Debunked: Motor oil myths for novices

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It’s hidden away and for that reason, it sometimes goes forgotten. However, like it or not, your motor oil is the thing that makes your car tick and without it, problems are going to arise.

When we talk about problems, we’re not discussing minor inconveniences either. Extensive engine damage is one issue and it will most probably mean that you can’t rely on your vehicle warranty and instead have to make a claim with a company like Omega Auto Care.

However, while it might be critically important, there are a lot of misconceptions that surround oil and just how you should manage it in your vehicle. It’s for this reason that we’ve put together this guide, as we scrutinize motor oil in-detail and highlight the many myths that have emerged about it.

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“Black oil means that it should be changed”

This is something that’s commonly stated but suffice to say, it’s just not correct. The general consensus is that you should use your dipstick to check the color of the oil and if it’s black, you should change it as a matter of urgency.

However, rather than showing that the oil is bordering on useless, the darker color instead highlights that it’s working correctly. Oil will change color over time and there’s no need to act apart from in extreme cases.

“You should change your oil every three months”

Another piece of advice which is alarmingly common is the notion that you should change your vehicle’s oil every three months, or every 3,000 miles if you happen to complete that even more quickly.

Generally, if you follow this approach you will just be wasting oil. A better approach is to check your owner’s manual, with most new cars recommending that you change it after at least 7,000 miles – a far cry from the 3,000 that has been historically documented. Failing that, just wait for your warning light to illuminate.

“Synthetic oil is just better”

There’s a couple of myths on synthetic oil, and here’s the first. It’s often said that synthetic oil isn’t just better for your vehicle, but also for fuel economy.

Well, truth be told, it’s not completely accurate. A lot of the time the synthetic claims are exaggerated and umpteen tests have still failed to prove the benefit that it has to fuel economy. Sure, it’s a more lubricated substance, but whether or not this is worthy of the inflated price is another matter.

“There’s no going back after turning to synthetic oil”

Our next synthetic oil myth surrounds the choices you have once you’ve taken the plunge. While some might suggest that you can never go back to petroleum-based oil after using a synthetic type – this generally isn’t the case. As long as the oil is of the required standard, you are able to use both alternately. Usually, these types of oil are blended anyway, so it makes no sense to suggest that they have such dangerous effects on each other.

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Why Should We Care About High Oil Prices?

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Why Should We Care About High Oil Prices?
Photo by CC user skeeze on Pixabay.

As any expert in the oil gas industry like Cody Winters can explain, there are many reasons why consumers should care about the price of oil. Even if you ride your bike everywhere and heat your home with solar panels, you are affected by the price of oil, even if you are not aware of it. Here are some of the main ways that high oil prices affect us all.

Oil Prices Impact Us Directly

This is basically a reference to the shock that we get at the pump when we fill up. For many of us, eliminating our use of cars for transportation is not an option – we can try to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels by carpooling, using public transit, planning trips more efficiently, and eventually perhaps shifting to an electric car. However, for most of us there is a limit to far we can reduce the use of our cars and for that reason, after a certain point we cannot escape the immediate effect on our wallets every time we fill up.

Oil Prices Impact Us Indirectly

The same pinch that we feel at the pump is shared by every producer in every industry. The costs of moving finished products to the consumer and the price of moving inputs to the production site, whether by air, sea or road, will be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices.

Economic Growth Suffers

With high costs of oil, there are spill-overs into economy as a whole. Larger portions of consumers’ budgets are taken up by increased prices on goods, and increased direct costs of transportation and heating. This leaves a smaller portion of disposable income available for discretionary spending. As consumer spending goes down, businesses begin to struggle. Larger production costs mean that to a point businesses will need to raise prices for consumers to break even. However, if consumers have reduced resources as well, it is not long before spending grinds to a halt.

Innovation Suffers

On one level, high prices for oil can spur investment in new technologies or more efficient processes to compensation for the increased cost of oil. However, in the short to medium term, the research and development budgets of companies will be eaten up by increased costs of doing business, leaving less for innovation.

Government Finances Take a Huge Hit

Although prices of a whole range of goods increases, there is downward pressure on wages as businesses begin to feel the pinch of reduced spending. This vicious cycle hits government directly in the form of demands for increased social spending in the form of subsidies and unemployment assistance. At the same, the government’s largest sources of income – direct taxes (in the form of personal and corporate income taxes) and indirect taxes (in the form of taxes on the sale of goods and services) – begins to decline.

Of course, the story is not all about doom and gloom. High oil prices can also attract heavy investment which might not be attractive at lower prices, and this in turn can fuel both innovation and energy security in the long run.

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