Oil is the lifeblood of your engine. It's continually pumped through your engine by the oil pump, lubricating components as it moves. Lubrication reduces wear and tear on critical components and allows them to work efficiently. Over time, oil becomes thick and sluggish, and this can lead to potential engine problems. As your Toyota dealer, we want to tell you some of the reasons why a regular oil change is good for your engine.
Reduces Damage
Oil coats hundreds of components with a friction-resistant covering as oil moves through the engine. Many engine components rely on friction to work correctly, and if they're oiled, they will slide smoothly against each other as they work. This speeds up their movement and protects them from damage. The faster engine components work, the more efficiently your engine will perform.
Oil also has a cooling effect on the components it lubricates. An engine is a very hot environment due to combustion and the constant movement of hundreds of different components. Combustion can easily raise the temperature of certain components to over 600 F, and constant high temperatures will take their toll on even the toughest engine components if they're not cooled.
Increases Fuel Efficiency
Old oil accumulates dirt and debris as it moves through the engine and turns sludge-like. Sludgy oil is slow, provides less friction resistance to components that require it, and has a reduced cooling effect. These unwelcome side effects of older oil affect your engine performance, as poorly lubricated parts move slower and generate increased resistance as they move.
Your engine has to work harder to overcome this resistance, which means using more fuel. In addition, as the engine works harder, parts suffer increased wear and tear. This reduces their lifespan and reduces engine efficiency even further.
Lower Emissions
Combustion produces a large variety of dangerous and toxic chemicals, including carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are the building blocks of petroleum, and they remain behind after fuel has been burnt. Older, sludgy oil doesn't prevent the buildup of hydrocarbons in the engine, and increasing amounts of this chemical are dumped into the catalytic converter.
The catalytic converter, which converts dangerous chemicals into harmless ones, can't remove all the accumulated hydrocarbons. The unconverted hydrocarbons exit the tailpipe, and their presence can cause your vehicle to fail an emissions test.
Visit us for a change of oil today at New Rochelle Toyota in New Rochelle, NY.
