Posted on 10/25/2009 12:20:59 PM PDT by Daffynition
I just wait until my tires’ audible indicator tells me to inflate them. They make a lub, dub, lub, dub noise when they need air.
Well, that’s what Obama thinks people do.
Good advice.
Changing your oil before the recommended time to me, is a pretty inexpensive peace-of-mind issue. [Even though mine takes 8 quarts.]
I think warming a car up is imperative, especially if it is a HP car, even after it’s warm, I try not to full throttle the engine for a while.
“changing your oil too often can cause premature catalytic converter failure,”
Huh!?! I never heard of this one, but I’m willing to learn something new. Can you tell me why this would be? Lower initial wear on the engine, which would increase blowby perhaps? Just guessing.
My wife has a '78 Lincoln which only takes about 5 minutes idling at the curb to warm up.
I'm not sure what temperature ranges you are dealing with, but if you commonly have temps below freezing and occasionally below zero, you might consider getting a block heater (frost plug heater) or a tank heater for the pickup. If there is no available electrical outlet, the easiest and cheapest fix is to get a grille cover to partially block airflow to the radiator (yes, it can be done with a piece of cardboard), but don't overdo it if you live in an area where winter temperatures are commonly above freezing (or if you operate the vehicle for long periods of time under load) or you might overheat the engine, which is far worse than being chilly for a few extra minutes.
I have used both methods in concert, and the coldest weather I ever drove in was -54 out of Riverton, Wyoming (static air temp, not wind chill). It took over 100 miles before I could not see my breath in the van, at about 200 miles (driving north into warmer weather (only -30) I could unzip my coat some and think about taking my gloves off inside the vehicle. Covering the entire grille helped a little, and I never would have started the engine without a crankcase full of synthetic oil (easier cranking and better oil flow at startup) and the frost plug heater to warm the engine up before I started it.
If you are running a manual transmission in temperatures below zero, you might consider replacing the gear lube and differential lube with synthetic as well, it makes a huge difference getting going and saves clutch in the long run.
The damage is is caused by the phosphorus in the motor oil and other additives. Most of the phosphorus burns off in the first 500 miles after an oil change. The oil companies have been developing low SAPS oil to deal with these problems. With extended oil life, comprehensive oil change monitor vehicles, mostly European cars but soon all car manufactures will follow, I would and do trust the cars computer to tell me when an oil change is needed. For the last few years, most vehicles have no dipstick for the automatic transmission and service intervals of 100K miles. I believe in the next 5 years, motor oil will be lifetime oil to be serviced every 100K. Mercedes Benz already sells cars without motor oil dipsticks. Oil, lube, and catalytic converter technology changes real fast and is too boring and complicated for me. The rest of a car is fun and easy.
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