Grand Prix Performance - Costa Mesa, CA

Changing your vehicle's oil is one of the most important things you can do to avoid spending loads of money of problems in the future that sprung from not changing your oil.

There are many factors at work that dictate how often you should be changing your oil like how you drive, the condition and age of the engine, the external environment you drive in, and stop-and-go versus highway driving. Owner's manual recommendations for oil and filter changes vary from 3,000 to 10,000 miles.

We recommend that you change your oil and filter every 5,000 miles. That's our best estimate. For the vast majority, 5,000-mile oil changes will help your engine last to a ripe, old age.

You may want to consider changing your oil more frequently if:

• -You drive like a knucklehead: jackrabbit starts, heavy acceleration or high-speed driving
• -You live where the climate is extremely hot or cold
• -You often drive on dirt roads
• -Your engine is old and burns oil
• -You frequently carry heavy loads (several mothers-in-law or other cargo)

Oil undergoes thermal breakdown due to high operating temperature. When this occurs, the oil becomes less effective as a lubricant. And without a good lubricant, parts of the engine rub together and wear each other out. If you don't change your oil frequently, your engine won't last as long as it could. Oil serves many crucial functions, and clean oil performs those functions better than dirty oil. Oil is relatively cheap, and changing your oil every 5,000 miles is a very cheap insurance policy against major repairs down the road.

Grand Prix is your one stop shop for all of your maintenance needs.

Grand Prix Performance wants you and your family to stay safe on the roads this winter. Many of you might be heading up to the mountains for some fun. By following these tips and advice, you’ll be ready for the winter driving.

1. Prepare Yourself: 

• Knowledge:  Before leaving home, find out about the driving conditions.  Safe drivers know the weather, and their limits.  If the weather is bad remember, Ice and Snow, Take it Slow, or just don’t go.
• Clear:  Remove any snow on your vehicle’s windows, lights, brake lights and signals.  Make sure you can see and be seen.
• Inspect:  Check your vehicle’s tires, wiper blades, fluids, lights, belts and hoses.  A breakdown is bad on a good day and dangerous on a bad-weather day.
• Time:  Leave plenty of time to reach your destination safely.  It’s not worth putting yourself and others in a dangerous situation just to be on time.

2. When You See Snow:

When driving in winter weather, watch out!  Mother Nature has some tricks up her sleeve in the winter.  Here are some to be on the look out for:

• First Snow or Ice:  Drivers often aren’t prepared for winter driving and forget to take it slow.  Remember to drive well below the posted speed limit and leave plenty of room between cars.
• Black Ice:  Roads that seem dry may actually be slippery – and dangerous.  Take it slow when approaching intersections, off-ramps, bridges or shady areas – all are hot spots for black ice.  Remember, Ice and Snow, Take it Slow.
• Limited Visibility: Stay attentive and reduce speed.  Know what’s going on around you.
• Four-Wheel Drive:  On snow and ice, go slowly, no matter what type of vehicle you drive.  Even if you have an SUV with four-wheel drive you may not be able to stop any faster, or maintain control any better, once you lose traction.  Four-wheel drive may get you going faster, but it won’t help you stop sooner.

It is an extremely important maintenance duty that extends the life of your tires and ensures safe driving and it is quite important to know the importance of rotating your tires.

Front And Rear Tires Wear Differently

All that parallel parking. All those three-point turns. With each turn of the steering wheel, pressure is brought to bear on the front tires. (This is even more accentuated in front-wheel-drive cars, where the front wheels also supply the main motive power for the vehicle.) Resistance causes friction, which in turn produces heat. The result? The front tires wear quicker than the rears. Because of this, it's necessary to rotate the tires front-to-rear several times during their life cycle to 1) equalize tread wear and 2) maximize the life of the tires. This is what we refer to when we say "rotate the tires." Rotating generally does not refer to either of the following actions:

• Exchanging tires on the same axle — for example, swapping the rear tires left to right
• Criss-crossing tires — moving a tire from the passenger's side rear to the driver's side front. There's a good reason for this. Tires develop wear patterns as they age. Some of these patterns are tied to the suspension system and the alignment. That's why we keep the tires on the same side of the car.

Remember, this quick and simple procedure will extend the tread life of your tires. It will also provide maximum gripping power to the vehicle. It should be done roughly every 5,000 to 10,000 miles.

Folks, its about time to finally check 'Tire Rotation' off your 2012 to-do list. No one does it faster and more efficiently than Grand Prix.