Are 3,000 Mile Oil Changes Really...
Transcript of Are 3,000 Mile Oil Changes Really...
(ARA) — With more than 2.5million half-ton pickups soldannually, these trucks are belovedfor their versatility and durability.Whether they’re being used topull a trailer or haul a heavy load,half-ton pickups work hard andare fun to drive. And now, almostevery half-ton pickup truck canalso serve as an efficient, effectivesnow-clearing machine.
This is good news for home-owners and small business own-ers who are looking to maximizetheir existing equipment in aneffort to save time and money.
Taming winter’s furyAs daylight fades and winter
weather gets closer, homeownersand small business owners in thenorth turn their attention to snowremoval options. While many willmaintain snow removal contractsor perhaps purchase a new snowthrower, others will investigatethe benefits of outfitting theirpickup truck with a snowplow.
One of the most essential ben-efits to equipping your truck witha snowplow is the amount of timethat is saved. Depending on thesize of your driveway or parkinglot, a snowplow will get the jobdone in a fraction of the time ittakes to remove snow with asnow thrower.
Another key benefit is cost-savings, especially if you contractwith a snow removal professional.Handling your own snow manage-ment ensures that you can easilymaintain lots and driveways, andoften the initial snowplow invest-ment can pay for itself in savingsover one or two winters.
Independence is another fac-tor that draws many homeownersand small business owners toinvesting in a snowplow. By beingresponsible for your plowingneeds, you no longer have to waitfor a contractor. When there's asnowstorm, simply hop in yourtruck and take care of your ownsnowplowing, on your own sched-ule. This is often especially impor-tant for retail business ownerswith liability concerns.
Another benefit is health andsafety. Each year, health-relatedinjuries occur as a result of snow
removal. Muscle and back prob-lems are common occurrenceswhile, luckily not as frequent,some individuals even sufferheart attacks. Using a snowplowallows you to move snow withless stress, all from the comfort ofyour own vehicle.
Making the most of your half-tonUntil recently, homeowners
and small business owners could-n't seriously consider a legitimatesnowplow for their half-ton pick-up. That’s because in an effort tomaximize fuel economy, manufac-turers began building half-tontrucks with lighter axles, framesand suspension. While theselighter packages helped toincrease miles per gallon, stan-dard size commercial snowplowswere too heavy and exceededtruck manufacturers’ gross vehi-cle weight limitations.
Fortunately, snowplow manu-facturers recognized these manu-facturing improvements andresponded with new lines of full-sized, full-featured snowplowsdesigned for light commercial,institutional and home use specif-ically for half-ton truck owners.
Each of these plows offer simi-lar features as their larger coun-terparts, including rugged steelconstruction, fast and easymounting systems andhydraulics, and important safetyfeatures.
The plows are available atlocal truck equipment dealers andsnowplow dealers who specializein snowplow installation and set-up. Dealers can also provideaccessories, parts and service aswell as plowing information andtips for new plowers.
For more information on thenew full-sized, full-featured snow-plows built specifically for half-ton trucks, or to view a dealerdirectory, visit these manufactur-ers’ Web sites: www.western-plows.com, www.fisherplows.comand www.blizzardplows.com.
(ARA) — For years, drivers have been hearing about changing theirmotor oil every 3,000 miles, but times have changed, and the ‘3,000-mile mantra’ may or may not apply to you and your car.
The 3,000 mile oil change is a conservative approach to maintain-ing your vehicle that, according to General Motors, dates back to 1968.It’s also an oil change interval that continues to be encouraged by theautomotive oil change industry.
Automobile manufacturers cite modern oil and engine technologyas the reason why oil change intervals can be extended. Numerous fac-tors come in to play in determining the oil change interval you shouldfollow including: The car you drive and the way you drive it, oil and fil-ter selection and whether your vehicle has an oil life monitoring sys-tem.
Every automobile manufacturer establishes recommended oilchange intervals for each model they manufacture. Oil change inter-vals are now between 5,000 and 7,500 miles for many new cars.
You should follow your car manufacturer’s recommendations on oilchange intervals while the car is under warranty. If your car is nolonger under warranty, you can extend your oil change intervals byupgrading to synthetic motor oil. This will reduce the number of oilchanges saving you time and money, and reducing the amount of oilpurchased and disposed.
There are a number of quality synthetic motor oils available tochoose from. Most lubricant manufacturers will give a recommendednumber of miles you can drive between oil changes under normal con-ditions. The number of miles you can allow between oil changes willdepend on the way you drive and the oxidation stability (useful oil life)of the motor oil.
Oxidation stability can be measured by international standardsboard ASTM’s rigorous Thin Film Oxidation Uptake Test (TFOUT). Thetest is so severe that it lasts 1,300 minutes. Conventional motor oilstypically last less than 300 minutes. Synthetic motor oils typically lastless than 500 minutes. One high performance synthetic motor oil,Royal Purple has been shown to outlast the duration of the test. RoyalPurple motor oils are recommended to extend oil changes intervals toas much as 12,000 miles under normal driving conditions. The motoroil has also been shown to improve fuel economy.
If you elect to upgrade your motor oil, you should also upgradeyour oil filter. Low quality filters are often made with the 3,000 mileinterval in mind and may go into ‘bypass’ mode shortly thereafter.Check the recommended filter change interval on any filter your pur-chase.
A fairly new technology impacting oil change intervals is the ‘oil lifemonitor.’ Many people are unaware that oil life monitor systems aresimply computer software algorithms that determine when to changeoil based on engine operating conditions. An oil life monitor looks atmileage, speed and idling time to calculate when you should changethe oil. A better name for the oil life monitor might be ‘oil life predic-tor.’
There is no actual oil condition sensor or a chemical analysis of theoil. In fact, you could drain the oil and replace it with any fluid and theoil change monitor would have no way of knowing it. Additionally, theoil life monitor does not monitor how well your oil filter is filtering theoil in your system. Contaminated oil is just as, if not more harmful than
oxidized motor oil. The bottom line is that an oil life monitor is a use-ful tool that should be used in concert with common sense and goodjudgment.
Whether or not you have an oil change monitor, if your car is stillunder warranty, stick with the car manufacturer’s recommended oilchange intervals. If your car is no longer under warranty, you can gobeyond the typical 3,000 mile oil change or beyond the oil changemonitor's recommendations by upgrading to a high performance syn-thetic motor oil and high performance oil filter.
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Are 3,000 Mile Oil Changes Really Necessary?
COURTESY OF ARA CONTENTYou can drive more miles between oil changes by upgrading tosynthetic motor oil and a premium oil filter
Half-ton truckowners now have afull-sized snowplow
Proper vehicle lighting will bevital to safety when daylight-sav-ings time ends on Oct. 26. To pre-pare for fewer hours of daylightand the extra hours of darkness,the Car Care Council encouragesmotorists to take a few minutesto inspect their vehicles toensure that all of the lights areworking properly.
The Car Care Council recom-mends checking all vehicle light-ing on a monthly basis, includingthe headlights, turn signals,brake lights, side lights, parkinglights, tail lights, backup lightsand license plate lights. Whether
you do it yourself or visit a pro-fessional automotive technician,it is important to repair orreplace non-functioning lightsimmediately.
Something as simple as aburnt-out brake light couldpotentially have major conse-quences. Results of vehicleinspections during National CarCare Month found:
• 8 percent of vehiclesinspected needed work on atleast one of their turn signals.
• 6 percent of vehicles hadproblems with at least one oftheir brake lights.
• 5 percent of vehicles failedtheir side light inspection.
• 1 percent of vehicles failedthe inspection for their head-lights, parking lights, tail lights,backup lights and license platelights.
Vehicle Prep For Daylight SavingsTime: Inspect Your Vehicle’s Lights
So You’re Not Left In The Dark
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Four Wheel Drive OperationIf your truck has 4WD, check
the operation of all components.Make sure items such as lockinghubs, the transfer lever, and pushbutton engagement all movefreely and actually engage anddisengage. The middle of a snowstorm is not the time to find outthat your 4WD doesn’t work.
Everyone who drives yourtruck should know how to oper-ate its 4WD system.
Paint Protection• Cold, ice, snow, salt, and cin-
ders are hard on your pickuptruck’s paint finish, so start win-ter with a good coat of wax.
• Wash the truck as often aspossible during the winter. Besure to clean in the wheel wellsand underneath the truck.
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