High mileage oil change intervals

[dicer]

I've seen some pretty high mileage change interval reports on some sites on the internet. Anywhere from 45,000 miles to over 120,000 I think these were pickup truck size diesel engines. Oil analysis specs were included in the threads as well.

 

[ivymike]

when I had a 2003 mini, the computer was supposed to establish the change interval for me based on my driving cycle. It had my first interval at about 10k-miles, and my second change about 23k-miles after that. The oil (according to analysis) was pretty bagged out with 23k-miles on it, but not quite done.

 

[RossABQ]

Some of the diesel guys run all kinds of super-fine filtration systems, larger reservoirs, etc. so who knows, but I can't believe the additives are doing anything at those quoted intervals, unless they are driving 2 or 3k miles a month.

I've found the GM oil condition monitors (2004-up) to be very good, recommending intervals of 5k miles over cold months, increasing to almost 10k in warmer weather.

 

[evelrod]

We all know the "rules", you know, the ones our dads taught us...I have always been a big believer in regular service and I still try to do what I think is right. A little more difficult since I have so many vehicles and something is always needing thereby often getting missed...

I'm not at all as worried as I once was since my daughter's little 2000 Accord at <200,000 miles seems to run just fine. No smoke, no leaks, no oiling problems that I can detect...AFTER ALL, SHE REGULARLY SERVICES HER ENGINE EVERY YEAR OR TWO !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I dunno.

Rod

 

[RossABQ]

LOL, Rod, the need for regular dipstick checks and oil changes was impressed on me by my dad at an early age, right after my uncle (his brother) bought a brand new '57 Chev convertible, and ran it out of oil (on the factory fill) -- he didn't know you were supposed to check OR change it!

 

[swall]

My new Chevy truck with Onstar give me monthly oil life reports. The usable change interval seem to be trending to 9,000 or 10,000 miles, but I try to stick with my 7500 mile interval with Mobil 1.

 

[dicer]

With the economy the way it is I bet there are lots of oil change intervals being lengthened.

 

[diskullman]

Amsoil preaches extended drain intervals. Some of their longer experiments ( over 200,000 miles) were accomplished using dual remote by-pass filter units. Another tidbit they preach is that dirty synthetic oil can be cleaned by changing the filter.

Russell Giuliano

 

[evelrod]

This really makes all that I have been taught and all that I have believed to be true about oil and oil change intervals suspect. My daughter has ruined my life in that respect. Her 2000 Honda Accord has had, to my knowledge, THREE oil and filter changes since the car was purchased new. Yep, I said three, alright.....One from the dealer at around 5000 miles, one by her ex at ~100,000 miles and, the last by me at >200,000 miles...That was last year!!! That interval is even worse than I suspected, much worse. Still, the car still uses almost NO oil...cause it never runs out and she sure as heck doesn't add more than the occasional qt. At least she is smart enough to ck the dip stick every few months.

Why do I bring this up? Cause I'm realllly suspicious of some of the claims bandied about by some of the aftermarket oil purveyors. Statistics can be nothing more than organized lies. Caveat emptor!

I'm just too old to change. I'm too conscientious to push an oil change that far, for several reasons beyond the fact that it's just not the best thing for longevity in an engine and, partly because I was taught better!

Rod

 

[Tmoose]

Hi Rod,

How things look under the Accord's oil filler cap?
Does she use synthetic or dino?

Dan T

 

[diskullman]

Mobil has perpetrated the myth of the 3000 mile oil change, it's REAL GOOD for business. Always check what the auto manufacturere recommends for their engine. Many recommend intervals between 7500 and 10,ooo miles, regardless of what Mobil would have you do.

Russell Giuliano

 

[evelrod]

Sorry, Dan. I have no idea what her ex used, probably the cheapest stuff he could get. I had my sponsor change the oil in her car for me last year and they used a NAPA branded oil. ??? They also replaced the front pads and rear rotors/pads...they were down to metal on metal and she could not tell the difference.

I'm just not going to get upset over this cause that thing has already outlived any engine I know of, considering the lack of maintenance when it quits I'm the one she will come to for help. She puts about 2000 miles a month on it. Hey, what can I say? It's gonna happen!

Rod

 

[dicer]

(Does she use synthetic or dino?)

Ah don't you mean mineral? There is no dino.

 

[Tmoose]

"oil is dinosaurs blood" - I heard that on TV so I believe it implicitly. (A long time ago, maybe Art Linkletter, Kids say the darndest things ?)

Dan T

 

[patprimmer]

Dino is a term that has come into quite common use for mineral oil.

Is it really mineral or would natural petroleum based be more accurate or even very well decayed vegetable matter, just to be picky.

Regards
Pat
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[ivymike]

I think that there are plenty of minerals which are derived from decomposed biological material. I am wondering why one would say "there is no dino" though, if you take "dino" to mean oil derived from long-dead organisms... could it be that dicer is suggesting that mineral oil is predominantly abiogenic?

 

[drwebb]

'Synthetic' and 'mineral' are marketing terms with no technical definition as far as lubricating oils are concerned. A more rigorous formulation of the question would be along the lines 'does she use oil formulated from exclusively API Group III or above base oils, or having predominantly API Group II or less?' That's pretty cumbersome, and besides I think we all know what was meant.

 

[dgallup]

Synthetic and mineral oil had technical definitions before the courts got involved.

Late in 1997, Castrol changed the formula of its Syntec "full synthetic motor oil", eliminating the polyalphaolefin (PAO) base stock (that's the "synthetic" part, which makes up about 70% by volume of what's in the bottle) and replacing it with a "hydroisomerized" petroleum base stock.

Mobil Oil Corporation, maker of Mobil 1, "Worlds Leading Synthetic Motor Oil," said no fair and took its complaint to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

It turns out that the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) both have technical standards covering motor oils, and both of these organizations in the '90's backed away from their old definitions of "synthetic," leaving lots of room for new interpretations.

In the end, NAD decided that the evidence constitutes a reasonable basis for the claim that Castrol Syntec, as currently formulated, is a synthetic motor oil.

Which has to be one of the most wrong headed court decisions of all time.

 

[ewh]

Using that rational, wouldn't any oil product that wasn't "as pumped" from the ground and processed in some way be considered synthetic?

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - [small]Robert Hunter[/small]

 

[dicer]

There is no animal by products in petroleum.

Put a stailess steel tray under a dead mouse burried in your back yard, tell me how much oil you gather!
Then think, 30,000 feet through rock and clay, the logic just isn't there.

http://mondovista.com/abioticoilx.html