I was wondering how Police departments base there oil change intervals on when the cars seem to do a great deal of idling? In my small town the cops always seem to do radar in the same spot and the cars sit with the engine running for long periods of time before they strike!
Cop car OCI
- Thread starter Camprunner
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Just like odometers they have a meter that keeps track of the idle hours.
Originally Posted By: evanautumn
Just like odometers they have a meter that keeps track of the idle hours.
Our newer fleet trucks and my new ram show both moving hours and stationary hours.
Note that idling in most modern cars is virtually wear free...
Just like odometers they have a meter that keeps track of the idle hours.
Our newer fleet trucks and my new ram show both moving hours and stationary hours.
Note that idling in most modern cars is virtually wear free...
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Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I know of a local dep't that does 4k mile OCI (regardless of hours) on patrol cars and 5k on admin vehicles.
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I used to take care of a fleet of Crown Vic Police Interceptors at the PD. I was told that 15 minutes of idle time is equivalent to 30 Miles of driving on highway.
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I used to take care of a fleet of Crown Vic Police Interceptors at the PD. I was told that 15 minutes of idle time is equivalent to 30 Miles of driving on highway.
Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I used to take care of a fleet of Crown Vic Police Interceptors at the PD. I was told that 15 minutes of idle time is equivalent to 30 Miles of driving on highway.
I thought I read here at BITOG that an hour idling was equal to 33 miles. I'm not positive where it came from originally however I'm sure I read it here.
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I used to take care of a fleet of Crown Vic Police Interceptors at the PD. I was told that 15 minutes of idle time is equivalent to 30 Miles of driving on highway.
I thought I read here at BITOG that an hour idling was equal to 33 miles. I'm not positive where it came from originally however I'm sure I read it here.
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
+1
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
+1
I would think that idling is harder on the oil since the motor is running at its hottest with no airflow through the radiator requiring the radiator fan to cycle on and off just to keep it from overheating,
In the days before OLMs, many would follow the severe service interval. Now, the OLM is followed. Of course, just like the rest of us, every department is different, as is every person in charge of maintenance. It's quite probable that some police cars never have adequate maintenance, while others get an oil change every 3,000 miles, needed or not.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I used to take care of a fleet of Crown Vic Police Interceptors at the PD. I was told that 15 minutes of idle time is equivalent to 30 Miles of driving on highway.
I thought I read here at BITOG that an hour idling was equal to 33 miles. I'm not positive where it came from originally however I'm sure I read it here.
Well regardless of the particulars, idling certainly isn't "wear free" and not even close to "virtually". Especially during a cold start up. Main reason I hate remote starters. 15 mins of higher metal to metal contact. Makes me cringe.
Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I used to take care of a fleet of Crown Vic Police Interceptors at the PD. I was told that 15 minutes of idle time is equivalent to 30 Miles of driving on highway.
I thought I read here at BITOG that an hour idling was equal to 33 miles. I'm not positive where it came from originally however I'm sure I read it here.
Well regardless of the particulars, idling certainly isn't "wear free" and not even close to "virtually". Especially during a cold start up. Main reason I hate remote starters. 15 mins of higher metal to metal contact. Makes me cringe.
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^ And sometimes they might go into dreaded bypass mode when responding Code 3 without a proper warmup.
Not many PSD cop cars but Ford estimates "one hour of idle time is equal to approximately 25 miles of driving."
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/DeiselTips/DLSIDLETIMESS.pdf
Not many PSD cop cars but Ford estimates "one hour of idle time is equal to approximately 25 miles of driving."
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/DeiselTips/DLSIDLETIMESS.pdf
Coincidentally, Amsoil just added an hour limit to their signature series oils. It's now 1 year, 700 hours, or 15,000/25,000 miles depending on severe or normal service.
Honestly I think going by hours is probably more accurate for any normal-use and high-idle time vehicle. My car has a trip computer for mpg and such and one of the niftiest things is the average speed. Hovers around 30mph as I've never reset it.
700 hours at 30 mph is 21,000 miles, but I'm definitely severe service (short tripper for work). You'd have to average 35 to reach 25,000 miles which may be do-able in a rural area.
For a specific use-case, you'd have to resort to oil analysis, recording engine on-time, vehicle stopped-time, and to start building a formula for that vehicle in that use case.
Honestly I think going by hours is probably more accurate for any normal-use and high-idle time vehicle. My car has a trip computer for mpg and such and one of the niftiest things is the average speed. Hovers around 30mph as I've never reset it.
700 hours at 30 mph is 21,000 miles, but I'm definitely severe service (short tripper for work). You'd have to average 35 to reach 25,000 miles which may be do-able in a rural area.
For a specific use-case, you'd have to resort to oil analysis, recording engine on-time, vehicle stopped-time, and to start building a formula for that vehicle in that use case.
It was mentioned earlier, but every department's SOP for vehicle maintenance varies.
During my tenure in law enforcement, our maintenance was governed by the Chief of Police. He was the 3000 mile/3 month kind of guy. I'd say that it was about right given the conditions...
Long idle times and 65-0-115-0mph (during speed enforcement) can take a toll on lubricants. We even kept our CVPIs and Chargers until 150.000 vs. other departments retiring them at 50-75,000.
During my tenure in law enforcement, our maintenance was governed by the Chief of Police. He was the 3000 mile/3 month kind of guy. I'd say that it was about right given the conditions...
Long idle times and 65-0-115-0mph (during speed enforcement) can take a toll on lubricants. We even kept our CVPIs and Chargers until 150.000 vs. other departments retiring them at 50-75,000.
Our agency is 5k intervals regardless of idling. Don't think we've ever had engine failures. More common is transmission failures because they never service them the car's entire life.
There is a case study of 3,000 OCI on a police car and it involves a bypass filter http://www.ntzfilter.com/pdf/HCSDCaseStudy.pdf
I read about this study when I was looking for a cost effective bypass system and believe the technology will pay off if you run your equipment more than the typical household. Ideal for police, EMS, delivery vehicle, construction, farm, etc.
I read about this study when I was looking for a cost effective bypass system and believe the technology will pay off if you run your equipment more than the typical household. Ideal for police, EMS, delivery vehicle, construction, farm, etc.
Originally Posted By: Dufus2
There is a case study of 3,000 OCI on a police car and it involves a bypass filter http://www.ntzfilter.com/pdf/HCSDCaseStudy.pdf
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Really gives merit to buying oil filters that might impede oil flow a bit but have a lower micron rating. (i.e. 3um vs. 6um)
There is a case study of 3,000 OCI on a police car and it involves a bypass filter http://www.ntzfilter.com/pdf/HCSDCaseStudy.pdf
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Really gives merit to buying oil filters that might impede oil flow a bit but have a lower micron rating. (i.e. 3um vs. 6um)
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I've seen a white paper where they idled 2 transit busses for 20 hours a day and several weeks, to determine the impact on the oil. turned out the oil was almost virgin after thetest...
Idling in modern cars is almost wear free? Any data to validate the statement? Ed
I've seen a white paper where they idled 2 transit busses for 20 hours a day and several weeks, to determine the impact on the oil. turned out the oil was almost virgin after thetest...
Our department has long done 5k OCI's on bulk Castrol GTX 5w20 dino with Motorcraft filters. Too long IMO given the hard use but they have never even bothered to do a UOA because they have had virtually no oil related problems.
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