive Engineers). Their coding system permits you to tell if the viscosity characteristics of a product are appropriate for your requirement. The motor oil viscosity to be used in a car is specified by the vehicle manufacturer. Multi-grade oils are intended for use in automobile engines. Single-grade oils are limited in the temperature range in which they are effective and should be used only in equipment such as lawn mowers where there are not great variations in operating temperature.

For detailed and very readable articles on engine oil we recommend that you spend a little time at Wikipedia reading their article on Motor Oil, also of interest are articles in the Engine Oil Bible and MotorOilWorld.com on choosing the right oil and related subjects.  Here you can quickly learn about different SAE viscosity grades and the method of standards classifications.

SERVICE GREASES
The wide range of grease specifications generated by Original Equipment Manufactures (that is, the companies that make the automobile parts that require lubrication, known as OEM’s) created a situation in which it was not possible for the marketers of lubricating greases to make such a wide variety of lubricants available.

As a result, an international organization set consensus standards for various OEM industries. Through this organization a standard classification and specification for automotive service greases was created. There are two category groups within this standard, chassis lubricants, identified by the letter designation “L” and wheel bearing lubricants identified by the letter designation G. While there are several sub-designations within each group there is apparent agreement in the industry that the highest category in each group, LA and GA are suitable for service relubrication.

The NLGI (National Lubricating Grease Institute) has facilitated the use of the system of specification certification through a testing service that is described on their web page. The rating of a list of available products that have been certified is also available from NLGI.

GENERAL
The organizations and system in place for measuring and labeling automotive motor oils and service lubricants does not mean that there are not other products on the market that have the viscosity or quality levels that will satisfy or exceed your requirements. Due to the cost of doing so, not all manufacturers choose to have their products tested and labeled by these organizations even though they are good and suitable products. In some cases you will find manufacturers product label referring to these standards but without the certification label. In these cases it is up to you to decide if the product is satisfactory for your need.

If, in using our web page, you find ways or have suggestions on ways in which we can improve in meeting this objective we would like to hear from you. Please send us a note using the form in the CONTACT US section.