Monday, July 30, 2012

Your Monday Maintenance Tip: The Importance of Oil Changes

Oil_change_photo

Having your oil changed on a regular basis is one of the most important things you can do to keep your car in proper running order. Literally speaking, there is no better way to keep your car in tip top performance and have it run for hundreds of thousands of miles than to keep your oil changed whenever it is recommended by the car manufacturer or the oil change shop. Oil changes cost under fifty dollars, even if you choose to have the top of the line oil added into your car, so there is really no reason why you could not afford such a simple and painless procedure. By getting your oil changed on a regular basis, you will not only improve the life of your cars engine, but you will also allow your car to maximize the horsepower it puts on the road; and you can make sure that all of your cylinders are firing and working as properly as when the car was new. 

The benefits of oil changes are not so great as the drawbacks of not getting your oil changed, which are catastrophic. While you do increase the life of your engine and keep your horsepower maximized by getting your oil changed regularly, these are not as significant as the problems that can arise if you do not change your oil when it is recommended to do so. Firstly, not changing your oil often enough can cause significant damage to your engine, as the oil is necessary to keep all of the moving parts lubricated. By not having enough oil or by using oil that has outlived its usefulness (is filled with dirt or has low viscosity), you run the risk of allowing parts to not work as efficiently as they possibly could.

In the long run, such parts grinding together without lubrication in such a stressful environment as an internal combustion engine could eventually lead to such parts fusing together, jamming up or altogether failing. This is catastrophic to your engine, as the engine could simply stop working or actually explode if enough parts refuse to work.

When you go to get your oil changed, you really have one of two different options. You can either choose to spend less money and simply purchase whatever oil you want to put into your car from a store and add it in yourself; or you could have a professional do it. Because of all of the major restrictions on what you can and cannot do with oil nowadays, it makes much more sense to have a professional do the oil change, as they have special ways in which they are able to dispose of it. If you do the change yourself, you will have to save all of the oil which you remove from the car and take it to a place like your local fire station to have professionals dispose of it, instead of you simply taking it to the dump or pouring it down the drain. Since there are so many hassles involved in changing the oil yourself, you may want to simply have professionals do it, even though it is more expensive.

 

Courtesy of Ezilon

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