3000 miles oil changes

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Like others have said, I've subscribed to the thinking that a set mileage for an OCI isn't always a good idea in many cases.


Yep. Two cars. Both do 3k/month. One is a taxi. One is a sales person who travels between major metro areas. Both are mismatched for fuel used over the mileage accumulated. One is changing it at (probably) the appropriate time at 4k ..the other would not be (probably) at 9k.

YMMV
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OLM solves all of this guess work. You just set your personal limit in %. It will stretch out or compress automatically for the conditions that you're subjecting it to.
 
Nyquist, you have it..... different OCI's for different situations. Thats whats interesting about this forum, all the different oils used, different OCI's, etc. with most of the posters convinced that their method is the only correct one!

Frankn4 wants his cars to last a long time, and is apparently succesful. I have been at the opposite OCI extreme, changing Mobil 1 0W20 at 20,000 mile OCI's, also successfully. As noted in previous posts, my 3.1 litre minivan has completed 250 k miles as an extreme use tow vehicle, towing 4,880 lbs 4 days a week, some times 800 miles on the hottest weekend of summer (last August up to johnnys back yard).
Our commuter Escort has also completed 250 K miles on the same
OCI interval, and BOTH engines seem exactly like new, do not burn oil, leak oil and are quiet.

Now with them both at 15 years old, they have been replaced with new Toyotas (Sienna and Corolla) and now I am doing 5K OCI's
to keep the warranty intact.

And I hope everyone stops asking me "how come you are towing an $80K boat with a $800 minivan?)
Anyway, the answer should have been obvious: It leaves more money to spend on the boat!!
 
Originally Posted By: FrankN4


Whatever you wish to do to/with/by your personal vehicles, you certainly have my best wishes and I hope you the best of luck. Use only what you believe to be the very best under what you consider the best conditions. When you get to 2,000,000 miles with an average close to 200,000 miles per vehicle, lets talk again. Imagine the stories we could tell and the experiences we could share.

Time to say goodnight , Frank.


Only 2,000,000 miles? Seriously when you get close to 10 million, let me know.
I rarely ever sell a vehicle before 300,000 miles. I've been driving for over 50 years - closer to 60 years. I have one vehicle in my driveway right now that has over 200,000 miles. Runs great, uses no oil, and passes Ca. smog test the first time every time with flying colors.
OCI? 5K - 8K miles - occasionally 10K miles. Synthetic the first 50K miles - didn't see any difference in performance or MPG so went to dino and/or blend. FWIW - mostly Valvoline.

I've had several cars go over 300,000 miles with dino oil, and some of those were engines with a carburetor and 5k - 8K OCI I have NEVER had an oil related failure. On virtually every one of the cars the body is wore out LONG before the engine is.

On one of my vehicles, the engine was moved to 2 different vehicles before it was retired. Hard to say the exact mileage - but somewhere in the 450K mile range.

There are some instances were 3K OCI is warranted. Cases where people drive that amount or less a year. I have one vehicle that fits into this category.

But for a daily driver, MOST of the time 3K OCI is grossly wasteful - especially with Synthetic oil.
 
I use Castrol GTX 5W-30 in my grandmother's 2000 Buick Park Avenue. I go 3k/6months, which usually come around the same time. The oil always looks good, but smells badly of fuel. She's a short tripper, and also, not an occasional trip taker. I feel it's best to stick with dino in her case, and do what I've been doing so far. The car's engine is the smoothest engine I have ever heard. Not a tick, not a single tap, nada. But, it has 55k miles on it, lol. 55k miles in 9 years. Like I said, not an occasional trip taker.
 
Originally Posted By: FrankN4


When you get to 2,000,000 miles with an average close to 200,000 miles per vehicle, lets talk again.


I often hear people saying things just like this, but that doesn't mean that the 3000 mile OCIs are the only way you could've gotten that many miles out of each vehicle. What if during all those years you had decided that a 1000 mile interval was the way to go, would you be coming on here and saying that the only way to get long life is to do 1000 mile intervals?

Simply put, there is a 99% chance that if you had done 5000 mile intervals with conventional oil you still would not have had an engine failure.

So for all those people out there that have stories like "I have always changed my oil every 3k and never wore out an engine", that isn't proof at all that engines can't last longer if the interval had been longer. Oil doesn't just die at the 3000 mile mark.
 
I am sure of one thing........

I bet my oil drain plugs and washers last way longer than Frankn4's!!

20 K OCI's, 250 K miles and still no wear on the drain plug!! LOL
 
Originally Posted By: Patman


When you get to 2,000,000 miles with an average close to 200,000 miles per vehicle, lets talk again.


I often hear people saying things just like this, but that doesn't mean that the 3000 mile OCIs are the only way you could've gotten that many miles out of each vehicle. What if during all those years you had decided that a 1000 mile interval was the way to go, would you be coming on here and saying that the only way to get long life is to do 1000 mile intervals?
[/quote]

I NEVER said my way is the only way, I only stated that it was my way, my practice, something that has been 100% successful for me. I made a report in response to a request.

Code:
Only 2,000,000 miles? Seriously when you get close to 10 million, let me know


oldmaninsc, I am impressed to say the least. My 2,000,000 miles are on 11 vehicles since 1990. If you add in one carryover that I already had in 1990, it brings my average vehicle life up to just over 198,000 miles with never an engine failure, no leaks, seeps, no consumption/burning, easy start, but I only go down to about 0 F. I have always got better than EPA mileage estimates.

If I were to go back to my first car in 1960 and my first new car in 1964, I still think I would be less than 10,000,000 miles. From 1969 to 1976, I drove from Ft Lauderdale, Fla to Dayton, Ohio up to two times a month. I have driven all over the US, hunting trips to Kansas, fishing trips to California, vacations trips to New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Ba-ha Mexico, way up into Canada.

This doesn't include the thousands of miles of motorcycle tours, especially on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Cherokee, NC to its intersection with I-64 going to Fredericksburg, VA, and return.

We hope to make a trip to Alaska in July of 2010, depending upon my health holding out. We will drive our 2008 Silverado with full camper pack. I want to catch a Steelhead of at least 12 pounds(just a minnow) on one of my own hand tied flies. MY wife wants to take a tour that needs one of those special ice/snow vehicles. I guess I would be willing to ride a snow/ice cat in exchange for a 12 pound steelhead.
wink.gif


I have enjoyed all of our travels and I think our two girls really enjoyed them also. They are married with their own families now. One teaches 8th grade and one is a criminologist that teaches some special people.

It has been a fun, exciting, and rewarding life.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I have 67,400 miles on an 88 Ford E-150, I have your grandma beat I think.
cheers3.gif



One of my friend's grandma put only 40k on her '87 Nissan Pulsar NX... Would've bought it if it wasn't for the fact that it was rusting and everything was breaking anyways.
LOL.gif
 
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc


Seriously when you get close to 10 million, let me know.


Is the 10,000,000 a typo or what? I can see a truck driver doing this on a rig, but not average joe doing this with multiple vehicles. It's too many miles - you would have to drive 450 miles every single day for 60 years to get that kind of mileage!!
Isn't that like 165,000 miles a year????
 
Originally Posted By: txrhino
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc


Seriously when you get close to 10 million, let me know.


Is the 10,000,000 a typo or what? I can see a truck driver doing this on a rig, but not average joe doing this with multiple vehicles. It's too many miles - you would have to drive 450 miles every single day for 60 years to get that kind of mileage!!
Isn't that like 165,000 miles a year????



Wow!
 
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I have 67,400 miles on an 88 Ford E-150, I have your grandma beat I think.
cheers3.gif



One of my friend's grandma put only 40k on her '87 Nissan Pulsar NX... Would've bought it if it wasn't for the fact that it was rusting and everything was breaking anyways.
LOL.gif



I've been using my E-150 a little more lately, the Jeep took its slot in the garage. The E-150 now sits under a carport when I'm not using it. It is mint. I gassed it up today the station owner came out and wanted to buy it, that happens a lot. What people like about it is its a stick, and there aren't many 5 speed E-150's around. I won't sell it. My goal is when it hits 25 years old it won't have to go on the dyno for state inspections anymore, it will be safety checks only.

I use it for business and it turns some heads because I always try and have it clean.
 
Hey guys don't forget about the 1,000,000 mile '90 Chevy truck...the guy did 3k with Pennzoil dino and never had the motor fail.
 
Originally Posted By: txrhino
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc


Seriously when you get close to 10 million, let me know.


Is the 10,000,000 a typo or what? I can see a truck driver doing this on a rig, but not average joe doing this with multiple vehicles. It's too many miles - you would have to drive 450 miles every single day for 60 years to get that kind of mileage!!
Isn't that like 165,000 miles a year????


So we have someone who is good at math!

No the 10 million wasn't a typo, it was sarcasm.

Where did I say that I had personally driven that many miles? I said: "Only 2,000,000 miles? Seriously when you get close to 10 million, let me know."
I then went on to explain my experience both with my own vehicles and some of my family's vehicles.
The point was that 3k OCI is not the only way to achieve high mileage.

I suppose if you added together all the vehicles I was responsible for the maintenance on (for my family and a couple of close friends) - 10 million miles would be obtainable.

FWIW, my father was a trucker for about 40 years, and I did work for him for several years as well.
So like Frank, I've driven a lot of miles in this country. I think I've driven in just about every state with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska.
 
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I had to laugh after reading this thread, then I got in the truck. Radio ad for O'Reilly's Auto comes on, something like this:

"Spring is at time where people worry about how their car looks. But how clean the engine is is much more important for a smooth-running car. Be sure to change the oil BEFORE it gets dirty, every 3 months or 3,000 miles."

Oh really, O'Reilly? So we are supposed to change it BEFORE it gets dirty? Gee, maybe I should stop by O'Reilly's every 300 miles to pick up oil and filter. You never know when my oil might start getting dirty.

John
 
Get rid of the three FOREIGN cars and buy another American made F-150.
 
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One member's engine internals after 122k of 10k changes on Syntec.

122k_miles.jpg


What is to be gained at 3k? Oh, the "piece of mind" that comes with OCD rather than the piece of mind that comes with rationality.
 
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