Engine Oil FAQ Videos for Independent Workshops
The Shell experts are here to support you in meeting your customers’ vehicle maintenance needs.
Discover the answers to your technical questions
From the importance of ‘Approved’ engine oils to the online tools designed to help you pick out the right lubricant products, the Shell experts are here to support you in meeting your customers’ vehicle maintenance needs. Explore our ‘Ask Aran’ series of videos – featuring Aran Kankiwala, Shell’s Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK – to find the answers to your most pressing engine oil questions.
Which products?
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Title: Which Products?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK describing which oils are best used for each vehicle.
[Graphic]
The Shell Pecten grows from a small Pecten to a large pecten on the screen.
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a mechanic warehouse, where a silver car is situated behind him.
VO: Hi, I’m Aran, Shell’s Lubricant Technical Manager for Lubricants Division here in the UK.
I get asked a lot about stocking multiple products in workshops. Does Shell have everything I need to cover all the vehicles that come in? As technology continues to advance in engines so too does that of the oil required to protect those engines.
More specific requirements are coming out every year to help manufactured meet more and more strict emissions standards.
Given the variety of vehicles that we know come into our workshops, Shell has worked to create a portfolio of products that makes it easy for you to have the right oil for the right car.
Specifically, the Shell Helix HX8 product portfolio is designed for independent workshops up and down the country.
I know it’s difficult to understand every time what oil you need for what vehicle, so Shell has developed an online tool called Shell LubeMatch which gives you an OEM approved Shell Helix product recommendations in just a few clicks.
On top of that, we have a team of Account Managers who could potentially visit workshops to help you understand if you can rationalise the products you stock in any way.
[Music Stops]
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The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
With so many different vehicles and engines to maintain for your customers, making sure you have the right products on hand to get the job done can be a challenge. Aran highlights how the Shell Helix HX8 range is designed specifically to support independent workshops – along with Shell LubeMatch that helps you find the right oil for each job.
What are 0W oils and why am I seeing more of them?
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Title: What are 0W oils and why am I seeing more of them?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK explaining what 0W oils are and why they are becoming more popular.
[Graphic]
A red screen appears with the Shell Helix Motor Oils logo. The logo them zooms out to fill the screen, turning it white and then black text appears – “What are 0W oils and why am I seeing more of them?”
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a car showroom which 2 cars.
VO: We’re very familiar with standard classifications of engine oils – 5W30, 10W40 are numbers which make a lot of sense to us. 0W oils, in comparison are actually thinner than these oils at lower temperatures. But why is this important?
When an engine is starting up that’s one of the riskiest times for that piece of equipment because the oil isn’t p to temperature yet and hasn’t flowed around the engine yet, this is one of the rimes where damaging metal on metal contact is most possible.
A 0W oil will circulate more quickly and get up to temperature faster providing the right protection at the right time, so over 70% of new cars are coming out of the factory with a 0W oil in them as part of these OEMs commitment to energy saving they’re now starting to test with a 0W16 or even 0W12 oils to push this either further.
How do you get such a thin oil with the same level of engine protection? Well, you need a very strong base oil to do that and Shell’s unique GTL technology which is the base oil derived entirely from natural gas making it very strong and resilient you’ll find this technology in Shell’s Helix Ultra portfolio and you can use Shell LubeMatch to find the right engine oil for your car.
[Music Stops]
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The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
More than 70% of new cars now leave the factory with a 0W oil, but why is this the case and what benefits can it offer? Aran dives into the detail of how thinner oils provide engines with vital protection at start up (especially in cold conditions), helping to prevent any issues when the risk of damage is at its highest.
Approved vs Fit for Purpose?
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Title: Approved vs Fit For Purpose
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK describing the difference between approved and fit for purpose.
[Graphic]
The Shell Pecten grows from a small Pecten to a large pecten on the screen.
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a mechanic warehouse, where three cars are being worked on. One car has been suspended in the air.
VO: Hi, I’m Aran, Shell’s Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK and a really common question that I hear all the time is “What’s the real difference between Approved and Fit For Purpose”
I’ll start by saying you wouldn’t tell your customers that you’d used parts that had never been tested in their vehicles, so why would you do the same for oil?
So, very simply, Approved means that the OEMs like BMW, Toyota and Peugeot have spend time testing that oil in their engines.
This is a process that can be very expensive, it can take months or years, but it proved that the oils gives that engine the protection it needs to survive the rigours of daily life.
Fit For Purpose, however, means that this testing hasn’t been done, so sites who use Fit For Purpose are acknowledging to their customers that these use something that isn’t approved in those vehicles.
You’ll always see on Shell bottles the Approved logos look like this one,
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager holds up a bottle of Shell Lubricant and points to a sticker in the bottom left of the bottle.
VO: and we can always provide letters which are signed by the OEM, proving that this approval has been done.
We’d always recommend that you go to get those letters from any supplier, to verify the product quality that’s going into your engine.
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The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
Do you know what the real difference is between ‘Approved’ and ‘Fit for Purpose’? Find out from Aran why you only see Approved logos on Shell products and why your customers will be looking for quality engine oils verified by original engine manufacturers (OEMs).
Why use Shell Lubricants?
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Title: Why use Shell Lubricants?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK describing the benefits of Shell lubricants.
[Graphic]
The Shell Pecten grows from a small Pecten to a large pecten on the screen.
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is sat behind a desk in an office. The office background has many posters and bottles of Shell lubricants on a shelf.
VO: Hi, I’m Aran, Shell’s Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK.
A very common question we get is “Why should we use Shell lubricants to begin with”. Shell has worked with a number of global automotive OEMs like BMW, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Toyota and Hyundai, the list goes on.
But importantly, may of the Helix products we product for those OEMs is based on a fully synthetic technology of our own design which makes these engine oils from natural gas rather than the typical cruse oils found in a number of products today.
Producing products like this from natural gas creates a very clean product that helps protect engines and keep them cleaner for longer.
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager lifts up a bottle of Shell Helix Ultra which the camera zooms in on.
VO: I’ve seen how deposits can build up in engines using inferior quality engine oils and personally I would rather fill my engine with a clean, crisp engine oils from natural gas that looks something like this, than a more traditional mineral out that looks something like this.
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager lifts up a glass gar with a clear liquid in and then lifts up another glass jar containing a thick yellow fluid.
VO: Garages who use Shell Helix Products prove to their customers that they’re invested in keeping their engine protected, clean, potentially saving them fuel economy and also keeping their cars on the road for longer.
They say to their customers that they are using a brand that is continually trusted by millions of customers across the world.
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The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
From enhanced protection to improved fuel economy, Aran explains why Shell Helix products made from natural gas are trusted by millions of consumers around the world – as well as a long list of automotive OEMs.
Wrong oil risks?
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Title: Wrong Oil Risks?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK describing how the wrong oils can have lasting impact on your car.
[Graphic]
The Shell Pecten grows from a small Pecten to a large pecten on the screen.
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a mechanic warehouse, with a wall of tyres to the left.
VO: Hi, I’m Aran, Shell’s Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK.
So, what’s the risk of using the wrong engine oil in a car?
Vehicle OEMs are producing more and more complicated engine designs, and this means that the oils required to protect them are becoming more complicated as well. So, if you think about all of the engine options you get in cars you can start to understand why there are so many oil products on the market.
OEMs have even been known to create a new oil approval or something as small as changing the design of the injector.
What this means, is that we have a load of different oils on the market, and it can be difficult to find the right one for the right car.
So, what’s the risk if we do get it wrong?
Well, the risk of the wrong oil is really serious engine damage. Something that usually ends up being really expensive and something that nobody wants to pay for.
So, that’s why Shell has developed Shell LubeMatch, a tool that lets you find the right oil for the vehicle, every time.
Also, you can come to Shell for direct technical advice through your Account Managers in the field.
Getting the right oil for the car every time can be a challenge and using the wrong oil can cause some seriously nasty surprises down the road.
By using a fully approved Shell Helix motor oil you can take away that risk.
[Music Stops]
[Graphic]
The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
As vehicle OEMs produce more complicated engine designs, the oils formulated to protect those engines are also becoming more complicated. So, how do you avoid the risks of using the wrong oil for each engine? Aran introduces Shell LubeMatch, the online tool that helps you to find the right oil for the vehicle you’re working on, every time.
How do I protect my expensive Turbocharger?
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Title: Wrong Oil Risks?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK describing how the wrong oils can have lasting impact on your car.
[Graphic]
The Shell Pecten grows from a small Pecten to a large pecten on the screen.
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a mechanic warehouse, with a wall of tyres to the left.
VO: Hi, I’m Aran, Shell’s Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK.
So, what’s the risk of using the wrong engine oil in a car?
Vehicle OEMs are producing more and more complicated engine designs, and this means that the oils required to protect them are becoming more complicated as well. So, if you think about all of the engine options you get in cars you can start to understand why there are so many oil products on the market.
OEMs have even been known to create a new oil approval or something as small as changing the design of the injector.
What this means, is that we have a load of different oils on the market, and it can be difficult to find the right one for the right car.
So, what’s the risk if we do get it wrong?
Well, the risk of the wrong oil is really serious engine damage. Something that usually ends up being really expensive and something that nobody wants to pay for.
So, that’s why Shell has developed Shell LubeMatch, a tool that lets you find the right oil for the vehicle, every time.
Also, you can come to Shell for direct technical advice through your Account Managers in the field.
Getting the right oil for the car every time can be a challenge and using the wrong oil can cause some seriously nasty surprises down the road.
By using a fully approved Shell Helix motor oil you can take away that risk.
[Music Stops]
[Graphic]
The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
Three-quarters of vehicles produced now leave the factory with a turbocharger attached to their engines. So, how can your customers look after these expensive components that have some specific protection requirements? Aran explores how Shell 0W engine oils can help to protect turbochargers even in high stress conditions.
What are low-ash oils and why do they matter?
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Title: What are low-ash oils and why do they matter?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK describing what “Low Ash” oils are and why they are important.
[Graphic]
A red screen with the Shell Helix motor oils logo appears. The logo them zooms in, leaving the screen white with black text “What are low-ash oils an why do they matter?”
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a mechanic warehouse, where there are barrels of Shell Helix in the background.
VO: Ash is an engine oil is often an understood topic because it’s invisible to the naked eye. So what is ash or “saps” are they’re sometimes called, are elements which either naturally occur or are added to an engine oil to actually provide certain benefits such as engine protection and engine cleanliness.
However, recent focus on lowering emissions has seen a big rise in the use of exhaust treatment devices like catalytic converters or DPFs.
While ash does have beneficial properties it also harms these devices blocking them more quickly and creating unnecessary expense for customers. So, low ash oils are becoming more predominant in the market – think your SCSC grades for example – so a modern oil most be low ash while also keeping the same levels of engine protection. So a really resilient base oil is required.
Shell’s approach to this problem is their unique GTL technology which is a base oil derived entirely from natural gas. This creates a very robust product and you’ll find this technology in Shell’s Helix Ultra range which is designed not only for the cats of today buy also for the cars of tomorrow.
[Music Stops]
[Graphic]
The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
With a focus on lowering emissions in vehicles, low-ash oils are becoming more prominent in engine maintenance. Find out from Aran why this shift is happening and how the Shell Helix Ultra range – based on gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology – offers a futureproof solution that helps your customers to save money in the long run.
Do I really need to keep my engine oil topped up?
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Title: Do I really need to keep my engine oil topped up?
Description: A short talking head style video of Aran, the Shell Lubricant Technical Manager for the UK explaining the importance of engine oil and the benefits.
[Graphic]
A red screen with the “Shell Helix motor oils” the logo then zooms in filling the whole screen white. Then there is black text reading “Do I really need to keep my engine oil topped up?”
[Music Starts]
[In vision] Aran – a Shell Lubricant Technical Manager appears on the screen. He is stood in front of a car show room, which contains 4 BMWs.
VO: When we’re discussing one litre top ups for your engine oil I think it’s important to first understand why your engine burns oil anyway and that’s because the oil is actually very close to the combustion in the engine itself.
There are things like piston rings and valve seas that help to keep the oil away from that but they’re never 100% and it gets worse with the age of the engine, so inevitably some oil gets burned off in between service intervals.
Too little oil, and your engine isn’t getting the protection it needs, too much oil and actually you can damage stuff like your catalytic converters or DPFs.
Now when we look at a normal dipstick, there’s only around one litre between the minimum and maximum mark, meaning only half a litre either way and you could start causing damage to the engine or the exhaust device, so keeping the level topped up between services is really key to keeping your engine running the way it should.
Next service why don’t you ask about what oil was used and think about keeping 1 litre top up in the car to make sure your engine gets the protection it needs up until the next service.
[Music Stops]
[Graphic]
The pecten reappears.
[Shell mnemonic]
Too little oil or too much oil – both can cause damage to a vehicle, which is why regular top ups are an essential part of maintenance. Aran shows us how oil levels change over time and why half a litre either way can be the difference between a vehicle running as it should and facing a potential breakdown.
