You really shouldn’t use regular motor oil under these conditions!

If you’ve always topped up your engine with any old oil, as long as it was cheap, these facts about why you shouldn’t use regular motor oil may disturb you. As with most things in life you get what you pay for and bargains usually have a downside.

You shouldn’t use regular motor oil if you want to save money on oil.

Modern engines are highly sophisticated pieces of equipment that produce high specific power – easily
40 to 50% more specific power than 20 years ago. Along with this increased power comes increased operating temperatures. This wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the design trends that see frontal areas reducing and radiators getting smaller.

With elevated operating temperatures, especially when fitted with a turbocharger, you really shouldn’t use regular motor oil. Normal crude derived engine lubricants oxidise at high temperatures thereby significantly reducing their lifespan and oil change intervals.

Synthetic motor oils on the other hand have been engineered to withstand extreme temperatures. Therefore they can easily withstand these higher loads and temperatures for extended periods. This means that, although the initial purchase price may be higher, you will spend less on oil, filters and labour over the life of your vehicle.

You shouldn’t use regular motor oil if you want to protect the environment.

We’ve all seen the impact of oil spills on the oceans and wildlife. No matter how hard the oil companies try to ensure that their processes are safe and not harmful to the environment, accidents will happen. And every time there’s an accident it destroys the environment, which takes years if not decades to recuperate.

When you have the alternative of a synthetic motor lubricant you shouldn’t use regular motor oil if you’re concerned about protecting the world we live in. Synthetics are manmade and therefore there’s no danger of oil spills. They also have extended oil change intervals so you don’t have to get rid of as much used oil.

You shouldn’t use regular motor oil if you want to save fuel.

Because synthetic base stocks are very stable across a wide temperature range it’s possible to use “thinner” less viscous engine oil. This is exactly what vehicle manufacturers are doing with the newer generation of 0W20 engine oils. These oils flow a lot easier than regular oil when cold, whilst still offering excellent protection when hot. This reduces losses and improves performance and fuel consumption. On some of the larger trucks changing to synthetic motor oil can achieve fuel savings of up to 1,5%.
And it’s not only because you’re saving fuel that you shouldn’t use regular motor oil, you’re also reducing environmentally harmful emissions.

You shouldn’t use regular motor oil if you want to extend your engine life.

Modern full synthetic motor oils have superior lubricity and higher shear strengths than those achieved by crude based oils. They also contain no impurities, such as sulphur and paraffin wax that are harmful to your engine.

Now that you’ve read about a few reasons why you shouldn’t use regular motor oil you can direct any further questions you may have to the professionals at Habot Synthetic Lubricants who produce a wide range of quality synthetic motor oils.