Changing Oil: Regular Intervals or Computer Analysis?

I

i-VTEC

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Do the car wash liquid that the gas station use in their touchless car wash strip the wax from the car?



Because in Toronto, Canada, the winter temperatures are down to -4 Fahrenheit, and it is too cold to wash the car using a hose. Therefore, in order to get rid of the salt build up on the car, I have no chose but to go to a gas station for a car wash.
 
It depends on the qaulity and customer service of the touchless car wash. MOSY touchless car washes use a strong car wash solution to get all the dirty cars clean so that makes customers happy. On the other hand some car washes want to cut costs by diluting the car wash and makes more money for them and having a clean but not sparkling car.



I don't have much experience with these touchless car washes except for running through them about 10 times in beater cars.



I'm sure someone else could put in some facts and more scientific answers to your question.





EDIT: Duh! forgot to answer your question, I am guessing MOSY car washes that touchless places use will strip the wax on your car but probably won't compromise or not really affect a quality sealant that much.
 
I just had to wipe the drool from my chin after seeing the pic of that 2001 Type R! Its nice to dream!!!!



I can't really answer your question, however what I can tell you, is that you may want to consider another alternative to drive through car-washes, cuz you'd almost be better off washing your car with a brilo pad! If your worried about protection during the winter months, I'd highly reccomend using an acrylic sealant (such as Klasse) instead of, or in addition to, a wax. It will afford you much better protection from the winter's hazards to your paint. Plus the shine they produce is much better!
 
Thanks for the advice.



I will for sure use synthetic sealants on my car before the snow. It's just during the winter months, where it gets so cold, that you can't possibly was your car with a hose because the water will start freezing in 5 - 10 minutes. Therefore the only way to wash off all the salt build up is to go to a gas station for a wash.



I know a touchless car wash gas station here in Toronto literally have 300+ cars washed in a day during the really cold but sunny days.
 
but, do you have a good sized garage in which you can install a drain, install central A/C with heat, a water heater, and shop lights?



This will enable you to wash your car even if its snowing outside and you'll have no fear of those touchless car washes again.



Just a crazy irrational suggestion

Jason
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by JasonC8301 [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>but, do you have a good sized garage in which you can install a drain, install central A/C with heat, a water heater, and shop lights?

This will enable you to wash your car even if its snowing outside and you'll have no fear of those touchless car washes again.
[/b]</blockquote>
Add a hydraulic lift, air compressor, a good set of tools, and a fridge full of beer. You now have the recipe for Tort's Dream Garage :D Seriously, ever since I started getting OC about my car's paint, I've dreamt of the perfect garage, where I could go work on my car in climate-controlled comfort at any hour of the day. Maybe when that lottery ticket hits :rolleyes:

Tort
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by TortoiseAWD [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Add a hydraulic lift, air compressor, a good set of tools, and a fridge full of beer. You now have the recipe for Tort's Dream Garage :D Seriously, ever since I started getting OC about my car's paint, I've dreamt of the perfect garage, where I could go work on my car in climate-controlled comfort at any hour of the day. Maybe when that lottery ticket hits :rolleyes:

Tort [/b]</blockquote>You mean something like this?
 
I've always been a "Change-It-Every-3000-Miles" guy. No matter what.

I've been told by many people, that on newer vehicles, I should wait until the "Change Oil" indicator comes on, as directed by the automobile's computer. I've told also, that this is the manufacturer's recomendation.

I'm not convinced.

What about you? Regular intervals or wait for the computer to tell you to change it?
 
I am assuming you guys are using regular oil

and not fully synthetic. Seems like that is overkill and expensive if replacing synthetic every 2500-3000 miles...but if you can afford it then it will make the engine last for years to come.:wink:
 
That is overkill even with regular oil. I use only Quantum Blue products from BND Automotive and I do an oil analysis test that I send to a lab. Currently in my 2006 Charger I am on track to be able to do 10,000 mile intervals. That is with the same filter in place also.:thumbup:
 
I would change regular Dino oil sooner than Synthetics, but it also has to do with how you use the engine; do you warm it up fully when you drive it, do you spend hours on end idling in traffic, do you run the heck out of it everytime, etc..??

I might let it go 4-5k with fully synthetic SM oil, but I look at it alot on the dipstick and start watching the interval closer, the dirtier the oil looks on the stick.

For me, nothing is a perfect science of lights, light bars, notes from the computer in the car, etc., unless you know exactly how those things measure and exactly what they measure, to tell you its time.

Then you have the car makers telling you that you can go these huge amounts of miles before changing the oil, plugs, etc., so is this really true or are they just wanting you to buy the car, because it appears to need very little maintenance ??

You want to see how good you are doing with this? look at the bottom of the oil filler cap, or better still, pull a valve cover and look at the underside - is it clean or black with crud and moisture??

To me there will never be any substitute for clean oil and a new filter to keep the moving parts of that engine clean and as wear free as possible.

Dan F
 
switch to synthetic and go by manufacturers recomendations. I change every 7500 miles on my daily driver (I use Mobil 1 5W-30), which my Acura was changed at 3700-3800 miles with Mobil 1 5w-20, but now I'll switch to Mobil 1 expended performance and change it on 7500 mile intervals... Mobil 1 extended performance lasts you up to 15k miles... Regular oil won't last that long, it will turn into greese...by the way, that's how often BMW service their cars - 1 oil change every 15k miles...
 
Between 5,000-7,000 on the 6.0 diesel truck (rotella) and once a year on my 02 firebird (mobil 1 ) which only has about 16,000 miles. On the wife's mountaineer - whenever she complains enough.

Paul S
 
The company that makes my oil blends it for each and every application. They take into account your engine type, driving habits, the climate you live in and several other factors. The oil is good for at least 10,000 miles or 2 years. That means if you have a vehicle you only drive in the summer and it never sees rain. You can go 2 years between oil changes. I am not sure how far I can go into detail here without crossing some lines with forum rules but I truly believe in this product and it is really THAT good.

I run everything they make. Including, coolant, trans fluid, differential fluid, motor oil, power steering catalyst, fuel catalyst and they even have some cleaning and protection products also. It's just like looking for the best wax/polish, I just don't trust store bought products as much as some of the higher end products. I will be upfront here, I do not sell the product but I have become very good friends with the owner because of his commitment to his work. So if anyone wants to know more shoot me a PM. ;)
 
The old Benz uses regular oil and gets changed around the 3-4,000 mark, which is about once a year. :D Our Mini Cooper has a @&*#$ computer-counter in it that I just do not trust. BMW has pegged the oil change interval on the Mini's at 12,000 or whatever the computer says, and this just seems too long. Now that our car is 1 week out of warranty, I'm going to DIY and use Mobil 1 about every 5 to 7,000 miles. Castrol Syntech is the spec oil, but I just have a personal preference for Mobil 1.
 
Slik560 said:
The old Benz uses regular oil and gets changed around the 3-4,000 mark, which is about once a year. :D Our Mini Cooper has a @&*#$ computer-counter in it that I just do not trust. BMW has pegged the oil change interval on the Mini's at 12,000 or whatever the computer says, and this just seems too long. Now that our car is 1 week out of warranty, I'm going to DIY and use Mobil 1 about every 5 to 7,000 miles. Castrol Syntech is the spec oil, but I just have a personal preference for Mobil 1.
Click to expand...

you know you can get Castrol Edge, or Mobil 1 Extended Performance and change it every 12k...
 
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