Simplifying my oil changing routine

Lots of folks suggest Supertech et al. And I agree I consider that a decent alternative. But the difference in cost is not really great, all things considered.
So in my case, I have 3 (soon to be 4 vehicles) that myself and my family use (with estimated annual usage: 34k, 20k, 20k, 10k) due to some long commutes we have. So combined we're driving 84k miles a year divided by 5,000 mile OCI = 17 oil changes per year.

So if Super Tech HMFS is at $18.64 for a 5 quart jug, and one of the name brand oils is about $9 more for a 5 quart jug, I'm saving 17 * 9 = $153 a year by using Super Tech. Over 6 years at that pace, using Super Tech oil would save me $918.
 
What kind of sleazeball places do you frequent that you'd even have to consider this a possibility?
Unfortunately the turnover of employees in these places is high, and the oil change / tire techs are making minimum wage. They likely do their own maintenance on their own cars and the temptation might be there to take a brand new 5 quart jug that someone hands them and then just add the bulk oil. Anyway, I stopped going there and do my own oil changes using ramps now, so I don't 'have to worry.
 
I always try to verify it by watching them pour the new oil from my container into the engine (to remove all doubt).
The temptation would increase I would expect if you gave them some expensive fancy oil like Amsoil.

But with Super Tech, I never worry. Super Tech is a great oil, very underestimated in my opinion. But Super Tech would be less of a temptation for them to take and to add the bulk oil instead to your engine.

I started changing my own oil a while back, so I never have to worry.
I did not worry about this in the old days, and doubt that I ever was a victim. It is absolutely, positively definitive that changing your own oil is the best way to go, and what God wants.
 
So in my case, I have 3 (soon to be 4 vehicles) that myself and my family use (with estimated annual usage: 34k, 20k, 20k, 10k) due to some long commutes we have. So combined we're driving 84k miles a year divided by 5,000 mile OCI = 17 oil changes per year.

So if Super Tech HMFS is at $18.64 for a 5 quart jug, and one of the name brand oils is about $9 more for a 5 quart jug, I'm saving 17 * 9 = $153 a year by using Super Tech. Over 6 years at that pace, using Super Tech oil would save me $918.
Pretty simple Bill!
If you are strapped for money and family does mostly highway miles, then buy Supertech for all-4 vehicles. Nobody here will chastise you for not using a more costly oil and not wanting to increase your OCIs.
Wishing you and the family Merry Christmas.
 
I take my sweet time getting down, crawling around, and getting back up when doing oil changes. Doing that instead of moving quickly has helped eliminate injuries. You should look into using castrol edge EP 5w-30 year round which very easily pumps in 30f temps and is still good at 115F. It's rated for 25k miles though I'd never do that but 10-13k in a year is very doable and you can do it at your preferred outside temperature.
 
Pretty simple Bill!
If you are strapped for money and family does mostly highway miles, then buy Supertech for all-4 vehicles. Nobody here will chastise you for not using a more costly oil and not wanting to increase your OCIs.
Wishing you and the family Merry Christmas.
Thanks for the kind words. I believe that using any Dexos 1 Gen 3 oil (even the low cost SuperTech) will provide the same outcome over 300,000 miles as if I had used an expensive group III oil.
 
Thanks for the kind words. I believe that using any Dexos 1 Gen 3 oil (even the low cost SuperTech) will provide the same outcome over 300,000 miles as if I had used an expensive group III oil.
And with a Costco membership you can save even more on the supertech product (not hm though) and on gas too.
 
Pretty simple Bill!
If you are strapped for money and family does mostly highway miles, then buy Supertech for all-4 vehicles. Nobody here will chastise you for not using a more costly oil and not wanting to increase your OCIs.
Wishing you and the family Merry Christmas.
You can get Kirkland, the same stuff as Supertech, for a little more than $15/jug a few times a year.
 
If you decide to explore the mity vac option, it would be prudent to verify it works with your particular model/engine before you buy. So far I was not able to suck all the oil out of a 2015 Ford F150 3.5 and my 2005 Matrix 1ZZ, and had to crawl under to finish draining it. The tube bottomed out in the pan in both cases, but apparently the dipstick is not located at the deep end. And then some cars (e.g., 1999 Trans Am) just have really long dipsticks and the vacuum tube won't reach the bottom.

If it doesn't work with your engine, perhaps a Fumoto or similar easy drain plug would be suitable.
 
Would the simplest solution be to just go to the oil change place and let them change the oil and filter? If the mileage limit is never hit, what’s the point of bringing your own oil and filter?
If you trust the manager and workers, then that's fine. But I would never trust what's being dispensed in the gun-hose of these bulk tanks. I need to see what you're putting in my engine first. That means oil being poured from either quart or five quart jugs.
I pay $25 for bringing my daughters oils to their shops and letting them install it and whatever Valvoline oil filter they carry, that's slated for the daughter's particular vehicle.

At 74 years old, I still crawl under my wife and I's two vehicles, but not anyone else's anymore. But my crawl under's are only every-other-oil change. I use a Mityvac clone oil extractor and pull the used oil from the dipstick tube every-other-oil change.
 
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Would the simplest solution be to just go to the oil change place and let them change the oil and filter? If the mileage limit is never hit, what’s the point of bringing your own oil and filter?
My thoughts on oil changes at dealerships, quick lube places, and independent mechanics is that they buy the lowest price drum of bulk oil. The oil manufacturer knows that shops typically buy the lowest priced drum. So from the oil manufacturer's point of view, they can maximize their profit by putting the cheapest lowest quality oil into the drum, and then make a lot of sales with their drum's being the lowest price.

Also another scenario would be: A dealership buys a super cheap 5W-20 group II bulk oil drum (at $2 a quart) and uses that oil for their $79.99 0W-20 synthetic oil change. Dealerships likely do hundreds of oil changes a week. Think of the temptation they might have to do this, particularly the modestly paid service manager under pressure from the dealership owner to increase profits.
 
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I live in an apartment building with no garage, but my parking area is level. I have a Fumoto valve on the vehicle. I first pump the oil out thru the dip stick, then using an old coffee container I open the valve for what little is left (maybe a cup). For the filter, I first loosen in, then cover it with a gallon food storage bag to remove. No spill no mess.
 
In reading your Signature on your Honda and dividing the mileage, you are running the same filter for approx 12k per year?
Well, it's more like 10,000 miles per year but I change the oil about every 5,000 miles or sometimes I change it 3 times in a year. Right now I work part time at a car dealership and only drive about a mile to work. With the auto start I warm the Honda up in the winter for 15 minutes before I drive to work. Due to all these short trips I change the oil more frequently. It doesn't use any oil and the engine is in great shape and you can barely hear it run. I want to trade but it just runs so good I hate to get rid of it. Plus I beat it down gravel roads hunting and fishing.

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So in my case, I have 3 (soon to be 4 vehicles) that myself and my family use (with estimated annual usage: 34k, 20k, 20k, 10k) due to some long commutes we have. So combined we're driving 84k miles a year divided by 5,000 mile OCI = 17 oil changes per year.

So if Super Tech HMFS is at $18.64 for a 5 quart jug, and one of the name brand oils is about $9 more for a 5 quart jug, I'm saving 17 * 9 = $153 a year by using Super Tech. Over 6 years at that pace, using Super Tech oil would save me $918.

This is all the more reason why you should be jumping on the Amazon Pennzoil deals when they come up!

In that thread, you said that seal conditioning to prevent leaks was more important than cost. But when I last did that deal, I got 5 qt jugs of Euro L for $14.13 a piece! My recent Castrol 5W-40 deal at O'Reilly came out to $18.48 per 5 qt jug (when factoring the free top-quality MGS filters).


Using the parameters you laid out (6 years of 17 oil changes/year) doing that Amazon deal would have saved you:

$18.63 - $14.13 = $4.51/jug savings * 17 oil changes/yr * 6 yrs = $460 saved vs. using ST!


With that kind of money, you would have been able to get any leaks fixed + had the peace of mind knowing that you were getting superior wear protection with the Euro certs. (And, as previously discussed, fixing the typical leaks on an Odyssey isn't expensive).

I have absolutely no problem with Super Tech 5W-30. I've used it a lot myself, it has Dexos certification, and the HTHS is 3.1 (plenty for my applications).

So, why did I quit using it? It's too expensive!

Given the great deals to be had on Euro oils and the fact that ST seems to rarely ever be on sale, I just can't justify throwing money away on what turns out to be kind of an expensive oil.

Never thought I'd consider ST to be expensive, but compared to the other deals, it really isn't that cheap-- in fact, I'd say it's a little pricey!

Factor in the difference in the quality of the oils, and I'd say ST is a poor value.
 
This is all the more reason why you should be jumping on the Amazon Pennzoil deals when they come up!

In that thread, you said that seal conditioning to prevent leaks was more important than cost. But when I last did that deal, I got 5 qt jugs of Euro L for $14.13 a piece! My recent Castrol 5W-40 deal at O'Reilly came out to $18.48 per 5 qt jug (when factoring the free top-quality MGS filters).


Using the parameters you laid out (6 years of 17 oil changes/year) doing that Amazon deal would have saved you:

$18.63 - $14.13 = $4.51/jug savings * 17 oil changes/yr * 6 yrs = $460 saved vs. using ST!


With that kind of money, you would have been able to get any leaks fixed + had the peace of mind knowing that you were getting superior wear protection with the Euro certs. (And, as previously discussed, fixing the typical leaks on an Odyssey isn't expensive).

I have absolutely no problem with Super Tech 5W-30. I've used it a lot myself, it has Dexos certification, and the HTHS is 3.1 (plenty for my applications).

So, why did I quit using it? It's too expensive!

Given the great deals to be had on Euro oils and the fact that ST seems to rarely ever be on sale, I just can't justify throwing money away on what turns out to be kind of an expensive oil.

Never thought I'd consider ST to be expensive, but compared to the other deals, it really isn't that cheap-- in fact, I'd say it's a little pricey!

Factor in the difference in the quality of the oils, and I'd say ST is a poor value.
Thanks for pointing out what a great idea it is to look for sales like that Pennzoil Euro sale for $14.13 for a 5 quart jug.
I still have 6 jugs of those left. Does that sale still re-occur every month or two months?

Also, I still have a stash from that famous Tractor Supply clearance sale, where the Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage Full Synthetic 5 quart jugs were selling for $10.

I have purchased some jugs of the new 15,000 mile variant of the Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage Full Synthetic 5W-30 at the $23.94 price, as I would imagine it's just a temporary promotion.
 
Thanks for pointing out what a great idea it is to look for sales like that Pennzoil Euro sale for $14.13 for a 5 quart jug.
I still have 6 jugs of those left. Does that sale still re-occur every month or two months?

Also, I still have a stash from that famous Tractor Supply clearance sale, where the Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage Full Synthetic 5 quart jugs were selling for $10.

I have purchased some jugs of the new 15,000 mile variant of the Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage Full Synthetic 5W-30 at the $23.94 price, as I would imagine it's just a temporary promotion.

Given your participation in the referenced Pennzoil sale thread, I'm sure you're aware that those Pennzoil sales occur in a highly sporadic fashion. When they happen, you need to stock up.

Your response here implies that those sales wouldn't work for you as 1) they may not happen frequently enough to match the large number of OCI's you do, and 2) you already have a stash of low-cost oils.

However, in the Pennzoil sale thread, you rejected even attempting to purchase low-cost Euro L not because sales didn't happen frequently enough or because you were already well stocked, but because that oil was unacceptable (even at $14.13/5 qt) due to its lack of seal conditioner.

If the Pennzoil sale only happened at a frequency where half your oil changes would be covered by that low-cost Euro L, you would still be $230 ahead over six years by participating. But apparently you didn't find even that cost saving a worthwhile tradeoff for seal conditioning.

Note that there's nothing wrong with not wanting to have to be like a puppet on a string waiting for Pennzoil to have a blowout sale. In fact, that's exactly why I pulled the trigger on the Castrol/O'Reilly deal that I posted about.

That Castrol deal was a little more expensive than the Pennzoil deal, but I kind of felt like a Pennzoil cuck waiting for them to decide to have a sale, hope that they actually ship it, and then hope it arrives.

But I didn't switch back to ST as that would have been too expensive for me. Instead, I took the next best deal (which was Castrol).

I don't mean to sound high and mighty-- I often make irrational choices based on irrational preferences. Sometimes I just like something, even if the basis of my preference doesn't have strong support. That is a very human behavior.

If that's the case with you and ST, you'll get no argument from me!

But, if you really believe you're saving money with that choice, just thought I'd chime in to remind you that you're actually paying more for ST oil (and getting an inferior product).
 
If you decide to explore the mity vac option, it would be prudent to verify it works with your particular model/engine before you buy. So far I was not able to suck all the oil out of a 2015 Ford F150 3.5 and my 2005 Matrix 1ZZ, and had to crawl under to finish draining it. The tube bottomed out in the pan in both cases, but apparently the dipstick is not located at the deep end. And then some cars (e.g., 1999 Trans Am) just have really long dipsticks and the vacuum tube won't reach the bottom.

If it doesn't work with your engine, perhaps a Fumoto or similar easy drain plug would be suitable.
I pumped oil out of my car, and decided to pull the plug to see if there was any left. (This was in my son's driveway, 50 miles away) It turns out that the car (truck) needed to be raised in the front so the oil would be in the back of the pan.
 
I’m in my 50s and don’t mind getting under the car. It’s the dang belly pans with 47 push pins and two 10mm bolts that kink my neck. Im running schaeffers and HPl with a good filter so I can run the full length of the OLM to stretch it out.
 
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