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Oil Change 101

9/26/2020

You know your car like the back of your hand: its noises, how it handles, and where the seat needs to be adjusted to, to feel perfect! But we can all probably learn just a little bit more about our vehicle's finer details—like the kind of oil it needs for complete protection and top engine performance.

How can you learn how to keep your car's performance and efficiency at its absolute best, through oil changes?

Modern synthetic motor oil does a lot more than just lubricate. It's responsible for engine wear protection and engine performance enhancement as well as complete protection of all moving parts. Engine oil is comprised of two basic components--base oils and additives. The base oils constitute 70-90 percent of the total and are created from natural gas or crude oil, while additives round out the remaining 10-30 percent and can be variety of things.

Historically, motor oil was just a mixture of base oil and additives used to lubricate engine parts, reduce friction, clean, cool, and protect the engine. However, modern synthetic motor oils are a complex mixture of base oils and additive components designed to perform a variety of tasks:

Separating and lubricating moving parts
Reducing engine wear
Helping to prevent deposits from forming on internal engine components
Removing and suspending dirt and contaminants in the oil until these contaminants can be removed at the next oil change
Cooling engine parts
Enhancing engine fuel efficiency
Providing protection across a wide range of temperatures
Operating hydraulics in variable valve timing

As newer engines are built smaller and running hotter, a thinner weight oil such as 0W provides protection to critical engine parts, while also providing other benefits such as fuel economy and extreme temperature performance.

Cutshaw can help you choose the correct oil for your oil change. Bring your baby by and leave the oil change to us!

You still need Air Conditioning in September in Virginia!

9/4/2020

Air Conditioning not working?

Car air compressors are filled with refrigerant which is a gas that comes in a tank (like propane you use for your gas grill). The car's air conditioning system is made up of hoses, clamps, pipes etc... that use the refrigerant to create cold air and push it through the vents of your vehicle. Over time, any of those mechanical parts may wear, leak or break down, completely.

If your car is 7-years old or younger it is likely (rule of thumb) that the lack of cool air is caused by a leak in the air-conditioning system. Some of the refrigerant has escaped through valves or hoses (this is a Little Deal and simply needs to be topped off). A good mechanic shop, like Cutshaw Automotive will connect the vehicle to a machine and recharge the system to proper levels; at the same time, placing dye in the system so that if there is a large leak it can be identified quickly.

If your car is more than 7 years old it's possible that your air compressor is faulty. This is a Big Deal. Check this by opening the hood of the car turning the air conditioning on and listening to see whether you hear the air compressor turn off and on (over the course of a couple of minutes). If the air compressor, itself, is not functioning it may require replacement, an expensive undertaking.

Bring it in - we can help!