Thanks a lot History Channel!

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Watched History Channel a couple of nights ago, they had a quick blurb courtesy of Castrol telling all the viewers out there that the best way to keep your vehicle running well is to change your oil every 3K miles or 3 months! Arggh! I want to break something! Another Oil company/blender perpetuating the myth of the 3k/3 month oil change.....
 
Get over it.
If YOU don't want to do 3k OCI's don't.
Some of us do.
Blah blah blah, we're wasting money, we know.
Thanks.

Scott
 
Not to worry, I use synthetic, chewbaccaboy. I've read that we haven't even touched all of the dead synthetic dinosaurs yet, so I'm comfortable.
I can afford it, but more importantly, I have never seen an engine blow up from a good, regular oil change.
Get over it.
Why do guys like you insist on slamming people that don't agree with your OCI intervals?
 
Most advertisements try to sell you something you may not need, and motor oil manufacturers are no exception. I'd rather see them advise you to follow your manufacturer's recommendations, but it's certainly much better to change too early than too late.

In terms of overall petroleum usage, the oil used is negligible compared to the fuel used. It's also absolutely insignificant compared to all the energy and resources consumed by owning and operating a vehicle.

Synthetics are also derived from petroleum.
 
Hmmm..Wonder how many quarts of, say, Texas crude, which is supposedly the sweetest and lightest, it takes to make a quart of Havoline? I'm sure considerably less than GrpIII syn?

Different crude, depending on origin, yields different quantities, yes? No?
 
I have to tell my Brother in law to change his oil every 3000 Miles,Last time on his Silverado he had one Oil change go to 20,000 on regular Bulk Dino. Needless to say the engine was shot. So I just Keep pounding 3000 into his head so he at the very least gets it done every 6000 Hopefully anyway.
 
With the driving conditions out there, it's just the oil company / auto manufacturer's way of keeping the economy and your cars running. If you live in a big city with traffic problems, going 3000 miles might even be stretching it.
 
It really is a waste of money/resources. But it only benefits the oil companies. Too bad Castrol is just like all the rest....
 
quote:

Originally posted by ScottB:
(...snip...) Most people I'd be willing to bet never even pop-open the owner's manual. It creates a general awareness to the need for changing oil that many may not even think about.
(...snip...) I have yet to see any reports of engines prematurely failing due to 3/4k OCIs.

Scott


5k OCIs would be more reasonable and would do just as much, maybe more, to "create a general awareness".

I fatigued the drain opening threads on one car of mine after nearly a decade of overchanging of oil. Alas, not a cheap fix. . .
 
With all the Pop-Warner, soccer, hockey, and Little-League moms trundling their demented little waifs to and from practice in 6,000 lb SUVs 10 mph over the posted speed limit, I have to laugh out loud at the know-it-all, self righteous hypocrites who presume to lecture me that I'm wasting resources with my 3,000 mile OCIs. My oil goes to a recycling center. The exhaust from those gas hogs is "recycled" into global warming carbon dioxide.
 
Unless they specifically ask, I never try to tell anyone what oil to use, or how often to change it. Heck, if you want to change out your Pennzoil, Castrol, Havoline, or other good dino at 3000 miles(or even less), go right ahead. Change Mobil 1 at 3K? If it makes you feel better, fine. I'm probably gonna head back to 3K-5K changes after I finish the Auto-RX treatments on my car, primarily to use up my 80-qt stash of Formula Shell & Havoline.
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As far as being wasteful, Ray's right. Compared to fuel, engine oil is a small drop in a Big bucket.
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Of course, if we paid European/Australian-level prices for motor oil, many of us would decide that 3K was excessive.
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You gotta index who the target market is here. If you had to advise someone who hasn't the slightest clue about engines and lubrication ..or a multitude of other aspects of the universe ...and you were heavily weighted on the side of caution ...knowing that they can't sit through reading the owners manual..3k wouldn't be all that wrong a thing to recommend.

Heck, I can't read an owners manual just because of the excessive amount of stuff they have to put in there for someone who doesn't know anything. It's a very boring text. Even the index is often fragmented ...you don't find specification in the specifications pages ..you may find capacities in the capacities noted pages. You will find special procedures and cautions about towing in the "towing" section ..but it may or may not be if YOU'RE towing ..but rather if you're BEING towed.


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quote:

Originally posted by Gary Allan:

Heck, I can't read an owners manual just because of the excessive amount of stuff they have to put in there for someone who doesn't know anything. It's a very boring text. Even the index is often fragmented ...you don't find specification in the specifications pages ..you may find capacities in the capacities noted pages. You will find special procedures and cautions about towing in the "towing" section ..but it may or may not be if YOU'RE towing ..but rather if you're BEING towed.


dunno.gif


I found the owners manual for my latest car online (occasionally GM does something right
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). It's a lot easier to go to my computer and search the pdf version of the manual by keyword than use the lousy index.

A person probably could spend a couple of hours with the PDF version and edit out the superfulous safety warnings, etc and make a much more useable manual.
 
My G'dad has a '79 Dodge Van with the 318, I believe, and 107k miles. It's had a life of 3k oci's and Havoline 10w-30, problem isn't the 3k oci's or the Havoline, but the amount of time that it's just literally *sat* around in it's lifetime - that engine is so sludged up, I just about cried when I changed it's oil.

The stuff coming out of it had probably been in it for over a year or so - as his *belief* was 3k miles, well, that could've taken well over 2yrs for them to accrue.

Talk about BLACK THIN GUE with thick droplets of sludge coming out.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Ramblin Fever:
My G'dad has a '79 Dodge Van with the 318, I believe, and 107k miles. It's had a life of 3k oci's and Havoline 10w-30, problem isn't the 3k oci's or the Havoline, but the amount of time that it's just literally *sat* around in it's lifetime - that engine is so sludged up, I just about cried when I changed it's oil.

The stuff coming out of it had probably been in it for over a year or so - as his *belief* was 3k miles, well, that could've taken well over 2yrs for them to accrue.

Talk about BLACK THIN GUE with thick droplets of sludge coming out.


Sounds more like short slow trips and never gets fully up to operating temperature than time between changes.
 
quote:

Originally posted by ScottB:
Not to worry, I use synthetic, chewbaccaboy. I've read that we haven't even touched all of the dead synthetic dinosaurs yet, so I'm comfortable.
I can afford it, but more importantly, I have never seen an engine blow up from a good, regular oil change.
Get over it.
Why do guys like you insist on slamming people that don't agree with your OCI intervals?


I also go by 3 or 3,000.
cheers.gif
 
Shampoo bottles often say "lather, rinse, and repeat", and it isn't necessary. You'll use a little extra.
You can't blame the Mfrs. for trying, though.
 
quote:

Originally posted by mechtech:
Shampoo bottles often say "lather, rinse, and repeat", and it isn't necessary. You'll use a little extra.
You can't blame the Mfrs. for trying, though.


I fogot where I heard it (maybe Saturday Night Live) , but, these were referred to as ideodirections. Directions that make you use up a product faster. It went something like that anyway.
 
I go by the kind of driving we do. If we do alot of highway driving I usually go to 4500-5k, Short trips 3500-4k.
 
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