What OCI should i be considering?

[Bart_9]

I drive a 2005 Toyota Echo, getting close to 200,000km on the ticker.
I tend to drive about 10,000 km a year these days and use Mobil 1 synthetic and as of recently the Fram ultra synthetic oil filter (currently has the Mobil 1 oil filter).

The manual recommends a 6 month 8K interval. There is no Oil Change Monitor and i assume the recommendations are for conventional oil.

I tend to do very little city and mostly highway driving and very few kilometres in winter.
Last oil change was end of October iirc.

The warranty is long since gone and given my low mileage and synthetic oil (and difficulty in getting a UOA in Canada) what would you suggest for oil change timing?

TIA

 

[hemitom]

Once a year regardless of which oil you use.
This is what i do, once per year or 10k

 

[twX]

Highway driving and longer trips in general are very easy on oil. The 6-month requirement is only there since low mileage over a long time period often indicates that the vehicle is short-tripped often, which will require more frequent changes. With your driving habits, a 1-year, 10,000 km OCI should be just fine, even with a modern conventional oil. Using a good synthetic like Mobil 1 and a FRAM Ultra filter will give you a bit more headroom.

Does your model year suffer from the Toyota oil burning issues? If it does I would be just a bit more conservative with OCI's, even though Mobil 1 should be a good oil to prevent clogged oil control rings.

OAI has a lab in Edmonton. Postage-paid tests are $65, and include TBN. It would be hard to justify the cost for an old cheap car that sees low use.

 

[Oillover]

OAI has a lab in Edmonton. Postage-paid tests are currently $55 CAD (normally $65). It would be hard to justify the cost for an old cheap car that sees low use.

+1
The cost would be better put towards another tank of regular/OCI before an oil analysis.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Why change if its working thus far?

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

With modern synthetic oil, a good filter and your driving habits I don’t see why 8k+ miles would be out of reach

 

[Bart_9]

Once a year regardless of which oil you use.
This is what i do, once per year or 10k

Why are you confident this would suffice?

Does your model year suffer from the Toyota oil burning issues? If it does I would be just a bit more conservative with OCI's, even though Mobil 1 should be a good oil to prevent clogged oil control rings.

Not that i know of but how do i find out?

Why change if its working thus far?

I guess i like to learn more and adjust as needed.
If i can safely save a few bucks (or $75 as it were) i'm all for it.

For example i am upgrading to a Fram oil filter for better filtering than my Mobil 1 30 micron filter. And saving a couple bucks in the bargain.

 

[hemitom]

Why are you confident this would suffice?

Not that i know of but how do i find out?

I guess i like to learn more and adjust as needed.
If i can safely save a few bucks (or $75 as it were) i'm all for it.

For example i am upgrading to a Fram oil filter for better filtering than my Mobil 1 30 micron filter. And saving a couple bucks in the bargain.

Why am i confident !
almost 30 years of experience with this regime never had an oil related issue.
And todays oils are much better than when i started with this.
And i doubt that an engine in a toyota echo is highly stressed unless you are running this thing at 6500 rpm all the time.
Do you really think mobil 1 can't handle 6000 miles ? a member here has close to 750 thousand miles on 10k oci's with mobil 1 . Hows that for confidence.
sorry my mistake its over one million miles on mobil 1 running 10k oci's

 

[SC Maintenance]

I guess i like to learn more and adjust as needed.
If i can safely save a few bucks (or $75 as it were) i'm all for it.

For example i am upgrading to a Fram oil filter for better filtering than my Mobil 1 30 micron filter. And saving a couple bucks in the bargain.

You and everyone else is just guessing at the end of the day, albeit highly educated guesses.

You could run a little over the recommendation and do an analysis. But the analysis will use up all your money savings anyway. What you don't know is how much shear or how much dilution you have, or how used up the add pack is currently at change.

If there is an oil analysis for the same engine around here, that might give your something to start with at least.

 

[Bart_9]

Why am i confident !
almost 30 years of experience with this regime never had an oil related issue.
And todays oils are much better than when i started with this.
And i doubt that an engine in a toyota echo is highly stressed unless you are running this thing at 6500 rpm all the time.
Do you really think mobil 1 can't handle 6000 miles ? a member here has close to 750 thousand miles on 10k oci's with mobil 1 . Hows that for confidence.
sorry my mistake its over one million miles on mobil 1 running 10k oci's

Good to know, thanks.
SL oil was the name of the game back in 2005, i used to use Royal Purple but when they went to SN i switched to Mobil 1. I also used to do a lot more kms/year, so i would do it every 6 months, these days the oil is better and i drive a lot less.

I am a pretty gentle driver, I know Mobil 1 can handle 6K, heck i once went 9500km on Mobil 1 synthetic, that was cross country driving in 3 months so i knew it would be fine.

I was doing twice a year, once in spring and again in fall, so the winter oil would get flushed out quickly, This year i didn't do that, it would have been late March/early April if i did. So far i think i have 2000-3000km on the current oil.

You and everyone else is just guessing at the end of the day, albeit highly educated guesses.

You could run a little over the recommendation and do an analysis. But the analysis will use up all your money savings anyway. What you don't know is how much shear or how much dilution you have, or how used up the add pack is currently at change.

If there is an oil analysis for the same engine around here, that might give your something to start with at least.

I have been wanting to do an analysis at least once in my car's lifetime just out of interest.
Perhaps that time has come.

In a sense i would prefer an oil life monitor though i expect my next car to be an EV. Maybe a battery life monitor at that point

 

[CleanSump]

I'm with the once a year with any synthetic crowd. 10,000km isn't too long for it. 5,000km/6 months isn't necessary unless it's super fuel diluting.

 

[hemitom]

Good to know, thanks.
SL oil was the name of the game back in 2005, i used to use Royal Purple but when they went to SN i switched to Mobil 1. I also used to do a lot more kms/year, so i would do it every 6 months, these days the oil is better and i drive a lot less.

I am a pretty gentle driver, I know Mobil 1 can handle 6K, heck i once went 9500km on Mobil 1 synthetic, that was cross country driving in 3 months so i knew it would be fine.

I was doing twice a year, once in spring and again in fall, so the winter oil would get flushed out quickly, This year i didn't do that, it would have been late March/early April if i did. So far i think i have 2000-3000km on the current oil.


I have been wanting to do an analysis at least once in my car's lifetime just out of interest.
Perhaps that time has come.

In a sense i would prefer an oil life monitor though i expect my next car to be an EV. Maybe a battery life monitor at that point

No worries !
in your case i would change every spring .
changing every six months for the type of driving you are doing is just wasting your money and good oil.
Now if you had a direct injection ( GDI ) engine i would be more apt to changing every six months.

 

[Bart_9]

I'm with the once a year with any synthetic crowd. 10,000km isn't too long for it. 5,000km/6 months isn't necessary unless it's super fuel diluting.

Makes sense, though i am not ready to commit to that yet.
I might extend to 9 months and see what happens.

No worries !
in your case i would change every spring .
changing every six months for the type of driving you are doing is just wasting your money and good oil.
Now if you had a direct injection ( GDI ) engine i would be more apt to changing every six months.

I don't disagree, but i am a numbers person and i have none to work with.
If i had an UOA that showed lots of life then that would be hard data.

BTW anyone seen this YouTube vid where he recommends 5K intervals:


Thoughts?

 

[02zx9r rev2]

That video has been posted too many times to count. The good Dr’s Camry was dealer serviced, bulk oil. Would it have different had it been 10K oci’s with M1 or Amsoil???

 

[Bart_9]

That video has been posted too many times to count.

Me low post count member, sorry

The good Dr’s Camry was dealer serviced, bulk oil. Would it have different had it been 10K oci’s with M1 or Amsoil???

The eternal question.

 

[Bart_9]

That video has been posted too many times to count. The good Dr’s Camry was dealer serviced, bulk oil. Would it have different had it been 10K oci’s with M1 or Amsoil???

Been thinking about this a bit, what is the difference between the bulk oil and the Mobil 1 synthetic i am using which allows for longer OCIs?

 

[02zx9r rev2]

Better base stock, better add packs. I would venture to guess that dealership bulk oil is cheapest oil they can get that meets specs

 

[dan323]

Yes !

 

[macarose]

Your filter is going to be a greater determinant on the condition and longevity of your engine.

I think you're doing everything perfectly fine. Here's the short list.

1) Oil change once a year.
2) Replace the filter every other year.
3) Top off the oil once a year.

A Yaris can last for 30 years with the right owner and the right climate. That's not an exaggeration. The simplicity and ease of repair combined with Toyota's total quality management system makes your Yaris a keeper.

https://www.dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Toyota_Yaris.html

 

[Bart_9]

Your filter is going to be a greater determinant on the condition and longevity of your engine.

I think you're doing everything perfectly fine. Here's the short list.

1) Oil change once a year.
2) Replace the filter every other year.
3) Top off the oil once a year.

A Yaris can last for 30 years with the right owner and the right climate. That's not an exaggeration. The simplicity and ease of repair combined with Toyota's total quality management system makes your Yaris a keeper.

https://www.dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Toyota_Yaris.html

In another thread i was told the filter does not really matter

I'm not willing to go to once a year and filter every other year, though i am willing to go beyond 6 months.