ATVs are quite popular for those who often love to pick up speed in something different other than a motorbike or a car. But, just like any vehicle, an ATV needs to be maintained properly. And one of the ways to maintain an ATV is to make sure that you keep it oiled well enough to allow its moving parts to work really well. But can you use car oil in your ATV in case you don’t have ATV oil?
It is not okay for you to use car oil in your ATV because car oil has additives that are formulated to work only with car engines. Meanwhile, ATV engines also have different mechanical characteristics compared to car engines, and that is why the oils you need for both vehicles should be different.
When it comes to your different vehicles, you may come to a conclusion that oil is merely oil and that you can use any kind of oil for your ATV because you think that using car oil on it is just the same as using it in your car. However, because of how inherently different cars are to ATVs in terms of their engine properties, you would need different oils for both of those vehicles if you don’t want to end up damaging them in the long run.
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Is ATV oil the same as car oil?
If you happen to own an ATV because you simply love the off-road feeling of driving one, you probably know for a fact that, just like your car and your other vehicles, you need to make sure that you maintain your ATV well enough. Oiling your ATV is merely only one of the few things you need to do if you want to make sure that your ATV is well-maintained.
But there will be certain times wherein you might not have an ATV oil lying around your garage when you need it. Then again, you found out that you still have car oil at home. Now, are the two interchangeable? And is there really a difference between car oil and ATV oil other than their name?
Yes, there is a big difference between car oil and ATV oil. They are simply inherently different from one another in how they work and on their applications, and that is why you have to make sure that you distinguish them from one another.
What is the difference between car oil and ATV oil?
So, if there is a difference between car oil and ATV oil, what then is the difference? Why is it that car oil is different from ATV oil if they are still simply just oil that you use for your vehicles? Well, they wouldn’t make a separate oil for ATVs if car oils work just fine on them.
The biggest difference between car oil and ATV oil is the fact that ATV oil is made precisely for the kind of environment and mechanisms inside the engine of an ATV. In case you didn’t know, ATV engines are designed to work hotter and with more RPMs than car engines. Moreover, there are a lot of different facets within the engine of an ATV.
As such, the oil you use for an ATV is forced to do more jobs compared to the oil you use on a car, which is more or less simple in its main purpose. That is why the additives that you can find in ATV oil are specifically there for the purpose of making the oil “work” for the ATV so that it can help the engine function amidst harsher and more severe conditions compared to that of a car’s engine.
In most cases, the additives inside an ATV oil help prevent rust and corrosion from happening in the different moving parts of an ATV because of how ATVs tend to rest unused for extended periods of time to the point that rust can easily settle inside the engine.
Moreover, the additives inside the oil used for your car are meant to make your car engine work in a much more efficient manner, which isn’t something that works with an ATV’s engine. These additives can result in clutch slippage while also increasing the rate at which the ATV’s engine can eat up oil due to the lower viscosity of most car oils.
So, it is needless to say that car oils are really that different from ATV oils, which are specifically formulated to work on ATVs because of how different the demands of an ATV’s engine is compared to that of the engine of a car.
Can I use car oil in my ATV?
Now that we have mentioned that car oil is different compared to ATV oil because of how the additives in car oil work best with a car’s engine, can you still use car oil in your ATV in case you don’t have ATV oil?
No, you shouldn’t use car oil in your ATV if you don’t want to end up damaging your ATV’s engine. Again, the additives in car oil are not only useless to an ATV’s engine but may also end up damaging the engine in the long run. Moreover, ATV engines do not eat up car oil pretty well due to how car oil has lower viscosity compared to the viscosity of ATV oil.
In a sense, oil is not oil when it comes to cars and ATVs because of how different their demands are. Do not use car oil in your ATV even if you won’t be able to buy ATV oil anytime soon.
What is the best ATV oil?
The sad part that you need to learn to embrace here is that there is no ATV oil that works best with any kind of ATV engine. That’s because ATV manufacturers tend to develop and produce their own proprietary oils, which work best with their own ATV engines. As such, if you are using a Yamaha ATV, it would be best for you to use Yamalube similar to how you need to use Polaris Oil if you have a Polaris ATV.
Sources:
https://www.atvtrailrider.ca/choosing-the-right-atv-motor-oil