On 7/24/2015 7:45 PM, Thee Chicago Wolf (MVP) wrote:
The manual is correct. Many cars are now in that range. The oil change
places try to get you at 3000 so they make more money.
If you do a lot of short trips in cold weather, adjust accordingly to
the "severe" by the book.
Thanks you for the answer. Severe to many on the web means a lot of
different stuff. Most of my commute is 10 miles each way M-F. I
usually pull out the oil stick and wipe on a clean rag to look at how
dirty it is just to be safe.
With this driving cycle, unless the 10 miles is constant stop and go
traffic, you are likely fine with 7,500 mile intervals. Severe on the
web means nothing. What does your owner's manual say? You have read
it, right?
BS, you don't think places like Jiffy Lube or even the dealer don't want
you to change oil frequently? They all put that 3000 mile sticker on
the windshield and never ask about your driving habits or what the
manual states.
I did not say "car makers" as they give the straight poop. They have a
vested interest in warranty claims though. The 3000 mile interval goes
back decades when oil, filters, bearing tolerances were not as good as
now. Why slow down the gravy train?
Truth is, the best way to determine the change interval is an oil
analysis, but the local shop does not have the lab to to it.
I don't listen to Jiffy Lube or the dealer as neither designed and built
my car. However, they don't know how you drive your car so it isn't
unreasonable for them to recommend changes at the most conservative
mileage interval. If they recommended changes at 7,500 miles and
someone had their engine fail due to sludge because they drove the car
once a week, and let it idle in cold weather, etc., who do you think
they would sue?
I listen to the owner's manual and service manuals as they are provided
by the people who designed and built my car. And I do my own oil changes...
They look at dollars. That is why they sell many services not needed.
As do most dealers.
I used to, but with arthritis I find it easier to dig out a couple of
twenties instead of crawling under a car. Local shop that does good job
at reasonable prices..
I seem to recall about 15 years ago Consumer Reports did a controlled
study using two fleets of taxi cabs in NYC. One fleet they changed
the oil & filter every 2500 miles or so and the other fleet they only
changed the filter and kept the oil topped up.
After 100k miles, they tore down the engines and compared the wear
measurements (rings, shafts, etc) with the measurements taken at the
start of the study.
Results: No appreciable difference between the two fleets.
Does anybody else remember this, or was I just dreaming?
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
I recall the study, but I don't recall the details. I am pretty sure
though that they did not run 100K with no oil changes. I was thinking
they did a short change interval and a longer change interval, but I
don't recall not doing any changes at all.
However, taxi service is completely unlike how most people drive. Most
wear in an engine occurs at engine start and during the cold-hot-cold
cycling. Taxis run for hours without being turned off and get started
far few times per mile than most cars. This test was interesting, but
nearly useless for the type of driving most of us do.
The best way to run extended oil change intervals is to use an oil
analysis service such as Blackstone Labs. People I know who have done
this find they can go 10-15,000, but the oil begins to degrade pretty
fast after that. Many airplane operators use oil analysis since the
consequences of engine failure are much greater for an airplane.
With modern synthetic oils, I have no fear of running 10,000 miles
between changes, assuming you run at least 10,000 miles per year, and
have done that on a couple of cars I didn't care much about. They
seemed none the worse for it. However, I still take the conservative
approach with most of my vehicles and change every 5,000 at least until
they reach the 100K mark where I don't care as much about them and
sometimes move to 10K change intervals.
Good find.
Yes, my memory is starting to get pretty bad. It's been decreasing
along with my libido (down to once a week now). Fortunately at nearly
70, those are my only problems so far.
P,.S. I still change my oil every 5k miles on all my vehicles. I
believe less frequently would be fine for my mostly highway driving,
but multiples of 5k are easy to remember on the odometer.
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
I by the manual, sort of.
It depends on how dirty it looks.
I try to do mine every 5k but often procrastinate for a few k miles.
Sometimes I just change the filter at 5k and the o&f at 10k.
Wal-Mart full synthetic and a good filter.
As with most things automotive ... it depends. How often do you drive?
How far do you drive each time? Do you idle the car often? Lots of
stop and go?
If you live in the country as I do, and drive at least 10 miles each
time the engine starts, then 7,500 is fine and I could probably do
10,000 since I use Mobil 1. However, I change at 5,000 to be
conservative and since I live in a cold winter area.
If you drive in the city, drive only a few times a week, and drive only
a couple of miles each trip, then 3,750 might be too infrequent. It all
depends and most owner's manuals discuss this if you take time to read
them. :-)
I think the owners manual says it best, 7500 unless you meet certain
criteria outlined in the manaul. I've owned many cars and have always
done the 3K thing out of habit, but starting with my 2014 Elantra GT
and sticking with the manual.
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