Modern vehicles are incredibly complex when compared to their predecessors. That being said, they still face the same enemies of the very first engines. Yes, I am talking about friction and the resulting heat it causes.

When it comes to keeping your car on the road, you need to maintain it. This means you need to understand the ins and outs of when to change motor oil to make sure friction and heat do not shorten the life of your engine.

Oil will only perform for so long under the stressful conditions found in the engine of a modern car. This leads us to the question of how often you should change the oil in your car.

The oil change mantra has been so ingrained into our head that we all know it. We must change our oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first. None of us know why this is. Most would be unhappy to learn it is just a marketing slogan!

Do you really think you need to automatically change you oil every 3 months? What if you only drove the car once during that period? The simple truth is every car faces different circumstances and thus needs oil changed at different times.

The simple truth is there is no one standard mileage or time period that should be used for oil changes. A big Ford truck simple runs differently than a Honda Civic. The oil in the truck will need to be changed well before the oil in the Honda.

So, how do you figure out the answer for your car or truck? Fortunately, there is a guide just for your vehicle. The manufacturer has designated it in your owner manual. This will, of course, be difficult to take for men who hate reading directions!

You can expect to find a recommendation regarding the miles and time period for the oil change in the manual. There should also be a recommendation on the weight of oil and specific oil brand that should be used.

Now pay attention. The miles and brand of oil are important, but the information on the weight of oil to be used is absolutely critical. You can get the miles and brand wrong, but do not get the weight wrong under any circumstances.

You are often going to have a choice between normal and synthetic oils. The synthetic oils are really great. They can last for 10,000 to 15,000 miles. Make sure to look at the different brands and their expected life spans.

I personally use Mobil 1 oil for my vehicles. I have minimal engine problems. We recently broke down the motor of a friend who used Mobil 1 for 125,000 miles in a BMW and found the engine to be in great shape.

Stop throwing away money by unnecessarily paying for oil changes ever 3,000 miles. Give your owners manual a read and follow those directions. You will undoubtedly save some serious money.