ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What is a lubricant and how does it work?

A lubricant is a type of oil that separates the metal parts of an engine in order to reduce friction.
However smooth two metal surfaces might look through a microscope, they are still rough and rigid in places.
Friction of one surface against another generates heat which effectively weakens or wears both surfaces. In addition to reducing the effects of friction, a good lubricant also serves as a coolant, keeps an engine clean and protects it against corrosion.

2. What is meant by Viscosity and how important it is in evaluating oil?

Viscosity describes how thick and sticky oil is. Technically, it is a property that is a measure of a fluids resistance to motion. It is sometimes confused with density which is simply a ratio of a fluids mass to its volume. A liquid might be very dense yet not particularly viscous and vice versa. For example, oil is not as dense as water so it floats above it. Oil is more viscous than water. A container with one liter of oil will take longer to empty than one with just water.
By using oil with the right viscosity, you’ll be getting your engine to work properly during:

Cold starts:
At times like this when there’s more friction than ever, oil needs to get to the lubricated parts of the engine quickly.
The lower the viscosity the faster and easier this will be.

High Temperatures:
Sufficient viscosity is vital to avoid friction when bearings and cylinders really heat up.

3. How do I choose the right lubricant?

There is a scale of viscosity ratings set by the Society of Automotive Engineers – SAE. The different gradations in
the scale are equivalent to temperature intervals that run from below freezing to 100 0 C. When a grade of oil is suitable for temperatures below Zero degrees C. This is shown next to the letter “W” meaning Winter. The MULTIGRADE oils solve the problem of temperature variations occurring in the engine through their Scale of Viscosity Improvers (SVI), enabling them to work equally well at extreme temperatures at their of the scale. This range is shown by two numbers separated by the letter “W”. Take the SAE 20W50 for example.
The first number shows the viscosity when cold – less than Zero degrees Centigrade – followed by the letter “W”, whilst the second shows viscosity when hot, i.e. up to 100 degrees Centigrade.

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