Knowledge about Oil
 What is worth knowing about oil?Today’s vehicle lubricants are based on base oil, which can be synthetic, mineral oil, or a mixture of the two, and additives to improve the performance of the base oil. It requires a well balanced combination of base oil plus additives to make a high-performance lubricant. Lubricant are components of the vehicle (the engine, the gearbox, the axle, and other applications) and, like all other components of the vehicle, are best designed as a part of the vehicle as a whole. The base oil provides the general lubrication properties of separating and sealing surfaces, cooling the hot metal by transferring heat away, and washing deposits off the metal surfaces. The viscosity (thickness) of the base oil is critical to the performance of the lubricant. High viscosity (thick) base oil is good at keeping surfaces apart and sealing but may not flow properly at cold temperatures and the extra viscosity steals both fuel economy and power. Low viscosity (thin) base oil flows well at low temperatures and improves both fuel economy and power but, if too thin, will not separate and seal the metal surfaces adequately and wear rates will increase. The base oil behaviour is modified by the addition of viscosity modifiers that change the viscosity of the lubricant to different degrees at low and high temperatures and also at low and high speeds. The additives provide major extra performance to the base oil, typically through chemical interactions, and engineers have been designing vehicles assuming this extra chemical protection for more than 50 years. Vehicle technology and additives technology have developed hand in hand to meet the increasing demands of consumers and legislators (especially for improved emissions control). Most people are aware that antioxidants can help extend the useful life of lubricants and these are of the most common families of lubricant additives. Other major additives are detergents (that clean up deposits from the hot surfaces), dispersants (that keep potential deposits suspended in the oil and prevents them from dropping out), and anti-wear additives that protect the metal surfaces when the base oil viscosity is not sufficient to keep the surfaces apart. Other additives include anti-foam, anti-corrosion, and anti-friction chemicals that provide extra benefits. The right lubricant has advantages in every respect for the driver!
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