Regardless of whether you’re a gearhead or just a rookie when it comes to cars, everyone knows how important the car’s engine is. It is the heart of the car, and like our human heart, the car’s heart needs to be taken care of for the car to function well.
Engine maintenance is key in keeping the car running for a long time.
In this article, we will discuss the many ways you can take good care of your engine so it can take care of you on the road.
Engine Oil
Using good quality engine oil is very important for the engine’s overall health. It is also important to regularly change the engine oil.
The recommended time for changing your engine oil is after 5000-7000 miles of running.
If you delay changing your engine oil, the engine’s performance will be hampered. Also, the damage done to the engine will be irrevocable.
The reason engine oil needs to be changed is that the oil becomes thick and undergoes oxidation over time. This thick oil makes it difficult for the engine to move its internal parts smoothly.
When buying motor oil for your engine, always opt for the best motor oil that’s available in the market. Trying to buy cheap engine oil will deteriorate your engine’s health, and you will end up paying more for repairs compared to what you save on the oil price.
Oil Filter
Whenever you get your engine oil changed, make sure your mechanic changes the oil filter. Buying a good quality oil filter is as important as the engine oil itself.
The purpose of the oil filter is to catch dirt and debris floating around in the oil and provide pure filtered oil to the engine for uninterrupted movement of the engine’s internal parts.
Over time as the oil filter does its job of catching dirt and debris, it starts to become clogged, so a new oil filter is needed to continue providing the engine with clean filtered oil.
Air Filter
The engine is the place where the process of combustion takes place. Combustion is when air and fuel are burnt to produce power that makes the car move. For your engine to perform well, it needs air, so it burns the fuel efficiently. This air enters the engine through the air filter.
If your air filter is dirty, then less air will enter the engine, and the combustion process will be inefficient. This will cause lower engine performance and high fuel consumption.
Replacing the air filter is easy. The air filter sits on top of the engine in a rectangular-shaped casing. You can remove the casing and take the filter out. Examine it to see how dirty it is. If it is too dirty, then replace it.
Spark Plug
Spark plugs are another important component in the engine that is responsible for combustion. As the valves in the engine allow the air and fuel mixture to enter, the spark plugs ignite the mixture creating a small explosion that releases energy to move the crankshaft.
If the spark plug is faulty, your engine’s performance will be hampered, and in some cases, your engine may not even start.
Some signs that your spark plug is faulty include; misfiring, knocking, rough idling, and hard-starting; if any of these signs are observed, you can be sure it’s a spark plug issue.
Misfire occurs when the combustion process in the engine is delayed, and the cylinder in the engine remains unfired.
Knocking is another problem caused by faulty spark plugs; in this condition, the combustion process occurs all at once instead of in small pockets to produce small bursts of energy.
If any of these problems occur, you need to take your car for an inspection. You can just change the spark plugs in most cases, and these problems will be resolved.
Timing Belt
The timing belt in the engine is responsible for the opening and closing of the valves to allow air and fuel to enter the engine for combustion. If your timing belts are damaged or faulty, the engine will not perform at its optimal level. The volume of air and fuel would be uneven, resulting in inefficient combustion.
If you experience any of the following, you should consider a timing belt issue; ticking noises coming from the engine, exhaust issues, and problems with ignition.
Changing the timing belt is an intricate task, which requires 4-6 hours of work. It’s also expensive, but if you don’t get it replaced, you could damage your engine, which will be a bigger expense.
Throttle Body And Injectors
You can increase your car’s engine performance by changing the throttle body and injectors. The throttle body is responsible for the amount of air entering the engine. It opens and closes to allow air to move in. If you want more power from your engine, you can change the throttle body to a larger size. This will allow more air and will increase horsepower by 25hp.
As you increase the throttle body, you will need to change the injectors as well. Fuel injectors are responsible for the amount of fuel entering the engine for combustion. If you have a large throttle body that allows more air into the engine but less fuel, you’ll lose power.
So creating a balance between the amount of air and fuel is important. More air needs more fuel to create more power. Change the car’s fuel injector so more fuel can enter the engine for combustion.
Cold Air Intake
Another modification you can make is by installing a cold air intake system. The air filter on the CAI is much larger than the stock air filters. This system also loses the curvy pipes and allows for air to enter the engine directly.
Cold air is denser, so it burns faster and better, producing more power as it burns.
Final Thoughts
There are many ways you can improve your engine’s performance. It starts with the basics like regular oil changes, and then you have many modification options like changing the throttle and injector. So it really depends on you how you want your engine to perform, and according to that, you can make the changes you require.