Ask anyone about the oil in the car and they'll say what? Oh, it has to be changed every 3,000 miles!
In truth, this is really an inaccurate figure. The 3,000 mile figure comes from a marketing pitch. Exact figures are more dependent on the type of driving style you have. Regardless, it is absolutely true that you need to change your oil every so often to get the most out of your car. Most people don't know why though. In this article, we delve into the reasons.
Oil is a magical substance. For all the bashing that it gets in the environmental debates, our lives would be drastically different without it. Oil is used in everything from plastics to fertilizers to fuel and, of course, lubrication. When it comes to your engine, oil is the key to making it last. Without lubrication, the metal parts would just grind together and seize up in a matter of minutes. That would make owning a car a perilous investment.
So, what is it that oil specifically does for your car? The first thing it does is keep the engine cooler. It does this as a matter of design. By that, I mean the design of the engine and the layout of the oil system allows it to actually cool and draw heat from the engine. It does this because the oil collects in something called the oil pan. The oil pan is located at the bottom of the engine. As the car is moving, air rushes by the oil pan. The cooled oil then circulates up through the engine and siphons off some of the heat being produced. A car still needs a coolant system, but oil definitely plays a part in the process.
A more important function of oil in your engine is to cut down on friction. Oil is a lubricant. You only need to rub it between your fingers to know this. The engine is essentially a mechanism of controlled explosions. The energy produced in the explosion propels metal parts. Oil sits between those parts and cuts down on the wear and tear caused by the back and forth movement. It is this lubrication that keeps the engine parts from heating up and melting into one block of metal goop.
Oil is amazing, but even oil will begin to break down after a while. If you break down the engine of a car that has not had its oil changed regularly, you will see what essentially looks like a scorched earth surface. Everything will be black, and there'll be balls of burnt oil everywhere. It's generally known as gunk. Gunk kills cars. It makes it difficult for parts to work efficiently, but it also acts as an insulator that causes the engine to heat up. Heat kills engines.
Modern car engine oil is particularly helpful to cars because it contains detergent. What does detergent do? It breaks down the gunk found in an engine. This means that you can effectively take an old car and "revitalize" the internal engine parts by using modern oil. The oil will effectively clean up the gunk within the engine and help the engine run cooler. A cooler running engine is an engine that lasts longer. That means fewer auto repairs and less money spent.
Oil is one area where you want to spend money to buy the best product on the market. It is critical to the maintenance of your engine. Quality oil will help your engine last hundreds of thousands of miles. These days, that is money well spent since most of us aren't in a position to buy new cars.
Dirk Gibson writes for DCJAutoParts.com - find car parts online for your car that won't cost an arm and a leg.
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