How Important Is An Oil Change

How important is an oil change to your vehicle? Regularly scheduled oil changes are among the most important services you can do to your vehicle. Oil protects your engine against wear so the longer you stretch or avoid your oil changes the more likely you are to experience engine problems and at worst premature engine failure (here you can find useful coupons for oil change)

Oil needs to be changed regularly (stick with your vehicle owner’s manual recommended oil change schedule) for the following reasons:

1. The oil breaks down and loses its ability to remain thin or viscous (its thickness, where water has a low viscosity and molasses has a high viscosity). The thicker the oil gets the harder it is to flow which is not what you want. This breakdown occurs over time due to the heat and stress that the engine places on the oil. A regularly scheduled oil change ensures your vehicle only runs fresh oil that is capable of doing its job.

2. The additives in the oil breakdown and lose their ability to perform. Oil additives such as detergent, corrosion inhibitors and seal conditioners are but three additives that are often added to the base oil to improve its performance and offer other benefits that regular motor oil could not. This is especially important as engines get older, seals wear and the chances of oil leaks, rust and other conditions begin to appear.

3. Accumulation of dirt and other debris that occurs over time and use. The oil in your vehicle lubricates engine parts and prevents engine wear and in the course of engine operation, dirt and debris accumulates that the oil filter should pick up. Having said that the oil filter also wears out through use and once it gets saturated with dirt no longer performs and since the dirt and debris has to go somewhere, it will eventually begin flowing in the oil if it can’t be filtered out. A regular oil change involves replacing the old oil to remove contaminants that are contained in the oil as well as changing the dirty oil filter and replacing it with a new one so that dirt and debris can be filtered out of the oil.

4. Sticking to the proper oil change schedule also helps to ensure that your vehicle’s fuel efficiency and engine performance are optimized. As mentioned in point #3, engine impurities like dirt and debris build up over time and using fresh oil and a clean oil filter help to keep these impurities from impairing your engine’s ability to perform properly. Using clean oil can help to improve engine performance and horsepower performance since all cylinders can operate properly at peak capacity