Top 5 Automotive Care Misconceptions

[sonya zafar]

Auto dealers and mechanics are always out to throw misconceptions around in the hopes of an extra $1000 spent on worthless fixes.

Here are the top 5 car care misconceptions to look out for.



Changing your car oil every 3000 miles

Your car owner´s manual, and not backwater quick mechanic shops, should dictate how long to go in between oil changes. Under normal driving conditions, most cars can travel up to 8000 miles without its oil life dropping. Changing every 3000 miles should be reserved for extreme driving conditions (lots of towing, driving in rocky terrain, etc.)



Premium fuel > Regular grade fuel

Although premium fuel won´t hurt your car, the only cars to benefit from premium fuel are high compression engines found in Aston Martin DB9´s and Ferrari F430s. Check your car´s manual for a recommendation.



George Washington is more honest than Honest Abe

The penny test is commonly used to test the health of tires. Inserting Lincoln´s head into your tire tread´s groove and seeing the top of his head is a popular indicator of unhealthy tires. Many experts have opted for the quarter, where depth of tire groove (using George Washington´s head) could be measured to an eight of an inch. See his ol´white wig and you have yourself a tire needing replacement.



Warm up your car

This misconception is older than dirt. Warming up cars claim to have the miraculous effects of engine´s reaching normal operating temperature. The same effect is keeping your engine´s RPM to about 1 for 30 seconds (the time it takes to exit a garage anyway). It doesn´t hurt to take slow stops for the first few minutes to avoid overheating brakes, which could result in broken brake rotors.



Inflating your car tires based on the tire PSI number

This is a very dangerous myth. The PSI number you read on the side of your car´s tires is the maximum amount of pressure the tire can hold and not what the car maker is recommending. To check the correct amount of pressure, refer to your ownérs manual. As part of a regularly scheduled check, check your tire pressure from time to time (especially in colder weather) since dropped temperatures could cause your tires to deflate faster.

[azi malik]

hmmm intresting but confusing