Oil Change Service

Why Oil Changes are Crucial to Vehicle Performance

Oil keeps your vehicle running smoothly by lubricating the many intrinsic, moving parts of your engine. When these parts are actively working together, they generate a great deal of heat. When they move against each other, they generate friction. Oil keeps the parts moving easily, but it also helps keep your engine cleaner and helps reduce the heat generated by friction. When your engine has ample oil to keep everything working, you save yourself a lot of headaches and potentially high repair costs. An hour out of your day when you need an oil change is time well spent if it saves you more time and money down the road.

How Often You Should Schedule an Oil Change

For most vehicles today, it is recommended that an oil change should occur about every 5,000-7,500 miles, depending on the vehicle. You should check your vehicle owner's manual for the recommended oil change frequency for your vehicle. If you don't have a manual, this is a fair interval to follow unless you have a vehicle older than the last 10-15 years, then it was recommended that an oil change should occur every 3,000 miles. For most older vehicles, though, they use conventional oil, whereas today most vehicles use synthetic oil, which is more effective than the old crude oil formula. Your driving patterns, climate, and usage can affect your engine more harshly. Under some circumstances, it may be better practice to stick with every 5,000 miles.

The Differences in the Types of Oil

Aside from weight differences (10W30, 10W40, 5W20, etc., weight recommendations are also in your manual), there are really three major types of oil used in vehicles.

• Conventional Oil is derived from crude oil, with several additives for more efficiency, and is more commonly used in older vehicles.
• Synthetic Oil, as the name implies, is man-made oil with several additives for more performance efficiency. Full synthetic oil protects your engine better because of the purity of the ingredients used to make it. Synthetic oil is also less harmful to the environment than conventional oil. There are synthetic-crude oil and conventional oil blends that may be more cost-effective, but for most vehicles, a straight synthetic oil improves performance.
• High-mileage motor oil is engineered for vehicles with over 75,000 miles, and there are varieties of high-mileage oils in synthetic, conventional, and synthetic blends. These oils are formulated for high-mileage vehicles with special ingredients and additives to help extend the life of your vehicle.

If you need an oil change, contact us at Hondru CDJR and set up an appointment with our Service Center, or set it up yourself online.