While all of us want to feed our beloved car engines with the best engine oil, we are often confused about the grades, brands and varieties available. This confusion…

While all of us want to feed our beloved car engines with the best engine oil, we are often confused about the grades, brands, and varieties available. This confusion generally has its roots in our lack of knowledge about viscosity grades, and our lack of understanding of the basic differences between mineral, synthetic and semi-synthetic oils.

Types Of Engine Oil

into three primary categories for cars based on the way they are manufactured and their qualities – mineral oils, semi-synthetic oils, and fully synthetic oils. Here’s what each variety of engine oil encompasses

Mineral Engine Oil

In a nutshell, mineral oil is the stuff that comes from the ground and is created as part of the oil refining process. This type of oil has been around as long as cars have been around, and it’s less expensive than synthetic oils. Of course, there is a wide range of quality available within mineral oils too, though their price is generally lower than the other two varieties of oils. These engine oils work well for an everyday car driven in conditions that are not too extreme (hot, cold, dusty, hilly, strenuous, etc).

Engine Oil Semi-Synthetic

Semi-synthetic oil, also known as synthetic blend oil has a small amount of synthetic engine oil (explained in detail in the next section) blended in with mineral oil to boost its properties without escalating the cost by much. The addition of synthetic oil enhances its viscosity and wear resistance at higher temperatures and stress. Synthetic-blend engine oils can also offer better performance at lower temperatures, based on the requirements.

Fully Synthetic Oil

Synthetic oils are more expensive because of the chemical engineering involved in creating them. They still have a base mineral oil, but they’ve been engineered to allow for more miles to be driven between oil changes, and they often have additives to help keep the oil cleaner, longer. It’s also more stable at higher and lower temperatures than mineral oil.