AUTONEWS

Why you shouldn't put diesel oil in a petrol engine

It's not all about the oil's viscosity. Depending on which oil your engine uses, the wrong choice could lead to excessive wear.

Choosing between diesel and petrol engine oil seems pretty harmless, as long as the viscosity is right, one might think. So is it okay to use diesel oil in a regular petrol-powered vehicle? It shouldn't be done, as it can cause increased engine wear, says oil expert Lake Speed ​​Jr.

Viscosity isn't the only thing that differentiates oils. Manufacturers also mix anti-wear additives and detergents to differentiate themselves from other brands and improve the efficiency of the lubricant. The main difference between diesel and petrol oils actually lies in the mix of additive packages.

In a recent YouTube video, tribologist Lake Speed ​​explains that diesel oil has twice the amount of detergent additives as regular petrol oil. This detergent is necessary because diesel engines tend to release more particles, such as soot, into the oil during operation.

More detergent may sound like a good thing, but for gasoline engines it’s a trade-off. Speed ​​says that the detergent has to compete with the anti-wear additives in the oil to be effective. Diesel engines are designed to work with this trade-off, but gasoline engines are not. So if you use diesel oil in a gasoline engine, you’re not giving it all the anti-wear additives it needs.

It’s not just theory that Speed ​​uses to base his conclusions. When he was working for Driven Racing Oil, he compared four oils of similar viscosity, two designed for diesel engines and two designed for gasoline engines, and found that the diesel oils resulted in far greater wear on test parts than the regular oil.

Obviously, not using the right oil with the right additives will lead to more wear over time.

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