Originally Posted By: gathermewool
I didn't mean any offense. I took into consideration your low post count, lack of signature, and very general post and figured it was a joke to get a rise out of people.
Say WHAT?
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A reason to have a good discussion and even an argument on the subject, is because many people come here and will trust what they read. If the majority of the members posting indicate that 3k intervals are still the norm, like they were 20 years ago, then casual web-surfers may follow suit.
I have owned a number of cars, from a '62 bug to the '98 Isuzu Hombre I own now, AND a Cessna 172 upon which I performed (supervised) a major overhaul. I did oil and filter changes on all of them (my '73 VW thing had an oil filter adapter for a full-flow filter). On the Cessna, I changed oil every 50 hours with a filter, and every 25 hours without. On the '62 bug, I changed oil every 1500 miles (no filter, just a rock-catching screen). My wife owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. I have done the maintenance on all these vehicles and I find a conservative OC/FC interval serves the vehicles well.
All the vehicles got 3K OC/OF intervals except the ford which specifies 10K OC/FC intervals but gets them every 7.5K because I don't trust Ford. I do NOT take the word of the OEMs because I know marketing figures into any such recommendation, designed to sell parts and/or cars. How people can be hoodwinked into extending OCI past manufacturer's recommendations will be a mystery I take to my grave. I'll never understand.
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The reality is, oil and filter change intervals is heavily dependent on the car, type of driving and mechanical condition of the engine. Even still, 3k miles intervals is extremely short, and usually reserved for a very specific type of conditions/drivers. In other words, an extreme short-tripper, some one with a mucked up engine, or some one who races their car or drives in conditions that stress the engine and engine oil to extremes, or have known problem engines (DI/sludgers, etc.) are the types who would warrant short intervals. The only other type is probably like you, and either likes to change their oil, because it makes them feel good to do it as a hobby or pass-time. There are others still who cling to old wives tales about Pennzoil wax and change an oil that might last 10k miles at 3k miles, because they think it's absolutely required, regardless of what they read here on BITOG.
Disagree. So many assumptions in your statement I barely know where to begin. Regardless of driving conditions, on my truck, I utilize a 3k OC/OF interval, period. If I drove through a sandstorm, I'd change it as soon as I was in the clear but other than that, 3k. No exceptions. Not a hobby, a POLICY. My driving is a mix of short interval, city-street and freeway miles. Doing oil changes at that interval is not a hobby or a pastime, and it's insulting to suggest that, too. As for "old wives tales," it's insulting to use those in reference to those who are skeptical of ANY manufacturer's claims. Very simply, I do not believe the OEM recommendations. I don't believe filter makers' claims about extended intervals.
Finally, BITOG reminds me of guitar forums. I'm a semi-pro musician and I know how to get guitar tone I like. But on the guitar fora, there is the constant flavor of the week/month/etc and many of the users swim from pickups to pedals to maple/rosewood fretboards to spendy cables to digital modeling, like tiny prey fish in the shallows of the island of Tortola. They are all obsessed with getting the tone of their favorite guitar hero by buying gear. The truth is, what most of them need to do is play better. Gear won't help them sound better, playing better will. It's not about gear, it's about MUSIC.
Likewise, we've gone from hating Fram filters, with their cardboard end caps and minimal filter media, to hating Purolator filters which have had few media-tearing incidents. Oh dear, now Frams are the bees knees, even the OCOD.
Be it guitars or oil, I do not follow fashion nor fad. I follow a policy that ensures the inside of my engine will gleam, mirror-like, long after the folks doing 20K (or MORE!!!) OCIs will be buying new cars, rebuilding engines and so forth. Likewise, I change my guitar strings when they start sounding bad. Usually after two gigs or four practices. I BUILT the amps I use. I am not someone who takes the word of anyone when it comes to sound, I trust my ears. I trust my experience when it comes to vehicles and maintenance, not what some anonymous internet goober says.
Am I wrong to do that?
