Oil vs. Time and the elements.....

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Greg:
but their odometers won't say '3k' they'll say 4800 km.

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At least my Canadian friends are doing 5000km changes, which is 3100 miles.

But a lot of these "friends" I talk about are people I know on the internet also, and most of them live in the US and do stick with 3k.

This is another thing, you'd think that people in the US would be happier with a 5000 mile interval since it's easier to remember. At least in Canada the 5000km interval is easy to remember so that's why a lot of people do it. But then again 10,000km is just as easy, and is a safe interval with synthetics.

 

[satterfi]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. T:


snip
..., or replace the buttons on your shirt every 10 wears, why replace the oil every 3k.

snip

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I'll try that argument on my brother who changes his M1 every 3K miles.

I doubt it will work. Perhaps giving test kits for Christmas might work. I'll bet Terry would like that idea.

 

[Patman]

If you gave out 100 sample kits to people who have always changed their synthetic oil at 3k, and showed them how good of a condition the oil is still in, I bet you more than half of them would reconsider their ways. I think a lot of it is just that they are uncomfortable going longer without knowing it's safe. The oil companies and Jiffy Lubes of the world have trained people well, they would love us to all continue this trend. Yet in Europe this practice is laughed upon.

 

[Shannow]

The car manufacturers must know something that we don't about oils.

Ford and Mitsubishi down under are heading for 15,000 km oil changes with dino oil at present.

 

[jason07-1zzfe]

The manufacturers know that percieved reduced maintence in the customers eyes sells cars.
E.g. lifetime fills on trannys and diffs... Give me a break, not in my car...

 

[Giles]

Patman,

I agree that analysis is what will get people to realize it's ok. Jiffy Lube isn't going to educate people about it that's for sure.

I personally have felt ok taking dino to around 5000 miles but never did analysis. I did my first analysis at 3000 and the dino was still good so my instincts were correct. I've switched to synth and will do analysis to make sure it's ok. I won't stretch my new vehicle beyond 5k just because that's a warrantee issue. The Toyota I will try to extend to 7500 but all I've read about the DOHC V6 doesn't look promising in that regard. So it will probably get 5k changes as well.

 

[Giles]

If you will be selling your vehicle after only a few years of owning it then don't do extended drains beyond the normal recommendation. Try convincing your next buyer that those extended drains didn't hurt the engine. If you do oil analysis you have a chance of doing that but I bet they would most likely prefer to hear "I changed it every 3000 miles like clock work". If you plan on owning it for life, then do what you think will give you the best longevity at the best price.

I like the idea of extended drains, but there are downsides to it, such as resale value. Also extended drains don't appear to save much money over a 5000 mile drain interval on synthetic without analysis being done. Nobody should run long intervals without analysis in my opinion, which reduces the cost benefit.

As far as the NYC taxicabs, I've heard about that Consumer Reports study, and it did include synthetics. The problem is the NYC cabs aren't really a good sample for the rest of us. They rarely turn the engine off so they don't get nearly the number of cold starts that a typical owner gets which is where most wear occurs from what I've heard.

Edited for typos

[ December 13, 2002, 12:36 PM: Message edited by: rgiles ]