Engine Oil.
“Oils Ain’t oils”
This slogan by the oil company Castrol is more true today than ever before. The days of one oil catering for everyone are over.
What sort of oil do we use?
When we service a vehicle we select the oil that suits your engine from a large range of available oils. The importance in the choice is not in the brand but in the specifications of the oil. Whether we use Castrol, Valvoline or Penrite is not of great importance. The first important factor in the choice of engine oil is the SAE viscosity grade. All oils we use have been Laboratory tested and display one or both, API and ACEA specifications.
API stands for: American Petroleum Institute.
ACEA is the: Association des Constructeurs Europeens d'Automobiles. (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association)
SAE is the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Both these organisations provide their own classifications that you can find on an oil bottle. If you are looking at a 5 litre bottle of oil for $12.50 in Big-W, don't touch it unless you are driving an old clapper that burns oil as fast as it burns petrol. While cheap unaproved oil will not carry the API and ACEA specification, these oils will always have a SAE viscosity grade on the label. Just the viscosity on its own is not good enough anymore in the day and age. Demands of modern engines have changed and it is important to select the right oil. What's right for a late model engine may not be the best for a 10 year old car and it will certainly be wrong for a very old car.
How do we select the right oil?
Simple, every oil manufacturer has a lube guide, which is usually available to everyone on their website.
For every car we service we check the available references to ensure that the correct oil is used without exceptions.
It is of great importance to us that we provide you with an oil that will give your engine the best protection it can get.
SAE Viscosity grade.
Viscosity describes how thin or thick a liquid is. Water has a low viscosity and mud has a high viscosity. Oils are manufacured to a desired thickness by adding chemicals to the base oils. The oil will then maintain a specific thickness within a given temperature range. Engine oil must never get too thick or thin under all operating conditions or severe engine damage will result.
Oil additives.
We do not use or recommend oil additives for the following reasons. Blelow is a statement from the Penrite website that sums up what we believe.
Aftermarket additives designed to boost the anti-wear properties (by adding zinc or other compounds) are not recommended for use in Penrite products. The same can be said for oil“conditioners” or stop smoke additives. Aftermarket additives may upset the balance of the chemistry used in our products and as such we do not warrant our products when such additives are used.
Rather than using additives we recommend to use the correct oil instead.
