Is anyone using engine operating hours instead of mileage for oil changes? I would think that if you spent a lot of time in traffic your operating hours would be high versus your mileage. Therefore low miles but more stress on the oil. Any good studies or experience on this? Thanks
Operating hours versus mileage for oil changes?
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I use my auto-start on my 2012 Honda Civic and it will sit in the driveway and idle for 15 minutes to warm up the interior. I know it wastes fuel and is not the best for the engine however I like a warm car. My other vehicles are in a heated garage. I change the oil at about 5,000 miles or 50% of the OLM whichever comes first. It holds a whole 3.8 quarts and the extra expense is justified IMO. I change the filter every other oil change and the oil looks good when I remove it. I use my Mity-Vac and it's an easy oil change for a few extra bucks and it makes me feel secure my engine will keep running for several more years.
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I always felt like hours would be a better measure, although I have no idea how many hours would be the correct interval.
My 2006 Duramax came with one stock from the factory.
I would guess-timate that the combined average speed for my "fleet" is about 40MPH between surface streets and highway driving. That would pencil out to about 125 hours per oil change if I do 5k intervals. I'm comfortable with that.
Shel_B
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There's a recent similar thread here:
Going by operating hours would make sense if your vehicle is idling for long periods of time as in hours per day. In that situation it might be easier to just use a calendar schedule like every three or six months regardless of mileage.
Stationary engines use hours.
Stationary engines use hours.
This…. Absolutely the best way. Knowing the amount of gallons of fuel that go through the engine that have the ability to interface with the oil is key.
Then the question is how many gallons of fuel? Is the a ratio between sump size and fuel burned?
Going by this suggestion I discovered this online calculator that might be helpful. I’m sure there are others. What it told me is that my 5000 mile OCI is pretty much on target.
How to calculate oil replacement frequency based on the actual fuel consumption rate
An empirical car mileage calculator before the oil change based on actual fuel consumption rate will help to determine the correct interval of engine oil replacement.
atlib.info
Yes the sump size matters. The sump is your trash can. The bigger the can the longer the drain. That can gets its trash from the fuel. You want to change the oil just before that can is full as long as everything else is working as it should. UOA trend data becomes a useful tool for verifying everything is working according to plan.
Is there a formula or calculator that figures in the sump capacity?
Most Fords have hour and idle time counters these days. I don’t know of many others, I think Chevy trucks used to buy I don’t own those.
I know my wife's Chrysler Town & Country (2016) and my Wrangler (2016) have engine run time clock that is part of the trip odometer. You can reset the trip meter at will, can also reset the engine clock at will, or at oil changes.
Not that I am aware of. UOA would be the best avenue to get the answer as to the maximum life of the oil for the particular vehicle.
I do. My truck (2020 ford 7.3L gas) idles up to 14hrs a day and typically sees a additional 2-3hrs a day drive time. This varies however.
A average day is probably 8-10hrs idle, 2 hrs driving.
After a lot of research and a few UOA I settled on 250hrs OCI using decent oil(Kirkland FS) Truck currently has 2700 hrs on them.
I've been using my trucks like this for 12 years over 4 other trucks, they have all been 6.0L GM gas motors and I didn't do OCI based on hours with them, I did 10,000 km OCI which would have been around 500 hours based on the data I keep now. I ran those trucks over 10k hours (200,000 km) without any engine related problems and I know that the last truck I sold now has over 300,000 km on it without any engine issues.
A average day is probably 8-10hrs idle, 2 hrs driving.
After a lot of research and a few UOA I settled on 250hrs OCI using decent oil(Kirkland FS) Truck currently has 2700 hrs on them.
I've been using my trucks like this for 12 years over 4 other trucks, they have all been 6.0L GM gas motors and I didn't do OCI based on hours with them, I did 10,000 km OCI which would have been around 500 hours based on the data I keep now. I ran those trucks over 10k hours (200,000 km) without any engine related problems and I know that the last truck I sold now has over 300,000 km on it without any engine issues.
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