OLM vs Mileage

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HOG

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Sorry if this has been covered before, but I tried using the search, and it didn't come up with any tangeble results - lets face it, the search is quite horrendous.

I've read that my Direct Injection engine (GM 3.6L) is quite hard on oil. I run PP (also have some QSUD in my stash, and just picked up some Castrol Edge) 5w-30 which is what the manual specifies. I live up in Canada, which can go down to -30 Celcius in winter, and up to +35 on some days in the summer.

My wife drives the Buick Enclave, and does very short commutes daily, with lots of stop and go, if she does jump on the highway, its likely for less than 5 minutes as we live and work in the 'burbs. I've got 115K km on the vehicle at the moment, and have been following the OLM so far, but my records show that I've only been running approx 4000 KM per oil change - which seems very minor, and makes me feel like I'm dumping perfectly good PP oil.

What would you guys suggest? Keep following the OLM, or start going by mileage. If I go by mileage, I might be down to 1-2 oil changes per year. I do have concerns about doing extended OCI's due to the engine being so hard on oil, but I don't know exactly what this engine is capable of. If I'm wasting perfectly good oil, then thats no good either (for my wallet or the earth!)
 
Do a UOA of the oil when the OLM says change it and then decide if extending is reasonable.

If you do decide to extend, check out some euro 0w-30. Should hold up to dilution better
 
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Are you saying the OLM goes off at 4400km? Is this an "intelligent" OLM or simply a mileage counter? I'm actually surprised that an iOLM would go off so early as they generally take you pretty far into the oil life capacity. How long does it take you to do the 4400km?

My opinion? Follow the iOLM until you have a couple UOAs that indicate you could go longer.
 
If the OLM gives you short OCI's, perhaps your engine, or perhaps just your driving, is in fact hard on oil
smile.gif
 
I thought those 3.6 DI V6s had some chain/tensioner issues about those years. I know they reflashed the oil life monitor to count down sooner as a result. Your monitor may be programmed to be conservative. I believe that to be a good thing. I'd either just follow the monitor or get an uoa and go from there.
 
2011 was the first year for Dexos, I think. I'd imagine that at that point, it would be an iOLM, not just a counter.

If you're concerned that you're wasting good oil, run some UOAs as others have suggested, or switch to the least expensive oil that meets the necessary spec for 2011. We already know the computer is running on a preprogrammed assumption of the minimum characteristics of the spec'd oil.
 
My son has one of those GM 3.6 engines. Timing chain set replaced under a recall. If I were you I would simply keep doing what you are doing and listen to the OLM. Use any synthetic that goes on sale and you'll be fine.
 
I'd follow the OLM. Use any Dexos approved oil, but I wouldn't stretch the OCI. However, that does sound quite short of a distance for the OLM to trip. And, yes, it's an intelligent OLM, not a mileage counter.
 
Originally Posted By: TheOilWizard
Are you saying the OLM goes off at 4400km? Is this an "intelligent" OLM or simply a mileage counter? I'm actually surprised that an iOLM would go off so early as they generally take you pretty far into the oil life capacity. How long does it take you to do the 4400km?

My opinion? Follow the iOLM until you have a couple UOAs that indicate you could go longer.


Yes this is an iOLM. Supposedly it calculates how many rpm's the motor is running at, along with driving patterns, on/off counts, temp, etc and uses an algorithm to calculate when its time to change. As stated, alot of my driving is short trip, which is much harder on the oil - although the engine temp gauge gets up to the "normal" operating zone, I'm not really sure if the oil is getting up to proper operating temps as its short hauls. The OLM will typically last between 3-4 months at this rate. We took a 200+ KM trip a few weeks back, and the OLM dropped 1% as most of the trip was Highway driving, but around town it drops much much quicker.

I also run a Fram Ultra filter, good for up to 15K KM, and also feel thats a waste replacing after only 4-5K km. I've reused my filter once so far, but am a bit paranoid about this also.

Sounds like the concensus is to get a UOA.
 
Originally Posted By: RichardS
2011 was the first year for Dexos, I think. I'd imagine that at that point, it would be an iOLM, not just a counter.

If you're concerned that you're wasting good oil, run some UOAs as others have suggested, or switch to the least expensive oil that meets the necessary spec for 2011. We already know the computer is running on a preprogrammed assumption of the minimum characteristics of the spec'd oil.


Yes 2011 was the first year for Dexos. Once my stash runs out, I will likely start grabbing regular conventional oil, but I find it VERY hard to pick up dino oil when I've been buying high quality synthetic oil for soooo long....

The one thing I've come to understand is that the OLM is accounting for what its programmed to calculate (rpms, starts, stops, trip length, etc), but what it doesn't account for is the TYPE of oil. I believe dexos is spec'd as a blend, so how does it differ that I'm using a full syn.
 
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FWIW, my wife's 2014 ExSport has an IOLM which I watch... but due to the reports Iv'e read of fuel dilution it gets changed at 5000 miles or when IOLM indicates, which ever is sooner. In other words, at 5000 miles. And yes, I do run synthetic. Currently PP but next run is likely to be M1.
 
If the manual only specs dino oil, that's what the OLM assumes you're using.

Oil is expensive in Canada. To avoid dumping perfectly good oil, I'd suggest buying a name brand oil in the lowest spec your manual recommends (probably a 5W-30 SN dino) and then following the OLM recommendations. That is likely your most cost effective approach.

But if the manual specs synthetic, it may be worth doing an oil analysis (when you ordinarily should be changing the oil) and seeing if you can extend the distance a bit. Once you figure out how far you can push the oil, I'd assume that result is for that particular oil only. So I'd start with something pretty stout, maybe Castrol Edge 0W-30. You can get it at Canadian Tire or WalMart, and occasionally on sale. No problem using a 0W-30 in summer or winter even if the manual specs a 5W-30. My working assumption is that Edge 0W-30 is a better oil than Edge 5W-30.
 
When you do the uoa take the sample through the dipstick tube. Don't change the oil. Use a service that indicates oil is suitable for continued service, or oil needs to be replaced. If the oil is shot at 4000 km try HDEO like 5w40 or 0w40.
 
While not direct injected, the 2006 LY7 3.6L in our Cadillac called for M1 5w30. The OLM had to be reprogrammed on a recall because it would take oil changes too long and many other owners were experiencing timing chain failures. I ignored the OLM since we bought it and change at around 5000 miles. And, for most of it's time with me, it has only gotten Pennzoil conventional 10w30. 12 years old now and not a hint of a problem with this engine. Car is great shape, so we are keeping this car for some time more. One reason is that tag renewal and insurance now is cheap! Only $50 a year for tags now.
 
While not the same engine, our 2004 Tahoe 5.3 had the same pattern of usage: virtually 100% short-tripped. It also had an iOLM which typically subtracted 1%/100 miles oil life on highway trips and about 3%/100 miles in daily usage in the winter. Summer daily usage was somewhere in the middle.
I would believe your iOLM and use a synthetic blend (like Dexos is)
Steve
 
My 2015 Equinox has the 3.6L Direct Injected V6. I follow the OLM for my oil change intervals. It goes between 6,000-7,000 miles before the OLM percentage is in the single digits. The dealer has told me a couple of times not to let it go into single digits, and they have been petitioning GM to change the system so it warns of an oil change at 20% oil life remaining. I figure the vehicle is the one doing the analysis, so it should be accurate. I have no issue letting it get down to 5% before changing it.

The engine requires a dexos oil, and I do not believe there is a conventional oil that meets the dexos standard. Dexos oils are usually synthetic blend or full synthetic. Use a dexos oil and follow the OLM and everything should be fine.
 
I'm running two cars with the 3.6, 2008 Malibu LTZ and a 2015 GMC Terrain DENALI, I do 5K oil changes. Never bothered with the OLM, just reset it to 100%.
 
Seems like A LOT of people prefer to run the BEST oil that they choose, and run that for extended OCI's. I don't plan on doing crazy OCI's like I've read - like betwen 10-15K - I don't care how good oil claims to be, I would just never feel good about keeping oil in my engine for that long - especially since the vehicle is a short commuter vehicle. IF I was driving an hour a day all highway, I might consider running up to 10K max, but thats not my situation.

I also drive a 2014 Ford Transit XLT as my work vehicle, which has I believe a 1.6L Turbo. As this is a fleet vehicle, we use 'Oil Changers' as our oil change shop. My fleet manager has instructed the Oil Changers Lube place to change the oil on our fleet vehicles between 6-8K km.

My Transit is a basic Fleet model, and does not have an OLM, so its changed on mileage. Oil Changers used a Petro Canada Synthetic blend the last time I saw.
 
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