........ Do you believe that the ten thousand mile changes protects engines well ?? I can do a mobil 1 oil change even with the porsche large oil volume for 60 or 70 bucks. .... I would be interested in your opinions.. when ford and honda and toyota a long time ago went to 5w20 or 0w30 oils I thought it was crazy too thin an oil. But now I just use it and hope the design engineers got it right.
Manufacturers went to extended oil change intervals to appeal to their customer base. Most new car buyers do not hang out at BITOG,
and they don't like to be bothered with automotive maintenance. Especially women buyers. Of which the marketplace is seeing more and more of. The less of it they have to do, the better. They LOVE extended oil change intervals, and will praise anyone who suggests them. It's a bit like a dietitian telling an obese person, they should visit Baskin Robbins 3 times a week. It's what they want to hear..... Not what's good for them.
The movement to water thin oils has been the result of demands put on those same manufacturers, directly due to CAFE mileage requirements. NOT because they protect engines better. Engineers are trying to get these engines to rotate as freely as possible, in order to achieve the highest MPG possible. They are all looking for mere fractions of a mile per gallon. It costs these car companies a fortune if they don't achieve these CAFE requirements. And it adds tremendously to their bottom line, if they do. It's all about $$$$.
Part of this amounts to these companies going to very loose fitting piston rings. This is causing another whole new set of problems. Engines are not only burning oil, but many are having massive fuel dilution problems, (Honda). While others, (Toyota), are having problems with deposits building up inside piston ring grooves, causing seized rings and grooved cylinder walls. With the fix in many cases requiring a complete engine replacement.
The only way to lessen this fuel dilution and deposit buildup is with more frequent oil changes, and going up in viscosity. Which both companies are reluctant to advise their customers to do. Again because of CAFE. So the whole thing becomes a great big Catch 22. I avoid all of it by changing oil often, and use a higher viscosity when I do. And using a new oil filter each time. The only negative I have to deal with, is from these same maintenance haters telling me it's not necessary. And that is easy to live with.... Especially when they are being proven wrong, every time we see all of these issues popping up we never seemed to have before.