How do thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption in modern engines?

Thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption and improves overall efficiency and engine performance. With the turbulent global economy and rising cost of crude oil, being able to save on fuel costs is important to most drivers, not to mention the reduced exhaust gas emissions.

How thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption.

How do thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption in real world conditions? The truth is that the engine oil you use can help your fuel efficiency, but it may not be enough to make a real difference.

The thicker the viscosity of your engine oil, the harder the engine has to work to push the oil throughout the engine components. Your vehicle pulls on your fuel supply to help power the engine and keep it running.

However, if you’re looking to optimise fuel efficiency, changing your engine oil over to a more efficient engine oil is a start. The new generation of thinner synthetic motor oils certainly do make a difference – albeit a small improvement.

The reason for this is that thinner engine lubricants result in fewer frictional and pumping losses – particularly in cold engines or under cold operating conditions. The challenge faced by blenders is that although thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption they still have to offer sufficient protection against wear.

Zero Weight thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption.

Understanding that thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption , manufacturers are producing vehicles with engines that can work well with thinner viscosity oils. Many oil manufacturers are creating what is called zero weight engine oil. You can recognize a zero weight engine oil by looking at the numbers on the bottle. One example of a zero weight oil that would be a bottle labelled 0W-20.


The last number signifies the viscosity of the oil when the engine is warmed. Unlike the popular 10W-40 or 15W-40, you can see that zero weight engine oil is very thin.

The new design of engine oil allows it to move quickly through the engine components without as much drain on the fuel system, unlike the thicker oils. Studies done on thinner oils show that the engine components are lubricated as well as those using a thicker oil.

So if you’re in the market to purchase an engine oil that will improve your fuel economy, then look for a lower viscosity oil. While there’s no doubt that thinner motor oils reduce fuel consumption, it’s important that only high quality full synthetic lubricants are considered for optimum performance. Habot Oil is a manufacturer of high quality lubricants that will satisfy most applications and requirements.