What does the numbers on engine oil mean

Just like with electricity, when it comes to car oil, numbers matter—especially if you want to protect your engine. Motor Oil Viscosity Oil “weights” or grades—such as 10W-30—are actually a numerical coding system developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to grade oils based on their viscosity.

During normal driving today the average car can stop and start as many as 18,000 times a year, and all that idling in traffic or waiting at junctions causes microscopic wear in your engine. Best Answer: 10w-30 means this oil is only a 10 for viscosity (it is thin) but when it heats up it will perform as a 30w oil but it does not get thicker. if you live where it is cold you need the 10 viscosity to easily start your car without damaging your engine. most car makers suggest 10-30 for their vehicles. The lower the “W” number the better the oils cold temperature/cold start performance. The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100 degC. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits. The lower the number the thinner the oil. These oils have 2 numbers because in the winter (5w- or 5winter) it behaves like a thin, light oil so it will flow at low temperature (when you start your

14 Feb 2019 Given all the motor oil options out there, choosing the right oil for your car of Automotive Engineers) viscosity number and tells you if the oil has passed Does that mean an oil with just 70 percent base oils is better than one 

Engine oil is towards the heavy end of the products coming from the crude oil, but it can contain a little of the lighter and heavier components. This is what causes some of the instability of conventional oil, and allows it to break down quicker that a pure synthetic oil. As for the numbers and what they mean, the numbers are the "viscosity" of the oil. Viscosity refers to the thickness of the oil, lower numbers are thinner, higher numbers are thicker. More appropriately the viscosity number is the amount of a given oil that can flow through a given oriface within a fixed amount of time which determines the viscosity number. Oil “weights” or grades—such as 10W-30—are actually a numerical coding system developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to grade oils based on their viscosity. Viscosity is measured by how long it takes a specific amount of oil to flow through a specific-sized opening at a specific temperature. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) assigns a viscosity number, or weight, to oil based on its flow at 210 degrees F, which is roughly the standard operating temperature for most motors.

The lower the "W" number the better the oil's cold temperature/cold start performance. The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100°C. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits.

As for the numbers and what they mean, the numbers are the "viscosity" of the oil. Viscosity refers to the thickness of the oil, lower numbers are thinner, higher numbers are thicker. More appropriately the viscosity number is the amount of a given oil that can flow through a given oriface within a fixed amount of time which determines the viscosity number. Oil “weights” or grades—such as 10W-30—are actually a numerical coding system developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to grade oils based on their viscosity. Viscosity is measured by how long it takes a specific amount of oil to flow through a specific-sized opening at a specific temperature. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) assigns a viscosity number, or weight, to oil based on its flow at 210 degrees F, which is roughly the standard operating temperature for most motors. The lower the "W" number the better the oil's cold temperature/cold start performance. The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100°C. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits. The two numbers in the 5W-40 indicate the weight or viscosity of the engine oil as tested by SAE. Viscosity is defined as a fluid's resistance to flow: The higher the number, the higher the fluid's resistance to flow, or the thicker the fluid. This leaves them still wondering what the viscosity numbers really mean on a bottle of motor oil. Simply put, viscosity is the oil's resistance to flow or, for the layman, an oil's speed of flow as measured through a device known as a viscometer. The thicker (higher viscosity) of an oil, the slower it will flow.

Engine Oil Codes Explained, SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) numbers explained/Viscosity - Duration: 5:15. TheRepairSpecialist 2,204,149 views

26 Sep 2017 What is the purpose of engine oil in your vehicle? The purpose of engine What do the numbers on oil bottles mean? There are also different  24 Oct 2019 The engine oil grade consists of 4 characters. Here we explain the meaning of each of them: The first number is followed by a 'W'. Here the W  3 Oct 2013 What do all those numbers and letters mean, and are all brands the same? Are you puzzled about the types of motor oil available? Wondering 

What do these numbers mean? In a nutshell, the numbers before and after the W represent viscosity. The letter “W” itself stands for Winter. As you may know, viscosity means the thickness of a fluid. In the case of motor oil, it is the thickness of the oil under certain temperature conditions.

2 Aug 2019 Some examples of this include 10W30, 5W20, 5W30, 10W40, etc. It almost looks like some secret code that only a trained auto technician would  9 Jul 2018 Oils with higher viscosity (a larger number) take longer to flow through the opening, while oils with lower viscosity (a smaller number) flow quicker. 7 Sep 2012 You see those cryptic combinations of letters and numbers on motor oil bottles everywhere. What do they mean? To decipher them, you have to  22 May 2018 What do those numbers mean? The next number is the viscosity of the oil when the engine is hot and running, which you'd want higher than  14 Feb 2019 Given all the motor oil options out there, choosing the right oil for your car of Automotive Engineers) viscosity number and tells you if the oil has passed Does that mean an oil with just 70 percent base oils is better than one 

The numbers you see on your motor oil can range from 0 to 60 and are determined in laboratory tests by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). These numbers refer to viscosity, or thickness, with the lowest numbers representing the thinnest, Engine oil is towards the heavy end of the products coming from the crude oil, but it can contain a little of the lighter and heavier components. This is what causes some of the instability of conventional oil, and allows it to break down quicker that a pure synthetic oil. As for the numbers and what they mean, the numbers are the "viscosity" of the oil. Viscosity refers to the thickness of the oil, lower numbers are thinner, higher numbers are thicker. More appropriately the viscosity number is the amount of a given oil that can flow through a given oriface within a fixed amount of time which determines the viscosity number. Oil “weights” or grades—such as 10W-30—are actually a numerical coding system developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to grade oils based on their viscosity. Viscosity is measured by how long it takes a specific amount of oil to flow through a specific-sized opening at a specific temperature. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) assigns a viscosity number, or weight, to oil based on its flow at 210 degrees F, which is roughly the standard operating temperature for most motors. The lower the "W" number the better the oil's cold temperature/cold start performance. The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100°C. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits.