Is there some benefit for us with this article - link at the bottom?
Could we extend oil change interval using full syn?
I currently do every year with 4k mileage - so little driving. Once I sent to the lab after 15-18months. They said I can go longer - but it worries me. I am trying to attach the test result here. What may be optimal for my car?
Two points:
- You can never go wrong following what in your owners manual.
- It never hurts to change the oil MORE frequently. It’s the “extended” intervals that get in you trouble, in the long run.
Personally, I get the oil changed in all of my cars every 6 months or 6000 miles, with full synthetic. It’s simple and works for me. I’ve got other more pressing life issues to worry about… 
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I didn’t read the article. IMHO, oil changes are pretty cheap, routine, and easy. So I don’t see any reason to play with maximizing longevity. It doesn’t save much of anything, but does present risks.
For vehicles that have oil life monitors, it pays to follow them (though I have one and never let it go what the OLM says is the end…Mine given in terms of % oil life (maybe all are-?), and I don’t go much past 50% if at all. That may be a little over the top to some, but it’s just how I like to roll…
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Not even going to read that article since I don’t have a boat.
Good Grief Sciconf, just how many oil threads are you going to have ?
+1
My regimen is every 6 months/5k miles with full synthetic, even though the vehicle mfr states that 1 year/10k miles is okay.
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I never fret over a $50 maintenance cost versus a $50,000 vehicle o4 a $30,000 boat. I don’t care what the labs say. They make their money selling lab results.
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Like the lifetime transmission fluid?
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It’s not so much that it’s full synthetic but whether there are increased additives to buffer oil against degradation. Oil testing like the charts you show tell you whether the interval you’ve chosen is satisfactory or not. Some of the OLMs used in vehicles, like the GM OLM, do the work for you. I’ve used the on board OLM since 1998 and never had engine problems. OLMs are conservative and won’t tell you too late to change your oil.
Yup, like Briggs and there never change oil engines. It’s all marketing hype.
Optimal for your car is what lets you sleep at night. If you drive the car every day, especially if you drive it twice a day, once to go to work and once to return, 5 days a week and are only accumulating 4k per year, Even with synthetic, I think I’d recommend twice a year.
If you only drive it a few times a week but your trips are longer, then once a year is plenty. The number of drive cycles (start, run up to temp, shut down, cool down) that causes the most wear on oil.
But if you skip oil changes to save money and then can’t sleep at night over the worry, that is not a good trade off.
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$100 oil changes every year. $2000 over 20 years and 80,000 miles. If you change it every 2 years, you save $1000!
A reman engine will cost you at least $6000 in todays money.
I can do the math… and I don’t like the risk vs reward.
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As our late friend, Mountainbike, used to say…
The idea is to extend the life of the engine, not the life of the oil.
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A very small percentage of the driving population worries about oil the way the contributors to this forum do.
I would love it if there were stats available that could shed some light on the millions of vehicles on the road that:
- Do follow the manufacturers’ OCI intervals (either via OLM or 10K miles).
- And how many of those engines never cause the owners problems due to following those intervals?
I doubt those stats are available.
My impression is that most owners follow the manufacturers’ OCI intervals. Although I’m not in that line of work on a day-to-day basis anymore, I don’t see oil-related engine failure as a big problem today.
If someone in that line of work, like @Nevada_545 or others, would care to share what they’re seeing, I’d welcome hearing it.
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When the maintenance reminder is set in Mrs JT’s Odyssey I have to reminder many times to take it in for the work. I try to tell her that maintenance due soon is the time to make plans for not having her car for a day and getting an appointment, but she insists on waiting until the reminder says it’s due now. Even then it takes a couple-a-three weeks to get it in. It seems to me that if I wasn’t such a PITA that she would ignore the reminder until something broke.
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Our late friend, OK4450, used to say that on the rare occasions when he drove his wife’s car, it wasn’t unusual to find that it was making ominous noises, or that it had very noticeable performance or braking issues. When he would ask his wife how long those situations had been going on, she would usually say something along the lines of…
a few months.
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Motor oil is easy. Trans fluid is a mess.
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Some of us have never seen the change oil message or low fuel light. I’m sure they are there but never seen them.
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I’d prefer to see a comparison b/t two groups of the same car, one with oil and filter changes every 10K miles, and another with changes every 5 K miles.
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Just see Dave’s shop out in Utah. He tears them apart for analysis and repair. Says to cut the recommended changes in half if you want long engine life. Then the trans shop down in Texas, calling for 30,000 mile fluid changes. People will believe what they want to believe and find evidence for their position. Then again there are more issues than engines and transmissions for longevity.
Ah yes, the infamous oil change thread on CarTalk. It’s recurring just like the seasons. I realized more than a decade ago on this website that there are few topics more divisive than oil change intervals. Also, regardless of which side of the aisle you’re defending, no amount of proselytizing will alter the other person’s viewpoint. You’re more likely to get someone to change religions than to convince them to change their view on oil change frequency. Reminds me of the Carlin joke about driving speed- the people going faster than you are maniacs and the people going slower than you are idiots… 
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