Busting Car Myths: What's True and What's False?

There are loads of car-related myths that simply won't die even with the presence of the Internet and the ease by which we can look up information. Then again, the Internet, especially social media, has also become a great source of misinformation and the so-called "fake news".

Luckily, the false beliefs of yesteryear can now be debunked this 2019 so that unsuspecting victims can stop living in falsehoods and face a brave new world of truths and facts.

Busting The Following Myths One After Another

  • Your car should be warmed up by keeping it idle for a long time: You don't need to do this for modern cars. Keeping it idle for too long will just waste gas. Today's modern cars can work fine by keeping them idle for around 30 seconds or half a minute. The continuing march of technology has turned this fact into a myth.
  • Your car performs faster when you use premium fuel: In most cases this is a myth. The only cases where this is applicable is when your car's compression ratio is above 11:1, it uses turbocharged engines, or it has direct-fuel injection. Standard compression ratio cars at 8:1 don't require premium gas.
  • You need to change your oil every 4,000 kilometers or so: Instead of going by the 4,000-kilometer rule of thumb, consult your car manual and go by its specific recommendations. Not all models of cars require oil changes at the same rates. Go with the specifics every time in order to keep yourself from wasting oil change money needlessly.
  • It's better to buy gas from branded gas stations compared to the unbranded ones: Not necessarily. Many gas stations import fuel from the same countries. They all follow the same fuel regulations as well. There's no difference going from a branded or non-branded type of oil to be honest. You can avail of special fuel with modifiers like conditioners and whatnot instead.
  • Pumping gas on a specific time of the day will save you more money: No. This isn't true at all. It's hearsay to claim that pumping gas during the mornings will save you money due to the gas being denser around that time. No, more gas won't be poured unto your tank whether it's morning or evening. This is simply wishful thinking from idle minds.
  • Using your cellphone while pumping gas will make your car explode: This is only partially true in extremely rare instances involving a defective battery that can cause a spark from your phone. A regular, functioning mobile phone or smartphone with its signals and whatnot won't cause any explosions at all. The true culprits are fuel vapors and static electricity. That's why there are signs on gas stations for you to turn your cellphone off.

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