Recommended motor oil - 2008 Kia Optima

Changing the oil yourself.

Changing the oil in a personal vehicle is fairly straight forward and easy. The first thing you need to do is to make the underneath of your vehicle accessible. You can do this a few different ways. You can use drive up ramps, a floor jack and jack stands or if you’re lucky enough to have access you can put your vehicle on a lift. No matter what your decision is you must take proper safety measures to keep your vehicle from moving while you are underneath. Always use jack stands and your emergency brake with tire wedges if you are not using a full lift.

Next you need to locate your oil drain plug, which is on the bottom of the oil pan. Remove it and drain the oil into some type of drain pan or bucket. After replacing the oil pan plug locate your oil filter and remove it. Replace the filter and lower your vehicle. Now, remove the oil cap that is at the top of the motor and fill the motor to the recommended level. Start the car after making sure there are not any leaks. After letting the vehicle run for a few moments, shut it off and check the oil level. If everything is OK, then you are done and have just saved your self a few bucks.
An oil change can make a dramatic impact on how your can runs and feels. The difference of a motor with fresh oil and one with old oil is huge. You could compare oil changes to dialysis; oil is your motors blood. When your oil is old and dirty your motor will feel sluggish, like a dialysis patient before their session and it will have to work harder for the results that would have been easy with clean oil. Motor oil affects almost every moving part in a motor. With clean oil everything will run smooth in unison affecting gas mileage and the life of the motor. Most manufactures recommend changing your oil every three thousand miles or if you don’t dive that much every three months, there are manufactures that recommend every five thousand miles but a higher grade and more expensive oil needs to be used.