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Neglecting Your Car's Oil Will Cost You Gas!

By: Scott Siegel A car that runs at it's peak will produce the best fuel economy. Anything that interferes with peak engine performance will decrease fuel economy and cost you gas and money. That is the reason that proper oil maintenance of your engine is critical to maintaining good fuel economy.

A priority in your car maintenance needs to be scheduled oil changes. Changing the oil according to the car makers recommendations is essential to keeping your car at its peak and keeping your gas economy at its best.

Oil lubricates the moving parts of the engine, preventing metal-to-metal contact, minimizing friction and carrying away excess heat - all of which promote better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.

Motor oil also removes dirt, metal shavings and other impurities from the engine and captures them in the oil filter. You can pay a severe penalty for neglecting engine oil, possibly even needing to replace the engine itself. Keeping track of your last oil change will save you money at the gas pump and decrease your fuel consumption.

You should follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule for oil changes. If the manufacturer says to change the oil every three thousand miles or every three months, do it. If oil is not replaced at the proper time it becomes saturated with impurities it is supposed to remove from the engine. If it becomes saturated with these impurities, sometimes called dirty oil, it will be less efficient in doing its job. That will cause the engine performance to decline and your fuel economy will decline with it.

Make sure that you are using the right grade of oil that is required by your car or truck. By using the lowest multi grade of oil recommended in your owner's manual, you can improve the fuel efficiency of the engine, particularly when starting it cold.

Using the right grade of oil ensures that your car will run as smoothly as it should in all types of weather. The wrong grade can be too thick and heavy in cold weather. Oil that is too thick and heavy forces the engine to work harder to overcome the oil's resistance. The harder the engine works the more gas it uses. Using the wrong grade can decrease your engine's fuel efficiency between 1 and 2 percent.

If you use, for example, 10W-40 motor oil in an engine designed to use 5W-40 it can lower your gas mileage as much as the two percent mentioned earlier. In addition if something goes wrong with your car, and the manufacturer can show you used the wrong oil, it could void your warranty.

Many car owners make the mistake of neglecting to have the oil changed at the proper interval. The more you put off changing your oil the worse your gas economy will be. Changing the oil on time and using the proper grade will help you keep your gas costs down.

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Scott Siegel has written a 143 page manual of industry insider secrets on saving gas and money at the pump (beatthegaspump.com). Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.
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