The economical oil change: A modest proposal for a Litmus Test

[TomYoung]

Where's the color for those that have Euro cars and spend more but change less because
we don't like to waste oil. It is a weird situation. I pay up for what I need. Oil I no longer really care about
getting it dirt cheap as its just required. But I also don't like tossing out good oil well before its time.
I'd rather pay up for a premium oil and filter but run it out longer within the maker's limits.

I have a few cars that fall into this category. In my case, the oils cost twice as much or more (maybe far more than the oils folks are using to "win" this game!). I think that this game is more geared to American, Japanese, and Korean branded cars. Your car has to have some tolerance for different oil brands and minimal specifications, if you want to be buying synthetic oil and filter for between $17 and $25.

I would note that this makes the game difficult for some basic vehicles, like those Jetta's out there looking for the slightly expensive VW 505 502 oils. If you need LL17FE+ or A40, as examples, there is no way that you're getting anything competitive in the game, even if it means that you are going 10,000 miles instead of 7,500 on an oil change.

 

[TomYoung]

Lets make the game how much you spend in 20,000 miles...

I would assume you can bring in a killer performance with that '72 F100!

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

How about anyone whose engine ever burns oil at a rate of more than 0.5qt/10k mi loses. Bet they’ll spend more.

 

[dubber09]

We should talk oil and filter cost per 1k miles or so, if we talk cost.
Some cars take more oil like my buds 996 takes 8.25L but he runs longer OCIs.
A $150 oil change every 15k miles is same cost as $50 oil change every 5k miles or $30 change every 3k miles.

 

[UncleDave]

Like most of us, I love the oil conversations and the endless debates, but I sometimes feel like price sensitivity is less important to many. i understand that some cars require expensive oils and filters, but wanted to make a suggestion on what you should spend. My assumptions are that you are purchasing five quarts of a synthetic oil, and a spin-on filter. I am assuming that the oil will be either 0 W or 5 Wm and 20, 30, 40 on the other side, and have SP or SN "modernity." With a few exceptions, I bet I am covering 90% of what folks are driving.

Here goes:

If you purchase the oil and filter for under $30, you are a careful consumer and winning this game. You score GREEN.
If you purchase the oil and filter for under $35, but more than $30, you are somewhat consumer and doing okay. You score BLUE.
If you purchase the oil and filter for under $40, but more than $35 you are not trying, or driven by some other criteria . You score YELLOW.
If you purchase the oil and filter for more than $40, you are not really playing the game, or driven by some other criteria. You score RED.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Even your first line is pretty wasteful.

It's pretty easy spend 30 once, then run out a 20K mile filter at 20 bucks an OCI.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Good points. There was a time when folks were pushing the oil to pretty extreme distances, sometime supporting it with oil analysis (that could cost as much as an oil change). My assumption is that all of the oils here are in spec, synthetic and in a recognizable brand, so that they would all go the recommended OCI and maybe a little longer. I am not sure that there is a real contest on OCI length.

My 2011 Fusion OLM tripped at 10k, but I got all the way to 17.1k on PUP, and other than a little oxidative thickening everything looked good. I sold that car over 130k ago and it’s still running strong with zero engine work. That’s significantly more than “a little longer than recommended OCI”.

 

[TomYoung]

Even your first line is pretty wasteful.

It's pretty easy spend 30 once, then run out a 20K mile filter at 20 bucks an OCI.

The thread is more about getting the price of oil and filter as low as possible. I am not making suggestions at this time on whether folks should go for long OCI's. If you are saying use a good filter and change oil more often, I am not in agreement just based on elegance.

 

[TomYoung]

My 2011 Fusion OLM tripped at 10k, but I got all the way to 17.1k on PUP, and other than a little oxidative thickening everything looked good. I sold that car over 130k ago and it’s still running strong with zero engine work. That’s significantly more than “a little longer than recommended OCI”.

Not sure if that is in keeping with the thread, but you are on your own, taking your own risks, with that extremely long OCI.

 

[UncleDave]

The thread is more about getting the price of oil and filter as low as possible. I am not making suggestions at this time on whether folks should go for long OCI's. If you are saying use a good filter and change oil more often, I am not in agreement just based on elegance.

Not rebuying/ replacing a filter every OCI saves a lot of time and money.

Im not asking to you to make suggestions nor did I say to undertake a long OCI.

Im suggesting to buy a high mileage filter and use it up.

FCI is often quite conformably double OCI or more.

 

[cammyfive79]

Yowzers….. looks like I’ll be changing my s/n to Triple Red Alert based on this game.

Q: how many negative points do I accumulate on doing 2 HPL OCIs in 2 separate cars and then selling one and trading the other before the oil even hit 2500 miles in either.

 

[TomYoung]

Yowzers….. looks like I’ll be changing my s/n to Triple Red Alert based on this game.

Q: how many negative points do I accumulate on doing 2 HPL OCIs in 2 separate cars and then selling one and trading the other before the oil even hit 2500 miles in either.

The only thing you are doing that sinks you in the game is buying HPL oil, which is a great choice, just not for this game. The OCI's are your business and have no impact on the game. But HPL is a very expensive proposition.

BTW, congrats on grabbing that new sweet Mazda. Everything I read says that it sets a new bar for the vehicles in its class. Best wishes.

 

[TomYoung]

Not rebuying/ replacing a filter every OCI saves a lot of time and money.

Im not asking to you to make suggestions nor did I say to undertake a long OCI.

Im suggesting to buy a high mileage filter and use it up.

FCI is often quite conformably double OCI or more.

Are you suggesting that you should get credit in the game for using the filter twice as long: ie. essentially cutting the price in half? I would have to say no as there could be any amount of variability using that logic. Not really sure that replacing a filter every other time saves "a lot" of time and money, when some filters are very inexpensive.

Would be interested to hear what you are buying and how much you are spending. Best wishes.

 

[UncleDave]

Are you suggesting that you should get credit in the game for using the filter twice as long: ie. essentially cutting the price in half? I would have to say no as there could be any amount of variability using that logic. Not really sure that replacing a filter every other time saves "a lot" of time and money, when some filters are very inexpensive.

Would be interested to hear what you are buying and how much you are spending. Best wishes.

Hey it's your game so you decide who and what gets credit in it - but in real life you can absolutely do that with no issues.

In my case it was 4 5K OCI's for one FCI. I saved on 3 ten dollar filters, and the labor to get under the car. (I use a topside changer)

2OCI-1FCI Is recommended by Honda . So I'll take Hondas formula and Frams mileage claim/ word over your opinion.

You can look up how it worked in the "5 year old 21K mile Fram Ultra" in the filter thread.

Best Sir!

 

[4WD]

Hey it's your game so you decide what gets credit in it - but in real life you can absolutely do that with no issues.

In my case it was 4 5K OCI's for one FCI. I saved on 3 ten dollar filters, and the labor to get under the car. (I use a topside changer)

2OCI-1FCI Is recommended by Honda . So I'll take Hondas formula and Frams mileage claim word over your opinion.

You can look up my thread on the 5 year old 21K mile Fram Ultra in the filter thread.

Best Sir!

You get -5 for making other people nervous about your vehicle/filter

 

[DuckRyder]

"The Game" is IMO a little silly without a miles and or time component.

30 every 5,000 = 60 every 10,000

 

[hemioiler]

My last oil change, including shipping and cross border fees probably cost $120+.

What color is "she gets the best she can every 7000 miles"? $20-$40 is pretty tame, I feel we can do better here.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

My last oil change, including shipping and cross border fees probably cost $120+.

What color is "she gets the best she can every 7000 miles"? $20-$40 is pretty tame, I feel we can do better here.

Many people think being cheap is a virtue. Penny wise, pound foolish.

 

[hemioiler]

Many people think being cheap is a virtue. Penny wise, pound foolish.

It also depends on what you spent on the vehicle and how long you plan to keep it. My truck new MSRP'ed for $64,000 (didn't pay that of course, this was pre-covid). I plan to keep it until the wheels fall off or my use case changes.

I'm not about to quibble over $40 - $100 two times a year for proper maintenance when I spend $130 on gas every 3 weeks. Perspective is key.

If this was a 15 year old beater different story.

 

[TomYoung]

Many people think being cheap is a virtue. Penny wise, pound foolish.

The virtue is not being "cheap." The virtue is thrift - using one's money and time responsibly. "Penny wise, pound foolish" implies that an expense denied now is going to come back and exact consequences later. This thread presupposes that we all place a high value on responsible maintenance, although there are some different ideas about what that means in terms of OCI's, filter changes and I suppose in what you and hemioiler seem to be suggesting which is that there is some benefit in maxing out the price of oil.

In no place in this thread is anyone suggesting that substandard products be used to save a few bucks. If you are offended by the idea that parity products should be price-shopped, the game is not for you.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

The virtue is not being "cheap." The virtue is thrift - using one's money and time responsibly. "Penny wise, pound foolish" implies that an expense denied now is going to come back and exact consequences later. This thread presupposes that we all place a high value on responsible maintenance, although there are some different ideas about what that means in terms of OCI's, filter changes and I suppose in what you and hemioiler seem to be suggesting which is that there is some benefit in maxing out the price of oil.

In no place in this thread is anyone suggesting that substandard products be used to save a few bucks. If you are offended by the idea that parity products should be price-shopped, the game is not for you.

There’s no parity at $30-40