Understanding Oil Specifications

When most car owners look at specifications mentioned on motor oil cans, typically they can’t make head or tail out of them.

- 

Alphanumeric codes, like 10W40 and 15W50, seem to exist only to confuse those who look at them, but that’s not really the case. It all comes down to the lack of understanding, which is what makes you hand over your car keys to the nearest service centre and hope that they will put the right oil in your vehicle. Manufacturers often recommend a certain grade of oil for your car, and service centres usually stick to them. While this works perfectly fine in most conditions, the right engine oil for your car often changes depending on the weather conditions you’re driving in. But, before we get into the complexity of it all, we first need to understand how oil grades are read. And what better way to understand oil grades than through an example, let’s say 10W40. Before motor oils are packed and retailed,