Dead Horse Warning: What's with the short OCI's?

[DdDd]

All my cars have had oil changed at 10k or annually, whichever comes first. Old tech, new tech, never overthought.

Always used Mobil 1 synthetic. With rebates it's cheaper than conventional so why not.

Never had an oil related failure. All my engines run perfect. Sorry to disappoint everybody!

Perhaps my engines will only go to 350k miles instead of 700k. I don't care, will have lost interest long before then.

 

[CR94]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
... I have two late model Camrys, the in dash oil change monitors, as the manual promises, come on at 5000 miles, so 7500 is NOT the norm.
... because that's not an elaborately programmed oil life monitor like many other manufacturers provide, but just a dumb mileage counter than doesn't know whether whether you're doing a few long highway trips or hundreds of very short ones in that 5000 miles. It's irrelevant to discussions of the merits of oil life monitors.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Severe service?


Few vehicles operate under severe service. Put another way, if most of your driving is on pavement, regardless of the outside temperature, and you are not idling for hours a day, it's not severe service.

 

[WyrTwister]

Originally Posted By: HoosierJeeper
Oil is cheap, engines aren't!!


Bingo !

You hit the nail precisely on the head !

Best wishes to all ,

 

[theeagleflies]

FWIW. OLM seems to run out at ~6300mi in the 2016 GDI LT1. Been changing 2 times a year...late spring and late fall. this equates to +-5k miles; OLM under 20%. Oil smells like fuel fumes at the change, stinks up the garage when draining it. actually the smell is similar to the 'blow by' i empty out of the catch can attached to the pcv valve/port.

Would not consider 10k oil changes at this point; then there keeping up with the recommended intervals and documnetation in case warranty is needed.

 

[DBMaster]

I've been doing 10,000 mile OCIs since about 1992. Using microGreen filters I'm now using 30,000 mile OCIs. The mere thought of it will probably populate many of your nightmares. I am comforted thinking about how much less used oil I've disposed of than the rest of you. 8-{D>

 

[Ammofirst]

In my Rainier with its 4200 vortec I -6 & 7 quart sump I did change to 10k oci's. Mostly hwy / port injected / no turbo. No problem. In our other Buick, a Regal 2.0T. I'm at 5k oci's & may go to 4K. You should see & smell the oil when it's drained. Not purdy. People need the right info. To determine the oci length.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: bigj_16
Originally Posted By: SF0059
Originally Posted By: bigj_16

Is the Honda a DI engine?


No, it isn't. But this particular J-Series V6 is known for being hard on oil, along with the Nissan VQ. But the issue with those isn't fuel dilution.

It is just a mean engine and hates its' oil.

I know Honda is replacing the V-6 in the new Accord for 2018 with a turbo 4. I don't don't anything about it, but I would assume it is a TDI?




It will be the same 1.5 Earth Dreams engine currently in the Civic and the CRV. Turbo and GDI. Fuel dilution is very prevalent with these engines.

 

[bbhero]

That's funny even though you did not mean it to be. Especially the nightmare part. Having said that, I am glad that you have found a way that works very well for you.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: homeyclaus
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Originally Posted By: homeyclaus
So let me start another thread on this. It's now 2017. Newer cars have oil life monitors. Yet I see late model cars in the UOA section with 5000 mile or less OCIs, with great results and lots of life left on the oil. Why? I mean it's better than 3000 mile OCI's, since we're not in the 70's anymore, but 7500 mi OCIs have been the norm for Japanese designs for over 15 years now.
I have two late model Camrys, the in dash oil change monitors, as the manual promises, come on at 5000 miles, so 7500 is NOT the norm.
Neitherof my manuals says anything about the OLM referencing tire rotation, they say when the "Maint Req" light comes on, which will be 5000 miles after the last reset, it's time to change it again. Perhaps the truck sumps are larger and change intervals can be longer.

So does my Tundra, but it's for a tire rotation and an oil change every other light. At least that's what the FSM and friendly owner's manual say to me.
I can read as well, and my 08 V6 manual says the "Maint Req" reminder comes on 5000 miles after the last reset --- which it does. The book says nothing about tire rotation at 5000. I have owned several I 4 Camrys
and always ran them out to 7500 miles in warm weather on Mobil 1. I really enjoy the VVT V6 engine in the 08 and will follow Toyota's 5000 mile requirement and continue to use Mobil 1. Perhaps the latest versions have extended change intervals even with VVT and perhaps the truck engine sumps are larger leading to longer intervals.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
That's funny even though you did not mean it to be. Especially the nightmare part. Having said that, I am glad that you have found a way that works very well for you.


Oh, I DID mean it to be funny. My first 10K OCIs were done on my 89 Honda Accord. I wrecked it at 353,000 miles so I'll never know how much longer the engine could have run flawlessly. My current vehicle has a DI engine - 2012 Mazda3 Skyactiv. On the first 30K OCI I had a UOA performed. The oil was still serviceable with a decent TBN score. That was enough validation for me. I've learned that with much more minimal maintenance than I was performing 21st century engines are capable of lasting longer than I want to keep the vehicle that they motivate. I enjoy knowing about my car and saving money by doing my own work, but add a new hobby to your repertoire. Today's vehicles destroy your antiquated notions of required maintenance.

Think about it. When I was a kid it was pretty common to pull tubes from TVs and take them your local hardware store or Radio Shack to test them to fix TV issues. Cars had points that required adjustment and periodic replacement. We're living in a time period in which you do not have to be a slave to your possessions to maximize their value. Think of all the time that frees to do other things.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: homeyclaus
So let me start another thread on this. It's now 2017. Newer cars have oil life monitors. Yet I see late model cars in the UOA section with 5000 mile or less OCIs, with great results and lots of life left on the oil. Why? I mean it's better than 3000 mile OCI's, since we're not in the 70's anymore, but 7500 mi OCIs have been the norm for Japanese designs for over 15 years now.


Until they start doing long blocks for sludge and engine damage then they change their tune but quick, 3K or 3 months with synthetic was one recommendation. I never saw an engine damaged or have sludge from changing the oil too soon but on the other side....
I go 5K on synthetic and haven't used dino since the mid 80's. No sludge, varnish or leaks on any engine I owned since new, I am not changing.

 

[bbhero]

Interesting. I think that trying to keep stuff for as long as possible is a good thing too. I bet your Honda could have gone 500-600k miles or maybe more. I do like the idea of you or anyone having a car that lasted that well that long. I don't like our throw away society all that much. Something my grandparents and great grandparents understood was the value in keeping things and taking care of them. I do like seeing older cars running around that have been taken good care of inside and out. My lady's 98 Camry for that bill. Easy to take care of in a number of ways. There's something to be said for buying good and keeping long.

 

[fdcg27]

Some newer cars have IOLMs and some don't.
GM and Honda products have them while Toyota and Subaru products don't, for example.
Subaru recommends 6K drains for the newer Forester, so that's what it'll get.
The newer Accord recommends MM >15% drains, so that's what it has gotten for the past 75K from new.
Some engines can be safely run for well beyond 10K on a drain while others can't.
The owner needs to educate himself and decide what a safe drain interval might be.
One interval doesn't suit the wide variety of engines out there. Some are fine for well beyond 10K while others would benefit from more frequent drains and there is often the warranty to consider.
Horses for courses.

 

[gathermewool]

Oil is cheap, engines aren’t! That’s why I leave my Fumoto cracked open a little. I add about a quart every few days and change it every weekend! Peace of mind, ya’all!

 

[JoelB]

I love having fresh oil in my engine. Gives me piece of mind that it's got good protection. But I'm trying to force myself to go longer and longer OCI's since I know there is no harm in pushing past 3k miles.

 

[JustN89]

Originally Posted By: oldhp
At close to the 2K/3 mo the VVT valve train starts to get noticeably louder.

This right here is why I don't extend my OCI. Seemingly no matter what I run, I get the VVT noise on start-up after 3K miles. My last OCI was PUPPP and it was nearly spot on 3K miles, I started hearing it. Change the oil and boom, silence. I'm giving up and looking for a good, API licensed synthetic with as much moly as I can find that I can find cheap. I'm thinking of going with QSUD and sticking with short OCIs. Last VOA of QSUD 5W-30 (2014) showed that it had over 240 ppm of moly, but I think the formula has changed since then. I'm sending off a sample soon for analysis which will hopefully show it with a good amount of moly still.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
...
Think about it. When I was a kid it was pretty common to pull tubes from TVs and take them your local hardware store or Radio Shack to test them to fix TV issues. Cars had points that required adjustment and periodic replacement. We're living in a time period in which you do not have to be a slave to your possessions to maximize their value. Think of all the time that frees to do other things.


When I was a kid, those tube testers were fixtures in every drugstore, too. I can vividly remember my dad taking the cover off the back of our old set and trudging over to the local Rexall Drugs and back, looking mad and muttering the whole time. He seemed to like the one tube at a time method, the store was only a block away and I guess he was worried about getting everything back in the right place when he was done.
Our Rexall was a really weird place, right next to the tube tester there was a big display of various preserved critters in jars of formaldehyde...I can only assume this was a particular interest of the owner of that store and not all Rexalls had this. I can't remember a single thing from this display ever being sold, but I did love to look at one locust in a jar that must have been a good 5 inches long.

At least you COULD fix your set yourself back in those days, but TVs are so much more reliable now...solid state FTW. I think vacuum tubes are truly bizarre devices (electrons boil off a cathode because it's really hot?!?!??!) and initially couldn't believe they were actually practical devices when I learned about them back in college, but they survived in mass market applications as CRTs until fairly recently and as the magnetron in your microwave oven even today.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
...
Think about it. When I was a kid it was pretty common to pull tubes from TVs and take them your local hardware store or Radio Shack to test them to fix TV issues. Cars had points that required adjustment and periodic replacement. We're living in a time period in which you do not have to be a slave to your possessions to maximize their value. Think of all the time that frees to do other things.


When I was a kid, those tube testers were fixtures in every drugstore, too. I can vividly remember my dad taking the cover off the back of our old set and trudging over to the local Rexall Drugs and back, looking mad and muttering the whole time. He seemed to like the one tube at a time method, the store was only a block away and I guess he was worried about getting everything back in the right place when he was done.
Our Rexall was a really weird place, right next to the tube tester there was a big display of various preserved critters in jars of formaldehyde...I can only assume this was a particular interest of the owner of that store and not all Rexalls had this. I can't remember a single thing from this display ever being sold, but I did love to look at one locust in a jar that must have been a good 5 inches long.

At least you COULD fix your set yourself back in those days, but TVs are so much more reliable now...solid state FTW. I think vacuum tubes are truly bizarre devices (electrons boil off a cathode because it's really hot?!?!??!) and initially couldn't believe they were actually practical devices when I learned about them back in college, but they survived in mass market applications as CRTs until fairly recently and as the magnetron in your microwave oven even today.
The "boil off" works in conjunction with a positive voltage on the plate which attracts the electrons, which must pass the "grid". The "grid" causes the electron stream to follow the amplitude of the input signal applied to it. If you look at high power TV transmitters you will find big power triodes and tetrodes still in use. A lightning shot on a transmitting antenna is much less likely to blow up a big tube, many of which are water cooled.

 

[WyrTwister]

I bid on a project at a TV transmitter . Had a glycol chiller that was used in some way , yo cool the electronics .

But did not get the little project .

Best wishes ,