Oil Filter Question
#21
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There are extended mileage filters on the market, but IMO they're a waist of money at sometimes $13+ dollars. My T/A has had the oil changed 4 times since I bought it, and I have barely put 5k miles on it. It has had 5 filter changes. If you want to run the oil to 5-7k I don't think it's a bad idea assuming your using a GOOD synthetic oil, but I would stick with a Wix, or PureOne filter and change it halfway through your oil change, and just top off the little oil you lose. It will still cost you less than the E.M. filter and probably do a better job.
Just my .02
Just my .02
#22
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Blind 3k mile changes with synthetic are insurance for not knowing anything about oil.
For a stock car that is occasionally run hard there is absolutely nothing wrong with 5k mile intervals with name brand 5w-30 and a Wix/Purolator equivalent filter. Even 7.5k miles would be just fine with synthetic and the same filters. IMO, and the hundreds of oil analysis seen on the BITOG forum, modern oils are better than ever, filters last longer than they did in the 90's, and in most circumstances the 3k mile interval is now the 5k mile interval.
(If your car is built or raced, disregard and do whatever you wish or your engine builder tells you.)
For a stock car that is occasionally run hard there is absolutely nothing wrong with 5k mile intervals with name brand 5w-30 and a Wix/Purolator equivalent filter. Even 7.5k miles would be just fine with synthetic and the same filters. IMO, and the hundreds of oil analysis seen on the BITOG forum, modern oils are better than ever, filters last longer than they did in the 90's, and in most circumstances the 3k mile interval is now the 5k mile interval.
(If your car is built or raced, disregard and do whatever you wish or your engine builder tells you.)
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http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articl...gradesheet.htm
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#28
So according to that oil filter grade sheet the Fram blah blah got a higher grade than a Purolator Pure One and a Wix filter.....BWAHHAHAHAHA that is the biggest load of horse **** I've ever seen.
#29
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Never looked up any tests, but here's an independent one.
http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articl...gradesheet.htm
http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articl...gradesheet.htm
http://youtu.be/NyZs9gMEGAk
#30
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I had oil analysis done on my car at 3500 miles and 5000 miles using Mobil 1 5w30 and an AC Delco filter. I chose AC Delco because it has a much better filter media then say a Fram which is entirely paper including the end caps and the Delco filter is a GM certified product for the same price as the aftermarket filter brands. The levels indicated my oil was still good but I still chose to change it at that point. My view is if your daily driving and not racing there is nothing wrong with a 5000 mile interval for a good factory style oil filter and quality synthetic and I do mostly city driving. I'm switching to Amsoil next oil change and try for an even higher change interval. The key is I'm not just guessing and taking shots in the dark, the only way to know for sure is to have oil analysis done at different intervals. The is some great information at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/
#32
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Or better yet, change it after every time you run the engine, just in case.
The "cheap insurace" reasoning for 3 month/3k mile oil changes with synthetic is lost on me. If the oil is still doing it's job when you drain it, then what exactly are you insuring against? Tons of UOAs and information all over sites like BITOG show that these oils last longer than 3k in just about every normal application. Don't believe it? Then get your oil tested and see the magic!
#33
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There are a lot of misconceptions out there about Oil changes I hope this article helps a lot of you break those. It seems like a lot of you have already broken the 3k oil change as have I.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...-your-oil.html
More in the article, but didn't want to post everything
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...-your-oil.html
Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you'd never know it from the quick-change behavior of American car owners. Driven by an outdated 3,000-mile oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of dollars and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil.
Although the average car's oil change interval is around 7,800 miles — and as high as 20,000 miles in some cars — this wasteful cycle continues largely because the automotive service industry, while fully aware of the technological advances, continues to preach the 3,000-mile gospel as a way to keep the service bays busy. As a result, even the most cautious owners are dumping their engine oil twice as often as their service manuals recommend.
After interviews with oil experts, mechanics and automakers, one thing is clear: The 3,000-mile oil change is a myth that should be laid to rest. Failing to heed the service interval in your owner's manual wastes oil and money, while compounding the environmental impact of illicit waste-oil dumping.
Scared Into Needless Service
Part of the blame for this over-servicing lies in our insecurities about increasingly complicated engines that are all but inaccessible to the average driver. Pop open the hood of a modern car, and a mass of plastic covers wall off the engine. On some vehicles, the only thing an owner can easily access is the oil cap.
"Vehicles are so sophisticated that oil is one of the last things that customers can have a direct influence over," said Matt Snider, project engineer in GM's Fuels and Lubricants Group. "There's maybe some feeling that they're taking care of their vehicle if they change their oil more often."
The 3,000-mile myth is also promoted by the quick lube industry's "convenient reminder" windshield sticker. It is a surprisingly effective tool that prompts us to continue following a dictate that our fathers (or grandfathers) drummed into our heads: It's your duty to change your oil every 3,000 miles — or your car will pay the price. But as former service advisor David Langness put it, the 3,000-mile oil change is "a marketing tactic that dealers use to get you into the service bay on a regular basis. Unless you go to the drag strip on weekends, you don't need it."
Because busy car owners seldom read their owner's manuals, most have no idea of the actual oil change interval for their cars. And so they blindly follow the windshield reminder sticker, whether it's an accurate indicator of the need for an oil change or not. "I just go by the sticker in the windshield," one well-to-do, educated Denver Lexus owner said. "Otherwise, how would I know when to change it?"
A career Navy mechanic who bought an Edmunds.com long-term car just shrugged when he was told that the vehicle had safely gone 13,000 miles between oil changes. "I'll just keep changing the oil every 5,000 miles," he said. "It's worked well for me in the past."
Our oil change addiction also comes from the erroneous argument that nearly all cars should be serviced under the "severe" schedule found in the owner's manual. In fact, a quiz on the Web site maintained by Jiffy Lube International Inc. (owned by petrochemical giant Shell Oil Company) recommends the severe maintenance schedule for virtually every kind of driving pattern.
The argument that most people drive under severe conditions is losing its footing, however. A number of automakers, including Ford and GM, have contacted Edmunds data editors to request that the maintenance section of Edmunds' site substitute the normal maintenance schedule for the severe schedule that had been displayed.
About the only ones that really need a 3,000-mile oil change are the quick-lube outlets and dealership service departments. In their internal industry communications, they're frank about how oil changes bring in customers. "Many people...know when to have their oil changed but don't pay that much attention to it," said an article in the National Oil and Lube News online newsletter. "Take advantage of that by using a window sticker system [and] customers will be making their way back to you in a few short months."
Another National Oil and Lube News article tied the frequency of oil changes to success in pushing related products and services. For a midsize SUV, the stepped-up oil change intervals will bring in $1,800 over the life of the car, the article says. "A few extra services [or oil changes] can go a long way toward increasing the amount of money a customer will spend during the lifespan we estimated here," the article concludes.
Today's Oil Goes the Distance
While the car-servicing industry is clear about its reasons for believing in the 3,000-mile oil change, customers cling to it only because they're largely unaware of advances in automotive technology. Among 2010 models, the average recommended oil change interval, based on a normal service schedule, is about 7,800 miles — more than double the traditional 3,000-mile interval. The longest oil change interval is 20,000 miles, for all Porsches. The shortest oil change interval is 5,000 miles in some late-model Toyotas, but the carmaker has begun shifting its fleet to 10,000-mile oil change intervals using synthetic oil.
"Oil has changed quite a bit and most of that isn't transparent to the average consuming public," said Robert Sutherland, principal scientist at Pennzoil Passenger Car Engine Lubricants. Synthetic oils, such as the popular Mobil 1, are stretching oil change intervals, leaving the 3,000-mile mark in the dust. "The great majority of new vehicles today have a recommended oil change interval greater than 3,000 miles," said Mobil spokeswoman Kristen A. Hellmer. The company's most advanced synthetic product (Mobil 1 Extended Performance) is guaranteed for 15,000 miles.
Today's longer oil change intervals are due to:
Improved "robustness" of today's oils, with their ability to protect engines from wear and heat and still deliver good fuel economy with low emissions
Tighter tolerances (the gap between metal moving parts) of modern engines
The introduction of oil life monitoring systems, which notify the driver when an oil change is required and are based on the way the car is driven and the conditions it encounters
For 2010 vehicles, 14 of 35 carmakers are now using oil life monitoring systems. One GM car driven by Edmunds went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change. We sent a sample of that oil to a lab for analysis. The results showed the oil could have safely delivered at least another 2,000 miles of service.
Although the average car's oil change interval is around 7,800 miles — and as high as 20,000 miles in some cars — this wasteful cycle continues largely because the automotive service industry, while fully aware of the technological advances, continues to preach the 3,000-mile gospel as a way to keep the service bays busy. As a result, even the most cautious owners are dumping their engine oil twice as often as their service manuals recommend.
After interviews with oil experts, mechanics and automakers, one thing is clear: The 3,000-mile oil change is a myth that should be laid to rest. Failing to heed the service interval in your owner's manual wastes oil and money, while compounding the environmental impact of illicit waste-oil dumping.
Scared Into Needless Service
Part of the blame for this over-servicing lies in our insecurities about increasingly complicated engines that are all but inaccessible to the average driver. Pop open the hood of a modern car, and a mass of plastic covers wall off the engine. On some vehicles, the only thing an owner can easily access is the oil cap.
"Vehicles are so sophisticated that oil is one of the last things that customers can have a direct influence over," said Matt Snider, project engineer in GM's Fuels and Lubricants Group. "There's maybe some feeling that they're taking care of their vehicle if they change their oil more often."
The 3,000-mile myth is also promoted by the quick lube industry's "convenient reminder" windshield sticker. It is a surprisingly effective tool that prompts us to continue following a dictate that our fathers (or grandfathers) drummed into our heads: It's your duty to change your oil every 3,000 miles — or your car will pay the price. But as former service advisor David Langness put it, the 3,000-mile oil change is "a marketing tactic that dealers use to get you into the service bay on a regular basis. Unless you go to the drag strip on weekends, you don't need it."
Because busy car owners seldom read their owner's manuals, most have no idea of the actual oil change interval for their cars. And so they blindly follow the windshield reminder sticker, whether it's an accurate indicator of the need for an oil change or not. "I just go by the sticker in the windshield," one well-to-do, educated Denver Lexus owner said. "Otherwise, how would I know when to change it?"
A career Navy mechanic who bought an Edmunds.com long-term car just shrugged when he was told that the vehicle had safely gone 13,000 miles between oil changes. "I'll just keep changing the oil every 5,000 miles," he said. "It's worked well for me in the past."
Our oil change addiction also comes from the erroneous argument that nearly all cars should be serviced under the "severe" schedule found in the owner's manual. In fact, a quiz on the Web site maintained by Jiffy Lube International Inc. (owned by petrochemical giant Shell Oil Company) recommends the severe maintenance schedule for virtually every kind of driving pattern.
The argument that most people drive under severe conditions is losing its footing, however. A number of automakers, including Ford and GM, have contacted Edmunds data editors to request that the maintenance section of Edmunds' site substitute the normal maintenance schedule for the severe schedule that had been displayed.
About the only ones that really need a 3,000-mile oil change are the quick-lube outlets and dealership service departments. In their internal industry communications, they're frank about how oil changes bring in customers. "Many people...know when to have their oil changed but don't pay that much attention to it," said an article in the National Oil and Lube News online newsletter. "Take advantage of that by using a window sticker system [and] customers will be making their way back to you in a few short months."
Another National Oil and Lube News article tied the frequency of oil changes to success in pushing related products and services. For a midsize SUV, the stepped-up oil change intervals will bring in $1,800 over the life of the car, the article says. "A few extra services [or oil changes] can go a long way toward increasing the amount of money a customer will spend during the lifespan we estimated here," the article concludes.
Today's Oil Goes the Distance
While the car-servicing industry is clear about its reasons for believing in the 3,000-mile oil change, customers cling to it only because they're largely unaware of advances in automotive technology. Among 2010 models, the average recommended oil change interval, based on a normal service schedule, is about 7,800 miles — more than double the traditional 3,000-mile interval. The longest oil change interval is 20,000 miles, for all Porsches. The shortest oil change interval is 5,000 miles in some late-model Toyotas, but the carmaker has begun shifting its fleet to 10,000-mile oil change intervals using synthetic oil.
"Oil has changed quite a bit and most of that isn't transparent to the average consuming public," said Robert Sutherland, principal scientist at Pennzoil Passenger Car Engine Lubricants. Synthetic oils, such as the popular Mobil 1, are stretching oil change intervals, leaving the 3,000-mile mark in the dust. "The great majority of new vehicles today have a recommended oil change interval greater than 3,000 miles," said Mobil spokeswoman Kristen A. Hellmer. The company's most advanced synthetic product (Mobil 1 Extended Performance) is guaranteed for 15,000 miles.
Today's longer oil change intervals are due to:
Improved "robustness" of today's oils, with their ability to protect engines from wear and heat and still deliver good fuel economy with low emissions
Tighter tolerances (the gap between metal moving parts) of modern engines
The introduction of oil life monitoring systems, which notify the driver when an oil change is required and are based on the way the car is driven and the conditions it encounters
For 2010 vehicles, 14 of 35 carmakers are now using oil life monitoring systems. One GM car driven by Edmunds went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change. We sent a sample of that oil to a lab for analysis. The results showed the oil could have safely delivered at least another 2,000 miles of service.
#36
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Or better yet, change it after every time you run the engine, just in case.
The "cheap insurace" reasoning for 3 month/3k mile oil changes with synthetic is lost on me. If the oil is still doing it's job when you drain it, then what exactly are you insuring against? Tons of UOAs and information all over sites like BITOG show that these oils last longer than 3k in just about every normal application. Don't believe it? Then get your oil tested and see the magic!
Today isn't 1969, when oils, filters, engines and everything else sucked ***. With the technology that goes into modern lubricants, filters and engines/machines the whole 3 month/3K oil change is a thing of the past. If an oil and filter is still doing its job past 3K miles there is no reason to change it, other than you get off on it, and if that's the case maybe you should do an oil change after every time you run the engine...
#38
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Not necessarily true. Saturn stopped using plastic panels (polyurethane=petrol/oil) as a result of the greater cost over metal. This was not the case in the beginning, but it was just before Saturn closed its productions. Oil/plastic is no longer "cheap" lol. But I see what you are saying I suppose. However, I agree with others that oil no longer needs to be changed every 3,000 mile like in days of yore. Also, getting dirty is more of a concern than oil "breakdown". Just from what I've read/my .02 cents.
#40
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There will always be people that think they are somehow insuring/protecting against something by draining oil that is still working just fine. You won't change their mind, so it's best to just let them do what they want and simply ignore their advice.