When is it time to change your car oil and how to choose the right oil viscosity?
For car users, knowledge and awareness regarding when to change car oil is very important. The reason is, oil plays a big role in a car engine. Without oil, a car engine can be damaged more quickly and its performance will decrease drastically. The right oil viscosity can affect engine performance and each car has different oil viscosity requirements. What is oil viscosity and how do you know the right time to change your car's oil? Check out the explanation below!
What is oil viscosity?
Oil viscosity is the level of viscosity that the oil has. Each type of car has different oil viscosity requirements. So, make sure Drivemate knows the oil viscosity required by the Drivemate car engine before deciding to replace it with a new one.
The right time to change oil for your car
Apart from knowing the viscosity of the oil, Drivemate also needs to know when is the right time to change the car's oil. The following are several characteristics that indicate the right time to change the oil.
1. Change the oil every 10,000 kilometers
You can determine the right time to change your car's oil by paying attention to the distance the car has traveled. In general, the right time to change car oil is after a distance of 10,000 kilometers or around six months of use. However, please note that the time to change car oil regularly after traveling 10,000 kilometers only applies to full synthetic oil. If you use oil mixed with minerals, Drivemate can do this for a distance of 5,000 kilometers.
Apart from that, Drivemate can also analyze the condition of the roads that have been passed. The engine will work harder if the roads used are not good or if you often get stuck in traffic jams. As a result, the car oil becomes dirty quickly and must be replaced regularly.
2. When oil quality decreases
The next way to determine when it is time to change your car's oil is when the quality of the oil in your Drivemate car starts to decline. New oil has a slippery, sticky texture and is clear in color, while oil in engines that have been used for a long time is usually cloudy brown or black. Old oil will definitely change color because its function is to clean the surface of the engine cylinder walls from scale and carbon resulting from oxidation.
3. When accelerating the car feels heavy
Next, the signs that it's time to change your car's oil are when the car feels heavy acceleration. The reason acceleration feels heavy is because when the quality of the oil in the car decreases, it causes friction in the engine to become higher.
High friction makes the performance of a car engine heavier. The machine continues to work in a bad condition. Drivemates will feel discomfort, especially when pressing the gas pedal, because acceleration will feel slower than usual.
4. When the machine vibrates hard enough
Usually, when the car engine is idling, Drivemate will be able to hear quite heavy vibrations in the car engine. This vibration will sound even louder if the car oil has not been changed. If there are signs like this, it's a good idea for Drivemate to immediately change the car's oil.
5. When the engine is running rough
Drivemate can also decide when to change the car's oil when the car engine is running rough. This can be felt by listening to the sound of the engine. Oil that is old and needs to be replaced will cause greater vibrations. For this reason, Drivemate must be more sensitive to the condition of private cars.
6. Drain the oil when the distance is 50,000 kilometers
Finally, don't forget to drain the Drivemate car's oil when it reaches a distance of 50,000 kilometers. Changing the oil the normal way will not get rid of all the old oil in the car. The amount of car oil that comes out when the bolt is opened only reaches 3-4 liters. In contrast to draining, the old car oil that is removed can reach 10-12 liters.
Well, those are some signs that Drivemate can use as a reference for when it's the right time to change your car's oil. For more complete information about vehicles, visit the Dunlop website at https://dunlop.co.id/. Don't forget to also visit Dunlop's Instagram to get interesting tips and tricks about automotive.