McHenry summer heat highlights importance of changing car, truck or SUV motor oil on schedule

Changing the oil according to recommendations in your McHenry car, truck or SUV’s owner’s manual is a critical factor if you want to extend its life and durability. But summer is a factor that may influence how frequently you change the oil.

There are two primary enemies of motor oil – dirt and heat. The dirt is the accumulation of particles suspended in the oil that increases over time after each oil change. The heat, on the other hand, progressively breaks down the oil. The heat effects the oil’s viscosity.

Viscosity is a measurement of the oil’s resistance in relation to how the oil acts with motion and under force. Measuring viscosity helps to determine the effectiveness of motor oil as a lubricant. A viscosity rating provided by the company selling the motor oil helps to determine which oil to use under which anticipated conditions.

For instance, you may use a 5W-30 motor oil. The ‘W’ represents the winter rating for the oil. A low number, such as ‘5W’ represents an oil that will flow sufficiently in cold temperatures so that, when starting the engine, there is oil between moving parts in the engine.

The ‘30’ in the example above represents the high-temperature performance level of the oil. Motor oil boils at around 572-degrees Fahrenheit. If your engine oil reaches that temperature, you’ve got big trouble. Optimally, your engine should operate at temperatures ranging up to 250 degrees. At 275 degrees, the motor oil begins to break down.

As the motor oil breaks down, its ability to properly lubricate the engine is diminished. This is why summer is generally harder on a car, truck or SUV engine than winter. The engine is likely to run hotter in the summer. And the motor oil bears the initial brunt of that additional heat.

Generally speaking, auto manufacturers have taken this into account when they created recommendations for changing your car, truck or SUV motor oil. So it’s not really a question of running in to a McHenry area auto repair shop for an oil change earlier than recommended. Rather, it simply highlights the importance of changing the motor oil on time as scheduled.

You shouldn’t put off that oil change in the winter either. But you really, really don’t want to put off the oil change in the summer, especially a hotter summer.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Sap, Sun and Droppings conspire to attack your Richmond car’s finish

Who doesn't love summer time in Richmond? But this is also the time of year when sap, sun and droppings attack your car's finish. It’s a beautiful summer day in Richmond, IL, so you take the car to Richmond Carwash and give it a thorough cleaning. Or maybe you go for an entire detailing. On the other hand, you grab a bucket, sponge, brush and appropriate cleaners, drag the hose out to the driveway and wash the car yourself. Before you know it, the car is clean and shiny, almost like the day when it was new, right? But what does Murphy’s Law say about washing your car? Inevitably, if you wash your car, you can count on rain. It almost seems like, as soon as you give the car a good bath, the rain clouds start plotting and changing course to head straight for your Richmond home or wherever else you park your car. Let’s imagine that Murphy takes a pass when it comes to applying the Law of clean-car-precipitation onto your vehicle. You have the car washed but it doesn’t rain. You’ve...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog