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motor oil

My Car Maintenance Schedule: Normal or Severe?

July 14, 2017 by admin 2 Comments

A Valvoline expert weighs in with advice on maintenance schedules, motor oil & lubricants.

Macy's New York
Urban drivers face much stop-and-go traffic and should follow
the manufacturer’s “severe” maintenance schedule.

The owner’s manual is your car’s bible, an authoritative document carefully assembled by the automaker. Manuals are specific to each model, offering details about the car that the manufacturer understands best.

One important section is the maintenance schedule (occasionally presented as a separate maintenance booklet) and typically divided into two sections based on your driving habits: normal and severe. Indeed, the differences between the two are often compared to night and day — with much tighter maintenance intervals for severe driving.

So, which schedule should most drivers follow? If you answered “normal” you are in for a surprise. With this in mind, let’s examine the schedule types and why following a “severe” schedule may be the best choice for most drivers, including you.

Deciphering Maintenance Schedules

Car manufacturers set the parameters for what constitutes “normal” and “severe” duty schedules. Fortunately, there are only small differences between how manufacturers define each. In any event, we’ll cover the generalities — avoiding most specifics, as in down to particular miles driven and time intervals.

For professional input, Auto Trends reached out to Valvoline and spoke with Fran Lockwood, Ph.D., the company’s chief technology officer. Dr. Lockwood is a chemical engineer possessing decades of experience in lubricants research and development.

Chevrolet Truck
Old truck? Yes, there is a motor oil for that.

Generally speaking, our discussion centered on what constitutes severe driving, including:

1. Hot weather driving in an urban setting.

Dr. Lockwood noted that a combination of high heat and stop-and-go traffic conspire to wear out cars faster. Specifically, lubricants found within motor oil break down rapidly under these conditions. As a result, adhering to a normal schedule will only wear out your engine quicker.

2. Short trips of under five miles.

If you live in an urban area, stop-and-go traffic isn’t the only condition that can take its toll on your vehicle. For instance, short trips to work, the grocery store, school, entertainment venues and other nearby locations may not involve much traffic. That said, each trip of no more than five miles creates an accumulation of water vapor, diluting the motor oil and reducing efficacy. Further, several other parts suffer as well — you’ll find yourself replacing your muffler more frequently, for example.

3. Regular towing, including a boat, trailer or camper.

The added pulling power required to tow something behind your vehicle puts more stress on a car, truck or an SUV. Not only is the engine pressured to work harder, but the protecting lubricants break down faster. Some other car parts affected include the brakes, tires, transmission, coolant and exhaust systems.

4. Consistently driving on non-pavement surfaces — dirt, gravel and off-road.

Regular travel on unpaved roads and surfaces can clog the air filter, which keeps dirt from entering the engine. Indeed, the harsher the surface, the harder your vehicle must work to take you where you’re heading. Additionally, dirt-covered or sandy surfaces as well as rocky or muddy roads take a toll on the suspension, brakes, tires, and paint.

Some of the other conditions that may adversely impact your car include temperature extremes and mountainous driving. In particular, operating a vehicle in temperatures regularly below 0º F or above 90º F is hard on your car. Moreover, hot temperatures accompanied by high humidity will break down the oil faster and drain the car’s battery. Even if the battery makes it through the summer, it could be dead come winter.

VW TSI Engine
Every manufacturer has guidelines specific to the model and engine.

A Matter of Synthetic Motor Oils

Car manufacturers are increasingly turning to synthetic lubricants in an effort to improve fuel economy and to meet ever increasing government-mandated mileage thresholds. Where vehicles once commonly used 10W-40 or 5W-30 motor oils, today 5W-20 and 0W-20 oils are more prevalent. Indeed, such lower-viscosity motor oils have the advantage of flowing through the engine with less resistance, thereby improving fuel efficiency.

Synthetics stretch out maintenance intervals as car manufacturers have long since moved away from the old 3,000-mile or 3-month standard, whichever comes first. Non-synthetic oils may now offer a 5,000-mile interval, while synthetics routinely deliver 10,000 miles (Toyota) or 15,000 miles (Jaguar). Thus, synthetics are more forgiving to people who are no longer in the habit of regularly checking their oil levels.

Choosing a synthetic oil keeps “the whole engine cleaner and improves fuel economy,” explained Dr. Lockwood. That said, she noted motorists should also keep tabs on the fueling system, given its propensity to attract dirt. For example, a 16-ounce bottle of Valvoline Syn Power fuel treatment cleans dirty fuel injectors, intake valves, and combustion chambers by removing accumulating deposits. When added to the fuel tank, this particular product improves cold start, reduces emissions, and restores fuel efficiency.

The Bottom Line

Although synthetic oils last longer and perform well under severe conditions, you need to regularly check your oil level as you do your other fluids. Ultimately, your owner’s manual offers the best guidance on car care — when followed, you’ll avoid costly repairs and extend the life of your vehicle.


Photos copyright Auto Trends Magazine. All right reserved.

Filed Under: Maintenance & Repairs Tagged With: car care, Fran Lockwood, lubricants, maintenance schedule, motor oil, synthetic oil, Valvoline

Valvoline at 150: America’s Oldest Branded Motor Oil

May 24, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

The world’s oldest engine oil brand reaches an important milestone.

Valvoline

One year after the final battle of the American Civil War was fought at Palmito Ranch in Texas, Dr. John Ellis completed his study of crude oil, determining it had no medicinal value. Although disappointed by the results, Dr. Ellis discovered potential lubricating properties, thus redirecting his research to develop a petroleum lubricant for steam engines running at high temperatures.

In 1866, Ellis left medicine and founded the Continuous Oil Refining Company, later renamed Valvoline. Although Valvoline isn’t the first motor oil developed, it was the first one made under a brand name.

Valvoline at 150

This year, innovative Valvoline is marking its 150th anniversary. Beginning this fall, it will begin transitioning to an independent business following the completion of an initial public offering (IPO) separating Valvoline from parent Ashland Inc.

Real growth for Valvoline coincided with mass vehicle production. In 1920, the Ford Motor Company named Valvoline the only oil recommended for its much-heralded Model T. In fact, beginning in 1920 each Ford Model T was outfitted with a dash-mounted plaque reading:

“This car is filled with Valvoline light motor oil. We recommend its use. No other oils should be used in this car.”

Keeping up With the Times

Other accomplishments realized by the company came in 1939 when it released a single grade X-18 motor oil, eliminating the need for 18 other car-specific lubricants. During the Second World War, Valvoline became a major supplier of oil for Allied vehicles and in 1954 the company released its first all-climate motor oil, eliminating the need for motorists to switch oil types by season.

Specialty oils followed, including VR1 in 1965, designed with race cars in mind. By the late 1970s, the company began targeting “do it yourself” customers, printing oil change instructions right on the can. Less than a decade later, Valvoline noted that many consumers preferred to have someone else change their oil and do it fast too. Thus, the company entered the quick oil change business by purchasing the Rapid Oil Change chain.

In more recent years, Valvoline has introduced its first synthetic motor oil and developed high-mileage oil for cars with at least 75,000 miles on the odometer. The company also expanded into recycled oils and updated its racing oils as it became the oil of choice for Hendrick Motorsports.

Team Valvoline Participation

For Valvoline, 2016 isn’t simply about marking an important anniversary. This year, the company is stepping up its outreach efforts through its Team Valvoline website.

Team Valvoline is where the company interacts with its current and potential customers through the team.valvoline.com subdomain. A community of car owners, gear heads, and weekend mechanics are active and are awarded for their participation.

Essentially, Valvoline provides the venue, while also awarding users with participation points who sign up (100 points), answer brief surveys (25 points), watch and rate videos (25 points), read articles (25 points), and share content via Twitter or Facebook (100 points each). It is a novel strategy for the Valvoline, but a smart one at that — the company mines data about its users in exchange for merchandise (merch) once certain point thresholds have been reached and the points redeemed.

Indeed, users at the 5,000-point level can obtain a “Never Idle” cap or t-shirt. For 20,000 points, a Victory Lane hat autographed by NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne or Jimmy Johnson can be had. Additional points may be earned by purchasing products at the online Valvoline Speed Shop — five points for every $1 spent.

Four Content Categories

Valvoline accepts and shares content based on four categories: do-it-yourself (DIY), Racing, Legacy, and Culture.

In the DIY category, readers will find articles such as, “Synthetic Vs. Conventional Oil” — What’s Right for My Ride? and videos such as “Valvoline Full Synthetic Motor Oils” with a voice over that sounds a lot like George Clooney. But its not — you’re hearing Josh Goodman.

Heading over to the Racing category, you’ll find stories about the Hendrick Motorsports drivers — Jimmy Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Chase Elliott (who replaced Jeff Gordon this year). The site hosts a unique video series — Drift Garage — where Ryan Tuerck and Chris Forsberg share tips on how to increase performance (think Magnaflow slip-on exhaust); discuss subframes, suspension, and bike racks; and even presents an exterior breakdown of a 410 winged Sprint car with Kasey Kahne. The duo come together again to present a second series, Garage Tours.

The Legacy and Culture sections weave in both the history of the company as well as Valvoline culture, the latter exploring such topics as “Cars We Wish Were Sold in the States,” and “10 Service Stations Turned Restaurants That Are Worth the Trip.” Interesting and easy to digest stories that make no mention of the engine oil pioneer.

Valvolina: The Collector’s Cup

Yet another Team Valvoline feature is Valvolina, the Collector’s Cup with Frank Fritz. Launched in conjunction with the company’s 150th anniversary celebration, this effort involves a company-backed search for Valvoline memorabilia with the help of people who may own such pieces. Such as you.

Specifically, expert picker Fritz will spotlight the top Valvoline picks in a multi-episode series or through the company’s social media channels. Fritz himself is an antique oil can collector and has put out the challenge for people to search their attics, garages, and basements for gas station signs, oil cans, merchandise, product advertisements, and apparel.

From now through July 27, individuals are invited to upload pictures of their finds to the Team Valvoline website for consideration. Those items chosen by Valvoline will be featured in upcoming segments — yes, there is a chance you might be paid a personal visit from picker Fritz himself.

Disclaimer: This article was gleaned from information provided by Valvoline to the writer at a “Clutch Crew” media event. Valvoline paid for the event, providing the airfare, hotel stay, food, and delicious samples of Kentucky bourbon to participants.


See Also — Decoding Motor Oil Weights

Filed Under: Special Tagged With: anniversary, brand oil, media event, motor oil, Valvoline 150

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