What Kind of Oil Does Your Car Take?

All Land Rover SUVs use Castrol EDGE™ Professional motor oil, but understanding the various car oil types—ånd knowing how to find your vehicle’s requirements—is important for every driver!

So, what kind of oil does your car take? If you need to look up oil specifications by vehicle, there’s no substitute for checking the owner’s manual. The manual will list the proper grade (AKA weight or viscosity), as well as the proper type—conventional or synthetic. From there, you can make a decision about the best oil product for your vehicle.

Car Oil Types Explained

Basic Types of Motor Oil

• Conventional Oil: Conventional oil starts its life as crude or base oil that is mined from the ground. It is then refined, and blended with additives, in order to perform better under pressure.
• Synthetic Oil: Full synthetic motor oils go through a more extensive process of refinement, and as a result, they tend to perform better than conventional oils. They’re also more expensive.
• Synthetic-Conventional Blends: Although some mechanics may recommend synthetic-conventional blends as a means to access some performance benefits while saving money, most experts agree that synthetic-conventional blends are only as effective as their conventional oil bases.

Reading Oil Grades

SAE 5W-30 and SAE 10W-30 are the most common recommended motor oil grades today—but what do these combinations of letters and numbers actually mean? Let’s break it down:

• SAE is an acronym that stands for Society of Automotive Engineers. This group performs viscosity tests and determines each motor oil’s grade.
• For multi-weight oils, you’ll see two numbers separated by a dash. The first number is always accompanied by a “W”, which stands for “Winter”.
• The two numbers then represent the thickness or viscosity of the oil at low and high temperatures. Lower numbers indicate thinner oil. If you use the wrong viscosity, your oil pressure ratings will not be where they should be, and your engine may wear down more quickly.
• (Single-weight or straight-weight motor oils used to be more common, and their names are usually written like SAE40 or SAE50. This won’t be relevant for most drivers, but it could be useful information if you drive an older model.)

So, 5W-30 motor oil is generally safer for a wider range of temperatures than 10W-30 motor oil. Since the temperature can fluctuate widely between winter and summer in Jersey City and Fort Lee, this is an important consideration to keep in mind!

It’s equally important to note that using the right amount of oil is just as important as using the right kind! We can show you how to check your oil levels at home.

Which Oil Product is Right for You?

If you’re browsing through the range of available oil types at your local parts department, you’ll see that there are a variety of options for each grade. If you frequently undertake activities that are harder on your engine—like towing or performance driving—it may be worth it to choose a product that has been formulated specifically for that purpose.

For most Englewood and New York City drivers who compare car oil types, the most important question is whether or not it’s worth it to choose a high-mileage motor oil. If your vehicle has more than 75,000 miles, choosing a high-mileage oil product can help to protect your seals and gaskets, reducing the risk of leaks and limiting excess wear. However, you shouldn’t expect high-mileage motor oil to extend the life of an engine that hasn’t been well maintained.

Regardless, high-mileage motor oil is only slightly more expensive than standard oil, so it’s probably worth the cost if your vehicle has 75,000 miles or more!

How to Find Oil Specifications by Vehicle

Oil grade recommendations don’t just vary from vehicle to vehicle; they can change from one trim level to another—especially if your vehicle is offered with more than one engine. For this reason, drivers should always rely on their specific model’s owner’s manual instead of looking up oil specifications by vehicle. If you’re not sure of what kind of oil your vehicle requires, you can contact us today to get the answer.

Purchase Oil or Schedule an Oil Change at Land Rover Englewood!

If you’re due for a Land Rover oil change, don’t wait to schedule service with our team. In fact, we can service all makes and models, and we’d be happy to supply you with motor oil no matter what kind of vehicle you drive.