Vehicle Performance: How the Right Lubricants Can Extend the Life of your Car
Every car requires lubricants. Whether it is engine oil, transmission fluid or even a coolant, the car you are driving will need them to operate. But not every car is the same and a one product fits all approach cannot be taken. If we take an engine as an example, the viscosity, additive pack and composition will all impact your choice and whether you can use a specific product in your car. To emphasise this, our technical team has put together an article highlighting the benefits of correct lubrication, the effects of using the wrong lubricants and how Finol Oils can help you with your choice.
The Importance of Correct Lubrication
Lubricants are specifically designed to protect your car and increase its performance. But not all lubricants are created equal. OEM approved or lubricants that meet the requirements of your vehicle provide numerous direct and indirect benefits. These include:
Machine Longevity: Lubricants are developed with molecules that form a strong film over metal surfaces, reducing mechanical wear and improving machine longevity.
Longer Drain Intervals: Many synthetic lubricants are formulated with antioxidant additives that are resistant to oxidation. This can help reduce your maintenance cost and depending on the product, extend drain intervals.
Corrosion Protection: An engine is made of metal parts that are extremely sensitive to rust. To counteract this, corrosion inhibitor additives protect parts from rust.
Machinery Performance: Additives prevent the formation of harmful deposits by keeping them dispersed. This improves engine durability, making it run smoother and efficiently.
Fuel Economy Properties: Specific lubricant ranges can provide Fuel Economy gains via viscosity control and friction reduction. Lowering the lubricant’s viscosity reduces the overall friction in the engine, delivering Fuel Economy benefits and lowering your costs.
It’s essential to always use lubricants with specifications recommended by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). They have designed, built and launched these powerful machines and understand the type of lubrication and balance of additives that they require. Using a lubricant that doesn’t follow the specifications laid out by the OEM can have dramatic, sometimes catastrophic effects on your car.
The Effects of Using the Wrong Lubricant
We’ve looked at the positives, but what happens if you use the wrong lubricant or have been recommended a lubricant that does not meet the requirements of your machine?
Engine Oil: The most important factor when changing engine oil is the grade. If you use the wrong grade (5W-30 instead of 0W-30), incorrect ACEA or API specification, lubrication is reduced and components can be damaged by increased wear, oxidation and corrosion. You can also experience reduced mileage, oil leaks, increased engine noise and component failure.
Transmission Fluid: Incorrect transmission fluids cause similar issues to wrong engine oils; leading to impacted performance and gearbox functionality, wear, corrosion, overheating and eventually component failure.
Coolant & Antifreeze: The incorrect coolant can corrode and damage the coolant system, leading to leakages. When mixed, different-coloured coolants or antifreeze, can react to form sticky substances within the coolant system that can stop coolant flow, causing the engine to overheat and become damaged.
Which Oil from Finol Oils
Correct lubrication is crucial in ensuring that your production levels are met and your machinery operates at the highest level. That’s why Finol always recommends using the Which Oil lubricant advisor to ensure you use the correct oils every time. The lubricant advisor, available for use at www.whichoil.ie offers many features to give you a fast and reliable recommendation.
For example, the top 3 selling car brands of 2021 in Ireland are Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen. A quick search with Which Oil highlights a complete suite of high-performance lubricants to guarantee your vehicles are properly lubricated.
Toyota
As Toyota moves further into hybrid vehicles one of the most often asked questions is the engine oil based around these models. A quick search with Which Oil highlights Quartz 9000 GF5 0W-20, a synthetic engine oil specifically designed for use with the latest “Downsized” engines equipped with stop-start technologies and hybrid engines which require very fluid synthetic engine oils.
Hyundai
One of the fastest-selling cars in Ireland over the last decade has been the Tucson model. The requirement for this vehicle is an ACEA C3 grade with a 5W-30 viscosity. This recommendation is backed up by our Which Oil search with the recommended product being Quartz Ineo MC3 5W-30, an engine oil that is fully approved by Hyundai Kia.
Volkswagen
One of the most recognised manufacturer approvals is the Volkswagen 504/507 specification. A quick search on a 2018 Volkswagen Golf shows that Quartz Ineo Long Life 5W-30 is your oil of choice, carrying an approval for the aforementioned specification.
Finol Oils: Your Irish Partner in Automotive Lubricants
For over 40 years, Finol has provided high-performance lubricants to the automotive sector. The national partner of Total, Elf and Petro-Canada lubricants, our experience allows us to deliver a range of leading products and services that are unrivalled within the Irish market. This expertise ensures that we consistently provide both quality and reliability to all of our customers, no matter their needs or area of operation. To find out more about our dedicated range of automotive lubricants, contact our technical team directly at 01-5827111 or go to www.finol.ie/automotive-oils
