H&H Mobil offers a variety of maintenance services for your vehicle, things like, checking your tires, brakes, and yes, oil changes.
Changing your vehicle's oil is one of the best ways to extend the life of your vehicle and while trying to fit in an oil change during a busy week can be difficult, H&H Mobil offers rides to and from your work or home to make it a bit more manageable.
So, what does oil do, and why do you need to change it so often?
Engine oil acts as a lubricant, coating moving parts in your vehicle's engine to reduce friction and prevent rusting. The movement of oil through the vehicle also helps to cool the engine. Making the vehicle as a whole operate more efficiently, save fuel and as previously mentioned, extend the vehicle's life.
Oil grades are broken down into two parts, put simply, cold and hot viscosity. For a typical oil, say 5W-30, the ‘W’ stands for winter and the ‘5’ rates how resistant the oil is to thickening at low temperatures. The second number, ‘30’ in this example, rates how resistant the oil is to thinning at higher temperatures. In comparison, oil rated at 0W-20 is more resistant to thickening at low temperatures and less resistant to thinning at high temperatures. What kind of oil a vehicle needs basically comes down to what kind of oil it was designed, and therefore what the manufacturer recommends.
If oil is too thick it can clog up your engine, creating more resistance between moving parts, and decreasing your vehicle's fuel efficiency. Oil that’s too thin can fail to properly coat engine parts which means a higher chance of metal on metal contact, which will cause more wear and tear to the engine.
Your vehicle will have come with a recommended oil grade from the manufacturer, and as a rule it’s best to stick with their recommendation, not just for your vehicle's health, but any existing warranty as well.
While using the right oil is an important part of an oil change, how often you change it is just as important. Common knowledge recommends that oil be changed every 3000 miles or every 3 months, whichever comes first. While changing your oil that often may be necessary, and won’t cause any harm. Depending on your driving habits, it could just be wasting a bit of money better spent elsewhere.
Frequent short trips can be hard on your vehicle in general, not just the oil. Driving exclusively short distances doesn’t allow the oil to reach ideal operating temperatures and burn off any condensation that may have accumulated while not in use. Driving longer distances, or at highway speeds can alleviate the problem, but if most of driving takes place within 5 to 10 miles then you should consider getting your oil changed at least every 3000 miles or every 3 months. In addition to changing your oil, some shops, like H&H Mobil, perform safety inspections during the oil change. Having your oil changed at regular intervals is a great way to stay on top of any potential issues.
Otherwise, the time between your oil changes will depend on what quality and brand of oil is used, as well as how new your vehicle is. Newer vehicles are made to operate more efficiently, and using higher quality, and likely more expensive synthetic oil can mean changing your oil every 10,000 miles. While most conventional oils will last for about 5,000.
There isn’t any one size fits all solution when it comes to oil changes. If you do decide to use a different oil than what is recommended in your owner’s manual, talking to your technician about your vehicle is a good start.