What happens if you mix oil weights




















Oils are typically weighed based on viscosity, and since different oils contain different additives, so their viscosities differ. Generally, it is safe to use a blend of different oils for your car engine, but there are things to consider, else, you may be paving the way for a major engine breakdown. Basically, semi-synthetic oils and pure synthetic oils are compatible, but the additives differ based on the manufacturer.

Besides, mineral oils are all byproduct of the same petroleum feedstock. When you mix different weights of oil, due to the varied amount of additives in the two oils, it may not provide the same efficiency compared to when you use one of the oils constantly.

Different oil viscosities do not separate or react negatively, and this is because the base oil is almost the same in terms of molecules. It also means it will continue damaging your engine parts due to sludge buildup. When it comes to oil classification, the American petroleum Institute API is the body mandated to regulate the use of motor oil in the country.

Motor oil operates differently under varying weather conditions. When it is extremely cold oil tends to have a harder time flowing than during hotter seasons. This can pose challenges when you attempting to lift a heavy load as oil works harder. When it comes to grading the viscosity of oil you need to pay close attention to the labels on the oil container. If you leave in an area receiving extreme cold temperatures look for higher numbers. The second number denotes how oil behaves in hot weather.

It is an indication of how thick it becomes. The higher this number the thicker the oil and its ability to retain its viscosity at high temperatures.

This means in extreme summers oil with viscosity number of 20 W works better than 0W Here are some crucial symptoms associated with the wrong motor oil. If you leave in an area that is very cold then you are familiar with the challenges that come with trying to start your car in the morning. Oil thickens in cold weather and this means it takes some time for it to warm up and lubricate your movable parts effectively.

To mitigate this, ensure you get oil with the right viscosity number i. Motor oil is often categorized based on the type of car it will be used for. Conventional oils are mostly preferred for older cars. In the alternative one can use the high mileage oils. This come with some decent amount of additives that will clear sludge from old cars. They also prevent premature wear and tear. Full synthetic oils have undergone more distillation and refinement.

They also come with a significant amount of additives. Should you put full synthetic oil into an old car that is used to conventional oil, you will notice that the car has started leaking oil. This is because full synthetic oil is capable of squeezing through tiny engine spaces. While the oil leaks are minute they may cause some significant drop in oil levels and a burning smell.

This normally happens for those drivers living in areas that are very hot. During high temperatures if you have oil with the wrong viscosity number it will start to break down then evaporate or burn.

When oil starts burning it loses its lubrication abilities and you will experience engine overheating. As a rule a viscosity of 20W 50 is better than 20W 30 if you leave in very hot places. If you make the mistake of purchasing a higher viscosity oil for normal driving conditions, you will start seeing a spike in your fuel consumption.

This is because the movable parts in your engine require more strength to operate leading to more fuel consumption. Switch to a lower viscosity oil when this happens. Oil is primarily used to lubricate the movable parts inside the engine. The result is ticking noises from the engine. Answer: Mixing two different motor oil weights to make your own custom viscosity does not work quite as simply as it sounds.

There a couple of unknowns and even some potential complications that have to be considered. As the additive formula used to construct each viscosity 10W and 15W in this case can utilize different chemistry, there simply is no way to project how well the mixture will actually work and whether the longevity of the oil mix will be affected. Another uncertainty is the shear stability of a mixture of two different weights. As the chemistries of the two oils can vary, there is no way to predict how well the blend will stand up to shearing forces and extreme heat.

While it may not be a disaster, the safer choice would be using one type of motor oil that was formulated to perform at its best. Our recommendation would be to use either Dominator 10W or 15W on their own. If you are in a pinch, you could certainly top-up your engine oil level with an oil from a different viscosity range. The good news is that mixing different types of oil it will not harm your engine in any way in the short run. Most synthetic and semi-synthetic engine oils are based on regular oil and are compatible.

No unwanted by-products are created when different types of oil are mixed, and engine performance will be absolutely fine. Gone are the days when switching between synthetic and mineral oil was not recommended as people experienced problems like seal leaking and unusually high oil consumption.

In fact, in places when the car is put through extreme conditions where temperature fluctuations can be especially extreme, owners switch from mineral oil to synthetic for the colder months and vice-versa. The bad news though is that this will not give you the benefits you think it would. Mixing different oils will not improve the performance or efficiency of the engine in any way. The additives in synthetic oil may have limited or no effect at all when mixed with a regular engine oil.

Mixing different synthetic oil blends, on the other hand, may have negative effects in the long term as the additives may react. Oils are miscible. You can use 1 litre of 5W30 mixed with 5W40 and it will not cause any sort of ill effects to the engine. Having said that, it is always better to stick to one grade of oil till the time you decide to completely drain your car and top it up.



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