Why isn’t all lubricant oil the same in function?
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Just a few examples off the top of my head:
**Viscosity** – some are thick like honey, some are thin like water
**Viscosity modifiers** – For a car – it’s actually ideal if it’s more watery when the engine is cold so when you start the engine the oil splashes around and coats everything. Then as the engine warms up the oil thickens to offer better protection. Most oils work the opposite way where they’re thicker when cold, and thin when warm.
**Safety** – If you have a personal lubricant that’s designed for humans – for example when giving a baby a rectal thermometer – then you have to make sure it’s safe. If it’s for a car engine, toxicity is a bit less important.
**Taste** – If a doctor uses a lot of personal lubricant on their patients, if it has a bad taste then maybe that taste will stay on their hands and ruin the taste of the sandwich they have for lunch. As a result some adults like flavored lubricants that are tasty. If they have a sandwich with peanut butter and grape jelly, maybe they’ll choose a grape flavored lubricant to compliment his sandwich.
**Oil vs water based** – oil based lubricants can damage certain plastics, but they last longer. Water based lubricants are safer on plastic, but can dry up faster.
**Solvent vs silicone** – solvent based lubricants like WD-40 dry up quickly so they’re designed for permanent use. Silicone lubricants can last a long time on the other hand.
**Corrosion Inhibitors** – some lubricants contain ingredients to stop metals from rusting. A lubricant that protects iron can be different than one that protects aluminum. If it’s for plastic, maybe these corrosion inhibitors will do more harm than good.
**Planned Service Life** – if you have an engine and you change the oil every 5,000 miles – you design a lubricant that offers the best protection for 5,000 miles. If you have a transmission and you change it every 50,000 miles – now you need longer lasting substances.
**Environmental Friendliness** – Transmission oil used to be made of whales, and it was super effective. But killing whales wasn’t good for the environment. When they stopped putting whales in transmission oil, then transmissions started breaking way more frequently – [https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/17/archives/transmission-problems-in-cars-linked-to-ban-on-whale-killing.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/17/archives/transmission-problems-in-cars-linked-to-ban-on-whale-killing.html#:~:text=DETROIT%2C%20April%2016%E2%80%94Owners%20of,in%20its%20automatic%20transmission%20fluid)
**Ambient Conditions** – If something is completely sealed, it’s not exposed to any air. If something is exposed to air, then it needs to be more resistant to oxidation. If something gets very hot like a turbocharger, then it needs to be more resistant to heat. In a very cold place like Antarctica, it needs to be resistant to cold. Even in a car – the sulfur content of fuel can change the type of oil needed.
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