"Is the 3,000 oil change obsolete?" - MSN

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quote:

Originally posted by fuel tanker man:
...hint on the oil to use, Rotella T ain't it.

How come?
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Understand this is IMHO
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; Here I was talking about the Rot T regular 15-40, I personally feel that the add packs are not as good, the base oil is just ok, and in Canada I ahve seen some of the TBN's in the other Shell HDDO's are at about 9. Add to that that in his engine, I think this is sheared down by 4000 mi. So compared to the competition the dino R-T is my 3rd or 4th choice, and since he has high sulfur fuel, I think he should go with a more robust additive package oil that starts with better base oils to boot. Now I do not hold the same reservations about the Rot T GIII syn. I think it is about a 50% better oil than the GII competition, and about 100% better than Shells own dino, and it is priced at just that point as well, being about 50% more in cost currently than the competition.
 
The 3000 mile oil change will never go away as long as there are people that make a living out of changing and throwing away good oil. What ****** me off is the quick lubs that tell customers that the rear end oil has to be changed, and drain out synthetic gear lube and replace it with Hypoid oil. These are the guys that show you a sample of it with bubbles in it and tell you it has lost its anti-foam properties and needs to be changed right now. You should seen the look on their faces when I said "screw it, its a company car let it break."
 
quote:

Originally posted by pitzel:


To those who say, 'cheap insurance', try collecting on your 'insurance' policy when your vehicle is totalled or when everything else but the oiled parts in the engine are worn out .
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Leave the writing of insurance policies to the trained actuaries, and the motor oil changing recommendations to the engineers who actually design the engines. Each are masters of their own domains.


I agree save the money and oil.
 
I guess I am really stupid for following what owner's manual for my last 2 cars reccomends. If I had half a brain, I would go back to the longer intervals that gave me sludge before them.
 
I guess I am really stupid for following what owner's manual.

Nope thats the point, use the owners manual interval, GMC says to change the engine oil when the light comes on. The dealer wants me to change it at 3000 miles.

The last time it was in the dealer at 30K they changed the differential oil, drained out good synthetic and replaced at a cost of 144 dollars. I'm now in the process of getting a refund from them, they claim the chack is in the mail, time will tell.
 
In town either of our cars are getting about 20 mpg. In 5000 miles I've used 1000 quarts of gas at a cost of about $625. I just picked up a case of Havoline at less than $1 a quart, Purolator oil filters are $2.50 to $4.00 each, for an oil change cost 30 minutes and about $8 if I'm not using any synthetic. If I change my oil at 3k miles I'm using an extra five quarts and another $8. As I recall the severe duty change interval is 3k miles. But, for some reason, one is supposed to feel guilty about using 0.5% more oil products in an effort to get as many miles as possible out of a vehicle, when one could save 50% to 100% by buying and driving more fuel efficient vehicles.

By driving whatever vehicle you have you've already determined the biggest factor, by far, in oil consumption. Keep it in good condition by changing the oil whenever it needs it, and if you really want to make a statement buy a different vehicle if you're worried about using too much oil.
 
Come to think of it, my dad's '81 Fiat 125 with 1.5 liter gasoline engine was on 20K km (12K miles) OCI, and all they used in it was dino oil (no one here even heard of synthetic oil back then). What were they thinking??? By the time it hit 100K km, it needed to be rebuilt.
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Time intervals seem ideal. Changing every 6 months allows for seasonal changes of oil visc, something I believe in. I adjust oil quality for how far and how hard the vehicle will be driven in following 6 months. Some cars get basic oil, some get premium. If you drive over 10k in 6 months, try 3x a year changes. Some cars I do 2 HDEO (15w-40)changes in summer and 1 synth (5w-40/0w-30) change for winter.
 
[/qb][/QUOTE]Understand this is IMHO
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; Here I was talking about the Rot T regular 15-40, [/QB][/QUOTE]

Couple of years ago my daughter drove our 3.8L Town and Country about 8 miles (20 min)in stop and go, red-light traffic on a 90 degree Florida day without a water pump belt. "Well what did you want me to do, Dad, walk?" I can't describe how hot the van was - almost as hot as I was. It had over 200K miles then, and I put another 65K on it before trading it off. I think the Rotella 15W40 was all that saved it - there was NO water in it when it got home. I believe!!
 
It costs about $10 for a do it yourself dino oil change...That's a very small amount of money to give yourself a margin of safety of a 3,000 mile OCI...

On the other hand, it would get expensive doing that with synthetic. Sure you can go a bit longer with it but no way would I leave any oil in my car for 15,000 miles...I don't care what Mobile or amsoil claims on their bottles..something more reasonable would be 6 or 7,000 miles.

But hey...If I was buying a used car and the owner told me they used amsoil at 10k or some other crazy 25,000 mile OCI's I'd run in the other direction in a hurry and go buy from a seller that believed in "cheap insurance".
 
quote:

Originally posted by sands:
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But hey...If I was buying a used car and the owner told me they used amsoil at 10k or some other crazy 25,000 mile OCI's I'd run in the other direction in a hurry and go buy from a seller that believed in "cheap insurance".


Given a choice between a seller using extended OCI's and armed with Blackstone oil reports or one with a stack reciepts from a bunch of different quick lube places, which owner is more likely to have taken proper care of the rest of the car?
 
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