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 regularly scheduled oil change should be one of the priorities for maintaining your car. Changing the engine oil according to the manufacturer’s recommendations is essential to keeping your vehicle in top operating condition and keeping your fuel economy at its best.

The purpose of the oil in your vehicle is to prevent metal- to-metal contact of engine parts by lubricating its moving parts, thereby minimizing friction and carrying away excess heat. All of those attributes create better gasoline efficiency.

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.

Another factor in maintaining the best fuel economy is the proper grade of oil. Use the grade of oil recommended by your car maker. The efficiency of the engine can improve as much as 2 percent when using the correct grade of oil as opposed to using the wrong grade of oil. This becomes even more critical in cold weather.

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.

As an example, using 10W-30 motor oil in an engine designed to use 5W-30 can lower your gas mileage by 1-2 percent. For best engine performance, fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, use only the oil recommended in the owner’s manual.

Many drivers make the mistake of procrastinating in getting the oil changed. The more a driver puts off changing the oil the worse the fuel economy will be. Using the proper grade and changing the oil on time will help you get better gas economy.

Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page book of automotive industry insider information on saving gas and dollars at the pump (beatthegaspump.com). Visit us to discover how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.

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