When changing your oil, the first thing you will need to do is choose the type of oil to use. There are several things you will need to look for when you choose your oil. The most important aspect is choosing the viscosity, or weight of the oil. From there, you will need to choose the brand you want to use based on many factors, such as additives.
Your vehicle manufacturer provides specifications for the viscosity of the oil that you should use. Most vehicles today use either 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil. However, you may need to increase the weight of your oil if you operate your vehicle in consistently high temperatures, or if you have an older engine. The higher the weight of the oil, the thicker it is. A 5W-30 oil is an oil that flows like a 5 weight oil at 0 degrees C, but stays as thick as a 30 weight oil at higher temperatures around 100 degrees C.
Different brands of oil use different types of additives. These additives help to keep the viscosity index in check and provide extra protection for harsh conditions. Most oil companies and vehicle manufacturers don’t recommend the use of additional additives. They mix with the additives already in the oil and can become a detriment to the engine. The only time this may not be the case is in older engines with high mileage. Extra additives will often be beneficial to worn engines.
For a more thorough explanation of oil components and uses, link to these pages:
http://vger.rutgers.edu/~ravi/bike/pages/pages/docs/oil.html
Another important thing to do when changing your oil is to select a new filter. There are many different brands to choose from and it is mostly a matter of preference. These brands include Fram, Motorcraft, AC-Delco, and Wix, just to name a few. Some companies produce high quality filters with extra features that you may be interested in. Follow the links below to look at one of the best selling filters on the market:
http://www.alliedsignal.com/automotive/aftermarket/dguard/dguard.htm
http://www.alliedsignal.com/automotive/aftermarket/eguard/extrag.htm
These links will take you to the web sites of some of the most popular brands of oil used in automotive engines today:
http://www.pennzoil.com/products/default.htm
http://www.texaco.com/tlc/default.htm
http://www.quakerstate.com./html/products/passenger.htm
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