If you only know one thing about your car’s engine, it’s this: If the engine gets too over, it overheats, and you are left on the side of the road frustrated. The problem is that this is true for the majority of motorists, believe that, because they don’t have a solid understanding of how their engine works, there is nothing they can do to prevent this from happening, save for leaving their car at home during hot days and catching the bus.

How to Prevent Your Car from Overheating

Believe it or not, there are many things any motorist can do to help keep their engine temperatures down. Below is a post from Jim Ackney with some helpful and easy to follow tips to help you stay on the road during hot weather for longer.

Can You See Your Temperature Gauge Rising?

Here is a common scenario:  You are driving along, probably stuck in some light traffic, and you can see your temperature gauge creeping up, ever so slowly. Instead of taking any sort of action, you cross your fingers and look at the skies with the hope that divine intervention will somehow reduce your engine’s temperature. If this sounds familiar then you know just how it ends - you stuck on the side of the road with your radiator spurting any water that was left inside it among clouds of steam. Oh, and you are there looking at all of the cars cruising past while you wait for help to arrive. However, what is there was something you could do to avoid this? What if something as simple as pulling your car over to a safe spot, switching it off, and just waiting around 20-30 minutes was all you needed to do to let your car cool down enough to get you home. Or even better, allow time for traffic to alleviate enough so that your engine can get a good run with the wind helping to keep it cool enough to get you and your family home.

Is There Just Water in Your Radiator?

Years and years ago it was more than fine to just put water in your radiator. Sure, it wasn’t the best, but it did the job without too much trouble. However, with modern engines and the rising summer temperatures, using a purpose designed coolant isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. If your radiator has nothing but water in it, now is the time to change. Why? Because white coolant may look similar to the water you put in, it has been designed and created to work hard to keep your engine coo. Much, much cooler than what water could ever produce. Click here to buy Passenger Car ; Light Truck Antifreeze ; Coolant and keep your engine as cool as possible. Designed for the very purpose of keeping your engine temperatures down, speak with Jim Ackney at (780) 476-0545 about how AMSOIL high-quality coolant can keep your engine’s operating temperature down and performance high. Alternatively, check out the online store for the full range of AMSOIL products and more information about each of their uses.

Watch Your A/C Usage

Everybody does it; As soon as the temperatures inside the car start to rise, we immediately crank the A/C to its highest setting until it’s like a scene from ‘Cool Runnings’ (after they left Jamaica, of course). And while it definitely does the job, it comes at a cost of a high engine operating temperature. You see, each time that your A/C starts to cool your car down, your vehicle activates a secondary belt, similar, yet in addition to, the one which runs your regular radiator fan. As you can imagine, this additional belt means more work for your engine, which means a higher running temperature. Instead, consider these use cases:

• If you are cruising along the freeway with your family on the way to visit relatives or you and your friends are on the way to the beach doing a road trip, consider opening your front windows all the way and your back windows slight. This can be a great way to let in cooler air while working to push hot air out of the back windows.
• If you are zipping around the city completing your errands, often parking your car for periods at a time, it’s okay to use your AC responsibly. Responsibly means using it to just take the edge off the heat, not freeze up your car.

Pay Attention to Your Engine Maintenance

Believe it or not, there are many maintenance tasks which every motorist can perform, whether they know anything about their engine or not, which can have significant impacts on the performance of their vehicle. The reason to keep your engine in good shape is that an engine which doesn’t have to work hard to do its job doesn’t have to heat up as much. Maintenance items include:

• Clean or replace your air filter (yep, this is a job you can do at home, and easily)
• Keep the tire pressure in your car at the correct levels
• Unpack your trunk to keep your car light, placing less strain on your engine
• Check and replace your fluid levels, such as engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid, and coolant.

Keep Your Car Running at Its Best with a Synthetic Oil Change in Edmonton, AB

Believe it or not, a synthetic oil change is a maintenance task which can be done in your home garage if you don’t mind getting a little dirty. Speak with Jim Ackney at (780) 476-0545 for help finding the right engine lubricant for your engine or for more information about how a synthetic oil change in Edmonton, AB can benefit your engine and its performance.