I think it is a combination of the better oil specs and improved engines design on the car makers side.
I would not attribute that solely to the “synthetic or not”.
To this point, the term “synthetic” was quite diluted for some time now, where Castrol to my recollection started marketing hydrocracked oil bases as synthetics.
Yes, I do. That and a larger oil capacity as Twin Turbo pointed out. I don’t really think changes in the engines themselves over the last 20 years (oil capacity aside) has made longer oil change intervals supposedly acceptable. So my only explanation is the use of synthetic oil and more oil capacity.
Actually, I’d think a lot of the modern engines that incorporate direct injection or turbocharging would be even harder on the oil than the engines of 20 years ago. So…it must be the synthetic…
Unless you’ve got a better explanation for most manufacturers increasing the interval. Maybe Mazda is just a late adopter of the extended OCI. Maybe Mazda incorporates a lot of turbocharged engines in their lineup? I dunno.
My son’s Mazda 3 isn’t turbo.
I personally think the extended oil change interval is due to perceived maintenance costs. It’s been a huge marketing ploy by manufacturers for the past 10 years. Fewer yearly oil changes cuts down on maintenance costs (at least in the short term). The majority of people don’t keep their vehicles past 150k miles so extending oil change interval won’t hurt most of those people. For those of us who keep vehicles a lot longer…I’m not taking the chance on the 10k oil change interval
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Yes, it’s that, but let us not forget the obsession in Europe with conserving oil and reducing waste. The European manufacturers seem to be the ones who are truly driving this move toward bizarrely-extended oil change intervals.
And in 30 years it may be moot because everyone will be driving electric vehicles. That’s the way things seem to be going.
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I would be very surprised if electric cars completely take over in 30 years, however, I won’t be around to say I told you so. There are serious drawbacks to electrics at least here in the snowy Northeast. Nobody has explained where all this “extra” electricity is going to come from or how we are going to distribute it. We have rolling blackouts now when the A/C load is high. Are we going to burn more coal to get it? Hardly a green solution.
Maybe we will just burn the oil we are not making gasoline with.
Where do you live?
In my neck of the woods, the electric utility has had a solar panel attached to every one of their poles for several years. Aside from Hurricane Sandy, the only time that we have had a blackout over the past 7 years or so was on the rare occasion when ice took down an overhead wire.
Additionally, so many stores and corporate offices now have a huge array of solar panels that the “load” on the electrical grid in this area is not excessive, even on very hot days.
I suggest you drive around in the North East and look. There are wind and solar farms popping up all the time. I know of 5 new solar farms within 20 miles of my house in just this past year. Driving through upstate NY visiting family I saw at least 3 new wind farms just this past summer.
Very doable in 30 years.
Renewal energy is cheaper then fossil fuels - EVEN WITHOUT SUBSIDIES.
Solar’s great, not so much in New England. And what about when folks charge their cars, typically at night, say in the winter? Bring on the gas-fired generation capacity!
Hey John, “asemaster” is wrong ! He says: " Who do you trust more when it comes to the longevity and operation of your engine? The team of technical engineers and legal consultants who designed and built your engine, or an oil company?" . He’s correct that the car manufacturer designed that car and sometimes the engine that’s in the car, but they used oils and technology that was cheaper for them to put together. They’re NOT looking to put more expensive oils/fluids in the car to save YOU money. They’re looking at THEIR bottom line.
The other point I’m trying to make is that while the car manufacturer may be the best at their product (car), the oil manufacturer (be it Mobil1 or Royal Purple) is the best at THEIR product (Oil) and they’ve done extensive research and testing before they make those claims. And by the way, they stand behind their claims. If you have any problems with your engine using their product they will replace your engine !
Replace an engine in a older vehicle that did not use a certain oil brand and type from new , slim chance of that happening .
Also Mr. Asemaster is one of many contributors on this site whose advice is well worth taking .
And the vehicle manufactures are not going to cheap out of fluids they put in the vehicles that have warranties that they hope they don’t have to honor .
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Oh, great, so can we finally stop subsidizing them?
Poor nuclear and coal folks, they just don’t yet know about their inevitable demise.
Seriously, I think this part of discussion has to move to more appropriate forum[s].
There are other considerations. Engines today have greatly reduced blow by, better fuel regulation and burning- producing far less cylinder wash down and also warm up very fast so they reduce both of the above and do not produce as much condensate. All of this leads to less particulate, solvent and water in the oil than in the past. Then add 50% more oil and an oil that has much improved shear stability and you have the potential for longer change intervals. Sometimes, much longer. But not all engine designs are created equal and there is also a vastly different spectrum of usage profiles to consider. The recommended interval has to take all of this into account.
Coal’s been on the way out for about a decade now. Natural gas is far far cheaper then Coal. I’ll be cheering loudly when the last Coal plant shuts down.
Mike, putting nuclear and coal in one sentence was meant to be clearly sarcastic, sorry it was not clear.
I’d say you just paid $25.69 for some pretty purple coloring in your oil and pretty purple paint on your oil filter.
I hope it was worth it.
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I live in New Hampshire…I hate to tell you this but New Hampshire is in New England. Go talk with the energy experts at MIT and ask them if solar works in New England. I know their answer - YES. Not as well as other states, but it works well.
Not just individuals, but towns and businesses are installing Solar here in New England. They wouldn’t be investing in Solar if it didn’t save them money.
Mike, of course I know that. My point remains - during the dark days of winter, where will all the EV charging power come from? I hope it’s natural gas powered generators, and not coal.
I’ve never seen so many people digress from the original topic, and then harp on it for days on end.
I thought this was the Maintenance/Repairs category?
Not the old farts with nothing better to do category.
Tester
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