Compulsive oil changer?
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TECH Veteran
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: Hartsdale, NY
Compulsive oil changer? For the past 30 years or so I have changed oil in the cars/trucks/boats/mowers etc. that I have owned VERY frequently.
For the LS1 - SS Camaro every two months I change the oil twice. This involves the first change with cheap dino oil and a new filter. The car is run for about 10 minutes and then a second oil change is done. FOr the second change, I use fully synthetic oil and a new filter. In two months of driving I usually cover about 1,500 miles or so...
I have never had any major engine problems, blue smoke, bad valves, noisy valve-trains etc. One Honda I owned went 240K with no problems...
So my question is this - I'm I a compulsive oil changer or I'm I justified in changing so much?
For the LS1 - SS Camaro every two months I change the oil twice. This involves the first change with cheap dino oil and a new filter. The car is run for about 10 minutes and then a second oil change is done. FOr the second change, I use fully synthetic oil and a new filter. In two months of driving I usually cover about 1,500 miles or so...
I have never had any major engine problems, blue smoke, bad valves, noisy valve-trains etc. One Honda I owned went 240K with no problems...
So my question is this - I'm I a compulsive oil changer or I'm I justified in changing so much?
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From: LaConner WA
Re: Compulsive oil changer? And I thought I was bad by changing it every 3K <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" /> I think you need to see someone in the "pink room" <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" />
Re: Compulsive oil changer? Checking the color of the oil is a good guide to when to change it. Also, I have noticed as oil gets older the oil pressure drops more when the engine gets hot. Thats another sign to change the oil.
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Hawaii
Re: Compulsive oil changer? the oil companies probably don't think it's excessive <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" />
why you wanna make them rich? just change it every 5-6k like I do and most of us here <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />
why you wanna make them rich? just change it every 5-6k like I do and most of us here <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Northern CA.
Re: Compulsive oil changer? thats a bit excessive
I've done mine at 2500 if i was driving hard or racing alot but other wise i'm the 3k to 4 k changer
I remeber back in the 80's when it was 5k instead of 3k...... so i too agreethe 3k thing is just a money making idea.
I've done mine at 2500 if i was driving hard or racing alot but other wise i'm the 3k to 4 k changer
I remeber back in the 80's when it was 5k instead of 3k...... so i too agreethe 3k thing is just a money making idea.
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From: Troy, AL
Re: Compulsive oil changer? Yes. Just use synthetic and change it about every 5 thousand miles. Use the money saved for mods. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="gr_images/icons/cool.gif" />
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From: Mississauga, Ontario
Re: Compulsive oil changer? If you run synthetic and you change it sooner than 5k, you might as well run dino oil.
Synthetic oil can easily handle 10 to 15k oil changes in a mechanically sound engine.
Jiffy Lube and the oil companies want you to believe that the 3k interval is neccessary, but it's not anymore. Oils are much better than they used to be.
<small>[ November 05, 2002, 04:39 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]</small>
Synthetic oil can easily handle 10 to 15k oil changes in a mechanically sound engine.
Jiffy Lube and the oil companies want you to believe that the 3k interval is neccessary, but it's not anymore. Oils are much better than they used to be.
<small>[ November 05, 2002, 04:39 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]</small>
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From: Texas
Re: Compulsive oil changer? You can change your oil as often as you want. Let me give you one piece of advice. Don't mix oil. There is no reason to put in cheap oil for 10 minutes and then dump it.
In fact that is a bad practice. Many oil have incompatible additive packages. I know some folks may poo-poo this. But let me tell you what I have seen. I have seen more than one motor where someone was a quart or two low, and threw in some other kind of oil. In the last case it was a quart or two of synthetic into a motor which was running conventional oil.
The oil turned into something that looked like, and had the same viscosity as cold tar.
Here is what I would do if I were you for your LS1. Drain you oil for 10 minutes or so, at the end of your drain period jack the back of the car up to make sure all the oil has drained properly. In the Vette at least, this is worth an extra 1/2 quart of oil draining.
Use about 1/2 a quart of the oil you are using oil to "wash" out any left over dirty oil.
Just to give you a heads up.
I have a motor that was run on Mobil1 since it was brand new. With 88K on the odometer it is spotless on the inside. No deposits, no buildup, nothing. The top of the heads look like they just came out of the box.
I have another motor in my daily driver which is at 264,000. I bought it with 55K on it, and I have used Mobil1 ever since. That is my oil change procedure for it...
How often you change your oil ddepends on your driving. Is it all around town, does your motor get up to temperature, etc... But, changing your oil frequently is not going to hurt it. 3000 miles is fine as a change frequency.
In fact that is a bad practice. Many oil have incompatible additive packages. I know some folks may poo-poo this. But let me tell you what I have seen. I have seen more than one motor where someone was a quart or two low, and threw in some other kind of oil. In the last case it was a quart or two of synthetic into a motor which was running conventional oil.
The oil turned into something that looked like, and had the same viscosity as cold tar.
Here is what I would do if I were you for your LS1. Drain you oil for 10 minutes or so, at the end of your drain period jack the back of the car up to make sure all the oil has drained properly. In the Vette at least, this is worth an extra 1/2 quart of oil draining.
Use about 1/2 a quart of the oil you are using oil to "wash" out any left over dirty oil.
Just to give you a heads up.
I have a motor that was run on Mobil1 since it was brand new. With 88K on the odometer it is spotless on the inside. No deposits, no buildup, nothing. The top of the heads look like they just came out of the box.
I have another motor in my daily driver which is at 264,000. I bought it with 55K on it, and I have used Mobil1 ever since. That is my oil change procedure for it...
How often you change your oil ddepends on your driving. Is it all around town, does your motor get up to temperature, etc... But, changing your oil frequently is not going to hurt it. 3000 miles is fine as a change frequency.
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From: gilbertsville, PA
Re: Compulsive oil changer? I've never changed oil more frequently than 5k miles, unless I'm racing. Never owned a car that needed more than 1 qt between changes. 184 k on my s10. doesn't burn a drop (leaks some
)changed it every 6k till 100k miles, now around 5k intervals. That's how I do all of our cars (6).
If you take the exta $10 you throw away every time you do a change, you could buy more beer.
)changed it every 6k till 100k miles, now around 5k intervals. That's how I do all of our cars (6).If you take the exta $10 you throw away every time you do a change, you could buy more beer.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Aug 2002
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From: Hartsdale, NY
Re: Compulsive oil changer? Thanks guys for the imput
I like the comment about buying more beer. ...soo0 I will assume I am completely compusive and, therfore, I will now only change every 4K or so...
I'm a little confused about the comment about not dumping the dino oil between oil changes. I thought that since I am dumping the dino oil and the new filter that I was not mixing sythetic oil with dino. This is in starke contrast to adding 2 quarts of synthetic oil to a crankcase filled with dino - which is clearly mixing oils...
Does anyone notice that synthetic oil turns black more quickly than dino oil? I bought a used LT1 car several years ago that had really black oil. It turned out to be a lemon which I got rid of soon. I suppose thats why I am not more compulsive than ever with the LS1....
I like the comment about buying more beer. ...soo0 I will assume I am completely compusive and, therfore, I will now only change every 4K or so...
I'm a little confused about the comment about not dumping the dino oil between oil changes. I thought that since I am dumping the dino oil and the new filter that I was not mixing sythetic oil with dino. This is in starke contrast to adding 2 quarts of synthetic oil to a crankcase filled with dino - which is clearly mixing oils...
Does anyone notice that synthetic oil turns black more quickly than dino oil? I bought a used LT1 car several years ago that had really black oil. It turned out to be a lemon which I got rid of soon. I suppose thats why I am not more compulsive than ever with the LS1....
TECH Senior Member
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From: Mississauga, Ontario
Re: Compulsive oil changer? Synthetic oil often turns darker because it's cleaning better. If you run a car on dino for a long time, then switch to synthetic, it'll go dark very fast on that first interval, as it cleans up the stuff the dino left behind. Nothing to worry about.
As far as your dino "purge" cycle. What happens is that when you put in that dino oil, and then drain it back out, about 4 or 5 oz or more ends up still trapped up top in the heads. So when you add the synthetic next, it'll mix with a little bit of dino oil. Not a huge concern, but still you'd be better off just using nothing but synthetic and not mixing between changes like this. If you go with a 5k interval with Mobil 1 your engine will last practically forever. Like I said, Mobil 1 can go an extremely long time and still be in perfect shape, especially if you stick with 10w30.
As far as your dino "purge" cycle. What happens is that when you put in that dino oil, and then drain it back out, about 4 or 5 oz or more ends up still trapped up top in the heads. So when you add the synthetic next, it'll mix with a little bit of dino oil. Not a huge concern, but still you'd be better off just using nothing but synthetic and not mixing between changes like this. If you go with a 5k interval with Mobil 1 your engine will last practically forever. Like I said, Mobil 1 can go an extremely long time and still be in perfect shape, especially if you stick with 10w30.
