Optimize Your Vehicle’s Performance: Selecting the Ideal Engine Oil
All engine oils are tasked with a multitude of crucial responsibilities. Fundamentally, an engine oil’s primary role is to deliver ample lubrication, safeguarding against the immense heat and friction generated by the internal combustion engine’s moving components. However, not all engine oils are identical, making it imperative to discern which type is best suited for each specific application.
Engines that receive proper maintenance with the correct oil type will operate more smoothly and enjoy a longer lifespan. Yet, navigating the various oil choices can be complex. Factors such as engine type and age, prevailing climate, and typical driving conditions all contribute to the wear and tear experienced by automotive engines. A thorough understanding of different engine oil types, their specifications, and the role of additives will empower you to select the optimal oil that perfectly matches the unique needs of every vehicle you service.
1. Full Synthetic Engine Oil
While today’s conventional engine oils are quality products derived from refined crude oil, modern full synthetic engine oils are manufactured through diverse processes. These range from rigorous hydroprocessing of select crude feedstocks to meticulously control the size and shape of base oil molecules, to the laboratory design of complex chemical compounds. Full synthetic oils are meticulously engineered to elevate the performance of contemporary, more precisely built, and hotter-running engines, simultaneously helping them meet stringent fuel efficiency standards and emissions regulations.
Advantages of Full Synthetic Oil
- Superior Protection: Full synthetic engine oils are crafted from a petroleum base oil that boasts a higher purity level than conventional crude derivatives. Fewer impurities mean the oil degrades less rapidly, providing extended engine protection compared to conventional engine oils or even synthetic blends. Utilizing full synthetic motor oil translates into improved fuel efficiency, increased horsepower, and enhanced wear protection.
- Consistent Viscosity: Engine components are in perpetual high-speed motion, generating significant heat and friction. Full synthetic motor oils are designed to maintain their viscosity, resisting extreme heat while simultaneously flowing rapidly in winter temperatures, thereby ensuring your engines operate smoothly throughout the year.
- Turbocharger Safeguard: Turbocharged engines are designed to boost performance and fuel economy. However, this enhancement comes at a cost: elevated temperatures. Because these engines run hotter and often feature extremely narrow oil passageways, they demand a low-viscosity engine oil that can circulate quickly yet still endure the intense heat and friction produced by a turbocharger shaft spinning at speeds up to 200,000 RPM. Full synthetic engine oils are optimally suited to perform in high temperatures, guard against thermal breakdown, and retain viscosity under these extreme conditions.
- Enhanced Engine Cleanliness: As oil circulates through a vehicle’s engine during combustion, deposits inevitably form. Deposits from conventional oils can solidify into sludge that accumulates within the engine, diminishing efficiency and shortening its lifespan. Synthetic engine oils incorporate chemical detergents and other specialized additives that actively resist the buildup of these deposits. Cleaner engines operate more smoothly, with greater efficiency, and for longer durations than engines burdened by internal contaminants.
- Kendall GT-1® Max with LiquiTek®: This full synthetic automotive engine oil is formulated to deliver maximum engine protection for gasoline-fueled and flex-fuel passenger cars and light trucks across all operating conditions.
Full Synthetic Engine Oil – European Specifics
European automobiles necessitate different oils with distinct specifications compared to cars manufactured in the U.S. This divergence is attributed to the European Union’s more stringent emissions standards, the greater prevalence of diesel engines, and extended service intervals.
- European Emissions Standards: The EU enforces stricter limits on carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions than the U.S. Consequently, European OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) utilize diesel engines more frequently. While diesel engines emit less CO2 and CO and offer superior fuel economy, they release more nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. To counteract this, diesel-powered European cars are equipped with advanced filters and catalysts to minimize tailpipe emissions. Oil components such as sulfated ash, phosphorus, and sulfur (collectively known as SAPS) can shorten the lifespan of diesel engines and emissions control devices. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to choose synthetic oils specifically formulated for European vehicles that contain lower SAPS levels to protect these sensitive emissions-control systems.
- Extended Drain Intervals: While the traditional 3,000-5,000 mile oil change interval persists in the US and Canada, European automakers recommend significantly longer oil change intervals—ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 miles. Such extended drain intervals mandate a robust synthetic oil capable of providing consistent protection against wear, deposits, and sludge for the entire duration.
- OEM Recommendations: Each European OEM’s recommendations and specifications vary slightly. Generally, European OEM engine oil specifications tend to be more rigorous concerning various performance characteristics than those found in the US and Canada. These demanding specifications require advanced technology delivered exclusively by full synthetic oils.
- Kendall GT-1 Euro: Our premium quality, full synthetic, full-SAPS motor oil designed for high-performance European gasoline engines.
- Kendall GT-1 Euro+: Our premium-quality, full synthetic, low-SAPS oil specifically formulated for high-performance European diesel engines.
2. Synthetic Blend Oil
As the name clearly indicates, this type of oil is a precisely engineered blend of synthetic base stocks and conventional crude-based oil. Synthetic blends offer some of the performance advantages associated with a full synthetic, but at price points more closely aligned with conventional oils.
While using full synthetic oil typically incurs about a 30% higher cost than a synthetic blend, and conventional oils typically last only around 3,000-5,000 miles between changes, full synthetics can extend intervals up to 15,000 miles (or even more in some cases). Synthetic blends fall in the middle, generally offering an interval of approximately 7,500 miles. Therefore, opting for a synthetic blend provides a notable upgrade in engine protection without a significant financial outlay.
- Kendall GT-1 Synthetic Blend Oils: Our comprehensive family of premium synthetic blend automotive engine oils provides technologically advanced engine protection for gasoline-fueled and flex-fuel passenger cars and light trucks across all operating conditions.
- Kendall GT-1 High Performance with LiquiTek: This high-quality, part-synthetic automotive engine oil is designed to deliver excellent engine protection for both turbocharged gasoline direct injection (TGDI), conventional gasoline-fueled, and flex-fuel passenger cars and light trucks under all operating conditions.
- Kendall GT-1 Elite with LiquiTek: Our premier quality, part-synthetic automotive engine oil is engineered to provide outstanding engine protection for both TGDI, conventional gasoline-fueled, and flex-fuel passenger cars and light trucks under all operating conditions. It offers the same protection levels as GT-1 High Performance but incorporates an even more robust combination of additives and superior base oils, providing consumers with an additional step up in quality at a price point below that of a full synthetic.
Synthetic Blend Oil – High Mileage
High mileage oils are specifically formulated to address the increased engine stress conditions prevalent in older vehicles and engines that have surpassed 75,000 miles. Vehicles with high mileage are more susceptible to issues like cracked seals, oil leaks, and/or oil burn-off. In response, specialized oils formulated for high-mileage vehicles incorporate additives that effectively compensate for these age-related symptoms, thereby reducing leaks and inhibiting oil consumption.
- Kendall GT-1 High Mileage Booster: This is the industry’s first oil supplement that, when used as directed, results in a blend that adheres to current API and ILSAC performance standards. This pour-in solution helps minimize inventory costs and storage space. What’s more, High Mileage Booster can be added to one of our full synthetic passenger car engine oils to provide consumers with a truly exceptional level of protection.
- Kendall GT-1 Endurance High Mileage: Our synthetic blend automotive engine oil specifically designed for use in gasoline-fueled vehicles that have accumulated more than 75,000 miles.
3. Conventional Engine Oils
All conventional engine oils are initially refined from natural petroleum crude. With many manufacturers transitioning to synthetic motor oils, you might question whether using conventional oils is still acceptable. Conventional oils certainly retain their place in the market and can offer effective protection under the right circumstances, at a more economical price point.
Conventional oils are typically used in older cars and those no longer under warranty, and they generally cost significantly less than synthetic oils. Drivers who are diligent about adhering to timely oil change schedules can confidently use conventional oil, provided the owner’s manual indicates it is permissible. Additionally, more frequent oil changes can serve as an early warning system, potentially alerting a mechanic to a serious problem developing within an engine.
- Kendall GT-1 Motor Oil: Our conventional automotive engine oil designed for use in gasoline-fueled passenger cars and light trucks that do not require an ILSAC GF-6 oil for warranty coverage.
Our full line of Kendall Motor Oil is expertly engineered, utilizing pure base oils and advanced additive packages. Kendall offers a comprehensive range of products, allowing us to provide not just a quality oil, but precisely the RIGHT oil for your engine.