Exploring different oil, lubricant and antifreeze

Guy Martin is no stranger to oil and grease, so who better for Morris Lubricants to team up with? Together, they’ve created a series of technical How Oil is Used videos, exploring the different oil, lubricant and antifreeze coolant needs of vehicles.

The video series was filmed in Guy’s own workshop with Morris Lubricants Technology Manager, Adrian Hill, who explained the concept: “We get it. Morris Lubricants have been working with motor mechanics and those maintaining vehicles for a very long time. We know that they are busy people and what is needed is useful advice, not long-winded lectures. These short videos are great, and each one gets straight to the point – with plenty of insight from Guy and his welcome touch of honesty and humour.”

This video series covers some important questions, such as: what are some of the advances in engine technology? How has this impacted engine oil formulations? What needs to be considered when choosing the correct quality oils, lubricants and antifreeze coolants? How do the various oils perform, and what jobs do they have to do?

The first episode covers the importance of selecting the correct engine oil for cars out of warranty. Guy and Adrian reminisce about the ‘not-so-good-old days’ of seasonal oil changes – with thinner and thicker monograde oils for each season – take a tour though turbo and supercharged engine designs before getting down to the main factor affecting engine oil choice, that people are holding onto their vehicles for longer. With that comes the temptation and danger, according to Morris Lubricants, to switch to a cheaper engine oil that does not meet the correct specifications to save money since the vehicle is no longer in warranty.

Adrian explains why this is a “false economy” and how selecting a cheaper oil with the wrong manufacturer specifications can cost a lot more in the end. As Guy put it: “Penny wise, pound foolish.”

If you do one thing, selecting the correct quality engine oil that meets the vehicle’s requirements, no matter what the age of the vehicle, will help keep it on the road and away from the scrapyard.

The second episode considers which engine oils should be used for newer cars that are still under warranty. With Euro 6 and emissions’ control, engine design and technology all evolving rapidly, there are many important factors to think about when selecting an engine oil.

This includes how the engine oil must work with the wide variety of after treatment devices available, as well as some of the demands that go hand-in-hand with the latest hybrid engines with their more challenging intermittent stop-start regimes.

In the third episode, Guy and Adrian chat about the progression towards EVs and the common misconception that these full EVs do not require any lubricant. No petrol, no diesel – but there’s definitely oil in them!

There are actually a lot of similarities between current hybrid cars and EVs. With requirements including coolants and transmission oils. Adrian and Guy delve deeper and examine the lubricant requirements of EVs and also the potential power options for cars in the future.

Antifreeze coolants are the topic for episode four. Monoethylene Glycol – that sounds like it should belong squarely in the chemistry laboratory, doesn’t it? – has an important role to play in antifreeze coolant technology. Adrian unravels the complexities of the key jobs antifreeze coolants have to perform to maintain a vehicle’s optimum running temperature, and how these products also stop freezing and prevent rust and corrosion in the engine.

Also, if you think choosing a car’s antifreeze coolant should be based on colour, think again. It has no bearing on the performance and is purely a cosmetic factor!

Ade and Guy discuss that some passenger cars are being developed with as many as 10 gears, which clearly impacts the evolution of gear and transmission oils in cars. They review how these sophisticated gear systems are a vital element in improving a car’s fuel efficiency and help to reduce the emissions of a vehicle, but only if the correct oils and lubricants are used.

To conclude the series, the sixth and final episode takes a look at the range of ancillary products that should be on the shelves of every workshop, which, aside from oils and lubricants, are the ideal ‘go to’ products for tough situations. This includes screen wash, greases, rust inhibitors, brake fluid, MD4 maintenance spray – which Guy admits to using tins of! – and solvent cleaner, to name a few.

Where to watch

To check out this video series, full of technical information from Morris Lubricants, then click here. The purpose of these videos is to show how the right oil can improve fuel efficiency and avoid breakdowns, whilst also providing an insight into the design of future, alternative vehicle power options.