Unwilling to accept the data, staying with 2-3k oil changes

[Glenda W.]

History:

2015 Honda Fit ( non turbo GDI….small 3.5 quart sump ).

Car has only seen 90% highway ( I commute to another city for work ) use and only Amsoil SS or HPL PP 0w30 used.

I change the oil always according to the OLM ( PCV is fine )

When I first bought the car, I was keen and did a few UOA and it proved the OLM was conservative so I just followed it.

Car started consuming oil at around 90,000 miles. Current mileage 185,000 miles.

Burns 1 quart ( stable oil consumption, I track it very carefully ) every 2500 miles.

I always wonder if some of these extreme ( mine annoys me because it’s the first car that had used oil but it’s stable ) oil consumption issues were caused by owners who never check their oil level and exacerbated the problem.

I always check oil levels every week because I do so much driving.

Viscosity doesn’t matter, tried HPL & Amsoil 0w40 and same consumption.

That’s the whole story.

Thanks. I’m honestly shocked as I thought for sure oils of that caliber would keep pistons squeaky clean. After reading many threads here I had my doubts of them cleaning already stuck rings but assumed they wouldn’t cause them…..

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Thanks. I’m honestly shocked as I thought for sure oils of that caliber would keep pistons squeaky clean. After reading many threads here I had my doubts of them cleaning already stuck rings but assumed they wouldn’t cause them…..

I will get the compression checked when I finish with the VRP out of curiosity ( never checked it before ). I will post it in about 4 months.

Engine sounds great.

Yes, it’s a small sump GDI but it’s grown up with the highest quality oil and seen extreme easy highway driving.

I simply will never believe, without data , things would be different had I changed the oil every 2/3k or 5k but I have proof it would have cost me more money and time ( that would have required monthly oil changes ).

I think some cars just end up consuming oil even when driven in the most ideal situations.

 

[slackinoff]

One thing that truly bugs me in PA, is the difficulty in recycling used motor oil.

That is surprising (and would be frustrating). We have city run used oil drop bins here in small town East Texas at all the fire stations and at the the dump parking lot. Never further than a few miles at any point in the city from a used oil bin. Maybe there are some city places you don't know about yet? That was the case for me....., I thought it was only at auto parts stores and that was a hassle because they were full and had to go at hours they were open.

 

[Doc8404]

This is exactly correct. By the way, how many sheets do you bunch up for the first swipe?

Heathen! They must be carefully folded to make a square or slight rectangle.

Two pieces of double ply.

 

[Glenda W.]

I will get the compression checked when I finish with the VRP out of curiosity ( never checked it before ). I will post it in about 4 months.

Engine sounds great.

Yes, it’s a small sump GDI but it’s grown up with the highest quality oil and seen extreme easy highway driving.

I simply will never believe, without data , things would be different had I changed the oil every 2/3k or 5k but I have proof it would have cost me more money and time ( that would have required monthly oil changes ).

I think some cars just end up consuming oil even when driven in the most ideal situations.

I agree. There’s also always a possibility it’s not stuck rings and some inherent engine or pcv design.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

To be fair to Amsoil and HPL, I never checked the inside top of the oil cap until VRP so maybe it was already there but only started looking for that stuff when using VRP.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

I agree. There’s also always a possibility it’s not stuck rings and some inherent engine or pcv design.

Exactly.

 

[53' Stude]

haha maybe if I were 20 years old I would. In NYS sellers are REQUIRED to accept 20 quarts per day--if a person came in every day with 20 quarts, imho they are clearly some sort of business. In PA and NJ, no law, therefore no accept, despite having signs that they do. Just unpleasant all around. I'm guessing residents of Phila can take it to the city recycling facilities, dunno. Guy at work said do what I do, pour it down the storm drain, because he too got tired of the shenanigans. Can't bring myself to do that, too soft I guess

Advance Auto takes mine if I’m not near my work where I usually dispose of it.

 

[FlyingTexan]

The only problem with this is oil goes bad. It’s additive package breaks down and thus becomes ineffective

Outdated & discounted oil, even if it’s a quality brand, becomes subpar..

Without exposure to the elements it should last forever in that bottle as far as we are concerned. Only if it gets outside elements in would it start going bad.

 

[jjblbi]

On two VW TDIs I ran 10k mile oil and filter changes; both vehicles lasted over 250,000 miles. I was racking up 35,000 miles a year commuting so changes were 3-4x year. I had it down to about 1/2 hour a change including the clean-up using a topside extractor. DelVac 1 full syn 5w-40 and later the ESP version. Luckily our county recycling center accepted up to 5 gallons a day.

Either 5 or 10 thousand mile intervals on the odometer make it easy to keep track of multiple vehicles.

PS> Only oil used is about a pint around 7,500 miles into the cycle.

 

[PandaBear]

I think I do 5k OCI and my cars last to 270k before the first start blue smoke shows up, and I don't even know if it is due to oil, it could have the same smoke even if I do 2-3k OCI.

Anyways, without testing like the way manufacturers do we really are just guessing. I trust that large companies do their testing and their reputations are on the line, and if there are problems they will see them in warranty claims and issue new oil spec or ask them to reduce OCI in TSB.

I do every 6 months now because I commute less now, but I would have no problem following manufacturer spec. I would rather go thicker if I tow than shorter OCI.

 

[PandaBear]

The head engineer for the Nissan GTR advocates 2000 mile oil changes for his car and all cars if you want to get maximum engine protection. I can't support or disprove his claim but that is it, there is a video out there with the statement they make.

How many people are driving GTR, or street racing their corolla? Most people commuting are not stressing their oil like the engineers testing GTR on a dyno.

 

[53' Stude]

Do what makes you happy. If you like using cheap oil and changing it often go for it. I personally don't enjoy changing oil, although in the Colorado its very easy. Like food, I like to eat quality food rather than cheap out on McDonald's. Same with my cars. Amsoil SS is overkill for my drain intervals, but with GDI/short trip winter driving, I can at least have peace of mind internals are staying clean until I can get to it. Having an overbuilt oil gives you a bit of peace of mind in these scenarios.

I've never considered oil a major expense. Food shopping for a week is more expensive than an oil change which is good for at least 3-6 months. Just not a concern.

Yeah, I’m at the stage where I’m using Delvac 1 ESP 5w40 and HPL and going 5k and doing UOA’s. I’m not wasting oil and filters like the old timers did.

 

[zeroptzero]

How many people are driving GTR, or street racing their corolla? Most people commuting are not stressing their oil like the engineers testing GTR on a dyno.

Don't ask me, I don't know **** about motor oil, I just mentioned the video I seen, wrong or right I don't know and I have no interest in finding out either.

 

[slackinoff]

Anything less than 5K miles seems insane to me, but to each their own

I thought the same until I started getting UOAs and the results pointed me closer to 3k mile changes. But I guess it's not that insane after considering the vast majority of my drives are less than 4 miles, a 3 or 4 times a day and a couple/few hours between them allowing motor to cool down.

 

[RMaybeth]

I have owned 13 or 14 cars over the years, can't even remember them all anymore, but I've always gone by the same oil change intervals as you do and for exactly the same reasons. I have seen NO compelling reasons, no changes, no miraculous improvements in the tribology (even the widespread use of synthetics), nor in oil filter design, nor in engine metallurgy, that would convince me to go any longer than 4,000 to 5,000 miles at the longest, in any engine I own.
I have seen plenty of engines, though, that were destroyed by their owners' ignorance and negligence because they either didn't bother with, or didn't know, the oil in their car needs periodic changing! So these folks were careless about doing oil changes, or even checking the oil level on their own car. And literally drove it until the oil light on the dash came on, by which time, of course, it was usually far too late to save their engine. Given one extreme of oil changing or the other, I choose over-maintenance every time.

 

[Faawrenchbndr]

Without exposure to the elements it should last forever in that bottle as far as we are concerned. Only if it gets outside elements in would it start going bad.

There have been a few oil analysis tests that state otherwise

 

[Faawrenchbndr]

I thought the same until I started getting UOAs and the results pointed me closer to 3k mile changes. But I guess it's not that insane after considering the vast majority of my drives are less than 4 miles, a 3 or 4 times a day and a couple/few hours between them allowing motor to cool down.

I am of the same thought process. My OCI is no greater than 5k

 

[Faawrenchbndr]

Do you have a study or a source to verify, validate, or accredit that sealed oil degrades? I have heard discussions on the subject, but have never come across a study or other accredited information on the subject.

Lake Speed Jr

 

[buster]