Oil Life Monitor

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I know that oil life monitors work by using calculations. Does using synthetic change the calculations or does it still tell you to change it at the same interval if you were using dino? I used to think they went by the actual condition of the oil and not by mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: Volv04Life
I know that oil life monitors work by using calculations. Does using synthetic change the calculations or does it still tell you to change it at the same interval if you were using dino?

If it's purely an algorithm (math) based oil life monitor, then it has no way of knowing what kind of oil (mineral or synthetic) you just put in the crank case, hence it'll give you the same results, regardless which oil you use.

With that said, most mfgs calibrate their oil life monitors assuming that you'll use a specific type of oil, such as Dexos1, LL-01, etc. This in a way will dictate the quality of the oil to be used to base the calculations on.
 
Exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks
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Oh, heck,, I thought there was some micro chemical engineers swimming around in the oil doing calculations and sending the results by wireless to my cars on-board computer. Darn it.
 
Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
Oh, heck,, I thought there was some micro chemical engineers swimming around in the oil doing calculations and sending the results by wireless to my cars on-board computer. Darn it.

Yes, little baby MolaKules are unleashed and swimming around in your oil. They also report up to Tom NJ at PQIA if anything is not up to snuff.
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Originally Posted By: Istvan_Buda
Oil life monitor in the Focus ST is worthless , i changed my oil before it came on and my lab result said i should change it sooner .



One of Ford`s better idea`s at work huh?
 
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: Istvan_Buda
Oil life monitor in the Focus ST is worthless , i changed my oil before it came on and my lab result said i should change it sooner .



One of Ford`s better idea`s at work huh?


It works on regular cars but not on the turbo engine , if you have the normal 2.0 liter engine or the fiestas 1.6 l then you can rely on the monitor , they should recaliber the monitor for the ecoboost engine , also the monitor is based on the synthetic bland oil and i used full synthetic oil, imagine the results if i ran the syn blend one
 
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Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
Oh, heck,, I thought there was some micro chemical engineers swimming around in the oil doing calculations and sending the results by wireless to my cars on-board computer. Darn it.

I believe the NSA is currently monitoring this for us.
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Originally Posted By: CourierDriver
Oh, heck,, I thought there was some micro chemical engineers swimming around in the oil doing calculations and sending the results by wireless to my cars on-board computer. Darn it.

they look like this:

Slip+Case+Box+5b1.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
So the OLM is junk because a $20 UOA said so?


I did not say it's junk , i just think it should be re calibrated for turbo engines ....Turbocharged engines are harder on oil then regular ones

I'm not going to run my turbocharged car for 10.000 miles , i'll run it for 12.500 km , if i had a regular DI engine that has no turbo charger i would trust the Oil monitor
 
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I think the OLM in my silverado is great. It last told me to change at 6200 miles. I think thats a good number to go by. Theres much more peace of mind when you realize that, even using supertech, going by the olm will give you a engine that lasts longer than most of the car
 
Not sure how the OLM in a Ford calculates when to change oil. But my understanding for the OLM in the GM's that I have owned, is it is based upon engine temp and engine revolutions. This seems to be a pretty reasonable method. For the two cars I have had, the OLM seems to go off between 6200 and 6700 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
Not sure how the OLM in a Ford calculates when to change oil. But my understanding for the OLM in the GM's that I have owned, is it is based upon engine temp and engine revolutions. This seems to be a pretty reasonable method. For the two cars I have had, the OLM seems to go off between 6200 and 6700 miles.



Many 2011 model year Ford vehicles are equipped with an Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor (IOLM). The IOLM uses actual engine operating conditions to calculate the oil change interval by using an algorithm. The IOLM will indicate when the oil change service interval should be completed by displaying ENGINE OIL CHANGE SOON or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED in the message center.
The system requires you to reset the IOLM after an oil change. Missing a “reset” at an oil change will result in a premature OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message.
2) How often do I need to change my oil?
You should perform an oil change when the instrument cluster message center displays ENGINE OIL CHANGE SOON or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED. This can be up to one year or 10,000 miles, depending on how you drive your vehicle. An oil change service must be completed within 14 days or 500 miles after the OIL CHANGE REQUIRED display appears in the message center.


Before i changed my oil i checked oil life in diagnostics ...it said i had 8% oil life left yet the change oil never came on , i think changing the oil when it has 15% left would be a good deal since thats around 7700 miles which is 12.500 km but i sure will not wait for the message to come on to change oil
 
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The GM OLM is based on much more than engine temp and rpms.


I'm sure Ford has different calibrations for the turbo vs N/A models as well.
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
The GM OLM is based on much more than engine temp and rpms.


I'm sure Ford has different calibrations for the turbo vs N/A models as well.


No clue , i will run different oils and change it before the monitor tells me , i'm going to get UOA on all of them and see which one i could run longer but till then i won't risking to run the oil longer then 7500-7700 miles
 
My folks have a 2012 SRX Caddillac and so far the OLM is going off around 6-7 thousand miles like clock work. We run it all the way down every time. Im not sure how good Fords are but the GM OLM's have proven they are pretty dang reliable imo.
 
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