Oil Quality After Two Years? - BMW Oil Analysis PART 2
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- Manufacturers suggest changing oil at least once a year, but let's see what the lab results say!
NOTE:
These tests are based on my car and the way I drive it. Your results may vary drastically.
LINKS:
Oil analysis video Part 1: • Are You Changing Oil T...
Oil Analysis Video PART 3: • Change Oil Or Just Kee...
Oil Change Video: • BMW Oil Change - Easy ...
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*Disclaimer*
Due to the litigious world we live in, I have to include this statement:
I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. The creator of this content assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. I recommend safe practices when working on vehicles and or with tools seen or implied in this video. No information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not the creator of this content.
Check out my other Oil Analysis videos:
Part 1 - BMW 5k, 7.5k, 10k comparison: ruclips.net/video/z1ZJJyfph4M/видео.html
Part 2 - BMW Two Year Oil comparison: ruclips.net/video/7hJU112oUg8/видео.html
Part 3 - 300k mile Toyota Yaris Oil Analysis: ruclips.net/video/caBVbGYHB4k/видео.html
Part 4 - 208k mile Jeep Grand Cherokee Oil Analysis: ruclips.net/video/4HWGCX9sWpw/видео.html
Part 5 - 10 years without an oil change - Jeep Transfer Case: ruclips.net/video/Oz1qMKvgpFk/видео.htmlsi=NP0_otOTcWy_WHrd
Part 6 - Change the Oil or Keep Topping Off? Yaris Oil Analysis Part 2: ruclips.net/video/Lmpc1Il97KY/видео.html
A better system of checking would have been to use a sampling plug and test the same oil as the mileage increases.
What is a sampling plug?
@@EndlessMoneyPits
ruclips.net/video/n5XmQGGZ_yg/видео.htmlsi=Vfg6VyC1N4_ipQOp
I send off a used oil sample to Blackstone Labs with every oil change on each of my vehicles. One of them has always been only a weekend fun machine since it was new 22 years ago. For the past several years, it has seen less than 300 miles per year. The last time I changed the oil after the car had been driven less than 1500 miles - over a 5 YEAR period. The analysis confirmed my belief that oil just sitting in the oil pan of a parked car DOES NOT degrade significantly over time. All values were still well within spec.
Very good to know! Thanks for sharing.
Yhup. My findings exactly. Five years in the pan, and the oil is still good. It's not going to degrade without being exposed to heat.
Awesome! Thank you for the info.
Pretty sure how you drive the car also is that you allow the oil temps to gradually increase before getting into higher rpm’s. 👍
you must using another type of analysis, because the Blackstone labs I am familiar with only analyzes the oil for metal content, so that engine wear might be known. It doesn't test if the oil still meets all specifications. It really doesn't matter, with so little use, I doubt the engine or lubrication sees much stress, so any lubrication problem would be real slow showing up. I prefer to look at drag cars for enlightenment on lubrication, since they break things so often.
One can't wear out an oil molecule in automotive use, but the additive package ages out, and that is why used oil can be recycled indefinitely, but should be changed at least once a year to keep the additive package working as designed.
It hugely depends on driving conditions, driving habits and driving distances. Ultra short driving distances, especially during winter are condensation heaven, and much more…
The easy solution is to drive any car with those conditions for 15-20 minutes on the freeway to cook out the harm in your oil at least once a month. This is a well-credited oil analyzing lab (Blackstone) advice.
I have always suspected that the (12) month or (x) number of mile recommendation by the engine oil companies was marketing baloney to sell more oil, specifically to those who drive less than average miles per year. This confirms my theory. Thanks for your great work.
My German Mini Cooper recommends an oil change every 2 years or 30k km... so yeah, I think it's a scam to sell more oil to suggest short intervals
And I love how thousands will still do 3,000 miles. Regardless of the data. Humans hate to be told they’re wrong.
Everyone seems to have strong opinions about oil and they're all different.
Especially when there's an entire other continent where 10000 miles is the bare minimum that the vast majority of people will keep their oil for: Europe.
15000km (9000ish miles) oil change intervals have been the standard for at least the last 30 years, and most manufacturers these days actually specify 30000km.
I myself start thinking "I need to change my oil" when it starts getting around 12k and then finally get around to it between 15 and 20, never had any issues.
I drove a '97 Audi A4 that consistently had a low oil pressure warning at idle for over 100,000km, still changing the oil every 15-20k, before the turbo finally kicked the bucket. The oil seal in the turbo gave way, it sucked all the oil into the intake while I was driving at 120mph and the engine seized (the stupid oil pressure warning didn't even come on, the one time it would have been needed). The engine had 350,000km and over 20 years by that point.
Changing the oil every 5000km is asinine. It's a leftover from ye olden days when oil was mineral based and sludged up very easily, but if you're using good fully synthetic oil (AS YOU SHOULD, there's no reason to feed your engine crappy mineral oil in 2024 when the price difference is so small) at 5k you're throwing away oil that is still basically new.
This is good to know I have several old cars that are probably driven less than 2000 miles a year so I change the oil maybe 1 time a year or even 2 years.
In the Netherlands the long intervals are recommended. The intervals go as far as 30.000km, for my 2000 Peugeot 406 coupe V6. I can tell you it's a very bad idea, seeing the internals of some of these engines. My intervals on the dash are set at 15000k, but because i don't drive so much as my buisiness is from home, i do an oilchange every two years. That is well under 10000km. Never had any problems, the engine is like new inside. She has done around 300000km now.
Great car indeed! ES9J4S?
@@Messergebnis-liebhaber
Yes indeed. My pride and Joy since 2007. In very good and well maintained condition😉
@@nicodenhaak3961 I'm a great fan of Xantia, 406, Xsara, 306 & 405! Greatest French cars of all time. 406 V6 is smooth and powerful. Quite fast too! I have seen videos of them reaching 250 km/h on German Autobahn! It is also very reliable! It can do half a million kilometers if well maintained! if you have any Instagram account or something, I would be happy to see your car!
@@Messergebnis-liebhaber
I don't have instagram. But i had an account on the same name on the UK 406 coupe forum. Also an old review on the dutch autoweek review part. Enjoy the French/Italian classic 's
VW says 30000km or 2 years for Long Life oils
Once again, great, detailed, short and sweet video. I personally go by mileage, i don't think these modern day fully synthetic oils are really affected by time, it's the use that wears them down. I just wish the previous owners of cars I've bought used serviced them more regularly than the manufacturers mileage guidelines because if everyone did 7,500 intervals from the start, a majority of engines would make it to 200k+ quite easily. Cars I've owned where previous owners did regular oil changes were always in better health imo.
Thank you. It's really hard to find used cars that have been taken care of. Most people just haven't been taught to take care of them. If I have kids, they will learn young.
I change my oil every 5k miles on the cars that are daily driven. My other 4 NON daily driven are changed once per year because they are only driven one day per week and that drive is only about a 20 mile round trip.
EDIT:
Also yea you have NO idea what the previous owner did to the car or how long they went between oil changes. You can only HOPE they went to actual oil change places to have it done and then its marked in the system that it was done.
Where as John Doe claims he did his own oil changes every X miles, you have to hope he is right. I am that John Doe guy, i do ALL my own oil changes and they are ALL done every 5k miles with basic conventional oil, i don't use synthetic, don't see a point, oil is going to break down.
What the previous owner did or didn't do is irrelevant at this point. I bought the car in 2007 with 82k miles, now at 282k miles. However, the PO did have the car serviced by the dealer until sold to me.
Oil new saves engines, old oil kills engines, i'v rebuild many engines, most are from old oil
@@jimclarke1108 I would NOT say that OLD oil kills engines because we got MILLIONS of cars that have NEVER EVER EVER had an oil change and they still run.
This whole oil issue seems to be an American thing. In sort, marketing. In EU the concern does not exist. My car was designed for servicing and oil changes every 20,000 miles (yes, that's right) - it's a German design mass market car from the GM group. How many times have I had to change the engine (not the oil)? Zero. How old is the car? Just over 20 yo. Does it run OK? Absolutely sweet. I didn't even know about this "keep changing the oil" US habit until I started watching YT... amazing!
Yep, absolute scandalous thieves. I called Mobil 1 to ask about the shelf life of their syn. oil as I had an unopened jug over 5 years old. They told me you get 2 yrs. after opening and 5 yrs. unopened. Really!!! Seems they are marketing it as if it were fragile. IT'S OIL. I called Blackstone oil analyzing laboratory whom I have researched for 8 yrs. now. They said no amount of time on oil degrades it, especially in a jug and that the only thing that degrades it is running through an engine. Thats when I concluded, it's OIL not milk. Modern-day additives is what extends its life compared to decades past. Obviously, Mobil 1 is laughing all the way to the bank and wants to sell as much as they can. I have more knowledge about oil but can't put it all down here. PEOPLE!!! Do a lot of research. Also, read their 10,000 ml. warranty. AHEM, It states if you make a claim that your oil has to be analyzed at a lab. I found the warranty pretty much useless.
Agree, the development of high quality fully synthetic oil was a game changer. Of course companies became concerned about their income hence continued spreading the old era recommendations for 3k miles oil change intervals etc in the US, whereas other countries where environmental factors are of a concern, science and modern technology dictate car manufacturer recommendations.
You from germany driving vectra lol?
As a European myself I also couldn't believe it when I saw so many Americans changing their oil at 5000km. At first I thought they were dumb, then I started thinking that maybe their engines are so badly made that they actually need oil changes that often, then I went back to thinking they're just dumb because there's no way their engines are THAT bad (and also they do it even with foreign cars).
One thing that always has left me baffled however is how people never change their gearbox oil here. Everyone seems to believe it lasts "forever". It just doesn't! It's not exposed to combustion products so it lasts much longer than engine oil, but it also has no filter so it will progressively fill up with more and more metal particles and accelerate the wear on your gears exponentially.
I changed the gearbox+differential oil in an old tractor I bought and it was absolutely FULL of metal shavings.
My new car has around 50000km and I think I'll change the gearbox oil along with the next oil change.
Mileage has some bearing, however the type of driving is a much bigger factor.
Short stop/start journeys were water particles and carbon deposits are not burnt off due to the engine not reaching it optimal temperature for a period of time.
So using your car once a month and driving for 100 miles none stop is better than driving for 100 miles doing 20 drives of 5 miles each time.
35yrs Motor Trade 🇬🇧
I know it's been said but makes me doubt stop/start technology.
I'm driving 6 miles per trip daily. I guess I'm ok because 6 miles is more than a short trip
6 miles is a pretty short trip. You need to drive 30-45 minutes to fully warm the engine.
@@willpeony5534 I agree, mines permanently turned off (coded out).
We started using oil analysis at work--we ran large format printing presses, the size of greyhound buses. Each print tower held about 55 gallons of oil, with multiple towers, so you could imagine how expensive oil changes could be. We wound up doubling or tripling oil change intervals.
What about municipal buses? This is personal. Ralph Kramden.
My 2003 TDI has 10,000 mile oil changes in the service manual. I've changed it every 10k or 2 years if it's not been used much. Done this since owning the car in 2006 and stills runs fine, 155,000 miles. Engine and turbo still original and plenty of power. Heck it's still on it's original clutch too. Just to rub salt in to the 3,000 mile brigade, I've done the oil changes with a vacuum extraction pump since 2011. So the sump plug hasn't been removed in over 10 years. Yes oil is cheap and engines aren't... but that's still not an excuse to waste money and good engine oil.
I also used a fluid extractor for at least the last 10 years before filming for these tests, but I wonder if that's why the first sample I took (10k) was worse than expected. I'll be doing another 10k sample for comparison.
I got the vacuum extractor because the oil filter is also on top of the engine. So I didn't have to get under the car. It's possible using one leaves more contamination in the sump. On the other hand I can drain the oil filter housing with it that holds a fair amount of oil. Still hasn't seem to do the car much harm. Still runs fine being 20 years old the body and chassis are what's going to kill it not my extended oil changes.
ruclips.net/video/6p69YEHqz0w/видео.html
This is an interesting video, particularly that it's with a TDI as well. By interesting I mean the narrator is neither an AMSOIL Dealer like myself, nor owns a business that sells AMSOIL. He is a DIYer who simply has a positive story to share of his extensive track record using AMSOIL motor oil with extended intervals in his 1998 Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel. It’s only 12.5 mins, and a bit slow in the beginning but he does make a great case - almost 400k miles - for a good quality motor oil.
@@frankharley1000 I own a similar VW engine a 1.9 TDI ASV and know the 1.9 TDI can go to very high mileage given half decent servicing. Not sure I'd be comfortable extending the charges that far passed the recommended mileage. Also I only use the cheapest oil available that matches the specification. The same with fuel I don't pay extra for premium marketing or snake oil 😊
Diesel fuel is a lubricant, whereas gasoline is a solvent. Therefore, fuel contamination in the engine oil is less of a problem in a diesel engine. There's typically also much more motor oil in a diesel engine compared to a similar displacement gas engine, as well as much larger oil filter, so there's more capacity for contamination before it reaches a level that can cause accelerated wear. Many commercial diesel trucks have 15K or more mile oil change intervals and can go millions of miles before a rebuild.
Personally though, I'm not trying to squeeze every penny out of my light duty diesel, and oil is still reasonably cheap if you buy it in bulk. I change the oil every 5K miles and the filter every other oil change.
My biggest takeaway from this is the time factor (6,12 mos. etc.) is far less of a factor for oil changes than we're all being led to believe. Only with a few exceptions, mileage is the main indicator. The Care Care Nut, who is quite popular, strongly believes 5K intervals are the way to go, especially with the new, lighter-weight oils but I believe that mileage is more important and this video reinforces my belief. Thanks!
Actually most engine manufacturers will tell you the amount of fuel through the engine is the most important factor. You generally get a similar amount of additive depletion, oxidation, nitration and contamination per gallon of fuel run through the engine. So in general 10 mpg might equate to 3000 mi and 20 mpg might equate to 6000 mi. Of course if you doubled the oil capacity you could double the interval as well (Some newer half ton pickups hold 9 quarts of oil). That's the reason some heavy trucks can go 60,000 mi between oil changes. They might only get 6-7 mpg but when you have an up to 60 qt capacity it helps a lot.
No one mentioned putting oil in the oil filter before installing it. I have always done this. The faster you get oil pressure, the better. Mr HONDA said most wear in a car engine occurs at startup.
CCN likes quick time
@@richardveronese7961and that’s with cars build way before modern cars…
There’s this invention called an oil pump and it’s fairly old
@@richardveronese7961 Nobody mentioned it because it's a waste of time, not to mention impossible on cars or bikes with horizontal or upside down mounted filters. You can do it but it's pissing in the wind.
The big enemies of oil are moisture and particulate contaminants. Modern oil filters can reduce the particulate loads in the size ranges that can affect engine wear very efficiently and so this form of damage is usually well-controlled, even at high mileage intervals between changes. Moisture, however, is subject to the driving characteristics- short trips in colder climates can accumulate significant amounts of water in the oil. It is important to get the engine hot enough for long enough to evaporate the cold-start moisture from the oil. Moisture will catalyze oil polymerization, which increases oil viscosity with age. Moisture also will react with the additives used to control corrosion and eventually depletes them sufficiently that the oil becomes acidic, and metal damage accelerates. So if cars are driven frequent short trips in a cold climate, shorter change intervals are necessary.
I change the oil in my motorcycle every 3-5 years. I only ride is 500-1000 miles a year. When I drain it and replace the filter, the level is still normal and it looks and smells great - still viscous and no fuel scent. It’s 20w-50 Mobil1.
Bike is 41 years old and I’ve been doing it this way since 2010.
Humm, if you don't start changing your oil more frequently I bet you'll struggle to see another 41 years out of that bike!
@@brendanmccabe8769 why, did you not understand the content of this video?
I bet he could change it every 10 years.
@@caha9583 comment was intended to be of a humorous nature aimed at what I find the rather strange oil change habits in the USA.
Another 41 years would make the bike 82 years old. Would it matter?
Time (calendar length) is often a reference for the style of driving. That is, 5,000 miles driven at 50 miles twice per week mainly on highways is not the same as 5,000 miles driven at short 5-mile commutes twice per day. It's a generic assumption that the car doing short range over a long calendar period has extreme pressure added to the oil due to the short commutes due to excessive idling at oil operating below the ideal temperature.
Not only that, every car leaks a small amount of fuel into the oil when it’s started, fuel is sent into the chamber but there’s no combustion right away so unburned fuel falls into the oil and it starts degrading it by making it less able to lubricare
@@Jmg831 That is true. But, long runs on engines burn the fuel off. Hence, that is a large contributing factor in the difference between short 5-minute commutes as opposed to spending 20 minutes or so at highway speed.
@@rodbritton360 yes you are correct
Everyone should get Blackstone analysis done. There's so much opinions out there. The analysis isn't expensive (compared to what people spend on car washes, detail jobs). There's nothing like _knowing_ what's going on with your car, your driving habits, your climate, etc.
I have a GDI engine which I'd heard results in fuel getting into the oil. I thought 6-mo oil changes (or even more frequent) would be desirable. Oil analysis showed no fuel in the oil. No moisture (I drive frequent short trips, the classic "at risk" for moisture). I've settled on 5k miles no matter how long it takes to reach that. The analysis shows that is working fine.
I've long suspected the same thing that the oil test confirmed. I too work from home and rarely drive some of my "weekend only" cars. They are both mid 80's 5.0 Mustangs that have had the same oil going on 3 years now. Both have less than 1,000 miles over the 3 year period and the oil still has a clean / clear honey color. I wasn't going to bother changing it just based on the clean color. My vehicles are kept indoors year round and stored during winters.
Yep, in the last year I've driven this car 1,000 miles or less as well. It's a relief to know I don't need to replace perfectly clean oil once a year.
Similar, I have an S2000 that has covered just a few hundred miles since having kids and being laid-up for most of the year (it only has 33k on it in total) - I used to use Mobil 1 0w40 fully sync and it has always looked like new between yearly services whilst under extended warranty and still does (unlike my diesel filth bomb which looks like tar after a year and just 2000 miles!) - I'll probably change it and the filter soon, not because I'm being told to but as a precaution since the oil is now over 10 years old 🤫 That said on my '72 Spitfire I did oil changes every 3k if not sooner - it's the nature of engine design from that era and 20W50 mineral is far cheaper than 0W40 synth!
My motorcycle and weekend car haven’t had an oil change in 2 years. But I’m busy so I put 500 miles on the car and 100 miles on the bike and the oil still looks new. This video does not give me motivation to do the oil changes until next year.
I always go by 6 months 8 to 10 thousand kilometres one issue that effects my oil adversely is short trips in very cold weather. There are points in the winter where we see -40 for 10 days in a row. All the excess fuel used for cold start enrichment finds it’s way into the oil. I always do a spring oil change no matter how low the mileage is. Interesting video cheers 🍻
My experience:
Year 2000 E46 328i. Went 7 years without oil change and only 5,000 kms (3,000miles) traveled. Oil still looked perfect; cartridge oil filter had petrified to the point of breaking apart when removed.
I have seen pictures of filters break apart like that. Scary.
Soaked in acidic oil for years. Your engine seals didn't like it either. 7 years take too long going from 3k (fresh) to 5k (lightly acidic), sitting.
@@tomasnokechtesledger1786 Your theory is theory looking for an idealised target number. Tolerance is tolerance. 4 years later from that and 23yo engine still has zero oil leaks.
@DiscoFang Yes. And with extended amount of time and usage the oil change a lot. A 3k oil can be kept for several years, but a 5k oil is another animal. If you take 2 years to get to 3k miles, then more 1 year to go from 3k to 4k and another year to go from 4k to 5k you're soaking in already bad oil. After 3k the TBN is kindda low to cope with the esparse use and long extended time. The sitting oil start to ruin through oxidation, getting more humidity from the air, by itself even at room temperature, inclusive increasing its moisturizing that accel this degradation process. So, IMO, dont wait too much, after 3k.
@@tomasnokechtesledger1786 Nonsense. Are you living in 1976? Yes oxidation is a concern but modern synthetic oils, modern ultra low sulphur fuels and modern engines themselves don’t require such frequent oil changes.
Totally right. I use Mobile One full synth and only change my oil every 15,000 no matter how long it takes! You are right the only reason to change the oil more frequently would be if your engine overheats as that can damage the oil! Thanks.
No, reasons to change oil more frequently are short trips, town driving, start stop tech, towing and long idle running.
Great video. Confirms what I've always suspected about the frequency of oil changes. I use Castrol Magnatec and change oil every 18 to 24 months on my Mercedes Benz C200 and Mazda CX5 and have been doing so for many, many years without problems (from South Africa).
Precisely the question I was hoping to see addressed. My 25yo. LS400 daily driver and I thank you and your BMW.
Just turned 26 and still great.
Heck yeah!
Brilliant to get real world results. I find them difficult having been a mechanic in a marque that went to 15k mile intervals and there was sludging/varnishing/oil usage issues across all models in our warmer climate. With the caveat that they weren't always the most diligent in servicing on time.
Makes me wonder if the test results actually line up with all the actual engine systems. Not just the oil as a singularity?
I've seen well maintained 400k+ motors pulled down out of interest. From cars that were wrecked that still look perfect inside. But I've also personally repaired internal parts in engines that are already varnished under the rocker at 40k. That were only serviced the 2 times at the manufacturer recommended distance.
I don't like waste. I love efficiency. Especially when it comes to money. But I struggle with the cost risk of extending intervals to save money on oil.
15k miles thats crazy. Even 10k km sounds a bit high to me
I can't believe a video like this from someone took this long. Thank you and your real bmw
Thank you, glad you like it.
You've put so many of my oil change anxiety away with this. I am subscribing to you. I have two cars and it's hard for me to get either one at even 3,000 miles a year on each.
It helped with my oil change anxiety too haha. Glad you like it!
I'm getting 4k a year
I agree. I barely put 2500 mi on mine in 12 months. I can easily go longer
Yes, I’m in England but the Volvo garage change the oil/filter on my v70 every year which is usually about 3000 miles. It costs me usually 200 pounds so not cheap at all, in fact it’s a total rip off with their fancy oil. That’s why I try to extend it to thirteen months. i would change it even longer but for the warning messages to change it driving me mad. I do very short journeys with the occasional long trip of about fifteen miles. I much prefer the bus actually when I haven’t got any shopping to carry, which is why mine has only done just over seventeen thousand from new about eight years ago.
My last oil change was 10000 miles ago or 2 years. I intend to do it every 10000 miles however long it is. Maybe just a filter if it goes more than 2 years. Paper element and rubber degrades overtime in my opinion.
I like getting oil every 6-7 months; really think that’s what keeps my “endless money pits” from actually turning into one. It’s also a chance to inspect other things and catch potential problems.
The deterioration of modern synthetic oils is largely determined by how a vehicle is used. For vehicles that do a lot of cold starts and short trips, oil will deteriorate in far fewer miles than in a vehicle that is operated at temperature. This occurs as a result of increased blow by in a cold engine, increased richness in the mixture and insufficient heat in the oil to "steam off" fuel contamination.
It is likely that the reduced flashpoint in this oil sample is the result of fuel contamination in the oil. I would have perceived this to be an indicator that more frequent oil changes are required, but I'm not an engineer or a chemist, the people in the lab, are! I'd listen to them, not me.
It's worth keeping in mind a few considerations that vehicle manufacturers may or may not have when specifying oil change intervals. The volume of the oil in the vehicles lubrication is a factor.
Manufacturers may or may not be safeguarding against use case. They don't know whether your driving a mile to work and back, each day, or doing a fifty mile round trip. They also don't know what quality oil you will be using. They may or may not take this into account. They also don't know what environment you will be operating the vehicle in, however this is less of a consideration with modern quality synthetic oils. They may or may not factor this in.
Why do I keep saying "may or may not"? The short answer is marketing appeal vs. Longevity. People, especially fleet buyers, look at long service intervals favourably when appraising a vehicle for purchase. And it's worth keeping in mind that a vehicle's warranty is only for "X" miles an "X" time, and "reasonable durability" has an expiry date, too.
You've got to ask yourself the question: Was the service interval determined by an engineer, an accountant, or a marketing man? Remember, they sell "sealed for life" transmissions, too!
Of course, you are going to service a new vehicle in accordance with specifications in order to maintain the warranty. Beyond that, though, the choice is yours, and should be determined by the vehicles usage and the mileage on the engine (high mileage vehicles can be harder on oil). In some cases, 4,000 mile changes might be overdue, in others, 12,000 mile changes might be fine.
Nobody likes wasting money, time or resources. But how much does oil cost, and how much do you use? A couple of gallons of oil in a year, for the next 50 years is still going to work out a lot cheaper than a new engine.
Excelent. This is the exact question I needed answering. I have a car and motorcycle. I change the oil on both once every year, as neither do many kilometers. I am lucky to do 5000kms in a year, and the oil was clean as clean last oil change.
I'm doing 10,000 mile oil changes on my 2015 Toyota Highlander and I started off having it checked at 5,000 miles as a baseline. I increased the intervals on oil changes by an additional 1,000 miles on each change till I was at 10,000 mile changes. Oil is still well within specifications. As far as the flashpoint is concerned it is higher at the 10,000 mile change than the 5,000 mile change. I started driving for a good 20 minutes before the changes at the 6,000 mile oil change. Flashpoint has remained well above the 425 ° mark since then. This Highlander has 200,000 miles on it and doesn't burn a drop of oil. I put a borescope down the valve cover and didn't see any varnishing. I use Mobil 1 0w - 20. So far so good!
I'll be testing Mobile 1 in an upcoming video. Just got back from the store with it. Will be in a different car.
i think this is a sign that the engine is still in good condition. if it was burning oil or you did have water getting into the oil, you would want to change the oil alot more often . useful information
How would water be getting into the oil? If you have a coolant leak (not water) then changing the oil won't solve it. If you have condensation build up, just running the car to operating temperature will evaporate the water.
In Europe for new cars under warranty oil change interval is 30000 km or 24 months whatever comes 1st. With synthetic oil I really doubt any degradation can happen under 24 months period. Beyond that interval I guess some can happen so I would avoid changing oil if less frequent than every 2 years no matter what mileage you drive. But I guess 3 years would still work for someone driving less than 5000 km per year. Realistically car would fail from other issues before oil is a problem if sitting for too long.
A regular oil and filters change is a good way to check everything in the engine bay. If you spot a problem early it's easier to fix.
Oil changes are the best money makers for dealerships, which is why they have become so expensive. I used to change the oil every year and below the mileage requirement. It didn't make any engine last longer than 200,000 km (mostly commuting 6 km).
Nice car. Takes me back to my first BMW, an e34. A 1994 540i.
Loved that thing.
Oil changes have always been money makers.
Mobil-1 has done a few tests to prove synthetics can go the distance.
In the 1990s they ran a BMW 3 series, IIRC, to a million miles with a 7500 mi oci.
They also, ran two GM V6s to some super high mileage. One was a 7500 mi oci and its twin was a 15000 mi oci. Same results on tear down, almost no wear. The 15000 mi oci had some sort of emissions issue IIRC but the 1990s brought us all sorts of emission nigtmares from American car makers to be fair.
Thanks for the oil analysis!!
Thank you for this video, I use synthetic oil and I am retired and put about 100 miles a year. I have not changed the oil in 3 years and it still looks good on the dip stick, however, I did have to add a quart about a year ago and all is good.
I'd maybe recommend changing the filter at some point since those can deteriorate internally over time.
Wow and I thought I didn't drive much😊
Thanks for confirming much of my understanding. Years ago one of the first benefits found with synthetics involves water and its ability not to form sludge. I wonder whether that holds true for synthetic blends.
That could be a future test.
My tsx ran 16kmikes/1yr with amsoil without adding a single onz of oil. Blackstone lab results was try go 5k more.impressive, car have 230k miles doing this and never haven't touched the engine
Glad to read that. I've been using Amsoil in 8 cars now (mine, wife's, daughters', sisters') for at least 15 years and the oil gets changed every September. That results in variable OCIs, but it's easy to budget a weekend in August/September to do the oil changes and not worry too much about mileages. Daughters are in school. Sister lives 2 hours away, so trying to keep to a regular mileage based OCI is difficult, as I imagine it would be for most people with families, jobs, etc. The highest mileage interval in any of the cars is 8000 (wife's), and the lowest is around 1500 miles. Yeah, that's too short, but everyone here knows that September is the month, so they make the time to visit. 3 of the cars are over 200K miles, and 3 others are over 100K. So something must be working. Each person has to develop on oil change routine that works for their life, so that they can stick to it. Kinda like sticking to some reasonable exercise routine. Too rigorous and you won't stick to it, too lax and it won't do any good.
I always go by mileage, regular dino oils I change at 3000 miles and synthetics I change at 5000 miles.
I know particularly on the synthetics I could go longer intervals but being retired it sometimes takes me quite a while to accumulate the mileage numbers anymore so I opt to shorten that interval a bit.
Also I always install a new filter with every oil change, cheap insurance to know its all fresh both the oil and the filter when changed.
And yes to me wasting a few dollars as I go is still cheaper than pushing the limits and needing to replace an engine due to oil related premature failure.
I'm retired I do about 360 miles a years I have a Subaru Outback 2020 with 3K since we move of state I change oil every 6 month I think about what I saw in this videos i will do it once a year from now. An engineer from Nissan design the engines at Nissan said if you do low mileage change Oil filter every two changes , and if you want your car go to 200k to 300k change it with any cheap oil as long you change it often oil degrade over time.
I drive 2,000 a year. I change my oil and filter every 2 years but I check my oil level every so often. During the 2 years if I see my oil looking dirty I just take my pump and pump out a few quarts doing a partial oil change. That keeps my oil clean. And after 2 years or 4,000 miles I do a full oil and filter change.
You’re exactly right on oil change intervals. I’ve been doing 13k intervals on my 2003 Odyssey for more than 100k. But before going extended oil changes, I would do used oil analysis to see if you can extend your oil changes based on your engine, climate and driving habits.
I believe part of the 'myth' may have been true at one point, where crankcase breather systems were just a filter on the valve cover. Same deal with fuel in tanks, it HIGHLY depends on how much it breathes. Oxygen is a big killer for both, and both modern systems don't allow air to cycle in/out when it's sitting.
the crankcase is practically closed when the engine is OFF, under idle and wot, its only "breathing" when under cruise speed.
This is why people remove the PCV system and let the engine breathe naturally and this way its exposed to outside air 24/7 ...
Its more important for the crankcase to vent OUT while its running.
Carburettors were really inaccurate and could leak temporarily.
@@ACommenterOnRUclips I just read crankcases are vented and that's why your oil won't glug glug during an oil change drain if you don't remove the filler cap.
@@Victorylap-fy4ke ahh HUH ??
I think the common convention of 2000/6mo that I grew up with has remained as people tend to teach what they were taught etc. But the oils are so much better now and the tolerances too. Engine frequently last for 200k or more if maintained. Back in the old days the oils weren't that great and rings let a lot of fuel past. I always smell my oil for it out of habit. My VW service interval is 10k miles per the manual but my mechanic says stick with every 5k from now on even though the engine looks great. It's a low mileage/use car too so this video is encouraging! I want this car to last another ten years at least. As long as gas can be had
I have a 2.0 tdi which is a diesel vw Passat it has 353000 miles and it has had 10k oil changes since new
@@GameCastCubed I worked with a guy in the mid 90's (pizza delivery) and he had a late 80's diesel jetta. He claimed he drove it from Austin to Toronto and back on only two tanks of fuel during spring break. If so that is something like 1600 miles to the tank. I think VW really is concerned the most about that first 5k oil change and service. Failure to do so would void the warranty. I can't really see them suggesting something that would harm the vehicle as they are so anal about everything. I love my VW but won't buy another
Thats the video I was looking for. Thank you!
Many years ago, my Dad and I were visiting with his parents. Dad and Gram were talking in the house, so I went out to find Gramps to see what he was doing. I found him in
the garage. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Changing the oil." So I then asked why the oil needed changing and he said, " 'Cause oil's cheap and engines ain't."
Gramps was a man of few words but when he spoke, I listened attentively. Just like your comment in the video. lol
I was very pleased to see car stands being used to support the weight of the car and not just a jack by itself. Too many people just use a jack, which can fail with devastating
results. The word "SQUISH!" comes to mind.
Our grandfather's were very wise men. It's so sad to see that knowledge slipping away. And very true about the jack stands. The new ones I'm using here give make me feel much safer than the old cheap ones I had.
@@EndlessMoneyPits They were that and they also were the definition of "practical". Whatever worked was fine with them because that was their bottom line.
They had no patience for wannabee things that worked occasionally. Agree that this seems to be slipping away. I tried to send on what I've learned from my
parents and grandparents but that is a LOT of info. The good news there is that a lot of this will be rediscovered in time and they will learn more as they go
along in life.
Yes, those stands in the video looked stout enough to handle much more weight than your BMW and that's some very cheap insurance. I got a set of jack
stands for my truck several years ago and kept them after I sold that truck. I just got a 2006 F150 Supercab last week, with the 4.6L engine, 5-spd. automatic,
and 4WD. It had 46,600 miles on it when I picked it up and except for a ding on the tailgate and a couple of paint scratches, it looks, runs, and drives like new.
I will be using my jack stands with it now and won't have to worry about these heavy duty stands not holding up the weight of the truck.
I do 15k oil changes. I use full synthetic oil & also use a 20k oil filter. And never had a problem with any of my cars by doing that.
I've been searching for a video like this. Thank you. Maybe someone else can do the same test for a diesel E46.
Volkswagen Passat 1,9 tdi. I use Castrol Edge Turbo diesel oil and change it after 15000 km. Oil + filter cost ~60€. Low price for keeping engine running smooth. 350000 miles driven and works fine.
I've been working from home since Covid 2020, glad to see your results match mine. It's not the date/time, it's the usage. MIGHT be different on conventional oils, but synth just doesn't "go bad"
You can never change your engine oil too frequently. The main killer of an engine is not the degradation of the oil as in former years, but the accumulation of carbon that floats around in the oil and the tighter clearances used in modern engines. The best oil filters only filter the oil down to 15 microns (0.6 thou) but the bearing clearances on a modern engine are around 30 -45microns (1.2 - 1.5 thou) or less. This means that chunks of carbon 15 microns thick that are held in suspension in the oil only have a buffer of 7.5 microns at best of oil before contact is made at the bearings. You can tell if your engine runs these close clearances by the grade of oil used, the thinner the oil, the closer the clearances. The reason that your oil goes black is the carbon that is floating around in it, hopefully smaller than 15 microns across and any metal in the oil is the result of the big bits of carbon scraping them off the bearings. Additionally, modern synthetic engine oils are designed to hold the carbon in suspension rather than allow it to cake on the internal engine surfaces, as occurs with dinosaur oils, that can cause even more harm. By changing the oil frequently the larger chunks of carbon are flushed out of the system. You can actually feel the difference between clean oil and used black engine oil when you rub it between your fingers, the used oil will feel grittier. How much carbon is generated is dependant on a number of factors like the use of the car, the age of the engine, its previous maintenance regime etc etc.
The engine oil should be changed AT LEAST as frequently as prescribed by the manufacturer although every 6,000miles would be a good value to use, any longer and you are damaging the engine. To further minimise wear the oil filter must be pre-filled prior to start up to ensure that the bearings are not initially starved of oil until the filter is filled and it is best to turn the engine over without load i.e. without the spark plugs in, until oil pressure is achieved that can be seen to be several crucial seconds. If you are changing the oil then it is mean not to change the oil filter at the same time, especially given their low cost. They could last a further one or two oil change periods but they contain some of those nasty big chunks of carbon that do all the damage.
Oil can be filtered down to 1.5microns using a bypass filtration system like Kleenoil, at that filtration the oil change periods can be easily extended to double or even treble the change frequency as the carbon particle sizes have little effect on the lubrication. Large truck fleet owners are seeing big advantages in reduced maintenance down times as a result. Existing full flow oil filtration cannot reasonably filter below 15microns because oil flow has to be maintained and to accommodate even a modest improvement the filter would have to be exponentially larger.
Used to have an S2000, absolutely beat on it as a weekend and track car. Took over a year to do 5,000 miles which was my interval. Oil analysis always came back clean. Penzoil full synthetic.
Those were also well-built cars, which helps.
Made in Japan makes a big difference.
My dad was a mechanic decades ago.He always said go by the colour of the oil.If it looks bad, change it.Mind you,engines were a lot simpler in those days.I still have two late 90's cars with iron blocks.
You can't go by the oil color on GDI engine's or diesel engines
I love the Scotty clip! 😂😂😂 Thanks for sharing!
Scotty inspired the name for this channel. Anytime he's talking about BMWs he calls them endless money pits, and he's right.
I have used Amsoil Signature Series in 3 of my vehicles since new. I had oil analysis run at 5,000 & 10,000 miles. My readings showed additive for improved lubrication such as Moly, zinc and Phosphorus levels reminded high, indicating a high quality additive package used by Amsoil.
Interesting, I plan to run this test again with Amsoil in the near future.
That is because Amsoil Signature series is one of the top three oils available, especially if you are using a good filter. The oil and filter the OP is using isn't even close to Amsoil quality or does it have the additive package to remotely match it. I would bet an oil change that if he switched to one of these oils and filters, he would have better oil analysis results. I have does exhaustive oil testing on oils and filters worth thousands of dollars on five vehicles, three cars and one is a C7 Z06, one hybrid, on 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee and two HVAC work vans. I have tested oils from 5000-6500 on the vans and 5000, 7500 and 10k on the hybrid and the Grand Cherokee as that is factory recommended. The Z06 is based on how much I race it. It is 800whp and gets changed much more often, but have found that the racing has barely made a dent in the additive packages or wear metals.
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
Amsoil Signature Series
Valvoline Extended Performance High Mileage
Redline as a distant fourth.
Amsoil EAO filter
Fram Endurance filter
Purolator Boss (Produced by Mann-Hummel)
Both top two filters are made by Champion labs
I had a Jag X type for 9 years. Changed the oil twice in that time. Sub frame went and engine was still sweet with no issues. Changing oil is a money making scam, my Jag proved it doesn’t need doing every year. In that time the car covered approx 70k miles
Being cheap and going longer then 7k miles is a good way to cook a set of piston rings and scratch your cylinder walls in 50k miles to make your car a real oil burner. 5k miles is my best measure for good oil and changing. You always want good oil to leave behind in a change while adding back better oil. My oil is normally clear and when it browns my towels its time to change it and that is normally happening at 4300 to 5k miles. Thats coming out a toyota engine.
Well, good video, my uncle is an engineer for the military, aviation pro, he told me changing oil less than 10k miles is an industry trick,(the power of suggestion) so I took him up on his challenge, I didn't change the oil in my 2003 Toyota 4 runner, for 40k miles... The vehicle never had motor issues,lasted to 287k miles, and I stopped driving it because the frame rotted away!!! Good luck, do you own experiments..
Impressive! And thank you.
Did you drive mostly highway or city?
Just a word of advice on car covers, they can actually cause old paint to get water damaged if they stay soaked on the paint for too long. Older paint has tiny cracks in them which can allow water to seep in and cause the paint to become cloudy and stained permanently. If you run your cover in the rain, make sure to remove when the rain stops and dry any wet paint before putting it back on.
The main thing to remember if you don't do your oil changes very often is to keep an eye if your coolant level is lower. Coolant can leak into your engine oil. You can tell if that happened by seeing that your engine oil level is overfull.
oil in coolant is NOT normal. if you see it, you have more problems than oil changes.
That's a great reason to change oil once a year. Some thing's you just don't wanna find out.
@@mikelarry2602 i changed my oil 3 years ago, i don;t drive much. 3000miles and 1 year is an old wives tail
@@mikelarry2602 But you can observe that without changing the oil.
Colant only leaks into your engine oil if you have a blown head gasket.
In the UK Subaru have 12000 mile service intervals, in USA 6000.
In the UK Subaru had a 100,000 mile 5 year warranty.
might be Km and not miles
@@skimanfree1073 Uk and US both use miles not km
Yeh, over 100,000 miles that should not cause an issue, especially over a 5 year period. So I do not think UK Subaru are taking much of a risk with their warranty. However, if I had a 200,000 mile SUbaru, I think the odds are that it would be the one with 6k intervals that would not be burning oil. Would not willingly have one that had 12k intervals, and would be not be buying one even at 100k miles. I think US tend to run higher mileage on cars, UK and Europe treat them as disposable items. I am in NZ, I have a Honda CRV with 100k Kms, will probably keep it to 150-160, change oil every 10k kms(6k miles) and expect it to last a long time for the next owner.
Thank you for your excellent video. If people would pick up their owner's manual and read them. They would see that most car manufacturers call for your oil to be changed once a year. Or 12,000 mi. 12,000... correct. Hard to believe that we're getting scammed again, isn't it? We are so easily fooled.
My wife's RAV4 gets a lot of short trips however I'm sticking with 5K mile oil changes since the oil is synthetic and tires are usually rotated at 5K miles. It may take 10 or 11 months to reach 5K miles.
Informative. But yes, "oil is cheap"... once a year is reasonable. Thanks for the great content!
Coming back to your question about flash point which dropped by 25°F, as a chemist engineer
, I would rather explain that by a petrol contamination, in my diesel car Audi A3 1.9 tdi 105 hp DPF, the fuel contamination could be worse because of oil dilution, any time the engine activates the particle filter active regeneration by post-injection, some excess of fuel can pass to the sump and I sometimes noticed that oil level becomes higher and this could be harmful for engine health if oil isn't replaced more frequently ( each six monts in my car) Likewise, I had to replace hydraulic lifters and camshaft prematurely.
My 03 petrol Golf does 15 miles each way to work and had Mobil 1 in the last service in mid 2021, after 15,000 miles i recently had the oil tested and there was next to zero carbon content & no wear metals detected, so i just replaced the filter.
The car has clocked 164,000 miles and runs smooth as silk, the worst I could do is drive short journeys of less than 3 to 4 miles which attract moisture in the oil.
Thank You for correctly pronouncing Oregon. I lived there once, and its a pet peeve of mine, when I hear others say "Oragon"
Can't help it, I've lived here nearly my entire life. Funny how so many people get it wrong.
I changed the oil on my Honda crx, every 18-20k miles, after it hit 240k. It was at 340k and I sold it, still running perfect lol. I've never had a car that the engine died, due to oil issues. Every time, something else ended up being the thing that made the car junk, like transmission, frame etc.. Unless you really abuse an engine, it will most likely run longer than the rest of the car. I have to laugh when people get so uptight about oil, it doesn't really matter until hundreds of thousands of miles later, when the car is junk anyways.
Holy shitzz 18000 miles btwn changes ...guess my 2500 on our older X3 is fine
Not At All Surprised One Of My R129 Benz's Gets Oil Done Once Every 3 Years,The Secret Is Starting The Car Every 3 Days It Keeps The Battery Up No Trickle Charging Ever & Alarm & Clock & All The Modules In Good Shape,Letting A Car Just Sit Ruin's It And First To Go The Battery,Fuel Turns Bad And Then Electrical Problems & At Some Point Rubber Parts & Rust Finishes It Off,Let's Not Even Talk About Exotic Car Oil Change$$$$$,Enjoyed The Testing Thank You Sir,Genre Master Pres/Ceo Of WORLDWIDEMUSIC.
My wife and I put less than 5000 miles combined on our three vehicles each year. I change the oil and filter in all of them annually and use full synthetic oil. Not driving much means I pay more per mile for taxes, insurance and annual maintenance. Our vehicles are old so I started running engine flush solvent as part of the oil changes. I also suck the old fluid from the brake reservoirs and power steering reservoirs and refill with new fluid as a cheap and easy half of a flush and fill. The solution to pollution is dilution, and that eliminates half of the suspended particulates that cause wear and half of the moisture that causes corrosion. Unlike engine oil, these are hygroscopic fluids.
I use castrol edge or magnatec.Just change the oil at least once a year.
I know someone who used longlife oil in their car and drove it for 30k kilometers (~18k miles) between oil changes. Bought the car with 60k kilometers (~37k miles) and sold it with over 300k (185k miles) kilometers. The car was always driven, but never hard.
I'm currently running the tests from Part 1 again with long life oil. It will be interesting to compare the results.
Part 3 here --> ruclips.net/video/caBVbGYHB4k/видео.html
I have more oil analysis videos in progress but it takes a lot of gas to drive 10k miles or more and this channel isn't making much money yet, so any support from you will be HIGHLY APPRECIATED and will help get these test results done much sooner. There are links in the description for donations, merch, Patreon, and SubscribeStar. Thank you for watching - you are the reason I do this.
Castrol edge or professional are very good oil indeed,worth the money, here in the UK people use just cheap oil it's crazy! Many cars sound like a bag of nails at 100,000m & even less! They use cheap oil & change it every year 10,000 or more! No wonder some brits brive bangers. I use the Castrol Magnatec myself at 5,000m a year. But the Castrol edge or professional will have no issue doing 10,000m a year EVERY year, that's one oil on top of my list.
I agree, but now I think I need to test each brand to find out which ones really are good and bad.
Interesting, thanks for sharing. May I ask where you live? Is it a humid or very dry zone?
Oil analysis kits are cheaper at Napa and there is a lab on NW Front Street in Portland if you want to speed up the process.
@@Joshie2256 I measure motor oil changes by gas used. Usually 900 to 1000 litres (about 250 gallons), if city driving miles por gallon decrease, and end up changing at 9000 km 5,600 miles or so, time varies up to two years has been seen, usually18 months
Nice video and good approach. Regarding sodium it could be coming from condensation inside the engine. Condensation is normal but increases when warming up the engine idling or when doing short drives. Just my 2cents
Engine are not expensive, known good engines are! But this is good information, since i bought 20L of oil a few years ago and for the past 18 months i've barely driven 6Mm. 5w30 mobil1 esp.
The manual for my car says 7500 miles, or one year. I only drive 3000 miles a year, so I go with the one year interval, and use regular oil.
I washed your video with great anticipation. It was certainly eye opening. However I change my oil every 3 months/3k miles and I use full synthetic oils. I grew up in the automobile business when I needed 6 quarts of oil when the oil was changed. I used 5quarts in the engine and 1 quart in the air filter, yes the air filter. When I grew up; I drove cars that had oil bath air filters. As a retired widow I drive mostly locally, maybe 2 miles to and from a location. That is most severe use as the oil never gets hot enough to boil out the moisture. My two vehicles are serviced at their respective dealers. Maybe I change the oil too frequently, but in 53 yrs of vehicle ownership I have never had an oil related issue.
Oil in the air Filter you meant the Engine air filter? weird .
Very interesting. Please do a video on tyre life for low milage cars. My Dunlop tyres have been on my car for over 5 years and still have years of tread life. The only concern is that the side walls could crack before the tread runs down.
I've always heard that if they're cracked they should be replaced but this would be an interesting topic to look further into. Thanks, I'll add that idea to the list!
Thank you for the video. I got surprised when I saw a 30.000k oil service interval that says in my service book and on the car dash computer on my brand new gasoline 2023 volkswagen passat 1.5L turbo. I'm now at 20.000km and motor already burn oil to the minimum on the oil stick so I already add it like 1L. That's insane long and I already know this engine will not last too much after warranty expires for sure. On other way it's company car that I use for work and it's 3 year leasing period so I guess nobody cares. But still 30.000km oil intervals?! On gasoline car?! Yeah. That's planned obsolescence in the full blast. There is no way my engine will last as long like yours.
I have 1989 F150 with 220,000 miles. It developed a head gasket leak so I decide to pull it out and tear it down. I have always used synthetic and change oil at 5000 miles. When I opened it up, I could still see the original factory cross hatching from the cylinder hone before the pistons were in stalled. Basically, no visible wear. After the new head gasket, it runs perfect and uses no oil. I’m shooting for 400,000 miles with out a rebuild.
In power generation facilities, the oil used to lubricate the turbine generators can go unchanged for periods exceeding 30 years, without issue. Granted, it's not exposed to internal combustion but the point is, oil is more durable than the general public is lead to believe.
🇺🇸
I use an oil cooler in my truck. For every 20 deg. F drop in oil temperature, that doubles its life. Or in another way, chemical reactions are doubled with each increase of about 17 deg F.
I installed a transmission cooler on my Jeep for the same reason
Big fan of the ESCO jacks. Awesome video! Keep it up!
They make a big difference in how safe I feel getting under cars. Definitely worth it. Thanks for watching!
Environment factors and how hot the engine gets whipe you drive it should affect to. If you live in a warm-cold (engine block condensation), moisty climate and never drive the engine warm enough - it will not vapor away the moisture in the engine/oil.
I don't believe the stupid lube shops that say change the oil every 3k miles. They make MONEY with every oil change. Every 7500 miles is fine!! You can double that with synthetic oil.
Water in the oil mostly comes from short trips where the oil doesn't get hot enough to make condensate evaporate. If your trips are long enough to get the oil good & hot, then low miles per year won't make the oil deteriorate like short trips would.
Please do an oil analysis for motorcycles as well. It would be interesting to see if the higher revving engines of motorcycles have any effects on engine oils.
Great idea, I will certainly do that. I have two different types of motorcycles I can test as well. Thank you.
@@EndlessMoneyPits An analysis on how long diferent types of oils such as mineral or synthetic can last can also be interesting. Among my circle, some swear by only using mineral oils up to 600 miles although the type of oil meets every specifications set by the manufacturer, and some even only go to 2000 miles for synthetic which I think are too low (my manual reccommend changing oil every 4000 miles).
Motorcycles are more sensitive to engine oil. You do need good oil and change it often due to the smaller oil capacity and high rpm (I'm talking about over 10k rpm if you like going fast). That is from my experience . You can actually feel the difference between old oil and new oil from acceleration
My experience with my Audi A3 8P Sportback 1.9 tdi 105 2009, BLS engine, I used to replace oil Castrol Edge 5W30 LL with filter once a year, every 8.000Km (5.000 miles), at 220.000 km, I had an issue with valve hydraulic lifters and I had to replace them with camshaft, so I got the lesson, in extreme weather conditions like in my country, dust and heat and bad quality fuel, and also my harsh driving style, it has no sense to leave the oil for a whole year, it should be replaced each six months.
Really, really interesting & enlightening.
Many thanks....All the way from London !
Thanks for watching!
I have a 2001 325i and it went years without an oil change.. just filters. that said, it had a leak and I was replacing half a quart a month so I called it a continuous oil change. It ha 200K miles on it and is still running strong.
I'll be doing an oil analysis video soon on a car that uses oil like that. I want to see if contaminates build up or leak out with the oil.
It should be very obvious now that the age of the oil or time in service is not the issue, but contamination.
I run a bypass oil filtration system on my semi truck, a 2006 International 9400i with a caterpillar C13, and I believe at my next service interval this oil will have 300,000 miles on it. I do oil samples every 20,000 miles, and once the oil sample comes in, when the oil is cleared for continued service, I lube the chassis and change all filters. in the last 1,100,000 miles, I’ve had to change the oil twice; once when the engine was finally due for overhaul at 1.1 million on the odometer, once due to coolant contamination when the cylinder head from that overhaul failed prematurely under warranty, and there was one unnecessary change when a technician did not follow instructions and dumped the oil out, so I got free oil.
Filtration is where it’s at. I run Rotella T6 15W40 full synthetic oil, which technically is not synthetic at all, but normal petroleum-based oil refined to synthetic levels as most “synthetics” R (European spec Castrol, Amsoil, Schaeffers, and Mobil1 being the exceptions). The engine consumes 1 gallon between 20,000 mile filter change intervals, and filling the filters takes about 1.5 gallons. Therefore, roughly 25% of the oil is refreshed every service interval (total capacity 10.5 gallons).
Recognizing that, with proper Filtration, the oil can last nearly indefinitely if it does not become contaminated, you’ll soon realize that it’s completely within the realm of possibility to simply change filters and top off the oil if you are doing oil samples to confirm that the oil is still viable. That haven’t been said, a 5 quart jug of Mobile1 at Walmart is $24, add an oil sample is $30. That’s easy math to figure out!
So, if you want to ensure longevity of your engine, don’t go over 5000 miles on most engines, as their minuscule oil filter elements don’t have the filtration media area capable of filtering the oil very much past that point, and only use OEM filters.
I think one argument for paying attention to both time and mileage when deciding when to change oil is this: If your oil becomes acidic or corrosive, having it in the engine for a longer period of time could be harmful. Honestly, I don't know exactly what would cause this (maybe fuel dilution?) or how commonly it occurs. Just a thought.
I have an e82 that I only drive a few hundred miles per year on. Thanks for saving me some money.
wow this kinda of answered my oil question! Was thinking about changing my oil next week...might wait on it.
I have an Acura that I barely use- only for short trips; owners manual specifically said to change oil only if MID
Nice car! Nice view off of the mountain at the end.
I bought my e46 with a dirty coked up engine. I keep doing 5k oil changes and engine has got cleaner and cleaner. It’s great to see
After pulling the valve cover a few times, I can confirm that longer intervals make it dark and dirty but shorter intervals cleaned it right up. I'm not sure if the dark dirty stuff was only at the top or all through the engine.
And increased blowby apparently
That tells you why one should change their oil every 5,000 miles.
My truck only goes 1-2k miles per year. Mostly short trips. I recently switched to Amsoil’s mid grade oil and the visual difference has been stark. After 500-1000 miles Mobile One syn. would turn noticeably dark to black. By now it would be black as coal. Conversely the Amsoil hardly changed in color at all and still has its Amber color. I have always felt that changing oil on vehicle running good synthetic ever year was ludicrous. My truck is a nicely kept, outdoor kept 2005 Silverado 1500 LT 4x4 with a K&N air filter that sees a lot of dirt/ off road during hunting season.
Non-use usually isn't the issue for most people, it's that most people drive regularly (so say 10,000 - 15,000 miles per year as normal) BUT still only change their oil once per year and then wonder why they have issues later on as the vehicle ages. Part of this is due to mfrs telling people that cars can go 10,000 miles or 6 months between oil changes. The latter may be fine, but I would never drive a car 10,000 miles on a single oil change even if it was the best synthetic oil around. Tiny particles of metal can still make their way into the oil even on brand new vehicles as engines wear over time, and this can lead to huge problems later. Changing your oil regularly especially if you drive a lot, is crucial ( I still go with the old 5,000 miles or every 6 months rule, despite Toyota telling me that my car could go 10,000 miles between oil changes... plus newer cars use a thinner oil -- 0W16 or slightly heavier 0W-20). I'd say if the opposite was true say you were using 10W-30 oil or even 5W-30 you could push it a bit more, but not with modern thinner oils I wouldn't. They primarily go to thin oils for fuel economy but the catch is you should really change it more often than what the mfr says, or you WILL wear out your engine faster since the oil is thinner, but you're also going longer on the oil changes, both of which are a bad combination compared to older cars. Of course machining and metalergy has come a long way and they can make metals that are more durable and can run with less or lighter lubrication and improve fuel economy, but at the end of the day, I would still say 5,000 miles or 6 months is a good rule to live by for oil changes, regardless of how little you might drive. You could maybe stretch it to 1 year IF you don't drive it that much, but I wouldn't personally. Oil is cheap, engines (new or rebuilt) are not.
Great video! Interesting results!
Thank you
I don’t know, try taking it somewhere and see how well it behaves!