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Oil Change,Oil Change Intervals,Oil Change Time,Oil Change Time vs Mileage
Recommended Oil Change Intervals –For Automobiles and Motorcycles
I normally don’t mention anything about oil change intervals, figuring that everyone can decide that for themselves. But, I’ve had a number of people contact me to ask what oil change interval they should use. So, I put together the following write-up, to address that question.
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There is quite a wide variation when it comes to recommended oil change intervals for normal daily driven street vehicles. Vehicle owners get recommendations from:
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• Quickie Oil Change places that usually call for 3,000 mile change intervals.
• Owner’s Manuals that now can often say 7,500 miles or more.
• Modern vehicle computerized dashboard oil change indicators that can vary anywhere from about 5,000 to 10,000 miles, depending on the model, brand and driving habits.
• Then there are the premium synthetic oils from mainstream Oil Companies and from Companies that only sell premium synthetic oils, who try to get you to buy their extra expensive motor oil, by saying you can use extra long oil change intervals, such as anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 miles.
I normally don’t mention anything about oil change intervals, figuring that everyone can decide that for themselves. But, I’ve had a number of people contact me to ask what oil change interval they should use. So, I put together the following write-up, to address that question.
.
There is quite a wide variation when it comes to recommended oil change intervals for normal daily driven street vehicles. Vehicle owners get recommendations from:
.
• Quickie Oil Change places that usually call for 3,000 mile change intervals.
• Owner’s Manuals that now can often say 7,500 miles or more.
• Modern vehicle computerized dashboard oil change indicators that can vary anywhere from about 5,000 to 10,000 miles, depending on the model, brand and driving habits.
• Then there are the premium synthetic oils from mainstream Oil Companies and from Companies that only sell premium synthetic oils, who try to get you to buy their extra expensive motor oil, by saying you can use extra long oil change intervals, such as anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 miles.
Trying to make sense of all those conflicting recommendations is enough to give some people a headache. So, let’s see if we can make some sense out of all this.
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• You can completely ignore the 3,000 mile oil change interval called for by the Quickie Oil Change places. There is no technical reason to change oil that often in normal daily driven street vehicles. Of course it doesn’t hurt the engine if you do, but it is simply a waste of money and resources, while increasing environmental waste, with virtually no benefit to your engine. This recommended change interval is only so those Oil Change places can make more money off the unsuspecting motoring public.
• Owner’s Manuals have been known to drastically revise their recommended oil change intervals to far longer, at a model year change, even when nothing has changed on the model involved. This happens because Auto Makers can use longer oil change intervals to claim a reduced cost of ownership, while at the same time reducing environmental waste.
But, the reality is, it does not truly mean that the same vehicle as the previous year model, with the same oil, can now magically go perhaps an extra 50% or more between oil changes. These longer intervals are driven by Corporate Business decisions, not by Engineering decisions. It has gotten so ridiculous with some vehicles, that you are better off to ignore the overly long oil change intervals that are now commonly printed in Owner’s Manuals.
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• You can completely ignore the 3,000 mile oil change interval called for by the Quickie Oil Change places. There is no technical reason to change oil that often in normal daily driven street vehicles. Of course it doesn’t hurt the engine if you do, but it is simply a waste of money and resources, while increasing environmental waste, with virtually no benefit to your engine. This recommended change interval is only so those Oil Change places can make more money off the unsuspecting motoring public.
• Owner’s Manuals have been known to drastically revise their recommended oil change intervals to far longer, at a model year change, even when nothing has changed on the model involved. This happens because Auto Makers can use longer oil change intervals to claim a reduced cost of ownership, while at the same time reducing environmental waste.
But, the reality is, it does not truly mean that the same vehicle as the previous year model, with the same oil, can now magically go perhaps an extra 50% or more between oil changes. These longer intervals are driven by Corporate Business decisions, not by Engineering decisions. It has gotten so ridiculous with some vehicles, that you are better off to ignore the overly long oil change intervals that are now commonly printed in Owner’s Manuals.
It is fairly common for the computerized dashboard oil change indicators in modern vehicles to not match the vehicle’s own Owner’s Manual. Of course the Owner’s Manual numbers are an overall approximation of driving conditions and driving habits, where the computerized dashboard indicator takes into account engine temp, throttle opening, rpm, etc, etc. So, some people might assume that the computer is more precise than the Manual. But, don’t believe it, because the computer is programmed for extra long oil change intervals for the same reasons as the extra long oil change intervals printed in the Manuals.
I have a late model daily driver vehicle myself, with a computer oil change indicator that shows that I should go “TWICE” as long between oil changes, compared to my previous similar model from the same maker, which was only a few years older, all while they both were driven exactly the same. And of course the computer doesn’t know if I’m using cheapo discount conventional motor oil or very expensive premium synthetic oil, labeled as extended change interval motor oil. So, once again, you are better off to ignore the overly long oil change intervals that are now commonly indicated by the computer.
I have a late model daily driver vehicle myself, with a computer oil change indicator that shows that I should go “TWICE” as long between oil changes, compared to my previous similar model from the same maker, which was only a few years older, all while they both were driven exactly the same. And of course the computer doesn’t know if I’m using cheapo discount conventional motor oil or very expensive premium synthetic oil, labeled as extended change interval motor oil. So, once again, you are better off to ignore the overly long oil change intervals that are now commonly indicated by the computer.
Then we have the premium synthetic oils from mainstream Oil Companies, as well as from Oil Companies that only sell premium synthetic oils. And retail prices on those premium oils tend to be so high that their sales are weak in the marketplace. So, those Companies devised a Marketing strategy which advertises that their oils are so good that buyers can use far longer change intervals, such as anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 miles. Their idea is, since customers can buy their oil less often, that it will offset the super high cost of the oil, in an attempt to convince the general public that the high price is justifiable. All in hopes of increasing sales and profits. But of course, Marketing/Advertising being what it is, they leave out the dirty little secret that, no matter how good any oil is, or how much it costs, it will still get extremely dirty and contaminated, thus needing changing, WAY, WAY BEFORE that many miles. More on that below.
Now we’ve seen that all the various recommendations above have only the interests of others in mind, rather than your best interest or your engine’s best interest in mind. Therefore, it is best not follow those oil change interval recommendations, if you really care about doing what’s best for your wallet and for your engine. So then, what oil change interval should we use?
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I’ll answer that by telling you the oil change intervals I’ve used in normal daily driven street vehicles for years, why I do it, and why I recommend others do the same. Then you can decide for yourself.
Now we’ve seen that all the various recommendations above have only the interests of others in mind, rather than your best interest or your engine’s best interest in mind. Therefore, it is best not follow those oil change interval recommendations, if you really care about doing what’s best for your wallet and for your engine. So then, what oil change interval should we use?
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I’ll answer that by telling you the oil change intervals I’ve used in normal daily driven street vehicles for years, why I do it, and why I recommend others do the same. Then you can decide for yourself.
In “Hybrid vehicles”, depending on the conditions when the vehicle is underway, the engine is sometimes running, and sometimes not running. And they usually also employ an “engine-off” feature when the vehicle comes to a stop. All this on-again/off-again engine operation creates a severe/extreme usage condition for the engine’s motor oil. That is because the oil cannot maintain a high enough temperature to keep normal condensation removed, which comes from the constant over, and over, and over, partial heating and then re-cooling of the oil. This is a textbook example of short trip operation on the motor oil, which is one of the worst things you can subject a motor oil to. As a result, in order to provide a Hybrid vehicle’s engine with the best possible wear protection, its motor oil should be changed much more frequently, such as at every 3,000 miles, because of this severe/extreme usage. So, it is in your best interest to ignore the ridiculously long oil change interval in the Owner’s Manual or the dash’s oil change indicator.
RECOMMENDATION FOR MOTORCYCLES:
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Most motorcycle engines:
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• Make far more power per cubic inch, than car engines.
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• Rev far higher than car engines.
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• Share the same oil for both the engine and transmission (which subjects the oil to considerably more mechanical shearing).
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• Have wet clutches that also share the engine oil.
• Often get run much harder than most car engines.
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So, most motorcycle engines are far harder on their motor oil than normal daily driven automobile engines are, which results in semi-severe usage, to severe usage of their motor oil. Therefore, I recommend the following to provide the best protection:
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Most motorcycle engines:
.
• Make far more power per cubic inch, than car engines.
.
• Rev far higher than car engines.
.
• Share the same oil for both the engine and transmission (which subjects the oil to considerably more mechanical shearing).
.
• Have wet clutches that also share the engine oil.
• Often get run much harder than most car engines.
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So, most motorcycle engines are far harder on their motor oil than normal daily driven automobile engines are, which results in semi-severe usage, to severe usage of their motor oil. Therefore, I recommend the following to provide the best protection:
Do NOT follow the ridiculously long 8,000 mile oil change interval typically found in motorcycle street bike Owner’s Manuals. That outrageously long interval is Marketing driven only to reduce Cost of Ownership numbers. It is NOT what is best for the engine, and was NOT driven by Engineering.
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• For liquid cooled street motorcycles, use the range: 3,000 mile oil change interval if operated aggressively, up to a 4,000 mile oil change interval if operated modestly.
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• For air cooled street motorcycles which will often get their oil much hotter than liquid cooled bikes, use the range: 2,000 mile oil change interval if operated aggressively, up to a 3,000 mile oil change interval if operated modestly.
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• For motorcycles that don’t get ridden much, change the motor oil once a year, even if the oil has fewer miles than shown above.
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• For liquid cooled street motorcycles, use the range: 3,000 mile oil change interval if operated aggressively, up to a 4,000 mile oil change interval if operated modestly.
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• For air cooled street motorcycles which will often get their oil much hotter than liquid cooled bikes, use the range: 2,000 mile oil change interval if operated aggressively, up to a 3,000 mile oil change interval if operated modestly.
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• For motorcycles that don’t get ridden much, change the motor oil once a year, even if the oil has fewer miles than shown above.
FINAL WORDS to be absolutely clear:
Here are the two primary decisions you need to make regarding the motor oil you use in your engine, in their order of importance.
1. The NUMBER ONE most important decision is to select an oil from my Wear Protection Ranking List that provides the level of wear protection that you feel comfortable with for your particular engine. The higher the psi value, the better the wear protection. Racing engines and High Performance street engines that load their oil near its limit, especially traditional American flat tappet pushrod V-8 engines, are best protected with highly ranked oils. Ordinary low performance daily drivers that only lightly load their oil, can get by well enough with low ranked oils, if absolute maximum life out of the engine is not critical.
NOTE: There are synthetic oils on the market that perform very well, while other synthetics do not. There are conventional oils on the market that perform very well, while other conventional oils do not. My Wear Protection Ranking List shows you which oil is which.
2. The NUMBER TWO most important decision is to decide when to change the oil you are using, no matter what that oil may be
Here are the two primary decisions you need to make regarding the motor oil you use in your engine, in their order of importance.
1. The NUMBER ONE most important decision is to select an oil from my Wear Protection Ranking List that provides the level of wear protection that you feel comfortable with for your particular engine. The higher the psi value, the better the wear protection. Racing engines and High Performance street engines that load their oil near its limit, especially traditional American flat tappet pushrod V-8 engines, are best protected with highly ranked oils. Ordinary low performance daily drivers that only lightly load their oil, can get by well enough with low ranked oils, if absolute maximum life out of the engine is not critical.
NOTE: There are synthetic oils on the market that perform very well, while other synthetics do not. There are conventional oils on the market that perform very well, while other conventional oils do not. My Wear Protection Ranking List shows you which oil is which.
2. The NUMBER TWO most important decision is to decide when to change the oil you are using, no matter what that oil may be
