Why such short intervals on Synthetic

[ruking77]

General question for the thread.

What do you think would change, if oil were $10.-15. per quart as it is in Europe?

(comparo: oil currently can be from .49 cents to app 5 dollars (for Mobil One) )

[ February 09, 2006, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: ruking77 ]

 

[Ray H]

I've stockpiled filters and oil, myself. Doing so does not affect my warranty rights. As I stated in my earlier post, the do-it-yourselfer is obligated to maintain a log of the service he/she performs and when. If I have sufficient materials stock (and their receipts if bought in bulk) for 15 oil changes, and a log of when I performed each of those 15 oil and filter changes that squares with Hyundai's recommendation, there's no conflict. "moving2", how ever did you make the jump that you'd have to have a seperate set of receipts for oil and filter for each oil change? Why would a car owner be any different in that regard than a fleet manager who buys in bulk?

 

[Ray H]

"ruking77", I don't know - but maybe we'll all find out very soon.

 

[John_E]

"As a former service manager, I can't remember a time that maintenance records were an issue unless the car was clearly abused when dealing with factory warranties. ... If there was no strong evidence of abuse, a simple log kept by the owner was usually enough."

Obviously not the words of a VW service manager!

 

[wn1998]

Even if OCI was an issue with new car warranty are all the cars and trucks on this site new? I would like to see many more Synthetic UOA's in the 10-15k range or longer. I would also like to see a 7k dino UOA since everyone thinks dino are so great now.
I'll admit I have been a shorter Syn OCI man but I am trying to run my M1 5w40 out to 10k in my jeep on my current OCI. I use my 2.5L wrangler as my daily driver as wheel as a weekend toy.
I have always thought high RPMs in 4 wheel drive and going axle deep in water/mud a few times each month it would be a good idea to swap out my fluids a little sooner. However, I am going to try a 10k OCI and see how it looks.

 

[ruking77]

RAY H

quote:

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"ruking77", I don't know - but maybe we'll all find out very soon.

---

Until that time, I see the 15,000 to 25,000 mile OCI's as a tremendous BARGAIN. It is even more of a bargain,especially if one is not a DIY'er. If you look at AN oci, most of that is labor (in these here neck of the woods 18. is labor or shop time and 1-3 is HW disposal.) So compared to an 3k vs a 15,000 mile oci that is 5 ocis vs 1 oci or (4x21=) $48.

Another probably

comparo is the oem recommended Honda Civic 10,000 mile OCI and every other or 20,000 mile oil FILTER change, with CONVENTIONAL 5w20 OIL!!

 

[Doug C]

Has anyone asked the question, why is synthetic oil going up in cost relative to the cost of the crude oil barrel cost? Why would it ever get to $15.00 per qt? I remember when M1 was $2.49 a qt... now it's over $5.00. That makes as much sense as Iran needing a nuclear powered electric plant.

 

[unDummy]

Mileage is a poor indicator of oil condition.
Run time or fuel burned would be more accurate.
Sump capacity, engine power/size/condition, oil cooling and filtering capacity, should also be considered in the OCI formula.
Most owners manual will have time or mileage in the interval. This explains why some people have low mileage intervals.
And we wonder why oil life monitors are coming into play.

I put 7k miles on one my cars last year. It had at least 500 cold starts. On top of those cold starts, there were about 500 trips were under 1/2 mile.
So, does my 2 Mobil-1 oil changes at 3.5k intervals seem too early? on a 3000lb vehicle with a 2.4L motor? that ONLY holds 3.6 quarts of oil?

 

[Matt89]

Doug C;

Good question. The only thing I can think of that would raise Syn price would be the additional cost of the energy needed to produce it when the price of energy in general goes up.

 

[Auto-Union]

I need to go the 4 months of winter w/o an oc. That means (on the various cars I service) 6000-8000 miles. So, I basicly switched to semi/blends since I am doing DIY changes at 3-4 month intervals anyway. imo, oils perform similarly until the point of extended drains.

 

[Cary]

Since I posted the question, I will circle back around with my thoughts:

1) It seems based on the comments, that many people are still doing shorter intervals because they feel it is necessary, rather than options. Why do some people hold these beliefs when they are holding a UOA in their hands that clearly shows the oil has considerable life left?

2) I don't like wasting my time crawling under my car to change the oil. I have used the information on this site and some UOA's I ran on my cars to decide to go to 7500+ mile intervals, which I believe to be safely conservative.

 

[moving2]

Cary- I'll bet $ that you're the same Cary from Mud's 80-forum. I'm alaskacruiser. Howdy!

 

[moving2]

Ray H, blupupher, and others who do shorter OCIs with synthetic for warranty reasons- no response?

 

[m2200b]

The US is moving toward Euro longer OIC. Syn and real syn blends probably will reach the market and advertize more and even educate. M5000 and M7500, M1Extended are just a few examples.

I was in AZ and a woman with a new sentra and little knowledge of oil picked the M1 extended , than the M1 extended filter because she wanted to go 10k. I asked her what her book said the warranty OIC was and she hadn't even looked.

 

[John_E]

"I put 7k miles on one my cars last year. It had at least 500 cold starts. On top of those cold starts, there were about 500 trips were under 1/2 mile.
So, does my 2 Mobil-1 oil changes at 3.5k intervals seem too early? on a 3000lb vehicle with a 2.4L motor? that ONLY holds 3.6 quarts of oil?"

You and are on the same wavelength (and OCI), except that I use dino in everything except the 1.8T, which gets Mobil 1 on the same OCI.

The big unanswered sludge question remains: for short trip city driving and, say, 7k mi/year, is an annual oil change with synthetic as good as a semiannual oil change with dino?

 

[W8inDE]

I use Motul 8100 E-tech and would feel more than comfortable going 10k+ oci. ****, my passat W8 holds 9 quarts of oil. The problem...I'm under warranty until 2011 or 100k miles. I'm just about to hit the 40k mile mark, so it'll be a long time before I get the chance. I'm stuck with the manufacturer's 10k mile OCI for now. But since I only drive about 6k miles a year, an oil change every year ain't so bad.

 

[HondaMan]

I think the dad who said:
'Oil is cheap, engines are expensive' hit the nail right on the head.

So far my OCIs are only 3.5k on MC 5w-20 ... I've paid for Terry to tell me all is well and that I can take it out longer. I do not. Why?

Oil is cheap, FRESH oil is always better,
and @ $28,000 for a new van, yes engines are expensive.

 

[W8inDE]

As far as changing oil according to manufacturuer's specifications and the notion how does the dealer know how old the oil is and when it was changed, most extended warranties contain a clause that 'all work (including maintenance)' must be performed by an ASE certified mechanic. Mine is with Nationwide and has that clause.

For me, spending $20 to have a mechanic install my filter and Motul oil is worth the piece of mind. The service is documented and my irreplaceable W8 will be covered if something goes wrong.

 

[JimmyP]

Back in college (I took automotive technology), my engines teacher was asked by a fellow student "What is the best motor oil".

His answer which has stayed with me for 25 years:

He said "the best motor oil is clean motor oil".

He continued:
"doesn't much matter what you use as long as it meets the mfgs spec, change it often, keep it clean, your engine will live almost indefinitly if its built correctly".

Words to live by in my book.

Cheers
jimmy p.

 

[AndyH]

quote:

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Originally posted by HondaMan:
...FRESH oil is always better...

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Maybe, maybe not...check out this study:
Oil Study

A quote:
"Engine wear actually decreases as oil ages. This has also been substantiated in testing conducted by Ford Motor Co. and ConocoPhillips, and reported in SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-3119. What this means is that compulsive oil changers are actually causing more engine wear than the people who let their engine's oil get some age on it."

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