Which is the right oil for your truck?
This is an important choice, even when you are talking about a humble domestic car. When commercial vehicles like trucks and lorries are involved, the stakes only get higher.
It’s an important choice for new trucks in particular because once you have decided on one type of oil, we recommend you stick with that from there on in. Just like switching medicine can have a funny effect on your body, using new oil can affect your truck in unhelpful ways.
We have created this blog post to help you get the choice right the first time. It’s also important that you refer to the owner’s manual to inform your choice, making sure to get the suggested viscosity or thickness of oil that’s required for your vehicle’s engine.
The Cheapest – Conventional Oil
Let’s start with the most common and usually the cheapest. If you are conscientious when it comes to changing the oil when it’s needed, and have a truck or lorry with relatively low mileage, you might consider Conventional Oil. As the name suggests, it’s what the garage will usually use to refill your vehicle, as it’s the cheapest. However, that does also mean it comes with no frills, in terms of properties to better help the running of the engine.
Premium Conventional Oil – A Step Up
Next up is Premium Conventional Oil. As the name suggests, this is better quality oil than standard Conventional Oil, and is common for new vehicles, with manufacturers more often requiring better quality oil to run the newer engines. In addition, your engine may well require a certain viscosity of oil, and Premium Conventional Oil will be available in all the usual viscosity varieties.
High-Mileage Oil – For Older Engines
At the other end of a vehicle’s lifespan, you may well have a much-loved and well-worn truck that keeps on trucking, even though there are over 120,000 miles on the clock. If so, you are not alone, as over 60% of vehicles on the road have ramped up a similar mileage. We have usually driven these vehicles for many years and become very fond of them, and for these trusted servants of the road, manufacturers have specifically developed High-Mileage Oil. High-Mileage Oil does exactly what it says on the tin: With this oil, conditioners are added to help with the seals of the engine, which may well be worn on an engine with this lifespan.
Synthetic-Blend Oil – For Bigger Engines
If you like the sound of Premium Conventional Oil, but not the high price, Synthetic-Blend Oil might be a good choice for you and your truck. This oil is purposefully designed to better protect the harder working, larger capacity engines and is therefore very popular with truck and lorry drivers who are on the road a great deal of the time, with engines more liable to overheating. Synthetic-Blend Oil is, broadly speaking, much the same as Premium Conventional Oil, but blended with synthetic ingredients to bring down the cost.
Full-Synthetic Oil – Most Expensive
At the top of the line when it comes to engine oil is Full-Synthetic Oil. Choose this option from the shelves and you’re looking at around three times the expense compared to plumping for Conventional Oil, so check the manual, because if the engine doesn’t necessarily require it, there is little need for you to break the bank. However, for some newer, hi-tech vehicles, it may well improve the overall lifespan of the engine, so may be worth that extra expense. This is oil with better flow, lubrication and viscosity, meaning better performance in those newer engines, notably from manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes.
Finally, a word about when to change your oil. This will usually come with a service but a good rule of thumb is the rule of threes – 3000 miles or three months. Keep to that relatively high frequency and you may well be OK using Conventional Oil. And then the open road is yours… Keep on trucking!