Oil changes every 4,800 kilometres may not work for you and your automobile. Central Auto Care advises that there are extenuating circumstances that can increase the duration between oil changes or decrease it. Bring your car, truck, or C/SUV to our shop so we can discuss the following with you to determine the best motor oil and oil change schedule for your automobile. Here are some things to take into account when making this determination.
Manufacturer’s Recommendations
Explore your owner’s manual to see what your vehicle manufacturer recommends. It will list the motor oil type that works best in your engine and the duration at which this oil should be changed. This is the first part of determining the best oil change schedule for your car. The manufacturer and its engineers create the schedule with your exact engine in mind.
Your Daily Commute Conditions
Your daily commute may cause a necessity to tweak this schedule, however. For example, if you drive in stop-and-go traffic to and from work, you may need to change your motor oil more often because this type of driving is quite hard on the engine. If you drive fast on open roads, your oil is circulating through the engine and lasts longer, which gives you more oil life.
How You Drive Your Vehicle
If you put the pedal to the metal on these open roads, however, you’ll need to have the oil changed more often because you are being hard on the engine. Aggressive driving that includes speeding and stopping fast makes the engine work harder. As such, it needs clean motor oil all the time to protect it. Slower drivers get more life out of the motor oil in the engine.
The Weather Outside
Another thing to take into account is the weather outside. For example, your engine may do just fine with conventional motor oil in the spring, summer, and fall here in Okotoks, but once winter hits, synthetic may be the better choice to protect the engine against the freezing temperatures. Synthetic stands up to weather conditions better than conventional.
The Oil Type in the Automobile
Finally, the actual type of motor oil in your engine will dictate when you need to have it changed. If you use conventional oil, every 4,800 kilometres is the general rule of thumb. If you use synthetic, you can stretch that duration out, sometimes, to as long as every 16,000 kilometres.
Call Central Auto Care in Okotoks, AB, to schedule your next oil change. We will talk with you about the best motor oil for your automobile.