Gear oil serves as lubrication for the transmissions, transfer cases, and differentials for trucks and cars as well as other machinery (like forklifts and tractors). When looking for oil for your car, there are quite a number of factors you should take note of.
It takes more than simply purchasing oil from your maintenance manual's QPL. It isn't about the availability of the product, operating conditions, or your preferred gear oil brand either. Choosing the right oil for your vehicle can make or break your automobile's lubrication system.
Buying the Best Gear Oil for Your Car
Your oil shouldn't only lubricate and clean out your vehicle. It should also be capable of improving its operation or mileage. With that said, here are the properties of gear oil you should look out for.
- Viscosity: The film thickness or viscosity of your gear oil is crucial. This is because different cars require different viscosity specifications for their gear oil. Check with your car manual or mechanic what the recommended oil for your type and model of vehicle is. This is so that you'd get the best amount of viscosity between the surfaces of the interacting gears of your engine at a given speed or load. You can also get OEM recommendations from the Internet or through the manual as well.
- Additives: As for the additives of your oil, check the packaging of the product you've bought in order to know the specifics of the ingredients, additives and all. The type of additives included can affect how your oil improves upon certain operating conditions, like how well your engine starts or how smoothly it shifts from one gear to another. The oil can be placed in the categories of R&O, anti-scuff, and compounded depending on the additives it has.
- Base Oil Type: Is your gear oil synthetic-based or mineral-based? In most cases, mineral base oils perform quite effectively due to their greater viscosity and higher pressure viscosity coefficients when push came to shove. As for synthetic base oils, they're what you need if you want your engine to have higher thermal degradation resistance and protection from oxidation. These oil types are also quite handy when it comes to dealing with low ambient temperatures that keep ordinary lubes from performing at peak capacity.
- The Requirements of the Manufacturer: Compare the specs of your car manufacturer's requirements for gear oil with the viscosity, additives, and base oil type of the different gear oil offerings in the market. Mix and match the specifications so that you can come up with the perfect oil fit for your make, model, and year of vehicle. Your search can be narrowed down even further by knowing the API service rating for your vehicle.