One of the most important things you can do to prolong the life of your car is to change the oil. Most of us don’t give any thought to this process. We pull into the nearest instant oil change garage and let the mechanics worry about the rest. So today, we’re going to take a closer look at the process.
Trust your owners manual
The owners manual that came with your car tells you how often to change your oil as well as well as the type of oil that should be used. Here is an example from the Mazda3 Owners Manual:
“Recommended Oil Use SAE 5W-20 engine oil.”
What does this tell us?
Now we know the manufacturer recommends that we change the oil every 5 months or 5,000 miles with SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers specification) 5W-20 oil (the lower the first number, the more easily it flows at low temperatures while the second number is its flow rate at high temperatures).
Types of oils
Conventional Oil – oil that comes from the refining of crude oil. This type of oil is the least expensive.
Full Synthetic Oil – usually produced from a chemical compound called PAO (polyalphaolefins), synthetic oils have a more uniform chemical structure that is better at preventing wear and remaining viscous (the ability to flow) over a wider temperature range. Synthetic oil is considerably more expensive than conventional oil.
Synthetic Blend – a combination of conventional and synthetic oil. Most blends are not true synthetic oils since they are usually based on something other than PAO.
The Bottom Line
If you follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, not only will your warranty be valid, your car will last longer and you will avoid expensive engine repairs in the future.
Posted in Fuel Economy | Post a Comment | RSS Feed
