What Oil Does My Car Need?

It depends on your car and the miles, check out our handy guide to help determine what oil your car needs.

Knowing what oil your car needs can be difficult when there is such a variety, especially as engines become more sophisticated the oil needs to adapt.

It’s always best to check your user manual to see what oil the manufacturer would recommend, it also says on the inside of your oil cap. Just pop up the bonnet look for the oil icon and remove the lid, it should state to use a specific grade of oil example 10W oil.

Conventional vs Synthetic Oil

Conventional oil is the most basic oil, it's particularly good for drivers who don’t do a lot of miles, it’s cheaper and you will need to change it every year or every 5,000 miles. Synthetic oil will last a little longer than conventional oil hence why it’s better for those who drive more miles. This needs change every 8,000-9,000 miles and can be a little more expensive.

Engine oil code ratings

The grade or code rating on any car oil is usually 5W- 30 or 0W-20 etc, the last number indicates how well the oil will perform at 100 degrees and the first number suggest how well the oil performs when it is cool, think of the 'W' as in WINTER. 100 degrees is the average temperature of a car engine. Engine oil is measured by the unit SAE which determines how quickly the oil runs if it’s thick or thin this is known as it’s viscosity. Thinner oil will travel quickly and thicker oil will travel through your car slower, when engine oil gets warmer the consistency will be thinner, therefore, it can travel through the core parts of the engine quicker. The thinner the oil is the lower the SAE number and the thicker the oil the higher the SAE number. If the oil just has SAE30 then it’s only suitable for warmer temperatures when the W is displayed then it can be used in cooler conditions.

Does your car need an oil change?

Then why not get quotes for your oil change and choose from thousands of dealers, independent garages and fast-fit chains, you won’t need to know the answer to ‘What Oil Does My Car Need?’ the garage will know what oil your car needs when they have it in the workshop and they can tell from your reg, make and model of car. It’s easy to get quotes, type in your reg with mycarneedsa.com and we’ll start gathering prices for your oil change in minutes. Get quotes now.