Most folks know I do extended OFCIs.
I realize it's a risk, but nothing I own currently has an OEM warranty in play, so that isn't a consideration in the first place.
The only "risk" I have is voiding the aftermarket product warranty; that of the oil and filter.
BUT - the only time those would even come into consideration is if the product (oil or filter) were reasonably suspected to be the culprit in a sooner-rather-than-later failure. Since I find that situation essentially so remote as to be described as "improbable", then those warranties are pretty much moot to me. Rarely, I have had equipment fail at some point in a life-cycle, and not once have I ever suspected the oil or filter was at fault. So, while I do admit there is a risk to my behavior, it's essentially moot to me; I don't expect to ever have to make a claim against them anyway.
Whereas a lube might not be blended entirely "correct" to it's build sheet, it's likely that it may be a tad off in vis, or be a bit shy in Mg or Ca or something like that. The lube isn't going to make my engine seize in the first 5 minutes probably. The engine/tranny/diff will be "OK", but maybe not protected to the highest level desired. If it does fail due to a horridly bad product mix, it would happen sooner, and the mileage would not be high enough yet to exclude me from lube warranty coverage. It if takes a long time to cause issues, well it's likely that the damage curve is so faint that it will be an annoyance but not a catastrophe.
Same goes for the filter. Either it will cause immediate issues and I'll probably know it (such as media degrades and clogs lifters or such other malarkey), or it won't. If the damage is immediate, then the failure is going to be within the typical OCI coverage and the filter warranty will apply. If the failure mode it chronic and not acute, then the damage will happen over a distance outside of warranty, but also unlikely to be catastrophic and more so be gradual. While annoying, this isn't life altering. Say for example there is a media void that allows 50% unfiltered flow. That's not good, but it's not horrid. After all, there are engines still made today that have only splash lubrication and no filter whatsoever. Admittedly those are not expensive or high use items, but let's not act as if filters are a necessity to acute care in one OCI. Filters ensure a LONGER life cycle, but skipping out of the full protection in one cycle won't cause imminent death to the equipment. Do you teeth rot and fall out when you skip a few toothbrush cycles? Do your plants die if you forget to water them for one day or two? Your engine will NOT die simply because of a media void. It's not good; it's not desirable. I get that. But it's not a death sentence. And therefore, because I don't dissect filters all the time, I will likely never know if it's happened or not. For all I know, it's happened to me several times; how would I know any different? But, my long term history and data bank of macro UOAs can tell me that my equipment is fine. One of two following concepts MUST be a truism:
a) all products I use must be going a good job
b) some of the products I use may have failed
But either way, if my UOAs show good wear rates, it's really moot. Either the products are fine, or they failed and the failure mode resulted in minimal degradation anyway.
If you have an OEM warranty in place, I will always recommend that you follow it. Mostly because the aftermarket products are going to defer to the OEM warranty and schedule in the first place. They won't give you special considerations for using a super-duper filter or a golden-boy synthetic. The written limited warranties essentially make you follow the OEM schedules, and they don't distinguish between product tiers.
Once you're past the OEM warranty, it's open range. If you want to have the aftermarket products cover you, then you're still stuck with OEM limits, because the aftermarket warranties do not recognize alternate maintenance schedules, nor do they recognize the tiers of products (such as EG, TG, FU). All tiers of products in a manufacturer's oil/filter range are treated to the same warranty limits, and that warranty most always defers to the OEM cycles.
- if the failure (regardless of how remote it might be) happens soon in the OFCI, I'm covered under the product warranty
- if the failure happens at a long distance into an extended OFCI, then it's probably an annoyance and not a catastrophe and won't irreparably harm my equipment anyway
I recognize the risks and am willing to assume the responsibility.
side note: it's fair to acknowledge that unique products such as some Amsoil lubes and filters do allow for non-OEM life-cycles, but they also have their own special considerations such as alternate limits and/or UOAs, etc. But that's not really the topic of the OPs thread here so I just wanted to state the obvious before I get blasted by a "yabut" (yeah, but ....) comment.
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