Why 10K Miles Oil change may not be good!

Seriously? Cost go up on a lot more on a car than just oil changes. Which is just about the cheapest insurance and protection you can give a vehicle. You can do it yourself for about half the price of a tank of gas today.
And I do… just saying as to the price of oil.
 
Check out my UOA's for my Focus and Scion XD. Port injected engines used mainly for commuting can EASILY go 15K miles between oil changes. My wife's 09 CX-9 just got tore down to replace the water pump. Tech was stunned when I told him 175K miles of 7500-10K mile intervals. Tech said the engine looked new. No varnish or sludge. My wife does more stop and go driving and the 3.7 seems to be "hard" on oil.
 
If my Toyota engine has rings that "do not seal properly," why does it consume LESS oil than any other vehicle I've encountered?
Neither does mine. So what? Many others do. I'm sure you can find a few Honda's out there that don't have a fuel dilution problem. Just as there were many Pintos that rusted away, before they ever got a chance to blow up.
 
It’s not just sump size but also duty cycle. Big rigs are not short tripped. A passenger car is likely to be short tripped and that big 10qt sump takes a lot longer to get up to the temp than a 5qt one.

You simply cannot compare heavy duty equipment to passenger vehicles. It’s not even in the same galaxy.
Right, and they’re also humming along at 1,200 rpm’s on those highways for those miles, while the typical passenger car is moving at 2,000-2,500 rpm’s...to go along with a smaller sump, shorter trips, less cylinders, smaller rings, smaller everything.
 
Check out my UOA's for my Focus and Scion XD. Port injected engines used mainly for commuting can EASILY go 15K miles between oil changes. My wife's 09 CX-9 just got tore down to replace the water pump. Tech was stunned when I told him 175K miles of 7500-10K mile intervals. Tech said the engine looked new. No varnish or sludge. My wife does more stop and go driving and the 3.7 seems to be "hard" on oil.
I think the big key here is what you said. Port injected. Remove the port injected and replaced it with DI, and things change. IMO. And then toss a turbo into the equation...and it really changes. Add a timing chain, variable valve timing and low tension rings, and now we’re really talking. That’s where I think the 10,000 mile oil change gets a bit risky, and I wouldn’t venture into that landscape. BUT then again, like someone else said...if you’re trading the car in every few years?? Who cares, it’s not really going to matter.

I’ve done the unspeakable (in my own book), I’ve done three 10,000 mile oil change intervals in my Toyota Avalon...port injected, doesn’t use oil, highway commute, used a extended drain oil and quality filter. UOA came back looking like it was a 5,000 mile interval. But I wouldn’t have even attempted it if it was direct injected/turbo/etc. I take my hat off to the folks that aren’t worried about doing THAT.
 
Right, and they’re also humming along at 1,200 rpm’s on those highways for those miles, while the typical passenger car is moving at 2,000-2,500 rpm’s...to go along with a smaller sump, shorter trips, less cylinders, smaller rings, smaller everything.

I don’t think you realize what kind of life heavy duty equipment lives. My FIL is an owner operator and these semi truck certainly don’t “hum along” when they are pulling 50-60,000lb loads up/down mountains and across America. They are stuck in traffic all the time and often make deliveries in the middle of big cities like New York or Chicago.

Have you ever been in one? Have you seen it make full boost at those 1200rpm up a steep grade or use the Jake brake down a hill that essentially makes every stroke a compression stroke and it pounds everything violently?

Like I said earlier, not even in the same galaxy.
 
Well, I posted this pair of pictures elsewhere, but they’re germane to this discussion. 10,000 mile OCI. Often several years between changes.

4D8C680E-3085-4BC7-A1CC-90961751A684.jpeg
7EAC2AA1-EAB3-4341-9BAA-F5B29BD58391.jpeg



A 10,000 mile oil change interval can be just fine, depending on engine design, oil specification, and here’s the big one; sump capacity.
 
And I do… just saying as to the price of oil.
I’m with Bill on this one. If the cost of oil has gone up, say 50%, then your oil change has gone from $25 to $35.

That is an insignificant increase in the cost of maintenance, which is, in itself, insignificant in the context of all the costs of owning a car. Tires have gone up. Gasoline has gone up. Insurance has gone up. Depreciation has gone up (with the price of both new and used cars going up). Financing has gone up.

If an extra $10 twice a year for an oil change is a significant part of your car budget, you should not own a car. You cannot afford one.
 
Well, I posted this pair of pictures elsewhere, but they’re germane to this discussion. 10,000 mile OCI. Often several years between changes.

View attachment 128739View attachment 128740


A 10,000 mile oil change interval can be just fine, depending on engine design, oil specification, and here’s the big one; sump capacity.
Please, for we that haven’t seen this one before.. is that for the S or the SL (Mercedes Benz 12 cylinder with what is it 12 quart oil capacity or is it even greater than that) ?

Those are some good looking engine under the valve covers as well! Love.

(Surely that’s not a Volvo T6? Or is it. Can’t immediately tell and I apologize)
 
Please, for we that haven’t seen this one before.. is that for the S or the SL (Mercedes Benz 12 cylinder with what is it 12 quart oil capacity or is it even greater than that) ?

Those are some good looking engine under the valve covers as well! Love.
That’s the SL. More detail here: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/under-the-valve-covers-2005-mercedes-sl600.362512/

Point is - a blanket condemnation (or support) for a particular oil change interval is meaningless without context.

Context like engine design, oil specification, use, and sump capacity. I’m sure there are other considerations, but to just pick a number and argue it is silly unless the other, important, variables are specified.

On the SL, I have no idea how the previous owner drove it. It was bought and owned in SoCal. That helps a lot. I think it was a trophy wife car (cookie crumbs and a yoga brochure found under the seat, tiny scratches under the door handle that line up with a big rock on a ring finger, Kenny G CD found in the player, not a guy’s car, that’s for certain).

If I’m right, it was probably short tripped a lot. Still, given the good oil, port injection, engine build quality, and large sump, a 10,000 mile interval was fine for a short tripped car with those other factors present.
 
That’s the SL. More detail here: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/under-the-valve-covers-2005-mercedes-sl600.362512/

Point is - a blanket condemnation (or support) for a particular oil change interval is meaningless without context.

Context like engine design, oil specification, use, and sump capacity. I’m sure there are other considerations, but to just pick a number and argue it is silly unless the other, important, variables are specified.
I’ll agree with that.

The bolded should be pinned somehow…
 
I’m with Bill on this one. If the cost of oil has gone up, say 50%, then your oil change has gone from $25 to $35.

That is an insignificant increase in the cost of maintenance, which is, in itself, insignificant in the context of all the costs of owning a car. Tires have gone up. Gasoline has gone up. Insurance has gone up. Depreciation has gone up (with the price of both new and used cars going up). Financing has gone up.

If an extra $10 twice a year for an oil change is a significant part of your car budget, you should not own a car. You cannot afford one.
Absolutely, though an interesting observation is that some folks that complain about the price of oil are also using wizards and wasting money on all kinds of other totally unnecessary nonsense but don't seem to be phased by the cumulative cost of that. :unsure:
 
Absolutely, though an interesting observation is that some folks that complain about the price of oil are also using wizards and wasting money on all kinds of other totally unnecessary nonsense but don't seem to be phased by the cumulative cost of that. :unsure:
Car dealers sure are. Good point.

They use the cheapest oil!
 
Absolutely, though an interesting observation is that some folks that complain about the price of oil are also using wizards and wasting money on all kinds of other totally unnecessary nonsense but don't seem to be phased by the cumulative cost of that. :unsure:
Yeah. There is that!

I found my Dad’s circa 1957 book on personal finance a while back. Still germane. Planning and budgeting skills are still relevant.

And still poorly practiced by the majority of folks…
 
Absolutely, though an interesting observation is that some folks that complain about the price of oil are also using wizards and wasting money on all kinds of other totally unnecessary nonsense but don't seem to be phased by the cumulative cost of that. :unsure:
What are wizards?
 
That’s the SL. More detail here: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/under-the-valve-covers-2005-mercedes-sl600.362512/

Point is - a blanket condemnation (or support) for a particular oil change interval is meaningless without context.

Context like engine design, oil specification, use, and sump capacity. I’m sure there are other considerations, but to just pick a number and argue it is silly unless the other, important, variables are specified.

On the SL, I have no idea how the previous owner drove it. It was bought and owned in SoCal. That helps a lot. I think it was a trophy wife car (cookie crumbs and a yoga brochure found under the seat, tiny scratches under the door handle that line up with a big rock on a ring finger, Kenny G CD found in the player, not a guy’s car, that’s for certain).

If I’m right, it was probably short tripped a lot. Still, given the good oil, port injection, engine build quality, and large sump, a 10,000 mile interval was fine for a short tripped car with those other factors present.
Couldn't have said it better
 
Back
Top