Viscosity and Engine Oils

If you own a car and ever tried to buy engine oil for your vehicle, you must understand the importance of viscosity for engine oil. It is one of the most important components when it comes to lubricants and engine oils. Let us discuss what it is and how it works.

Viscosity is basically the thickness of engine oil that promotes the ability to reduce wear as well as improving fuel economy.

Now comes the question, how to recognize the viscosity of your chosen engine oil. Generally, a number followed by an alphabet denotes it. For example, 10W-30 oil, where ‘W’ denotes ‘Winter’ and the oil here is a multi-grade oil, which means it has two viscosities. Typical winter oil is 10W and on the other hand, a typical summer grade oil is 30. The specialty of multi-grade oil is, it could stay as close to the optimum viscosity within the specified range of temperature. It not becomes too thick when it is cold and not too thin when it is hot. Therefore, it is quite evident from the nomenclature of engine oil that a 10W-40 is thicker than a 10W-30. Moreover, it also can serve well at a higher temperature. However, always keep in mind that using oil with too high viscosity results in an excessive temperature that further increases drag.

It is always important to use engine oil with optimum viscosity whether it is a bike oil or oil for your expensive saloon. An optimum viscosity eases starting, reduces wear and slows down friction. The engine that produces less heat, demands oil with lower viscosity. On the other hand, if internal engine clearance is looser, oil with higher viscosity is recommended and a tighter clearance needed oils with lower viscosity.