A car is a big investment. Properly maintaining your car is vital to sustaining the life of your car and its various parts. Many people do not realize that with proper car maintenance you can extend the engine life of your car. Getting your oil changes regularly is one of the most important maintenance procedures and it is one of the best ways to keep your car running at its peak performance...

Maintaining your Car: Oil Changes how do they affect your vehicle?

A car is a big investment. Properly maintain your car is vital to sustaining the life of your car and its various parts. Many people do not realize that with proper car maintenance you can extend the engine life of your car. Getting your oil changes regularly is one of the most important maintenance procedures and it is one of the best ways to keep your car running at its peak performance. Make sure to always make car maintenance such as oil changes a priority.

Oil is very important because it keeps many of the metal parts in your engine away from each other. This prevents them from scraping together and becoming damaged. If these parts are allowed to grind together without the proper lubrication it can lead to failed or jammed parts. Engine oil, like anything else does get dirty and contaminated with other materials from the daily normal usage of your car. This is normal and unavoidable. However when condensation, fuel and oil find their way into the oil, they start to interfere with the overall function.

As I stated before this is normal so your engine can take this interference for a given amount of time. The term oil change interval is used to describe that length of time. This period of time can vary depending on your vehicle and generally it can be found in your owner’s manual. A good rule of thumb is to change your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles or every three months if there is any doubt. The older and more contaminated oil gets, it unfortunately begins to lose its affinity to trap all the dirt. It begins to drop the excess contaminants and they begin to cover the engine parts. The substance is a gritty type of sludge and it proven that it increases engine wear. When you get routine car maintenance the oil change drains the contaminants and the old oil. Going over your mileage interval a little is okay but you should not exceed 10,000 miles due to the effect that the old oil has on your engine life.

Performing proper oil changes can also help to increase gas mileage. The friction between parts that is caused by dirty oil causes the engine to produce more heat. This extra heat along with the friction causes a decrease in the total number of miles per gallon your car gets. With the rising price of gas, I know that everyone wants to get more gas for their buck. Simply getting your routine car maintenance will ensure that you are not throwing gas away at the pump.

Getting routine oil changes on your car also helps to lengthen the life of its engine. An engine that gets regular oil changes will be much cleaner. A clean engine does lead to a better running engine and it is less likely to give you problems. Giving your engine the tender loving care that it needs will help to ensure that it won’t let you down. The performance of a car is linked directly to its engine condition. A brand new car should perform at its maximum performance level. However as the car get older and accumulates more mile the engine horsepower can decrease due to buildup on the engine and other parts. Routine car maintenance helps to fight against engine buildup.

It is important to read your car manual and get a good understanding the maintenance procedures that your vehicle needs to undergo. A 10 minute oil change has a much greater impact most people realize and it can save you a lot of unnecessary car repair money on down the road.