Oil Change Interval

chefwong · 07-18-03, 03:03

Just curious to see what oil change interval you guys like.
X5 just hit 3,500 miles and I'm planning to change the oil this weekend with Redline and keep the intervals at 5-7K. I plan to keep the car past 150K miles........

BradE · 07-18-03, 03:31

Your interval can depend on many things. Driving conditions, engine type (design), air filtration, driving style, etc. There are so many factors. They only way to get a true baseline for your particular application is oil analysis. Put in Redline, test at 3K miles, determine how much more you can go from there.

Check out www.bobistheoilguy.com It's a great site, and has very useful information on all types of oils.

zenhog · 07-18-03, 09:28

Yeah, the bob site above is very informative and a good place for someone to spend some time learning what is going on in the lubrication field.

If you want to go 150k+ then do your engine a favor and put in a pure synthetic such as Amsoil 2000 with one of their super quality filters. Change filters every 12,500 and add a quart when you do (to replace what is taken out with the filter change) and do a complete oil change at 25,000/1yr. The synthetic oil doesn't break down, which is what is happening to petrolium oils that need frequent change intervals. And for those miles you drive while the oil is breaking down, you're getting poorer lubrication.

I've seen engines taken apart at 100,000 where one ran premium grade oil with changes religiously every 3,000mi and the other ran Amsoil synthetic. You could still see the polishing marks in the heads and cylinder walls of the amsoil engine. The other was pretty well worn out. I've been a convert since '74.

BradE · 07-18-03, 09:49

I've yet to see oil analysis that shows Amsoil can go 25K miles. In fact, if you read the analysis on Bob's site, there are cases where Amsoil has been done in less than 10K miles. I think Amsoil leading people to believe 25K mile drain intervals are possible in every situation is very poor advice. There is NOWAY I'd ever run past 5K miles without analysis, I don't care what Amsoil claims. The perfect example is, the Toyota sludge monster engines. Try running the same oil for 25K miles in that engine, you won't like the results. Case in point, just because a company makes claims does not mean it's true. Oil analysis is your best friend for determining drain intervals. Use it often, and make your decision from there.

Oh, BTW, Redline is also a full synthetic also just like Amsoil.

bet993 · 07-19-03, 02:47

A couple of thoughts to consider. The various governments around the world are putting more and more restrictions on the car manufacturers to produce cars and truck that are “greener” in that each vehicle’s “total pollution” is less. “Total Pollution” is the amount of waste that the vehicle produces. This includes not only the hydrocarbons emitted out the tail pipe but also the used oil, oil filters, gear oil, etc., basically anything the vehicle gives off or is replaced. This is one reason that we are seeing more and more 15,000 mile oil change intervals. The less oil and filter changes the less “total pollution” and the greener the car is considered.

Now it is true that there have been great advances in synthetic and dino oils over the years. The technological advances have greatly increased the performance and the durability of modern oils. Additionally, yes synthetics don’t break down as quickly or easily as dino’s and can be used longer. However, oil change intervals have as much to do about driving conditions as the oil. I also agree that oil analysis is a great tool to see what is happening inside your engine. However, I would argue that oil changes are cheap insurance against potential expensive engine wear problems down the road, so why not just change the oil and filters more frequently? It can not hurt.

Zylo · 07-20-03, 03:10

2,000 miles on a high-performance car
3,000 miles on a daily driver
1,000 miles heavy-duty hauling (trucks)

I am gonna do it every 2,500 miles on my F-150 V8 personally. All 100% synthetic Amsoil racing oil

Just be ecologically sound and have the oil recycled. Cruise ships purchase used motor oil from places like autozone and run it in the big diesel engines.. or so i'm told..

[edit]

These are all my personal oppinion, of course. No facts here..

Guess My Name · 07-20-03, 09:41

I suggest going by the owners manual......it will get you through the warranty and also be most cost effective........

I feel changing too much is well a waste of $$ and oil.....

Decca · 07-21-03, 10:10

I am gonna do it every 2,500 miles on my F-150 V8 personally. All 100% synthetic Amsoil racing oil

Racing oil in a street car? The lack of additives might cause more (serious) problems in the long term.

paco · 07-21-03, 10:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Decca
I am gonna do it every 2,500 miles on my F-150 V8 personally. All 100% synthetic Amsoil racing oil

Racing oil in a street car? The lack of additives might cause more (serious) problems in the long term.

Racing oils lack a lot of the FM and other additives etc. that road car oils have been developed for. Depends I guess what you interpret as racing oils. Redline / Amsoil can be considered both depending on which grade you are considering. Granted, with 2,500mile changes, it shouldn't be a great concern.

That said, 2500mi oil changes with a top quality synthetic is way overkill IMO.

Unless you plan on putting 100,000mi / year on the V8, with heavy pulling and going mainly up hill all day with excess idling - I doubt very highly you need to change your oil that often. Then again, if you were, I'd follow the user manual and trade-in the truck every 3-5 years anyway so the oil change interval isn't a biggie.

If you're that paranoid. I'd switch the filter every 2500mi which will infuse new oil and do a complete change every 7500mi or 10000mi.

You may also want to consider using some AutoRx maintenance doses as well. However, if you are using an ester based oil, that also may be overkill.

About the 25,000mi interval. I too doubt very highly that Amsoil is able to go that long based on Used Oil Analysis results I have seen at Bob's. Even though Merc. BMW. Volvo etc are now recommending longer drain intervals and there specs setup for the 25,000mi oils. Real world applications is making is seem as though it will difficult for any oil to achieve that result.

Granted, it depends on how much faith you have in used oil analysis' and what you "deem" acceptable for wear numbers, TBN value and the remaining additives values. Perhaps, Amsoil are more comfortable bring the additives to near Zero and wear numbers higher than the customer is.

SVR · 07-26-03, 04:11

Every 7,500 - 9,000 kilometres with Redline 10w40 in winter and 20w50 in summer.

rek · 07-26-03, 07:38

Over time and mileage, independent of what you have in the crankcase, your oil of choice is being contaminated by combustion by-products. The "Green approach-extended drain intervals" IMO , is not the best for an engine. I go 5K tops, or once a year(have several cars) between oil/filter changes. I use the same oil/filter, that the factory used to validate the engine. If the factory thought that additives would decrease warranty claims(save them money) they would for sure specify to use them. IMO you can't be too far off, using the OEM oil of choice, for it is part of the validation process, the basis for offering something with a warranty.

JimS · 07-27-03, 10:34

I use Valvoline every 50 to 75 hours. My mileage will vary considerably depending on my lifestyle over a given period of time and it's best for me to use the hours running method to determine when to change oil. This new Silverado has a "hours-o-meter" built into the speed-o-meter that can be accessed by having the key off and holding the trip mileage reset shaft down for about 10 sec. Pretty neat.