Driving distance is shorter, keep the same OCI?

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Hey fellas,

We are buying a home that will put us both 20 minutes from our jobs, instead of 45-60 minutes. Both vehicles will get all highway still.

Should 20 minutes be long enough to heat everything up to burn all the moisture out, etc? I have been doing 5-6k oil changes on both vehicles.

Thanks!
 
Does the driving involve a lot of stop start traffic or high speed driving? for example my job is only 7.5 miles from my house, but it's all highway driving at 60+ mph so the engine is hot and warmed up when i get there, and it also never goes below 30 F where i live, so outside temperatures are also something to consider, short trips in cold weather are the absolute worst for any engine.
I'd say Mobil 1 0w20 Extended performance would be good for the 2 cars you have.
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Does the driving involve a lot of stop start traffic or high speed driving? for example my job is only 7.5 miles from my house, but it's all highway driving at 60+ mph so the engine is hot and warmed up when i get there, and it also never goes below 30 F where i live, so outside temperatures are also something to consider, short trips in cold weather are the absolute worst for any engine.
I'd say Mobil 1 0w20 Extended performance would be good for the 2 cars you have.


No it's all highway, in the country. Very light traffic even during "rush hour". Speeds range from 55-60 on the stretch of road we use. The only "city" driving they will get is on the weekends when we go into town for shopping, etc.
 
20 minutes will be ok most of the time because your oci's are not considered "extended". But during the arctic blast the engine won't even be fully warmed up after 20 minutes driving(haha. Remember when winter was called winter?).

I guess you should change the oil in March or April after threat of arctic temps has passed.
 
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I would say that 20 minutes is really close to the borderline; it may be enough to warm the engine oil properly and it may not be enough to do so, or it may be enough under some driving conditions and not others.

Do you have a proper direct reading oil temperature gauge in the vehicle? Could you install one, even temporarily?

Generate your baseline by noting the stable temperature each vehicle reaches in your 45~60 minute commute (or a similar drive if you've already moved). By getting your target oil temperature this way you eliminate issues around such things as exactly where you are measuring the temperature (and is why I'm not suggesting a certain temperature which would be "OK").

Then see if you are able to reach that baseline at least most of the time in your shorter 20 minute commute.

I would also want to mention that you really don't want the oil to *just reach* the target temperature as you roll into the parking lot at work ... ideally the oil will spend some time at the target temperature to cook out moisture, etc. It doesn't happen instantly.

If you do have issues getting the temperature up, I would suggest incorporating an oil heat exchanger (is that the correct term?) whereby the engine oil is both heated and cooled by the engine coolant. It serves two purposes; it brings the oil up to temperature sooner, and then removes some heat to achieve a desireable, stable, hot oil temperature.

Some OEMs use them; I know VW does, and my Miata has one. Or, some Automatic Transmission-equipped vehicles have transmission oil "cooler" lines as part of the radiator, but they are essentially the same thing, ie they warm as well as cool. You might be able to add an aftermarket transmission oil cooler (which usually work very well, better than the rad cooler setup) and then use the rad cooler lines to warm/cool/stabilize the engine oil. If you have a manual transmission, which will not have it, you can sometimes swap in an auto-trans radiator that has the feature.
 
20 minute drive is perfect, keep doing what you are doing. I can't believe the nitpicking from people who have replied to this thread. Lol

Apparently if you don't have an hour or longer commute, you're engine oil won't get warm enough and your engine will implode...
 
Originally Posted By: Branson304
20 minute drive is perfect, keep doing what you are doing. I can't believe the nitpicking from people who have replied to this thread. Lol

Apparently if you don't have an hour or longer commute, you're engine oil won't get warm enough and your engine will implode...


+1

The oil works for us.

We don't have a job, own a vehicle and drive it to work to keep the oil happy.
 
I even thought since my truck will probably get 11-13k a year on it now, just doing it spring and fall unless the OLM goes off first. Which is unlikely since it wants to go towards 10k. It gets a full syn and wouldn't be far off what it gets now based on mileage just a longer period of time between changes.
 
20 minute highway drive will warm almost any car that doesn't have a broken thermostat. Doesn't matter how cold the weather is because the coolant is not flowing until the thermostat opens. I'd be surprised if it didn't hit the thermostat opening temp. Of course on some cars with great cooling systems, once the thermostat opens in winter and the car is moving, the coolant temp will remain steady. That's 82C on my car.
 
Originally Posted By: Branson304
20 minute drive is perfect, keep doing what you are doing. I can't believe the nitpicking from people who have replied to this thread. Lol

Apparently if you don't have an hour or longer commute, you're engine oil won't get warm enough and your engine will implode...


It seems that way sometimes, doesn't it.
wink.gif
 
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