I don't think it makes a real difference at moderate service intervals. My little sister's 140,000 mi '98 GM 2.4 Ecotec shows no sign of timing chain or oil consumption issues with 8,000-10,000 mi, 90% City OCI with standard GM Conventional, then Dexos 1 and finally Dexos 1.2 bulk its entire life. Now if you were going 15,000-20,000 like the European's it might need a more robust formulation.
The Simple Oil Maintenance Plan
- Thread starter Gene K
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I don't think it makes a real difference at moderate service intervals. My little sister's 140,000 mi '98 GM 2.4 Ecotec shows no sign of timing chain or oil consumption issues with 8,000-10,000 mi, 90% City OCI with standard GM Conventional, then Dexos 1 and finally Dexos 1.2 bulk its entire life. Now if you were going 15,000-20,000 like the European's it might need a more robust formulation.
It is true, some people here on BITOG overthink these decisions. But for the most part I believe it's not their fault. Either they have OCD, or maybe they are just terribly bored and need a real hobby. Actually that 2nd part would be their own doing -- obsessing over auto supplies and service intervals is not a legitimate hobby.
Have you priced Bass Boats lately?
I just change oil and filter every 5K miles.
It could somewhat be due to “bike-shedding” aka Parkinson's law of triviality. It describes the tendency to devote a disproportionate amount of time and energy to solving small or trivial matters while leaving larger or more difficult matters less attended to. People tend to focus on smaller issues because they are easier to learn, understand, and figure out.
Like he said, some people need a hobby.
Sounds like a description of my personality.
Well we can still discuss which oil is quieter than the next one and split hairs on viscosity.
Here is my concern about using different oils, they are not all created equal.
I know for a fact oil “X” can last 5,000+ miles and not loose any of it’s ability to protect my engine, I do not know if oil “Y” can do the same.
A oil sample would tell me if oil “Y” was still good at 5k or not, but I am not going to waste money on a oil sample just because I bought something on sale for this oil change.
I will stick with what I know and trust. Even if I have to pay more for it.
I’m a loyalist, I stick with what I know until it does me wrong, then I will find something else.
It doesn't work that way. You are getting a different formulation every few months. They have to adjust based on supply and cost never mind the constant industry and manufacture requirement changes.
Plus the only thing one really learns about the oil from a standard UOA is the TBN. These days with low sulfur fuels q the TBN is getting less and less important unless there is a mechanical issue with the engine and it’s producing large amounts of blow-by. You learn nothing about the numerous other aspects of a motor oil that lead to “protection” for an engine.
I understand that, but isn‘t Castrol going to make sure they protect their name?
Store brands are going to be all sorts of formulations meeting the minimum requirements.
But isn’t a brand such as Castrol going to do better than the bare minimum?
A oil sample will show you the a amount of engine wear in that sample, correct?
So if oil “X” sample shows wear of 5 and oil sample “Y” shows wear of 8, couldn't someone assume that oil “Y” does not provide the same level of protection as oil “X” and then deduce from that that oil “Y” wears out sooner because all oils are going to provide the same amount of protection when new, based on meeting the minimum standards.
BUT the longevity of the oil, how quickly it shears down, how soon the viscosity improvers wear out…all of those variables will be different from brand “X” and brand “Y”.
When I sold off my father in law's late 90's Lincoln Town Car, it had 300k on the clock. The suspension was completely worn out, but the 2V 4.6 in it ran great and sounded tight and quiet. I know for a fact that it only had a handful of oil changes over its last 100k, plus it never got fancy synthetic oil as long as he owned it. Mod motors are stout.
Nothing wrong with it. Do whatever make you happy. Just understand brands are nothing more than corporations. And corporations are nothing more than a construct recognized under the law as of a group of people acting as a single entity. Brands are not a tangible, it a product tied to an organization (ie group of people) with a common goal or idea.
Blackstone themselves have stated that there is no statistically significant difference in UOA results for any of the oils they have tested. A UOA is about the specific engine under the specific operating conditions, not the oil. You cannot determine comparative wear rates between oils using a $30 spectrographic analysis. It takes much more sophisticated and extensive tests to do that and to isolate the one variable of the oil. Some relevant tests include ASTM D6984, D5966, D6891, D6425, D8279, D8350. There are more depending on which engine component is being tested and other factors.
It works for you. Enough said!
I think taxi Ford town cars were part of the study where they tested regular ol conventional at 6k intervals in the blistering VEGAS heat. All went well. That’s why certs and routine maintenance matter more than anything
There are folks that follow similar maintenance plans and still develop oil leaks or other issues. There are too many variables: engine type, variation in build quality, etc. Two people with the same engine might get vastly different results when they both follow the same maintenance plan. Just because you've seen good results doesn't mean those results would carry over to another car or engine type.
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