interesting read about the changing your oil at 3000 mile mark

[GQBalla]

According to a recent study by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 73 percent of California drivers change their oil more frequently than required. This same scenario no doubt repeats itself across the country. Besides wasting money, this translates into unnecessary consumption of $100-a-barrel oil, much of it imported.

Using 2005 data, the Board estimates that Californians alone generate about 153.5 million gallons of waste oil annually, of which only about 60 percent is recycled. Used motor oil poses the greatest environmental risk of all automotive fluids because it is insoluble, persistent, and contains heavy metal and toxic chemicals. One gallon of used oil can foul the taste of one million gallons of water.

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It’s been a misconception for years that engine oil should be changed every 3000 miles, even though most auto manufacturers now recommend oil changes at 5,000, 7,000, or even 10,000 mile intervals under normal driving conditions.

Greatly improved oils, including synthetic oils, coupled with better engines mean longer spans between oil changes without harming an engine. The 3000 mile interval is a carryover from days when engines used single-grade, non-detergent oils.

For several years, automakers like General Motors, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have installed computerized systems that alert drivers via an instrument panel light when it’s time to change oil. As an example, the General Motor Oil Life System (GMOLS) analyzes the engine temperature, rpms, vehicle speeds, and other driving conditions to calculate the rate of engine oil degradation. Then, software calculates when the oil needs to be changed. Other systems work similarly.

Because of the many external conditions and parameters that have to be taken into account, calculating the precise maximum service interval using mathematical models alone is difficult. Now, Daimler AG has developed a more direct and precise way to monitor oil quality directly on board a vehicle.

Daimler uses a special sensor integrated into the oil circuit to monitor engine oil directly. Oil doesn’t wear out, but rather dirt and impurities cause oil to lose its ability to lubricate properly, dictating the need for a change. Daimler uses the oil’s “permittivity,” that is, the ability to polarize in response to the electric field. If the engine oil is contaminated by water or soot particles, it polarizes to a greater extent and its permittivity increases.

To evaluate the quality of the oil, permittivity is measured by applying an AC potential between the interior and exterior pipes of an oil-filled sensor to determine how well the oil transmits the applied electric field.

Because not all impurities can be measured with sufficient precision via the electric field method, Daimler also measures the oil’s viscosity to detect any fuel that may have seeped into the oil. Daimler researchers measure viscosity while the vehicle is in motion by observing the oil's side-to-side motion in the oil sump. The slower the oil moves, the higher its viscosity. This movement is registered by a sensor and the viscosity is calculated on this basis.

A single sensor, along with the information already monitored by on-board computers, is sufficient to determine the various parameters of the engine oil. Daimler will likely use the technology first on its commercial vehicles. Here, large oil reservoirs mean larger quantities of oil can be saved. Plus, a predicted 25 percent increase between service intervals and reduced downtime will be of interest to fleets, and thus justify the added cost of installation.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...MzMDAwLW9pbA--

[GQBalla]

another article about changing your oil frequently doesn't hurt anything...


"Title: Extended Oil Drain Intervals - Conservation of Resources Or Reduction of Engine Life (Part Ii)"
After reading that you may never change your oil again at even 10,000 miles!

There are millions of miles of oil analysis that not only prove short duration changes increase wear but also result in a lack of additive activation in the motor. If you own a Jiffy Lube then I would expect you to subscribe to the "3,000 mile Mentality" myth.

Oil additives are activated by heat and pressure. Due to the additives having to hold up over time i.e. longer than 10,000 miles the formulations take a certain period of time to become active in protecting the motor. Draining the oil at lets say 3,000 miles simply means the additives have just become active at the point you are draining your oil! In other words you are increasing wear by about 500% doing 3,000 mile drain intervals!

Oils that carry the extended drain ratings such as 506.01, 507.00 etc mean that the additives are formulated to remain active for periods up to 2 years, 40,000 kms or 640 hours of usage. Oils like Mobil 1 0w40 are formulated to withstand 400F sump temps WITHOUT breaking down and losing viscosity. Furthermore the oils cannot break down due to the PAO makeup of the oil. These oils do not rely on elastomers like the conventional oils do. This means that the oil can fully protect your motor at any temperature without the concern of thermal break-down and thinning out of grade.

If you doubt the 10K oil change intervals perform an oil sample at 1,000 miles. Most cars with a fresh sump of oil will peak out at the 1,000 mile mark. After that the wear metals may increase by only 5-10% over the course of 10,000 miles! Nearly 90% of the engine wear occurs in the first 1,000 miles on an oil change! Increasing oil change frequency increases the duration your engine spends in the activation period of the additives and greatly increases the damage in your motor from failing to follow the guidelines of the manufacturer.

Just looking at iron in a VW motor typical readings are around 20-35 ppm after 15,000 miles of use maximum on a motor that has more than 60,000 miles. The oil filter is not capable of filtering this much metal simply because the wear metals are so small they can't be filtered from the oil. Also because there is so little wear metal you do not get wear as a result of the metal being suspended in the oil.

Dispersants require time to bond to the wear metals and byproducts in your engine oil. As byproducts such as soot (gasoline or diesel make soot just different sizes which discolor the oil) are created additives coat them and prevent them from clumping and becoming larger. Typical soot particles in diesel oil are in the nanometer range in terms of size 10 times smaller than what any bypass filter can even capture which is rated at 2 microns absolute. Your oil filter in your motor is rated at capturing particles in the 7 micron range with only a 75% first pass rating...Bottom line is your car would last forever if you change the oil every 20,000 miles and NEVER replace the oil filter simply because your motor is not making enough metal or by-products to ever get captured! Oils especially those for diesels can handle upwards of 8% soot, that my friend is a LOT of soot! To put that in perspective a typical motor after 25,000 miles without an oil change or filter change will only have 1% soot in the oil. This oil will appear tar black yet the oil still has 80% of its rated levels of protection remaining!

Most oils are limited by time in the sump rather than miles due to sulfur in the fuel. Most gasoline motors can safely go 2 years between changes when using quality oils formulated for extended drains such as Mobil 1 0w40 and Truck and SUV 5w40. These oils along with those sold as VOW 506.01 have very high TBN ratings that neutralize acid formation for upwards of two years (1 year in diesels due to higher sulfur content which causes the acids).

Here's the deal, forget the myths about frequent oil changes and basing your perceptions on how the oil looks. The best advice is use a quality oil and drain it at the specified interval. The worst thing you can do to a modern car is over maintain it, yes this is possible due to the very specific regimen that VW engineers figured out to keep your car running at peak performance with maximum durability.

[GQBalla]

please discuss i always change at 5000 with synthetic but now i dunno....

[rc2002]

I don't really believe this. I change the oil and filter on my car with synthetic every 3000km and it's still pretty dirty when I drain it.

[Destinova403]

i change mine every 6000... which is the honda recomended... but i drive a lot... between work and school so i put almost 25k per year on it so it gets changed frequently.

i would have expected it to be good to have fresh oil every 3000 km. but i guess the intervals are the way they are for a reason.

[Horatio]

www.bobisthoilguy.com

Search on that forum about this stuff if you're really curious.

I'm currently on month 8 of a year-long interval in my Civic. This is the second such interval I've done. Last time I put on about 27,000kms using Amsoil.

Using 6-month intervals on our minivan using Mobil1 at the moment and will likely go to Amsoil in the fall.

Greg

[GQBalla]

werd im not sure if i believe this or not.

i change my car at 5000 km and my bike i have yet to change the oil but it only has 250 km on it, so hasn't even been broken in.

i dunno about these articles...

[infected]

I change mine at 4000 km and the oil is pitch black. I can't imagine how it would look if I were to go by the manufacturer suggested interval.

[rc2002]

It's not even just the colour. I changed my oil yesterday and the texture was very different. You could also tell by the smell that gasoline and other combustion byproducts end up in the oil. I'd rather have that out of the engine ASAP then let it circulate.

[Schwa]

It says right in the article that you can't go by visual inspection

[alloroc]

Originally posted by GQBalla
yes this is possible due to the very specific regimen that VW engineers figured out to keep your car running at peak performance with maximum durability.

I agree with extended oil changes on cars running lpg as they run much cleaner than gas or diesel powered engines.

I will also trust an automotive engineer long before I trust an 'Amsoil' salesman.

I think the car companies can do a little bit more testing and have access to a few more resources.

[gram]

A lot of newer cars computers tell you when to change the oil depending on how you drive as well. I think that your driving style has a lot to do with how often you should change the oil. IE do you drive highway at low rpm vs stop and go traffic.

Combustion by-products that contaminate engine oil more easily with "severe" driving conditions also usually increase in older cars and/or higher mileage engines. Newer cars tend to have improved emission controls that produce cleaner running engines and don’t contaminate the oil as quickly. The same holds true for well-maintained cars; an old air or fuel filter and worn-out spark plugs will create more contaminants that can make the oil dirty and abrasive.

[old&slow]

I understand that they been using higher mileage in Europe for years. Sometimes double. And that, recommended by the manufacturer. If that's true, how is it explained?

On another note...I bought a 79 Mercury Capri (302) new back in 1980. Didn't know much about oil or maintenance back then...I changed oil once a year and I drove like 20 to 30 thousand miles a year in those first few years.
The car had over 200.000 miles when it got t- boned in an intersection some 8 years later. I had 3 rebuilt transmissions but never did anything to the engine...lol

[Zero102]

On my 951 I change the oil at ~2000-4000 miles only because I change it once a year, that car sees hardly any driving (only in miles because it's an american car).

On the golf we are presently using a 20,000km change interval and since the UOA's are all coming back excellent we'll soon switch over to a 25,000km sample / 30,000km change interval. With newer vehicles and decent (read major brand synthetic) oil I see no reason to ever change before 10,000km unless you are changing due to age.

[JordanAndrew]

I'll stick with the manufacturer suggested intervals. I won't even touch synthetic yet as I'm trying a new concept(For me) to stay stock as possible so the normal oil is fine for me. I'm pretty sure the car manufacturer (Mazda for me) would know what's best for my car.

[Aleks]

I change mine every 8,000 kms on the GTI. It uses synthetic.

[GoChris]

I don't drive my car much, but when I do, it's at the drag strip, or around the race track. So I'll continue to stick to 3000k for changing it, since that's usually a few months time.