Question	How often should I change my oil?
Answer	Oil protects the engine's moving parts by easing friction. You must keep the oil pan full and clean to avoid excessive engine wear and high repair engine rebuild or replacement costs. Every three months or 3,000 miles is highly recommenced by the service specialists at Redwood General Tire. If you do, chances are you can avoid major problems and expense. Changing the oil and oil filter every 3,000 miles is the cheapest insurance you can buy. Call the experts at Redwood General for their recommendation to help you select the proper grade of Quaker State Motor Oil. Lubrication is essential to keep your engine running smoothly and to keep your engine friction to a minimum. The life of you engine is greatly maximized by keeping lubricants clean and full, Parts involved include the pump, oil filter and oil reservoir (crank case). Changing your oil regularly and keeping the crank case filled to the proper level are the two most important things you can do to ensure that your car stays healthy. It takes little time to check your oil when you stop for gas. It could save you thousands of dollars. If you wait until your oil light goes on to check and add oil, you've probably already done significant damage to your engine. Here are 5 steps to checking oil: Park on level ground and turn off the engine. Locate the metal ring of the oil dipstick. It is located in the engine and is usually easy to reach. It it's not clear to you, stop by Redwood General and we will point it out. Don't mistake it for the transmission dipstick. Pull out the dipstick and wipe it free of oil with a clean, soft cloth. Push it back in all the way. Wait a few seconds and pull it straight back out. Read the oil on the stick by noting where the oil ends relative to the dipstick marking. If "add" is clearly visible then add oil now. It will probably take a quart to reach the "full" mark.
Question	When should I change my car's oil?
Answer	According to the American Petroleum Institute, motor oil should be changed at "regular intervals" with close attention being paid to the car manufacturer's "severe service" oil-change recommendations. Don't live or die by the car owner's operating manual. What are the manual's "severe service" recommendations? There will be two recommendations, one for time and one for mileage. For example: change oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first. Ideal Driving Conditions - If you are going on vacation and it will be putting 7,000 miles on the car, it would be a waste of oil to change it at 3,000 miles because the car will be used under the most ideal driving conditions: paved road driving at highway speeds in a dust free (we hope) environment. In this case, you can say you are the exception and are actually driving under those "ideal" conditions. Severe Driving Conditions - If 80 percent of your driving is around town or towing a trailer or boat, your vehicle is undergoing severe service. Towing a boat or a trailer in mountains country in very hot weather is severe service, and in this case your oil should be changed every 2,500 miles. Towing A Boat, Trailer or Other Vehicle - The best precaution you can take is to have the oil changed just prior to starting the tow.