Can I go 10k - 15k miles on...

[CardGuy]

M1 5-30? Vehicle is 2002 Mazda Protoge with the 2.0L. I don't plan on doing a UOA because that would involve getting under the car to get a sample, I could just change the oil instead if I have to crawl under, but with winter coming I want to avoid this if possible because I have no garage here in MN. Would I be better off going with Amsoil on a 10k - 15k mile change interval?

Driving habits are 115 miles a day commute where 75% of that is constant hiway.

 

[Al]

I wouldn't go that distance unless I had an oil sample around the 8K mile mark (max). If your engine is O.K> (no coolant leaks, dilution, intake leaks..no problem. But I wouldn't chance it. Either Mobil 1 or Amsoil can go that distance if the engine is O.K.

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by CardGuy:
M1 5-30? Vehicle is 2002 Mazda Protoge with the 2.0L. I don't plan on doing a UOA because that would involve getting under the car to get a sample, I could just change the oil instead if I have to crawl under, but with winter coming I want to avoid this if possible because I have no garage here in MN. Would I be better off going with Amsoil on a 10k - 15k mile change interval?

Driving habits are 115 miles a day commute where 75% of that is constant hiway.

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As to the sampling, for about $25 you can get a really nice hand pump that will draw a sample from your dipstick tube any time without going near the underside of your car. Whole process takes mabye two minutes. With the Blackstone version, the sample bottle screws right on the oil goes right into it, nice and easy.

If you want to do the same thing cheaper, use some clear, narrow guage tubing and suck oil up into the tube, then empty into the sample container. Repeat until container is full. Use a clear tube so that it's very obvious when to stop. GC may smell like Gummi Bears to some but I doubt it tastes the same. . .

 

[msparks]

quote:

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Originally posted by ekpolk:

If you want to do the same thing cheaper, use some clear, narrow guage tubing and suck oil up into the tube, then empty into the sample container. Repeat until container is full. Use a clear tube so that it's very obvious when to stop. GC may smell like Gummi Bears to some but I doubt it tastes the same. . .

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DON'T I repeat DO NOT do this. USED OIL is Carcnogenic(sp) the vapors contain BENZENE and other harmful compounts. You do not want to breathe in the vapors or get that stuff in your mouth.

 

[ruking77]

That is a BIG HUGE 10-4 !!! Translation BIG NO NO

While it might be considered remote, if you inhale vaporized oil and it gets inside your lungs, it physically can block the oxygen exchange. This of course is MOST easy to mis- diagnose when you go to the ER complaining of shortness of breath.

More on track I would have no problem with either Mobil One 5w30 or Amsoil. If you have any misgivings establish a baseline say at 5/10 which will tell you beyond a doubt given your application and driving conditions to either change at one of the baselines or go to 12-20k.

 

[Gary Allan]

You do about 28k a year. Go into Winter with your oil of choice (you're already there). Drain and test in the spring (9k). If oil test that it would have been good for continued use, wait until the last reasonable temperature bout to change it again (no garage) and then just do 6 month OCI's with the same oil from there on.


As far as the human syphon ...it's not recommended ..but many of us have been sucking fumes of all kinds for decades and lived to tell about it. I'm more lazy than I am cheap ..so a vampire would be my tool of choice.

 

[427Z06]

Oil Sampling Pump

 

[Eiron]

My current OCI is planned for 20k mi (regardless of time) on M1 0W-40 in my '90 Saab 900 (2.0L 16v NA). But that's after a stellar 6,500 mi/13 mo UOA on M1 15W-50 & a very extended A-Rx clean/rinse. If you're driving 115 mi/day (2,300 mi/mo for 20 commuting days), then 10k mi OCIs should be ****ed awuful easy for M1. I'd go 20k/1yr on this kind of driving schedule (my annual mileage is about half what yours is), but I'd also do a few 10k mi interval UOAs just to know what's going on. You don't have to do it forever (heck, you don't have to do it at all!), but it vouldn't hoit!

 

[CardGuy]

Thanks everyone. I guess I still haven't made up my mind on what I'm going to do, but I do have some more info to help me decide thanks to you. I'll have to check back on Monday and see what more info is waiting for me. Does anyone know of a cheaper place to get a uoa done than Blackstone? I don't doubt that blackstone is top notch, but I'm just not into paying that much for this service. If I can get a cheaper uoa that will at least tell me if I am really doing major damage to my engine then I would be just as happy with that.

Thanks again!

 

[williar]

If the factory recommends a 7500-mile OCI, then a 10K OCI with M1 5w30 should fine with the miles that you're putting on. I probably wouldn't go more than that without an oil analysis as your car's sump is none too large.

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by CardGuy:
Does anyone know of a cheaper place to get a uoa done than Blackstone?

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Contact one of the Schaeffer's reps on this sight. You get 6 samples for around $45 (or less). Its O.K. but it doesn't include flash, sodium, potassium and a couple other things. But its a great value when you do a lot of oil analysis and are interested how the oil is working.

 

[mikemc]

The best advice would be to do a 6 to 8 K interval and then a UOA to get an idea of how things are going. That's the only really safe way to determine if a longer interval will work.