The 1999 Dodge Dakota can use different types of engine oil depending on the size of the engine -- 8-cylinder, 6-cylinder or 4-cylinder. The type of engine oil is also determined by the environment the Dakota is used in and how many miles the Dakota is driven.
Conventional oil is petroleum based and comes in different viscosities. The viscosity of an engine oil is commonly referred to as the weight of the oil. The lower the number, the thinner the weight of the oil. For example, 30 weight oil is thinner than 40 weight oil. The smaller engines in the Dakota can use thinner oil, while the larger, harder-working engines in the Dakota need thicker oil. The thinner oil is used for cold engines, and the heavier weight or thicker oil is used when the engine is hot. The thinner oil or weight is good for cars at start-up, because the engine is cold and needs thinner oil to shoot easily into the engine components, but once the engine has warmed up, the temperature of the engine goes up and thicker oil is needed to better lubricate the engine components. This is why there is dual-weight oil and why oil comes in 0W-30, 5W-30 or 10W-30. Use thinner oil in the summer and change the oil to thicker oil in the winter.
Synthetic oil can also be used in the 1999 Dodge Dakota, and is mixed together with additives such as those that prevent corrosion. The difference between synthetic and conventional oil is that synthetic oil is man-made with chemicals that have the same-size molecules, while conventional oil is a mixture of different-size molecules. The best thing about synthetic oil is that it maintains viscosity better than conventional oil. Maintaining a consistent viscosity is better for engine operation and allows the engine components to last longer. The downside is that synthetic oil is very expensive.
A good alternative to the synthetic oil and conventional oil used in the 1999 Dodge Dakota is blended oil. This oil is a blend or mixture of synthetic and conventional oil, which is a lot less expensive than full synthetic oil, but more expensive than conventional oil. Blended oil is best used for the V8 engine in the Dakota, and best used when operating the Dodge with heavy loads. Blended oil is also best used when the Dodge is driven a lot of miles over a short amount of time.
