Oil Life Monitor vs Blackstone Recommendations

BigJohn

BigJohn

Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
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Location
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I have a friend that also drives a Ram 1500 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel. At my suggestion last year........ He got to the point where he wasn't worried about warranty and wanted to test his oil to see how long it should really last (He recently switched from EuroL 5w30 to Rotella T6 5w40). He has tested two samples, both right at 10,000 miles on the oil.

In both cases, the OLM on his truck reported that the oil was at 0% and needed replacement at 8,200 miles on the first one and 8,700 miles on the second one.

Oddly though, Blackstone suggested he move his Oil Change Interval to 11,500 miles based on both samples.

So what are we to believe and how accurate, really, are the OLM's in our vehicle software????

During the spring, summer and fall.... he was pulling his boat trailer a lot. He mentioned to me that when he is not towing with the truck, the OLM usually hits 0% around 9,500 miles. So is the OLM nothing more than a logarithm based on..... maybe a collection of RPM data rather than the true scientific condition of the oil? Ie. Higher RPM's when towing = less miles according to the OLM.



.......
 
Lubener said:
For me, I would go with an actual analysis of the oil, not OLM.
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I agree hands down.

I am just wondering what the comments are of several, as I want to pass the collective knowledge on to my buddy, where he can make up his own mind.


.......
 
The OLM is based on using a certain spec oil with a bit of safety built in. As long as the oil meets the minimum spec the OLM will have you change it on time. If you use a more robust oil then ya it'll be early.

The OLM isn't preforming its own UOA on every different oil you ever put in the truck. It's just taking into account the load, rpms, temp, and fuel consumption usually and counting down from the known lifetime of the minimum spec.
 
Spectre694 said:
The OLM is based on using a certain spec oil with a bit of safety built in. As long as the oil meets the minimum spec the OLM will have you change it on time. If you use a more robust oil then ya it'll be early.

The OLM isn't preforming its own UOA on every different oil you ever put in the truck. It's just taking into account the load, rpms, temp, and fuel consumption usually and counting down from the known lifetime of the minimum spec.
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Great info... thank you.
 
If under warranty change it when the OLM says to. Outside warranty I would go by what your lab suggests. I had a bit of a tussle with Ford in the past on a diesel. My samples were coming back horrendous after 4-5000 miles. The dealer was floored with my paperwork showing the trends but the engineers didn’t give a ****
 
The olm is to protect the mfgrs best interest, not your motors. Being the olm doesn't know, or does it care which oil is being used in the vehicle. You could be running Dollar store discount oil, or the best oil on the planet. It will state what the mfgr tell it to.,,,
 
Blackstone often recommends people increase their OCI as if everyone wants to see if they can get every last mile from an OCI. Most people should stick with the manufacturers recommendations. Unless you have a large oil sump , its cheaper to change your oil than to send oil to Blackstone especially since you really need a TBN (extra $$ at Blackstone) to see if the OCI can be extended.
 
Donald said:
Blackstone often recommends people increase their OCI as if everyone wants to see if they can get every last mile from an OCI. Most people should stick with the manufacturers recommendations. Unless you have a large oil sump , its cheaper to change your oil than to send oil to Blackstone especially since you really need a TBN (extra $$ at Blackstone) to see if the OCI can be extended.
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Yes it's cheaper to change oil than pay $30 to Blackstone. IF you send in a sample EVERY oil change and use an inexpensive oil. What you're missing is that a couple 2-3 samples and you will have figured out your OCI for your vehicle/oil combination. Initial expenditure required for long term savings.

It's well established here on bitog that the manufacturer's intervals are usually very conservative. There are several good reasons to extend to a reasonable distance; right off the top of my head - less work, saves money if done right, and better for the environment.
 
Kuato said:
Yes it's cheaper to change oil than pay $30 to Blackstone. IF you send in a sample EVERY oil change and use an inexpensive oil. What you're missing is that a couple 2-3 samples and you will have figured out your OCI for your vehicle/oil combination. Initial expenditure required for long term savings.

It's well established here on bitog that the manufacturer's intervals are usually very conservative. There are several good reasons to extend to a reasonable distance; right off the top of my head - less work, saves money if done right, and better for the environment.
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An oil change recommendation covers such a wide swath of users. By wisely using a few UOA and a little analysis of your driving habits you can tailor your own OCI as it pertains to your specific driving and operating conditions.
 
don't diesel engines in general produce lots of soot? either way I would tell my buddy not to go over 8K. So I'm with the olm in this case. If it was my friend I wouldn't care! lol

if it was my car (combo of soot + eco scares me), I would even go less than 8K till further research ... He also went from a Euro oil to a non-Euro but thicker so I'm not sure if they even out or not. Aren't Euro oils formulated for more extended oci than non-euro?
 
Last edited:
Kuato said:
Yes it's cheaper to change oil than pay $30 to Blackstone. IF you send in a sample EVERY oil change and use an inexpensive oil. What you're missing is that a couple 2-3 samples and you will have figured out your OCI for your vehicle/oil combination. Initial expenditure required for long term savings.

It's well established here on bitog that the manufacturer's intervals are usually very conservative. There are several good reasons to extend to a reasonable distance; right off the top of my head - less work, saves money if done right, and better for the environment.
Click to expand...
Also if your UOA says you can go farther on you oil, say from 8000 to 10000 that's only 25% savings so maybe a dollar savings of $7.50. ($30 in cost for oil & filter).

Longer OCI run some risk if a problem develops during the OCI (such as fuel dilution or coolant in oil) as the contaminat will be in the oil that much longer.
 
It's good to know the OLM is being conservative, much better than the other way around, especially considering the average owner won't ever do a UOA. Besides, 8000+ miles is still a great run on engine oil. It's not like the OLM is saying to change it out at 3000 miles, like your local Jiffy Lube would recommend.
 
You are playing with fire on this engine extending the oci past 8k miles. They fail catastrophically when they tear up a rod bearing.....and 99% of time you wont hear it till too late. We change more of these engines than all others COMBINED at the dealer level. IMO the ONLY way to own one, is a green diesel tune, and real regular OC. Do as you will, but u have been warned. :)
 
TeamZero said:
You are playing with fire on this engine extending the oci past 8k miles. They fail catastrophically when they tear up a rod bearing.....and 99% of time you wont hear it till too late. We change more of these engines than all others COMBINED at the dealer level. IMO the ONLY way to own one, is a green diesel tune, and real regular OC. Do as you will, but u have been warned. :)
Click to expand...
Hi TZ.
I agree. These engines can have some very expensive issues.

Can warranty be refused by performing too many oil changes?
 
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