Hilarious conversation I overheard at CT...

[BennyL]

So I was in Canadian Tire the other day. Went in to buy some of that new Mobil Super 1000 oil... which is basically the Canadian version of Mobil Clean 5000. So I see some guy picking up a jug of synthetic oil... don't remember which one, but I'm pretty sure it was Mobil 1. Anyways, the stock guy is standing right next to us, stocking the shelves with oil and he looks over and asks the guy "so do you leave that in for 5000 or what?". And the guys goes "ya, i leave regular in for 3000 and this for 5000". Now remember guys, this is Canada, so they are talking about kilometers. So I jump in and tell the guy he should be running non-syn for at least 6000 KM at the very minimum, and synthetic for at least 10,000 KM at the very minimum. He just brushed me off and walked away. Then the stock guy goes to me "I really wouldn't recommend going 10,000 on any oil". I told him I go 12,000 on any synthetic and he said i am "destroying my engine"

I had a great laugh at how incredibly ignorant and uneducated these people were in the world of motor oil.

 

[addyguy]

It might not be their fault entirely - when I worked at W-M, we weren't 'allowed' to tell people to run their oil more than 5k km's - it was bad for business. Of course, I always did, but I got a lot of flack for it....

 

[Kestas]

Hard as it may be - being a disciple of BITOG - I usually keep my mouth shut. There's often a lot of arrogance attached to opinions on car service.

 

[Gary Allan]

Yeah, you're assaulting paradigms. It's like a religious or political discussion.

 

[wiswind]

I would expect that the safe thing for a business to do is to advise customers to follow what their owner's manual states.

 

[Loobed]

A little funny, but so what.

Why worry about what someone else does with their engine. They probably thing you running the oil for 12K was funny.

It took me a while to give up the 3000 mile oil changes on my 2001 truck with OLM. Now I change @ 5,000, and that is too soon according to the OLM.


There was a guy on my motorcycle forum who would change his oil ever 300 miles, and use high $$$ MC oil; Thats with a street bike. other people did UOA with auto oils and found that 3000 was OK.

 

[Blokey]

Yeah, the four taboo topics:

1) Religion
2) Politics
3) Gun Control
4) OCIs

 

[ThirdeYe]

From nearly everyone I've talked to about oil, 99% of them don't care about what I have to say and think I'm from another planet, so I don't bother anymore. Oh well, I think my planet is cozy.

 

[02zx9r]

yeah i tend to not give advice unless asked

 

[BennyL]

yup, its hilarious that people take this kind of thing so seriously. it really is like a religious belief. hilarious how angry people get when i question their OCI beliefs. its like telling a religious person that [censored] doesn't exist. very dangerous, lol.

 

[globey]

Benny, good job trying to educate the uneducated. Unfortunately, some people don't think they need it. Hopefully, with your info one of those two guys does a little research. If you help even one person to use less resources and extend their OCIs, you've done a good job.

 

[Patman]

That's not as bad as the advice I overheard one of CT's young mechanics giving to someone one time, he mentioned that the 5 in 5w30 is for 5000km intervals and the 10 in 10w30 is for 10,000km intervals! Scary to think that this guy is a mechanic!

 

[bob_ninja]

First of all, how much training/education do CT people get?
CT is like any other store, having high turnover and low paying low skills jobs. You stick to basic questions. Also it is unfair to compare a BITOG graduate with a CT sales person

That being said, of course CT and dealrship service departments will always tell you to not exceed 5K km, 3K miles. They want you coming back sooner rather than later. Moreover, they just don't care or have time to deal with your particulars, like type of driving, etc.

There are 2 reasons why 5K/3K OCI for dino actually makes sense. The people who ask for advice from a CT sales person or a dealership mechanic is likely not interested and very ignorant about oil and cars. A lot of driviers today are impatience, aggressive speeders in a hurry to get some place. Many people don't have patience to propelry warm up engine even in winter at 0F. So they usually go past 3K OCI (procrastinate) and abuse the car which favors shorter OCI.

The second reason is harsh climate. Most manuals here call for severe service schedule which often has 1/2 OCI of the normal schedule. Certainly winters are cold. There is a lot of salt, so dirty air filters, etc. Therefore at least for winter OCI I tend to use shorter change interval.

That being said, BITOG and other knowledgable drivers that take care of their engines can easily use longer OCI at least during summer.

The sad fact is that we are a minority. In my case when I used to live close to downtown I had no clue as I didn't drive much. A lot of people are too busy chasing big TVs and other stuff, so just don't care about oil changes.

 

[Jett Rink]

bob ninja: due to the reasons you cited, that sounds like a good reason for the typical motorist to just follow what their oil life monitor / service indicator light says--if the car is so equipped.

I think the typical onboard car computer keeps track of many factors (although I don't know how it would detect snow and salt) to indicate when an oil service is required.

I think this is actually a pretty good innovation on newer cars. At least there is SOME science and testing behind it, applied to the vehicle's operating conditions...as opposed to "change it every 3 months/3000 miles/5000 km" which is pretty arbitrary.

I think this 3 month/3000 miles/5000 km view of automotive maintenance will gradually fade away as the graveyard fills with those who remember it and lived by it. Most young drivers today are coming of age in a very different environment with a computer determining mainteance services, and alot more expensive oil, too, I might add.

 

[BennyL]

oh, it just drove me NUTS that this guy was dumping his oil at 3000 KM... thats less than 2000 miles!!! thats insane.

 

[Panzerman]

Really, because I think insane is running your oil for 12,000 miles when you can get it for $.99 a quart on closeouts. If I can change my oil every 3000 miles for $10(thats a Hemi-7 qts and filter), Id rather go that route, if I was paying Dodge service people $35, Id probably go the 6,000. But oil is alot cheaper than engines, Id rather change oil. I mean thats why I hunt the oil bargins, not to skimp on oil changes and push the oil change limits, thats for people that pay full price for oil changes.

 

[globey]

Yes, but I also believe in utilizing resources to the fullest. If these oils still are more than capable of going another 1-2K, why dump them because they are cheap? This is what's wrong with how we operate.

 

[Jett Rink]

Well, if there is not going to be any science behind when to change the oil, and "its cheap insurance", why choose 3,000 miles? I mean, where is that coming from. Why not 2,000 miles? Why not 1,000 miles? Why not get a flashlight and get out there tonight and change it right now?!

I happen to work in the insurance industry. Most clients I deal with, oddly enough, do not wish to pay premiums to "overinsure" their possessions. While it might help our bottom line, we try to give them some kind of actuarial based calculation on a ballpark figure for how much insurance they should pay for, against a claim distribution and the cost of the insurance. My commissions would certainly improve if everybody adopted this attitude, however. Rhetorical question: when does insurance cross the line into obsessive/compulsive behavior?

No skin off my back. I own oil stocks, so change that oil right now, people. My IRA account thanks you for your support.

I'm Jett Rink and I approved this message.

 

[globey]

Jett, I totally agree with you. It's the whole "I bought it, I'm entitled to do what I wish with it" attitude. Even though it's not socially responsible. Reasoning like this had everyone buying SUVs when gas was a buck a gallon. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Nothing against Panzerman, personally. Ultimately, it's his decision, I just think we should reconsider this type of thinking because these are natural resources that are essentially being wasted. He'd probably see the same results with a 6K OCI than he would with a 3K OCI and he'd be using half as much oil.

 

[Lazy JW]

Originally Posted By: Blokey
Yeah, the four taboo topics:

1) Religion
2) Politics
3) Gun Control
4) OCIs


I truly believe that amongst the general populace more rational, conscious thought goes into the first three topics than goes into OCI.
Joe