Summer’s coming, and with it, warmer temperatures, vacations, and longer trips. We don’t want to be downers, but if your car’s cooling system isn’t up to par, things could go from fun-in-the-sun to stranded-in-the-sun too quickly for anyone’s liking. Because the truth is: cooling system failure is a leading cause of vehicle breakdowns.
 
Don’t let it come to that.  
 
The easiest way to make sure your summer plans stay on course is to pay attention to your vehicle’s cooling system now, while the weather’s still mild. Trust us, you’ll avoid a lot of aggravation, and possibly an unnecessary expensive vehicle repair. 
 
Here’s how to maintain your cooling system.

Our service centers offer full-service preventative maintenance and auto repair, providing comprehensive car care services for your domestic or import vehicle to keep it running at full power. For questions, contact your local service center, and our experts will help determine what needs to be done.

Whether you have a car that's been sitting a little too long or a fleet that needs a basic check, we can get your vehicle back on the road quickly, and we work with your insurance company to ensure you get the best repair job at a competitive price.

Motor oil can be a confusing beast that results in a number of questions. Do I really need synthetic? Does my new car take conventional? Understanding the basics of the different types of oil will help you answer these questions.

Synthetic motor oils are designed to excel at extreme temperatures. Regular motor oils are mineral-based: they come from crude oil that is taken out of the ground and run through a refinery. Synthetics, on the other hand, are man-made in a chemical plant. They tend to be more consistent in viscosity over various temperatures.

While synthetics can improve your engine performance, they don't eliminate the need for regular oil changes. Synthetics can handle heat better than regular motor oil, but additives can only work for so long and the engine will still contaminate the oil.



You see those cryptic combinations of letters and numbers on motor oil bottles everywhere. What do they mean?  To decipher them, you have to understand viscosity. Viscosity measures how much the motor oil can resist flow. In other words, if you tip a motor oil bottle over, how fast it spills out indicates its viscosity. The more viscous, the slower it moves.

Octane. You see the word every time you visit the gas station but what does it mean?  Octane ratings measure fuel's ability to resist engine knock. Engine knock is caused by fuel being ignited by something other than the spark plug.

Before you buy your next light bulb you should know the ins and outs of halogen bulbs!  Most new-model vehicles have halogen headlights because they produce more light than a regular bulb. Be careful: like all halogen lights, touching the glass bulb means that bulb is contaminated with oil that can heat up and cause burnouts more quickly.
 



We all know that we should get around to changing our oil more often, yet more times than we’d like to admit, that dashboard light stays on for an extended period of time.

It is very important not to put it off for long. Changing your oil on a regular basis is the best way to maximize the life of your car, maximize horsepower and make sure all cylinders are firing.

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South Platte Auto Center LLC

143 Edwards Ave
Sterling, CO 80751
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location small (970) 522-7501
FAX : (970) 522-7272
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Weekdays:   7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: CLOSED
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