Do You Wait For The Oil Change Reminder In Your GM?

[Hate Work]

Ahem. Regular oil basically hasn't changed much. Synthetic? Some. Tolerance in engines? Yep. What is your vehicle worth to you compared to the cost of basic maintenance? Are you looking for an excuse to go buy something new? Someone who mostly does short commutes or frequent starts with a dry engine should change their oil much more frequently than someone like me who drives 45 miles one way to work. When will common sense come into play here?

[KARNUT]

Seems to be a lot of people on here with chemical engineering degrees. I’ll stick with the experts, oil and car manufacturers recommendation. See the latest mobile 1 ads on the tube? I have one car that calls oil changes every 10K one at 3700. The last one I’ll change at 5K after the warranty is up.

 

 

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[Grumpy Bear]

For about 30 years all three majors specified 180 F thermostats and use engine driven fans. The temperature of your motor oil is directly connected to the engines base cooling system. The hotter the motor runs the hotter the oil runs. The hotter the oil runs the thinner it becomes and the faster is thermally oxidizes. Very few OEM offerings utilize any sort of engine oil cooling past passive radiant rejection and now...the engine compartment is all but sealed like a tomb. Thermostats have risen 192, 196 and now 207 F it the flavor of the day. 

 

From the motor oils perspective there have been improvements in even the lowest base stocks that increase resistance to thermal oxidation. If they had not even 2,000 intervals would not be nearly quick enough. Absolute rates of decay however are not as impressive as the marketing hype would lead you to believe.  This 'improvement' does nothing to prevent heat driven viscosity reduction. At the same time that the OEMs are allowing things to heat up; their call outs for viscosity have declined and the future looks even lighter with 12 and 15 weights looming. 

 

What use to be an operational viscosity of 9 to 12 cSt is now under 5 to 9 cSt at 212 F but oil temperatures now 250F and higher as a normal drive is down to under 3 cSt. Lighter than 0W SAE viscosity grading. 

 

Trusting the OEM made me smile a bit. My Priest has lied to me. My Boss lied to me. My wife has lied to me. A Judge has lied to me as has my lawyer. Police have lied both to me and about me. My teachers lied to me. History lies to me. The press lies to me. Marketing makes a living out of lies. Your doctor will lie to you. My parents have lied to me. If fact the only person that has never lied to me is God. Trust in OEM's? 

 

Now having said that; while I do not trust the OEM's I do trust their GREED (the reason most lie) which means I see the factory intervals and viscosity call outs good enough to get your truck/car/motorcycle at least to the end of the warranty. In other words a safe starting point. I also trust that their greed will shave that melon close enough to leave little in reserve thus any thoughtful improvement to error on cautions side to be prudent.    

[Nick The Great]

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Seems to be a lot of people on here with chemical engineering degrees. I’ll stick with the experts, oil and car manufacturers recommendation. See the latest mobile 1 ads on the tube? I have one car that calls oil changes every 10K one at 3700. The last one I’ll change at 5K after the warranty is up.

 

 

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You mean like my mechanic uncle, who just "knows" anything over 3K is "bad for the engine." 

 

The chemical engineering degree he has and the time he's spent in the GM engineering labs must really add up.  

Edited July 16, 2018 by Nick The Great

[KARNUT]

For about 30 years all three majors specified 180 F thermostats and use engine driven fans. The temperature of your motor oil is directly connected to the engines base cooling system. The hotter the motor runs the hotter the oil runs. The hotter the oil runs the thinner it becomes and the faster is thermally oxidizes. Very few OEM offerings utilize any sort of engine oil cooling past passive radiant rejection and now...the engine compartment is all but sealed like a tomb. Thermostats have risen 192, 196 and now 207 F it the flavor of the day. 
 
From the motor oils perspective there have been improvements in even the lowest base stocks that increase resistance to thermal oxidation. If they had not even 2,000 intervals would not be nearly quick enough. Absolute rates of decay however are not as impressive as the marketing hype would lead you to believe.  This 'improvement' does nothing to prevent heat driven viscosity reduction. At the same time that the OEMs are allowing things to heat up; their call outs for viscosity have declined and the future looks even lighter with 12 and 15 weights looming. 
 
What use to be an operational viscosity of 9 to 12 cSt is now under 5 to 9 cSt at 212 F but oil temperatures now 250F and higher as a normal drive is down to under 3 cSt. Lighter than 0W SAE viscosity grading. 
 
Trusting the OEM made me smile a bit. My Priest has lied to me. My Boss lied to me. My wife has lied to me. A Judge has lied to me as has my lawyer. Police have lied both to me and about me. My teachers lied to me. History lies to me. The press lies to me. Marketing makes a living out of lies. Your doctor will lie to you. My parents have lied to me. If fact the only person that has never lied to me is God. Trust in OEM's? 
 
Now having said that; while I do not trust the OEM's I do trust their GREED (the reason most lie) which means I see the factory intervals and viscosity call outs good enough to get your truck/car/motorcycle at least to the end of the warranty. In other words a safe starting point. I also trust that their greed will shave that melon close enough to leave little in reserve thus any thoughtful improvement to error on cautions side to be prudent.    

You I tend to believe, just for the reason I’ve read you enough. I’ve been involved with lots of testing when it comes to lubricants. Mainly because we’ve been around long enough to be test mules and our equipment works in extreme conditions. Amsoil, Redline, Mobil 1, seem to live up to their hype. Toyota and Honda seems to buy in to synthetics. I’m old enough not to buy into all the hype completely, but I will to a point. I have work in the extreme all my working years and never lost an engine do to oil failure.


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[Grumpy Bear]

13 hours ago, KARNUT said:

You I tend to believe, just for the reason I’ve read you enough. I’ve been involved with lots of testing when it comes to lubricants. Mainly because we’ve been around long enough to be test mules and our equipment works in extreme conditions. Amsoil, Redline, Mobil 1, seem to live up to their hype. Toyota and Honda seems to buy in to synthetics. I’m old enough not to buy into all the hype completely, but I will to a point. I have work in the extreme all my working years and never lost an engine do to oil failure.


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Crows love shinny things.   You might be on to something. Most guys don't keep a truck/car/bike long enough to know much of anything first hand about it. Every car/truck/bike I've ever owned is a rolling lab. Learning winds my watch. I was blessed with a life time of work in oil/gas and chemical. Never really seemed like work. I too have never lost a motor to an oil failure. Fact is I've never lost a motor period. I respect the machine to much to abuse it and loved them enough to race and win my fair share. No that is not a contradiction. 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Grumpy Bear
Change of thought.

[Cowpie]

On the commercial side of things, synthetics are where it's at.  Just by using synthetic gear lube in my heavy truck differentials and transmission, the OEM fo those components automatically extends the warranty 50%... from 500,000 miles to 750,000 miles.  No special agreement or paperwork.  Just use synthetics.  So it must make a difference.  And those components, by using synthetic, the OEM recommended drain interval on them is 500,000 miles.  So the OEM will extend the warranty, no questions asked, and that is even with a 500,000 mile drain interval.

 

Standard base oils have indeed come a long way in the last 20 years.  Group II and III mineral base oils are light years ahead of what they were 20 years ago.  And there is also the Natural Gas derived base oils that are bumping up against Group IV PAO base oils in quality and capability.  That makes sense.   Group IV PAO oils are made from ethylene gas, which is primarily sourced from natural gas also.  Either way, the add pack in the motor oil has as much or even more to do with the quality of a motor oil.  1/5th of any motor oil is additive package.  Even the best synthetic  base oil will grenade a motor without any of the beneficial add pack components.

 

 

[Loco-diablo]

I get free oil changes for life from my dealership. When it hits 20% remaining I bring it in for free synthetic oil change. 20% seems to be every 6000 miles on it it’s like clockwork


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[SierraHD17]

I wait for the light....... reset it and wait for it again lol.  Expensive oil and matching expensive filters that I follow the severe mileage on.  On the old bomber car it's the same oil and filters but I usually do around the 25000 mile change.  Me saying this seems to drive some people nuts but whatever... this is just what I do.  You do as you see fit.

[Imcrazy]

I change mine around 20% remaining..

[LexusMate-GMCSierra]

On my 2012 I changed oil & filter at 5K miles. I plan on doing the same with my 2018. I agree engines and oil are better today than 40 years ago. But, oil is cheap in my opinion like many others in this thread.

[TRC]

I watch the Indicator to remind my self to do it, seems with my driving 15% life equals about 5-6k miles.  I added a drain plug to my trans. pan also,

my maintenance schedule is roughly as followed;

     5-6k eng oil+filter and 9 grease fitting in the front end get a few shots, air filter is pullled to make sure no critters found it, and replaced as needed. 

I take a 4 foot pry bar under with me a use it to try and wiggle moving parts(it no ones around to give me a hand) general inspection.

    Every 2 oil changes the trans drain plug comes out and 5qts new ATF go in, all Fill plugs come out to check level and fluid visual condition. tires get rotated (usually the winters get put on or off at this point)

     Every 4 oil changes, i pull every drain plug and the trans pan comes down to to replace the filter, coolant gets tested and power steering reservoir gets suction gunned and refilled.  

This truck has had a steady diet of Schaeffers full synthetic lubes, in the engine, trans, diffs and transfer case and grease joints.

I keep a running list on the plastic cowling covering the radiator with a paint marker. little brake clean and a rag to change the mileages for each task.

I look forward to a Saturday morning  that I get to do the service and check over.

 

 

 

[Hobey]

On 3/3/2016 at 7:46 PM, Westy5 said:

I change it myself every 3000 miles. I don't trust the goofs at the dealership. The last truck I owned the Chevy dealer installed a new battery under warranty and dented the fender installing it. Bunch of Idiots. Plus they identify your vehicle by putting a magnetic number on the hood which made me cringe at the site. I try to take care of my vehicles as best I can. Especially after I spent 40,000.00 plus dollars for their product. lDK maybe I'm to fussy, or not?

I wouldn't say you are fussy, just concerned for the care of your truck.  Where we live in Cobourg, Ontario, our Chev Dealer takes great care of our vehicle....we have dealt there for over 15 years now....never any issues, so I hope you find a better dealer !!! P.S....i change our oil every 3 or 4 months due to short trips an vehicles sit for 2 or 3 days ata time....cheap insurance and I m able to assess other items that need maintenance o attention

[Grumpy Bear]

Something I've been thinking about allot recently is oil cleanliness. The internet is full of advice and opinion on OCI's based on many factors that hinge on the oils chemistry. That is viscosity loss or TBN and additive depletion. I've beat that drum to death myself. There is also a great amount of discussion surrounding filtration and almost entirely at it pertains to particle size retention. That is, who has the highest filtration efficiency. How small a particle can that filter capture. You even hear on occasion about retention volume of a filter. How many grams of contamination will it hold before is plugs enough to remain on bypass. And everyone of these concerns is valid but....not comprehensive in the search for the perfect OCI length me thinks. 

 

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/by-pass-oil-filtration/

 

Two things in this link really grabbed my eye. No matter what the box says your filter comes in or who makes it the average particle size passing is 30-40 micron. To me that would mean that the manufactures OCI is based on such filtration and expected contamination levels present under those conditions. 

 

The second was Blackstone believes that an oils life is limited only by it's cleanliness and additive depletion. Just something I'm giving more consideration. 

[diyer2]

Wix specs for my oil filter.

Product Specifications

Part Number:57045

UPC Number:765809570450

Style:Spin-On Lube Filter

Service:Lube

Type:Full Flow

Media:Enhanced Cellulose

Height:4.828 (123)*

Outer Diameter Top:2.939 (75)*

Outer Diameter Bottom:Closed:

Thread Size:22X1.5 MM

By-Pass Valve Setting-PSI:12-15

Anti-Drain Back Valve:Yes

Beta Ratio:2/20=6/20

Burst Pressure-PSI:350

Nominal Micron Rating:21

Oil cleanliness.

This is why I do 3 K OCI.

Why I use of the shelf oil also due to cost.

The cost maybe the same as expensive oil ran for longer OCI's but clean, new oil is what I like.