OCI’s for GDI

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First oil change on my 2016 Sierra was around 6000 miles and it still had 22% left on the OLM, so would have hit 0% around 7700 miles, or ~77 miles per percentage point. That was with a 20 minute commute one way that consisted of five miles of 55-70MPH freeway then 15 miles of ~45MPH two lane roads, in addition to whatever short trips I took around home and some more mixed two-lane driving for work.

With my new job my commute is 3.5 miles one way, temp gauge is usually just hitting 210º as I'm pulling into work's parking lot so far this winter. Oil change I'm on now has 508 miles and already dropped 10%, or 50.8 miles per percentage point. So I'll get slightly over 5K on this change per the monitor if it stays consistent. I'll probably pull it at 4K and send it to Amsoil/Oil Analyzers for a good look at fuel and go from there.

As for what kind of oil... I might go back and use the ACDelco full synthetic again if I happen to have a need for a Rockauto order where I can bundle the shipping. Failing that I'm not picky and it will probably come down to price, current fill is Napa 0W20 because it was $4/quart. When the warranty is up depending how everything looks I might consider going to a different grade or just stick with what's currently working. Heck I still have two five quart jugs of Mobil1 5W-20 and one Supertech 5W-20 in the garage that were for my Hemi Ram and my folks' 3.6L Charger before we both traded in and bought newer/new trucks taking 0W20.
 
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Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by caprice_2nv
I just checked the oil on my girlfriend's GDI Sonata. It has gone 1200 miles in 3 months. The oil is black. It does mostly short trips in cold weather. It doesn't smell as badly of fuel as last time I checked it. Oil level appears to be above full though so it has likely got some fuel in it.

I would change it and keep changing it every 2K, until it remains clear at 1200 miles.


When I met her a year and half ago she was going 3k miles regardless of time and it looked black even immediately after an oil change. I suggested she change every 3 months which she has been since then which is usually less than 2k miles. So it doesn't look like it's going to clean up no matter what. I believe it's just the nature of a short tripped direct injection vehicle in the cold weather.
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by caprice_2nv
I just checked the oil on my girlfriend's GDI Sonata. It has gone 1200 miles in 3 months. The oil is black. It does mostly short trips in cold weather. It doesn't smell as badly of fuel as last time I checked it. Oil level appears to be above full though so it has likely got some fuel in it.

I would change it and keep changing it every 2K, until it remains clear at 1200 miles.

Why though triple? Oil color doesn't mean it's needing changed
 
Personally I still don't agree with that, but it's probably because of all the neglected vehicles I've seen in the shop with black oil and engine damage of different sorts. Timing chain issues etc.
 
Originally Posted by caprice_2nv
Personally I still don't agree with that, but it's probably because of all the neglected vehicles I've seen in the shop with black oil and engine damage of different sorts. Timing chain issues etc.

Diesels run pitch black oil and most make it well over a million miles in a road tractor, oil color shouldn't be ignored but it's not a cause for alarm if the oil turns dark quickly
 
Originally Posted by spasm3
You need UOA's to evaluate. Each DI engine seems to differ as to fuel dilution.

I did a uoa on my mazda to see what the fuel dilution was on my typical trips. The engine was not fully warmed up but was driven as it typically is. Thats the data i wanted. The fuel dilution was severe, so it confimed my desire to use a heavier oil and keep the oci at about 4500 or so. It also showed me that i really need to get a longer trip or two a week in on this engine.


Without a uoa , its a guess.

was that the skyactiv engine and what weight of oil did u use?
tnx
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
The only way to know for sure is to get UOA data for your engine and driving style. If not "I" would run a good synthetic oil and not exceed 6 months or 5K miles.



Is a maximum time interval like 6 months that big of a factor? For example, my wifes 14 Mazda6 (w/ DI) may only be driven as much as 2000 miles in six months and not more than 6000 miles in a year. It's on a 5000 mile OCI. Am I asking for trouble by extending the time interval to say 9 months or even a year? Second question and just thinking out loud, doesn't gasoline in the oil evaporate?
 
Originally Posted by GaryMX5
Originally Posted by demarpaint
The only way to know for sure is to get UOA data for your engine and driving style. If not "I" would run a good synthetic oil and not exceed 6 months or 5K miles.



Is a maximum time interval like 6 months that big of a factor? For example, my wifes 14 Mazda6 (w/ DI) may only be driven as much as 2000 miles in six months and not more than 6000 miles in a year. It's on a 5000 mile OCI. Am I asking for trouble by extending the time interval to say 9 months or even a year? Second question and just thinking out loud, doesn't gasoline in the oil evaporate?

What's the owners manual say for the OCI
 
Originally Posted by GaryMX5
Originally Posted by demarpaint
The only way to know for sure is to get UOA data for your engine and driving style. If not "I" would run a good synthetic oil and not exceed 6 months or 5K miles.



Is a maximum time interval like 6 months that big of a factor? For example, my wifes 14 Mazda6 (w/ DI) may only be driven as much as 2000 miles in six months and not more than 6000 miles in a year. It's on a 5000 mile OCI. Am I asking for trouble by extending the time interval to say 9 months or even a year? Second question and just thinking out loud, doesn't gasoline in the oil evaporate?




My 2017 CX5 has the same engine as I recall. We put about 5000 miles a year on it. I change the oil once a year with 0w20. I spoke to the service guy about it at the beginning and that oci was agreeable. It's a good idea to get some long trips on that vehicle.
 
I'm doing 4,500 for the 1.6T Hyundai in my Tucson. "Severe" according to Hyundai is 3,000 and "Normal" is like 7,500 with the first oil change from factory fill at 3,000.

Right now monitoring oil loss with the dealer at almost 112K as the level drops between oil changes--solid estimate is a good quart+ by 3K. (Under warranty until 120K)
 
Originally Posted by BigShug681
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by caprice_2nv
I just checked the oil on my girlfriend's GDI Sonata. It has gone 1200 miles in 3 months. The oil is black. It does mostly short trips in cold weather. It doesn't smell as badly of fuel as last time I checked it. Oil level appears to be above full though so it has likely got some fuel in it.

I would change it and keep changing it every 2K, until it remains clear at 1200 miles.

Why though triple? Oil color doesn't mean it's needing changed

Yes it does need changin'. If it's black that early, it's going to be ugly at 3K. So lets not go there and get this engine cleaned up, prior to even more additional work to clean it later.

Best medicine is not to wait...... best known as preventative medicine.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by GaryMX5
Originally Posted by demarpaint
The only way to know for sure is to get UOA data for your engine and driving style. If not "I" would run a good synthetic oil and not exceed 6 months or 5K miles.



Is a maximum time interval like 6 months that big of a factor? For example, my wifes 14 Mazda6 (w/ DI) may only be driven as much as 2000 miles in six months and not more than 6000 miles in a year. It's on a 5000 mile OCI. Am I asking for trouble by extending the time interval to say 9 months or even a year? Second question and just thinking out loud, doesn't gasoline in the oil evaporate?




My 2017 CX5 has the same engine as I recall. We put about 5000 miles a year on it. I change the oil once a year with 0w20. I spoke to the service guy about it at the beginning and that oci was agreeable. It's a good idea to get some long trips on that vehicle.


The car is primarily for vacations because of it's great fuel mileage. It's also taken to see the in-laws in Kansas 6-8 times a year (500 miles RT). Then it will often sit with minimal use after the trips.
 
Originally Posted by BigShug681
Why though triple? Oil color doesn't mean it's needing changed

On its own, it doesn't, but if one is trying to establish a bit of an equilibrium, as it were, and one were using the same brand and type of oil for each quick change interval, you might get some sort of baseline. Of course, if the engine is going to act like a diesel and blacken everything up fairly quickly, that doesn't help much. It is a bit overkill, but there is a rationale there. It's just that some applications will render that rationale moot.

I don't worry about oil colour on its own, unless it's doing something it normally doesn't do, and knowing what to expect by not monkeying with different oils each change helps make sure I'm not worrying about something ridiculous. Each time I switch a brand, I'm staring at the dipstick relentlessly for a couple OCIs until I'm satisfied all is okay or I've found something else to worry about.
wink.gif
 
I'm just used to all the old carbureted V8s I have had over the years that were well maintained would have clean looking oil for the entire OCI. I've only seen black oil on "parts vehicles" we got that had been sitting for years or vehicles that belonged to friends or customers that didn't know enough to change their oil regularly.

Even my 78 Chevy truck that has had the oil sitting in it for 7+ years looks like new oil. It's been run and idled around the yard once every couple years but never run on the road in years. It's had an oil change maybe every 5-10 years on average and it runs bad. The carb and choke need work and the plug wires are original.

I understand diesels make the oil dirty fast but I'm still not sure about the "soot" thing in GDI engines. Oil that dirty looking always gives me the impression it's not going to last a real long time.
 
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The F-150 was a bit hard on the oil with dilution and other little problems. It didn't stay as clean as should be expected. That's someone else's negligence that I ended up having to work on, and part of that work included some rather short OCIs. So yes, I understand that concern about black oil indicating an unhealthy engine.
wink.gif
 
So the oil is dark, has a UOA been done? If not then you could be wasting perfectly good oil in attempt to keep a fluid, that is put through all sorts of different conditions, in pristine condition.
 
Originally Posted by BigShug681
So the oil is dark, has a UOA been done? If not then you could be wasting perfectly good oil in attempt to keep a fluid, that is put through all sorts of different conditions, in pristine condition.

I don't get why anyone worries about color. I change oil in a car where the manufacturer specs an oil change that could leave anywhere from 22-28% of the previous oil in the crankcase. If it's dark it stays pretty dark and I don't think it matters as long as the additives are doing their thing keeping everything in suspension and the TBN doesn't drop to nothing. Also - some motor oils have additives that darken with use, and that's not really a problem either.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by BigShug681
So the oil is dark, has a UOA been done? If not then you could be wasting perfectly good oil in attempt to keep a fluid, that is put through all sorts of different conditions, in pristine condition.

I don't get why anyone worries about color. I change oil in a car where the manufacturer specs an oil change that could leave anywhere from 22-28% of the previous oil in the crankcase. If it's dark it stays pretty dark and I don't think it matters as long as the additives are doing their thing keeping everything in suspension and the TBN doesn't drop to nothing. Also - some motor oils have additives that darken with use, and that's not really a problem either.

Exactly, yea if you check the oil and it looks like a chocolate milkshake then you should be alarmed but just being dark doesn't mean it's time for new at 1200 miles, if that was the case Diesel engines would require oil changes sometimes right after the first start on fresh oil
 
Originally Posted by BigShug681
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by BigShug681
So the oil is dark, has a UOA been done? If not then you could be wasting perfectly good oil in attempt to keep a fluid, that is put through all sorts of different conditions, in pristine condition.

I don't get why anyone worries about color. I change oil in a car where the manufacturer specs an oil change that could leave anywhere from 22-28% of the previous oil in the crankcase. If it's dark it stays pretty dark and I don't think it matters as long as the additives are doing their thing keeping everything in suspension and the TBN doesn't drop to nothing. Also - some motor oils have additives that darken with use, and that's not really a problem either.

Exactly, yea if you check the oil and it looks like a chocolate milkshake then you should be alarmed but just being dark doesn't mean it's time for new at 1200 miles, if that was the case Diesel engines would require oil changes sometimes right after the first start on fresh oil

99.5% of vehicle owners don't do UOAs. Also, we are not discussing diesel oil here.

Again, if the oil is black at 1200 miles, change it sooner. Also, if you believe your engine is relatively clean and buy a specific brand that turns black prematurely, change brands.
 
Originally Posted by Garak
The F-150 was a bit hard on the oil with dilution and other little problems. It didn't stay as clean as should be expected. That's someone else's negligence that I ended up having to work on, and part of that work included some rather short OCIs. So yes, I understand that concern about black oil indicating an unhealthy engine.
wink.gif


I'm the second owner of my F150 and the original owner took excellent care of it (reason I bought it). It darkens the oil twice as fast as my other vehicles. It's just the nature of the engine and reminds me of all the other '60's designed engines I've owned in the past.
 
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