Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Now a person would be a fool to take this report and make it a universal decree that every engine in any circumstance can do 10K+ with the cheapest oil on the planet. One could and should take note of the demonstration of the process and carefully considered choices here. A person can translate what Dave did to their own circumstance. Maybe save themselves a little money and momentarily slow the drain on the world resource bank.
Where is the "like" button??
This is perhaps the best analysis of my analysis!
I've NEVER said that my practices are "best" for everyone; they are the best for me.
I use a lot of informational input (SAE studies, huge UOA database, and real world personal experiences in vehicle maintenance and equipment rebuilding) to make my decisions. IOW - I use hard facts and data, unique to my situation.
There most certainly are vehicles where 10-15k miles on dino oil would result in horrid, if not destructive, endings. The SL2 that tpicher has is an example; it would be terrible to run a dino that long. But, there is real world credible evidence that shows 3k mile OCIs are safe in an SL2. He and I disagree on his choice of lube, but I can show him (and everyone) the exact delineation between safe and not-safe in an OCI; it's between 3-4k miles on his engine. That is using real world data from more than 500 UOAs to look at oil consumption. I don't succumb to rhetoric about how great a synthetic is; I look at data and make my determination.
That same concept would apply to some of the known Toyota sludger engines. Any lube (dino or syn) can be overused; any lube has a finite lifespan.
The key to operating a successful maintenance plan is to know your equipment's strengths and weaknesses, and then analyze your operating parameters, and only then pick a lube that safely gets you there for the least cost.
Jim and Garak and 2010_FX4 are right; this UOA is not proof that everyone can do this distance. But it is proof that synthetics are not a necessity for long, healthy OCI durations, nor a predicated requirement for sound equipment maintenance.
The reality is that most vehicles and conventional lubes already have plenty of "safety factor" in the OCI; the products are much more capable than most folks think. There are some rare exceptions, and those must be known/cared for alternately. But the VAST MAJORITY of BITOGers are way too sensitive to their equipment and lube choice.
I often point to my signature line, and yet people ignore it. Read it, and then read it again. It speaks volumes.
I spent a lot of personal time running data for my "normalcy" article, and I do a lot of big-talk bloviating about longer OCIs. Some people have rightly challenged me to put my money where my mouth is; so I did. And guess what? Seems I was right. My wear rates are dropping as macro data predicted, my contamination is nearly non-existent, there is no sludge formation, and the TBN/TAN relationship (that nearly everyone fears but few truly understand) shows no acid build up. At this pace, it is very reasonable to expect I could safely go to 15k miles on Wally's dino oil and a normal filter. No "need" for synthetics or premium filters. And THAT is what I set out to show, and THAT is what I have proved. There is no concieveable manner in which a synthetic would have been "better" here. Very low wear, no sludge, vis in perfect shape, and TBN/TAN in control. Just where could a synthetic have been "better" with realistic expectation???
Rather than have to swallow a bitter "
I told you so" pill, I'm pulling the money from my mouth and putting it back into my wallet.
