Oil conspiracy theories?

[B320i]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Ah, there are things like BMW where there is no easy way to fill or check the fluids. That's to get the cars back for regular service at the dealers - user training... And marketing of OEM parts mostly.

And they do have extended drain intervals, so that folks who do not get them checked when they should are having some issues with failure ...


This was probably done because the average car owner (i.e. doesn't below to BITOG or any car forums) is a completely luddite that doesn't "check the oil" until the light starts flickering anyway. They need to be told what to do, and take the car to their mechanic anyway when lights come on.. Hopefully.

 

[fdcg27]

Oils have improved and FI has eliminated fuel dilution as a significant problem in most engines.
People talk about high fuel dilution in certain engines, but I have to wonder what fuel dilution was like in a carbureted engine that was short-tripped, especially during the colder months?
For most of us here, OCIs short or long mean nothing in terms of cost or convenience.
For most drivers, both cost and convenience mean a lot since most of them depend upon some sort of shop to do the work.
If drain intervals can be safely extended, then why wouldn't manufacturers promote this?
I'd guess that most engines will live out the 200K+ natural life of typical passenger vehicles on the longer drain intervals now becoming common.
Of course, if I ran a shop and found that customers consistently brought their cars in with very low oil levels and failed to absorb my counseling that they needed to check oil levels now and then and add oil as needed, I'd probably recommend much shorter drain intervals than what the manufacturer does.
In such cases, one can honestly repeat the old and mostly obsolete mantra about oil being cheap and engines expensive.

 

[teddyboy]

If you know anything about game theory, you realize what hogwash such conspiracy claims really are. No way automakers could come to such an agreement and then stick to it.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: teddyboy
If you know anything about game theory, you realize what hogwash such conspiracy claims really are. No way automakers could come to such an agreement and then stick to it.


Not so much a conspiracy as competition.
If Hans and Fritz start recommending really long OCIs, then Francois, Nigel and Gianni had better follow if they want to remain competitive, especially in markets with maintenance costs as high as they are in the EU.
One point that we sometimes neglect is that the oils used in these markets in these applications meet standards well beyond most of those found on the shelves here.

 

[BigBill62704]

Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
Well, if they are doing that it doesn't seem to be working. Engines seem to be lasting longer than ever in my experience. Where I live the car body, frame, and running gear are rotted out long before the engine dies--I've never actually lost an engine. Typically, I drive the car to the junkyard when it is done.


My engine in my 1991 Miata lasted 410,000 miles. I replaced it when the harmonic balancer (crank pulley) keyway became non repairable. It still was running well and gave me consistent 28-32mpg. I replaced with a "low mileage" used engine (105,000mi) that uses zero oil between changes. I use a synthetic blend.