- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Oil Change places say every 3000 miles. Is that accurate?
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:16 pm to Random LSU Hero
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:16 pm to Random LSU Hero
Full Synthetic. Every 10K. This lines up with what the computers in the cars tell me as well.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
0
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:27 pm to LSUtigerME
quote:
Get a used oil analysis. It's the only valid way to determine what the oil change interval is for YOUR car/environment and driving style. It's only around $30 and you can mail it in (I use Blackstone Labs). 3k is old, but could be valid for the filter in really harsh environment with tons of particulate. Or if you have bad head seals. The good thing about UOA is it can also give good life indicators of bearings, rings, etc by the degradation of the special alloys used. Ultimately, I've gone as short as 5k per a UOA (Infiniti V6) and as long as 10-12k. For longer intervals (8k+), the filter will likely require changing between oil changes.
I don't agree with the particulate comment. As long as your air filter is seated well, you should be fine. I drive two of my vehicles in a 3rd world country and only on dirty, dusty or muddy roads. ZERO issues for the past 14 years.
edit: of course I only drive Toyota Land Cruisers, though. Maybe shitty vehicles will have a problem, don't know.
This post was edited on 12/25/14 at 4:30 pm
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:31 pm to Random LSU Hero
I'm every 10K miles. 2013 VW
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:34 pm to LSUtigerME
I feel that if you are going to take the time to change the oil filter, you might as well change the oil also. It costs me about $40 to change the oil in either of my cars myself.
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:40 pm to Sparkplug#1
quote:
of course I only drive Toyota Land Cruisers, though. Maybe shitty vehicles will have a problem, don't know.
As powertrain warranties have crept out longer, car (engine) manufacturers have stepped up their game to get even entry level Korean econo-shite boxes to survive too few oil changes in quasi-normal use. Cheap and easily done computer technology on all auto engines now (necessary to meet CAFE standards) will give advance notice to operators and limit motor activity to prevent or minimize catastrophic failures.
EDIT: Not saying the shittest engine is as good as a MB or Lexus engine but all engines have gotten better. Cars and light trucks generally go twice or three times as long and far as the did twenty or thirty years ago with less problems and normal maintenance.
tl/dr: Smarter cars for stupiderist drivers now
This post was edited on 12/25/14 at 4:45 pm
Posted on 12/25/14 at 4:40 pm to Random LSU Hero
quote:
Oil Change places say every 3000 miles. Is that accurate?
Only if you drive on nothing but gravel roads or only travel 3k miles a year.
I change mine every 5k and new filter (never the cheap Fram). Usually use a 50-50 blend and I consider this overkill.
Posted on 12/25/14 at 5:27 pm to Random LSU Hero
Most of GM's vehicles are now in the 5 -7k mile range for oil changes.
Posted on 12/25/14 at 5:34 pm to genuineLSUtiger
quote:
You can get away with 5,000 miles but my car starts to get a little sluggish after going that long.
lol no it doesn't.
Posted on 12/25/14 at 5:36 pm to TH03
^ this
Posted on 12/25/14 at 10:28 pm to Random LSU Hero
The 3000-mile interval dates to the carburetor era when cold starts usually dumped raw fuel into the crankcase, diluting the oil. A good interval if your vehicle doesn't have a service reminder is 5000 for mainly city driving, 7500 for mainly highway driving. Add 2500 for use of semi-synthetic or full synthetic oil. If the car is used sparingly, change oil and filter once per year.
When I drove a taxi I ran Mobil 1 XP full syn and changed every 10-11k (roughly every six or seven weeks), oil wasn't very dirty but car had used 1/2 quart by then.
As far as changing from dino to synthetic, it's fine on newer cars, older or higher-mileage cars may have issues with leaks from gaskets and/or seals.
When I drove a taxi I ran Mobil 1 XP full syn and changed every 10-11k (roughly every six or seven weeks), oil wasn't very dirty but car had used 1/2 quart by then.
As far as changing from dino to synthetic, it's fine on newer cars, older or higher-mileage cars may have issues with leaks from gaskets and/or seals.
This post was edited on 12/25/14 at 10:30 pm
Posted on 12/25/14 at 10:42 pm to Random LSU Hero
Do whatever the onboard computer says.
Any deviation from that and you're just wasting money.
Internal engine components rarely fail now, even well into the 100-200K range.
You won't own the car that long anyway.
Any deviation from that and you're just wasting money.
Internal engine components rarely fail now, even well into the 100-200K range.
You won't own the car that long anyway.
Posted on 12/25/14 at 11:13 pm to VetteGuy
Some decent info in this thread but no one has mentioned why its wrong at 3000.
Oil has changed more in the last 20 years than engines have. Engines have got better with less aeration, better flow control and better filtration designs. Oil is much thinner now, which has allowed the engines to tighten down on tolerances. Manufactured more precisely with additives that help the cuase.
But the single worst thing you could ever do to an engine is crank it up cold. Followed by a close second of shutting it down. Cold starts have the single biggest effect on the maintenance light counters.
If you drove 10,000 miles straight on one start it would probably look flawless. To bad its not feasible.
Direct injection is going to start dropping some recommended mileages though.
As an ase mechanic I change mine when I notice its low and I use the cheapest stuff that is usually laying around the shop. Oil is oil and most of it comes from the same place. The companies just add their own additives.
Oil has changed more in the last 20 years than engines have. Engines have got better with less aeration, better flow control and better filtration designs. Oil is much thinner now, which has allowed the engines to tighten down on tolerances. Manufactured more precisely with additives that help the cuase.
But the single worst thing you could ever do to an engine is crank it up cold. Followed by a close second of shutting it down. Cold starts have the single biggest effect on the maintenance light counters.
If you drove 10,000 miles straight on one start it would probably look flawless. To bad its not feasible.
Direct injection is going to start dropping some recommended mileages though.
As an ase mechanic I change mine when I notice its low and I use the cheapest stuff that is usually laying around the shop. Oil is oil and most of it comes from the same place. The companies just add their own additives.
Posted on 12/26/14 at 1:36 am to Random LSU Hero
When my oil life calculator on my truck hits 20% I change it. I've run it down to 15% when I was busy and couldn't get to it, but not often. 20% life remaining means about 7500 miles with full synthetic for my truck. I honestly feel that I could run it to 15,000 miles with no issues. Probably more than that. If synthetic oil says it's rated for 15,000, you can bet your arse it has some sort of a safety factor built into it to cover their arse.
Basically only a gullible chump who enjoys throwing their money away changes it every 3,000 miles.
Basically only a gullible chump who enjoys throwing their money away changes it every 3,000 miles.
Posted on 12/26/14 at 1:39 am to tysonslefthook
Dexos full synthetic. Good for 10K miles.
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
Posted on 12/26/14 at 3:19 am to Random LSU Hero
when they are free 3000 good
Posted on 12/26/14 at 3:24 am to Random LSU Hero
Need to print this thread out and show my dad. He flipped a shite when I told him I hadn't changed it in ~6000 miles 
Posted on 12/26/14 at 6:05 am to tt54l32v
quote:
As an ase mechanic I change mine when I notice its low and I use the cheapest stuff that is usually laying around the shop. Oil is oil and most of it comes from the same place. The companies just add their own additives.
And additives are not all compatible,nor are different viscosities suited for a single engine. This is absolutely the worst advice you could give someone.
Please, don't confuse people.
Posted on 12/26/14 at 6:18 am to Random LSU Hero
quote:
It just seems like it's a way to get you in shorter intervals than you actually need. Am I wrong, is 3000 proper? Or could we actually go every 5000 to 7500?? I'm talking about the average car, not some high performance machine.
Firstly, it depends on your driving habits. If you take short trips and drive in a hot/harsh environment, you are better off using reg oil (pick one brand name suited for your vehicle and stick to it, also use factory oil filter) and change both every 3000 miles.
If you do a lot of interstate driving and put a lot a miles a month on your vehicle, go the 5000.
Synthetic is a superior product, but driving conditions affect it the same as reg oil. If I was going to extend the oil change to 5000 I would use synthetic.
Before you consider going longer between changes, you need to factor in the amount of oil in your engine. When you change the oil, if you only add 3 to 4 quarts, I would stay between the 3000-5000. If you have a vehicle that takes 6-8 quarts, you can push it a bit, but it's not worth to do it much.
Oil not only lubricates, it suspends contaminates. If you change the oil and you develop a coolant leak into the oil, the oil will saturate quickly with contaminate and might ruin the engine if you wait 7500 miles to change it. Anytime the oil becomes saturated with contaminates it's time to change it. When does that happen? You can't always know, so be smart and don't push it too hard.
Posted on 12/26/14 at 6:59 am to Enadious
quote:
might ruin the engine if you wait 7500 miles to change it.
Yep, stretch it out to 7,500 miles and the pistons will disintegrate. What, do you work for Pennzoil?
And LOL at all these 3k is too short, 5k is right answers. With absolutely no justification or reasoning why 5k is the magic number either...
Posted on 12/26/14 at 7:22 am to TigerGman
quote:
Yep, stretch it out to 7,500 miles and the pistons will disintegrate. What, do you work for Pennzoil?
No, ExxonMobil. The pistons won't disintegrate, but contaminated oil will wear engine components. The more contamination, the greater the wear. Pushing an oil to the end of its life isn't wise.
quote:
And LOL at all these 3k is too short, 5k is right answers. With absolutely no justification or reasoning why 5k is the magic number either...
Again, it largely depends on driving conditions. Pull out your owners manual and read the fine print for oil changes. 3000 mile changes are not unusual for harsh driving conditions. If you drive 3 to 5 miles to and from work, your oil will build contaminates quickly, and moister will not have a chance to boil out.
Page 3 of 4
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News