Basic Oil advice from Opie Oils

[oilman]

Basic Oil advice from Opie Oils

When it comes to choosing oil for your car, this post may seem like going back to basics but we at OPIE OILS are constantly surprised by the amount of people who do not understand what is written on a bottle of oil and therefore have no idea of what they are buying or using.

This article should help most car owners as a basic guide, for more detailed information you can always contact us at www.opieoils.co.uk and we will be more than happy to help you.

So, to be blunt about the subject, if a bottle of oil does not contain the following basic information then DO NOT buy it look for something that does!

1) The purpose for which it is intended (i.e. Motor oil, Gear oil, ATF etc)

2) The viscosity (i.e. 10w-40, 5w-30 etc for Motor oils and 80w-90, 75w-90 etc for Gear oils)

3) The specifications that it meets (should contain API and/or ACEA ratings)

4) The OEM Approvals that it carries and the codes (i.e. MB229.5, VW504.00, FORD 913A, BMW LL04 etc)

Ignore the marketing blurb on the label it is in many cases meaningless and we will explain later what statements you should treat with some skepticism.

So, what does the above information mean and why is it important?

THE BASICS

All oils are intended for an application and in general are not interchangeable. You would not for example put an Automatic Transmission Oil or a Gear Oil in your engine! It is important to know what the oils intended purpose is.

VISCOSITY

Most oils on the shelves today are “Multigradesâ€