Cars are often one of our most prized possessions. However, sometimes we neglect to take proper care of them by making sure that they get oil and filter changes on time.
As a result we are often faced with daunting repair bills sooner than we should be. By making sure our cars get oil changes on time, these bills can be reduced and can even be put off for a much longer time.
A typical passenger car or light truck that uses gasoline engines should have an oil and filter change about every 7500 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. Some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) believe that these types of cars should be serviced at least every 5,000 miles.
Officially, the owner's manual of a typical car will state that the oil should be changed every 7500 miles or once per year under "ideal circumstances," and normal driving. However, what most drivers consider normal driving is actually high-stress or severe driving.
Severe driving includes driving of a car on frequent short trips of less than 10 miles (especially during cold weather), stop-and-go city traffic driving, driving in dusty conditions such as on gravel roads, and driving at freeway speed during hot weather.
Officials recommend that vehicles which are driven under severe conditions, such as stated above, should have a change every 3,000 miles or six months. This is especially important for older cars that have high mileage.
High mileage is a collection of 100,000 miles traveled or above on a car. Providing service to a car every 3,000 miles or six months is a good habit to develop, even if the car is fairly new.
However, it is probably unnecessary to get the oil changed this often on brand new cars that are only driven more than 10 miles one way daily. It is also unnecessary for new cars that are typically used for long commutes on the highway.
It is recommended that diesel engines or turbocharged gasoline engines receive oil and filter changes every 3,000 miles or six months. This is the standard recommendation regardless of whether or not the truck has been driven under severe conditions, although the number will vary depending on other factors, such as the age of the truck.
Car manufacturers have recently begun to discontinue the use of oil changes based on time and number of miles because of new technology. This new technology is included in the car computer and measures various systems in the car and computes when the car will need a change.
When it believes the car needs an oil change, a light will come on to alert the driver of the need. A few brands that have adopted this method include Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and Volvo.
Ignoring the light could result in extreme damage to the engine and functions of the car. Ignoring the light in regards to cars with high mileage is especially dangerous.
As the mileage of a car increases, the blow-by of a car also increases. Blow-by is caused by the explosion in the combustion chamber of the engine and causes fuel, air, and moisture to be forced past the rings into the crankcase.
The explosion creates enough pressure to push the piston down. If the rings do not maintain perfect fit, the blow-by increases resulting in the decrease of this pressure.
In turn, this causes the loss of horsepower because the piston is not pushed down as fast. This also results in a lower gas mileage of the car.
Loss of pressure can also allow air, fuel, and moisture to leak into the crankcase and dilute the oil. When the oil is diluted it breaks down and causes more damage to other parts of the car. A proper oil change can prevent the dilution of oil, early breakage of car parts, and other related engine problems.
Author Resource:
Jack R. Landry has worked in the automotive industry for the last 16 years and written hundreds of articles about automobiles and brakes American Fork, Utah . He had his own body shop for 12 years.
Contact Info:
Jack R. Landry
JackRLandry@gmail.com
http://www.CertifiedTireUtah.comDistributed by Content Crooner
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