short trips

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truck I've posted about before, buddies 2011 4.8 Chevy currently with 125k miles.Its due for an oil change. He's currently in clinicals to become a physical therapist, and for the next 10 weeks, the facility where he has to go is 1 mile from his house, 5 days a week,so cold starts and short trips will be plentiful for the next 10 weeks. He does have to make an 80 mile round trip once a week to a local town, so I think thatll help burn off the moisture. I was thinking of running Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5W30 and either a Fram tough guard or ultra, and changing it at 3k miles instead of the usual 5-6k miles due to all the short trips. Or would Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0W30 be better?
 
Originally Posted By: dgn
Only 1 mile? Why not just walk?


Or 4-5 minutes on a simple road bike.

I'd change out the oil in 3K-4K miles as a short tripper. Filter can go a 2nd round. Either oil is fine, whichever you can go find on sale. I just changed the oil in my 4.6L with Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30.
 
And what do you think is a cold start? I think of a cold start something close to freezing or less. Based on say 5 miles a day with a 80 mile run thats 105 miles a week so in 10 weeks a bit more than 1000 miles. Just get a good oil and filter and not over think it
 
The highway he will be driving on is pretty dangerous to walk by, especially in the early morning. 65 mph speed limit and careless drivers. Plus, it seems hes not aware of the term "warm clothes" as he refuses to go outside when its cold, unless he has to. I know our "cold" is nothing compared to up north, but I love it, especially after a brutally hot Louisiana summer.
 
Cold start is not the issue as most people who get them, eventually reach normal operating oil temp before turning off the car again. In the OP's case, for 5-6 days the oil will never get above 120-160 deg F, and therefore sit with corrosive combustion byproducts in the oil. While it will get burned out once a week, it does cause "some" damage during the weekly short runs.
 
+1

I'd be looking at the highest TBN you can find and not worrying about the Synthetic or Conventional issue. At LA temps, any 5w30 will be fine. But, I'd dump that oil at the end of this regimen of short trips. So a good conventional will likely be cheaper. Any filter will do for this scenario
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
+1

I'd be looking at the highest TBN you can find and not worrying about the Synthetic or Conventional issue. At LA temps, any 5w30 will be fine. But, I'd dump that oil at the end of this regimen of short trips. So a good conventional will likely be cheaper. Any filter will do for this scenario
smile.gif



A reasonable plan imo. Cheap SN conventional oil and filter dumped after this 2-3 month/1000 mile cycle. Though it may be hard to find a higher TBN among that group. Pennzoil conventional? Note that the Quaker State Ultimate Durability is still giving a $7 rebate per jug into Dec 31st so you can probably net this out at $3/qt.
 
I have been using Dexos oils lately in this truck, but I figured with 125k miles and out of warranty, its no longer necessary. As long as it meets the GM 6094M spec, should it be fine?
 
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My mother used to have to carry a lot of stuff from place to place. Too much to be able to walk or bike. Her drive was 5 blocks, multiple times a day.

Short tripping concerns are often way overblown, especially if a decent long drive can be taken now and again. We verified with UOA of course, and found that we could do non-severe intervals with good syn oil without concern.

She got rid of the car with nearly 200k miles on it...
 
I got a used oil analysis after 13 months and less than 2k miles. All primarily short trip driving where the coolant temp barely registered normal, and very few times when oil temp actually exceeded 100f.

My TBN of Mobil 1 0w-40 was still over 5.

My driving has not changed, I'll go over 13 months without worry.
 
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
I got a used oil analysis after 13 months and less than 2k miles. All primarily short trip driving where the coolant temp barely registered normal, and very few times when oil temp actually exceeded 100f.

My TBN of Mobil 1 0w-40 was still over 5.

My driving has not changed, I'll go over 13 months without worry.


I had Castrol 0w40 tested at 18 months and TBN came back just over 5.

But the Mobil 1 0w40 I put in at 24 months made a night and day difference to engine smoothness, quietness and responsiveness.

I think TBN may not be the whole story for extended drains.
 
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