Many components of your car, truck or seen require routine maintenance.The brakes, the battery and the flexible pipes are only some of the components to which you should pay special attention.Without an appropriate maintenance, they can all harm the proper functioning of your vehicle.One of the things you should never neglect and is one of the easiest to do on a regular basis is to drain your engine oil.It is very important that you know when to make your oil change, because if you decide to “jump” an oil change or extend the drain interval of several thousand kilometers beyond the intervalRecommended, you may cause serious damage to the engine of your vehicle, especially if you do this more than once.

To determine the drain interval of your engine oil is very easy!Many motorists believe that it is engine oil manufacturers who establish the drain intervals, but this is not the case.Original equipment manufacturers and engineers know their engines better than anyone.The emptying intervals are therefore from research and development made by these people, who then come to approve precise engine oils like those of Pennzoil.All manufacturers indicate an interval of time or kilometers recommended in the owner’s guide, so you can know exactly how often you need to drain the oil.Oil changes have become less frequent with the evolution of engine technology and the use of synthetic engine oils, which make it possible to better protect the motors and to extend the drain intervals.Intervals can now go up to 16,000 kilometers or a year for some more recent vehicles.

It is important to drain oil at the right interval for several reasons.The engine oil contains essential additives designed to clean and protect the main components of the engine.Over time, heat, contaminants and combustion by-products degrade these protective additives, which makes engine oil less efficient.The degradation of the additives contained in engine oil can cause a number of problems, including an accumulation of deposits in the engine, fouling, corrosion in the engine, wear and a decrease in theengine efficiency due to the thickening of the oil.

High quality engine oils that meet SP standards of the American Petroleum Institute (API) and GF-6A or GF-6B of the International Lubricant Special Advisory Committee (ILSAC) are designed to offer the same level of engine protectionThroughout the drain interval when you follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.Pennzoil 100 % synthetic engine oils are formulated to exceed these standards and withstand extreme temperature conditions to protect motors from wear, keep them clean and prevent them from losing power.These oils are made with natural gas.

That said, when any engine oil is left for too long in an engine, the additives deteriorate.The oil loses its ability to protect the engine, which creates more fouling in the engine and can make oil thicker than it is supposed to be.A thickened oil sometimes takes longer to circulate in the engine at the time of starting, which can delay reception of the oil by the parts of the engine and thus cause unnecessary wear.The engine also becomes less effective, which forces the oil pump and the pistons to work more.All of this can shorten the life of your engine and may lead to loss of power and irrecoverable efficiency.

The loss of engine efficiency can also result in a loss of fuel economy.You will therefore have to pay more when refueling.Engines that operate optimally and consume less fuel also emit less CO emissions₂ harmful.

Low oil level
It is important to regularly check the oil level.If you go beyond the drain interval or jump an oil change, there is a good chance that your oil level is lower, which can cause serious problems to your engine.The engines are designed to use and consume oil when they are running in order to adequately lubricate essential components such as valves, pistons and fat rings.An engine for which it is missing at least one pint of oil will not have enough lubricant to operate optimally.A low level of engine oil can also cause lack of oil in certain parts of the engine as well as an increase in ventilation or air imprisoned in oil, which can cause micropile and thewear in the engine load areas.

Normal and difficult driving conditions
Another element to take into account is the impact that your driving habits may have the operation of your engine oil.Difficult driving conditions can cause greater wear of the engine and you should take it into account when determining the frequency of your oil changes.This is the case, in particular, if you trailer or transport loads, if you drive in dusty or dirty places and if you make short journeys at irregular intervals.

Short frequent journeys to, for example, go for grocery store or look for children at school are also considered to be difficult driving conditions, because often the engine does not warm up properly and does not burn humidity orthe contaminants it contains.This phenomenon is even more pronounced in cold weather, because it takes more time to warm the engine and burn the accumulation of contaminants such as water or fuel which may have infiltrated in engine oil duringprevious use.These contaminants are the main cause of the degradation of engine oil if they stay in oil for too long.

Drain the oil at the recommended intervals is the simplest and most profitable measure you can take to protect your engine from damage caused by engine oil.This operation eliminates accumulated contaminants and dirt and give the engine renewed protection thanks to the newly replaced oil and filter.According to Sean Nguyen, scientist and technological specialist at Pennzoil, it is recommended to drain oil approximately 15 % earlier than what is indicated by the manufacturer of your vehicle (or in the drain of oil emptying installed inYour vehicle) if you drive in difficult conditions or if you plan to keep your vehicle for many years and see it working well when you need it.