Types Of Motor Oils For Your Vehicle
There are several types of motor oils offered today. Widely available, either at your dealership or the local auto parts and big box stores, they are tailor-made for the type of driving you do.
Traditional motor oil has always been a safe choice, but requires replacement at a much more frequent interval. The same applies to the filters that trap many impurities from the oil flow as possible during its lifetime. Traditional motor oils should be changed after approximately 5,000-miles of service.
Semi-Synthetic motor oil combines traditional and synthetic blends and are a good choice for vehicles that operate under heavier loads, and extended driving sessions. Semi-Synthetics last longer than traditional oils, and could safely provide proper lubrication to around 8,000 miles.
Synthetic motor oil is the perfect choice for todays high-tech engines, whether high performance or high efficiency. They offer better performance from a viscosity standpoint and increased protection from foreign deposits. Good all the way out to 10,000 or even 15,000 miles in some usages, it is the perfect choice to protect your investment whether its a Grand Tourer, a Ranch Edition pickup truck or a plug-in Hybrid.
When Should I Change My Oil Filter
A clogged oil filter could affect your engine’s performance, efficiency, and lifespan. If an oil filter goes unchanged for too long, your vehicle may demonstrate the following five symptoms:
- Metallic sounds coming from your engine
- Black, dirty exhaust
- Car smells like burning oil
- Sputtering
- Drop in oil pressure
Not sure when it’s time to change your oil filter? You can avoid these symptoms and keep your engine running smoothly by following the guidelines for maintaining and replacing oil filters below.
1. Get a new oil filter with every oil change.
Most vehicles require an oil change every three to six months. Some manufacturers recommend replacing the filter with every other oil change, and doing so with each appointment prevents it from clogging prematurely.
2. If the Check Engine light appears on your dashboard, your oil filter may need to be replaced.
Every vehicle is equipped with a set of dashboard lights that communicate important information about its performance to the driver, including features in use and potential mechanical malfunctions. Many issues could trigger the Check Engine light, some of which are more serious than others.
Before scheduling expensive engine diagnostics, check your oil filter. It may be more clogged than usual, and changing it might be all your engine needs.
3. Change your oil filter frequently if you drive in harsh conditions.
Why Is Changing Oil Important
Engines have made quantum leaps in technology, but the one thing that has remained a constant is the way we lubricate them. And the need to keep that oil clean to ensure long engine life. That entails draining the oil, replacing filter and refilling the engine with new lubricant.
Use of high-compression engines, auto start and stop technology, turbocharging and more has put increasing demands on oil and lubricant technology. Conventional oils are derived directly from crude oil. Newer synthetic oils are a blend of traditional oil with lubricants and other additives that enhance its performance, but comes at a higher price, on average, than regular oils.
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What Is Synthetic Oil
Synthetic oil is a man-made chemical compound designed for lubricating conventional internal combustion engines, as well as airplane engines, and metal stamping machines. It is designed to be a substitute for conventional crude oil-based engine oils. It has many positives including reducing strain on the environment caused by the typical extraction and refining processes conventional oil demands.
The Correct Change Interval For Synthetic Oil
There’s a lot of nonsense floating around about when to change your synthetic oil. If your vehicle runs syntheticsand most do these daysthe best place to find the correct oil-change interval is the owner’s manual. Manufacturers’ recommended synthetic-oil change intervals vary greatly. For the vehicles in Car and Driver’s long-term test fleet, those intervals range from 6000 to 16,000 miles .
Most modern vehicles have change intervals in the 7500-to-10,000-mile rangegenerally a good schedule to use if you absolutely cannot find any information on the oil-change interval for your vehicle. Manufacturers also have a special set of recommended synthetic oil-change intervals for vehicles driven in severe conditions like Mojave Desert heat or Alaskan coldor for vehicles that spend most of their time on dusty roads. Many newer vehicles have oil-quality monitoring systems that keep track of driving conditionsthe length of your trips, engine temperatures, and other engine parameters. The algorithms in those systems calculate when your oil should be changed and alert you when it’s time.
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What Does An Oil Filter Change Include
When you go to an auto service center or repair shop for an oil filter replacement, the oil filter, and engine oil need to be replaced together.
Its not always the case, however.
If the fuel filter is in good condition, you can just add clean engine oil. But you cant change the engine oil entirely if your oil filter is old.
Why?
Changing the old oil with clean engine oil but not changing the fuel filter is a wasted effort. Once the new oil travels through the used fuel filter, your clean oil comes out dirty, looking like old oil.
Thats why your mechanic will first drain out your old oil by removing the drain plug . After draining your cars oil, the mechanic will then replace your old fuel filter too.
Note: If you go to a dealership or auto repair shop, they may carry out additional services apart from changing your cars oil and fuel filter like tire rotation, car wash, topping off fluids, etc. This can add to your total repair costs.
How To Change Your Synthetic Oil
Heres a quick rundown of how to change your oil. For more information on the topic, consult The Drives more exhaustive guide for How to Change Your Own Oil.
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How Often Should I Change The Oil In My Car
- 18 August 2021
Congratulations! You just bought an amazing new car. Now, you plan to do everything you can to keep it in top shape.
Regular oil changes at least twice annually for modern engines are an essential part of automobile maintenance. Find out how motor oil works to help your vehicle perform its best and why its so important to your new cars health.
Three Months 3000 Miles Or Longer: The Truth About Oil Changes
Quick-lube chains say 3,000 miles, auto manufacturers recommend 5,000 to 7,500 miles and synthetic oil companies, 10,000. How often do you really need to change the oil in your car?
Dear EarthTalk: How often do I really need to change my cars oil? Conventional wisdom has always put it at every 3,000 miles to prevent engine wear, but isnt changing oil that frequently wasteful and unnecessary? Also, what is the “greenest” and longest-lasting oil I should use? — Vic Roberts, Lincoln, MA
There is much debate in the automotive world over how often drivers of typical passenger cars or light trucks should change their oil. The quick-lube chains usually recommend it be done every three months or 3,000 miles, but many mechanics would tell you that such frequent changes are overkill. Indeed, most car owners manuals recommend changing out the oil less frequently, usually after 5,000 or 7,500 miles.
The necessity of 3,000 mile oil changes is a myth that has been handed down for decades, writes Austin Davis, proprietor of the website TrustMyMechanic.com. He says that the economics of the oil change industry demand pushing customers to get their oil changed more frequentlypurportedly as cheap insurance against problems cropping upwhether they need it or not. One of the largest oil change chains, Jiffy Lube, for instance, is owned by Pennzoil-Quaker State, and as such has an incentive to sell as much of the companys traditional petroleum-based oil as possible.
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How Often Should You Change Your Oil And How Much Will It Cost
Recommended oil change frequencies are measured in the number of miles traveled between oil changes, and vary by vehicle and oil type chosen. Often, a vehicle requires an oil change sometime after 3,000-10,000 miles. Some new cars & trucks will alert you when its time for an oil change and help you keep track of your oil life digitally. In other, older vehicles, youll have to rely on windshield stickers provided by your mechanic or service shop.
Oil changes often cost anywhere from $45-$70, but that amount can be more or less depending on what kind of oil you use , how much it requires, and how much labor is required to change your oil. Shopping our service specials if you get your oil changed with us can help you save more!
Need to know if its time to get your oil changed near Covington and curious about the cost? Contact our Florence service center today.
Why Does My Oil Need To Be Changed
When youve got oil in your vehicle, its constantly working to improve performance and efficiency while keeping the metal parts clean and free from debris. Over time, it picks up enough debris that its brown color eventually turns black and becomes thicker. When oil is in this state, its not as effective at performing its lubrication, cooling, and cleaning functions. After enough time, the oil in your vehicle needs to be swapped out for fresh oil.
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How Often To Change The Oil
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Some swear by the every 3,000 miles or every 3 months rule, but advances in engines and oil have made that guidance obsolete. Many automakers have oil-change intervals at 7,500 or even 10,000 miles and 6 or 12 months for time.
Your owners manual has more detailed information about your car than any mechanic does, Ibbotson says. Dont get talked into too-often oil changes. Follow the manual and your cars engine should stay well-lubricated and perform well.
Over the course of two years and 30,000 miles, assuming that your oil change costs $60 a pop, you could save $360 if you get it changed every 7,500 miles vs. every 3,000 miles.
Its not just about miles: If you dont drive your car a lot, your oil still needs to be kept fresh. Even if you drive fewer miles each year than your automaker suggests changing the oil , you should still be getting that oil changed twice a year.
Why? Oil becomes less effective as it ages, and by not getting the engine warm enough, excess moisture that forms in the engine will not be removed, which can lead to shorter engine life.
The Final Word On How Often To Change The Oil On A Car Not Driven For Awhile
The age-old question that keeps mechanics up late at night: how often to change the oil in a car when not driven
No more nightmares! The facts are clear.
It is better to have a friend or family member drive your car every week than it is to prepare the car for long-term storage.
Oil sitting in the engine of an unused car is most likely okay for six months. After that, it isnt.
If the car is too old for this debate, it might be time to send it to the junkyard.
In the end, oil, oil changes, and car storage are certainly complicated topics. If you are looking for definitive answers, your best bet is to refer to the cars owner manual and follow all factory specifications.
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How Often Should I Check My Oil Level
Anyone wondering, how often should I check my oil in my car? should simply start performing this quick and easy maintenance task at least once a month. If youre ever running low, you could be looking at anything from inconvenient breakdowns to serious internal damage.
Heres how to check your oil level:
- Park on level ground, turn off the engine, then leave it to cool.
- Pop the hood and find the dipstick. If youre having trouble, use your owners manual to find its exact location.
- Slowly pull out the dipstick and wipe away any oil.
- Fully reinsert the dipstick, then slowly pull it out and check where the level is. It should be between the Minimum and Maximum markings.
Low on oil or noticing another issue? Schedule service today.
Contact Us For Oil Change Advice And Other Service Suggestions
Not sure why oil is leaking from your filter? Not sure if you should change your oil after storing your vehicle without driving it in Independence? Interested in learning how to perform a DIY oil change? Were happy to go over how to change your own oil, too! These are the kinds of questions our service technicians can help you with! Contact us and well be glad to further assist you with all your oil-change and service questions.
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Change Every 1000 Miles
First, if some experts say that 3,000 miles is too often, why would those same experts recommend intervals of every 1,000 miles? It all depends on your driving habits. If your driving routine consists mostly of trips that are 10 miles or less, you should consider changing your oil more often than every 3,000 miles for two reasons:
In short, if you drive your car infrequently as in much less than the mileage of your recommended service interval you should still change your oil twice a year since the oil degrades over time.
Does A Car Run Better After An Oil Change
Smooth Ride. If you havent had regular oil changes in the past, you probably notice a significant difference in how the car performs before and after the oil change. Once the oil change is complete, your vehicle runs smoothly and with more power.
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Where To Get An Oil Change
To keep your vehicle in good health, you should be completing regular oil changes or having them completed for you by a professional. If you see a professional for your vehicle care, a seasoned expert will provide you with a sticker indicating when you should next get your oil changed based on the date or the mileage your vehicle reaches. Expert care can save you the time and trouble of changing your oil, taking the pain out of these needed services.
Chapel Hill Tire has eight locations in the Triangle for drivers in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham, and Carrboro. Find a location near you for an affordable oil change today!
How Often Do I Need To Get An Oil Change
Oil changes are of the most regular maintenance requirements for most vehicles. While these maintenance visits might seem insignificant in size, the consequences of ignoring a needed oil change can be devastating to your vehicles health and your wallet. Here are some tips on determining how often you need an oil change.
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Get Help With Changing Synthetic Oil From A Mechanic On Justanswer
The Drive recognizes that while our How-To guides are detailed and easily followed, a rusty bolt, an engine component not in the correct position, or oil leaking everywhere can derail a project. Thats why weve partnered with JustAnswer, which connects you to certified mechanics around the globe, to get you through even the toughest jobs.
So if you have a question or are stuck, and talk to a mechanic near you.
Pouring in new synthetic oil.
How To Change The Oil
A lot of classic car owners prefer changing the oil on their car themselves, especially if they were the ones who rebuilt the car. Changing the oil is a fairly simple process and can easily be done by someone who has never done it before.
If you have low clearance under your car and you need it raised, make sure you use reasonable and reliable means to do so, such as using strong jacks.
First, youll need to locate the drain plug which is located under the engine at the bottom of the oil pan. Its a large bolt. Youll need to put a large container underneath it to let the oil run into. Turn the drain plug and let all the oil drain, about 10 20 minutes.
Next, locate where your oil filter is. It is usually located somewhere underneath the engine and close to the oil pan. Unscrew the oil filter. You may have some residual oil leak out, so make sure that there is a container underneath it.
Replace the drain plug and place in the new oil filter. Pour all but one quart of engine oil into the engine. Turn the car on and let it run for a few minutes, turn it off, then add the last quart of oil. Check the dip stick often after to make sure you have the right amount of oil. Overfilling an engine with oil can be equally as harmful as under-filling.
You can get the correct oil and filter at any auto parts store. The store clerk will be able to look up the right equipment you need.
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