Other than wasting time/money - what drawbacks are there to 3k syn OCIs?

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Originally Posted by CT8
Why run syn oil for 3,000 mile intervals. there is little advantage over "conventional" oils when doing this


There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

Besides, with all the good deals on synthetic oil (such as M1 and Pennzoil rebates, Harvest King or Supertech synthetic both under $16 a jug) it doesn't make sense to pay roughly the same amount of money for conventional anymore.
 
Our 2006 Lacrosse does not require DEXOS . So I have used dino oil . Still sticking to the 3000 mile OCI on it . So I figure the same holds true for 3000 mile dino oil / filter changes ?

Car does not get driven a lot , so we are not talking about a lot of money per year .
 
Originally Posted by CT8
Originally Posted by dogememe


It sounds silly but I'd say the more often you change your oil the more often you might make a mistake or get a defective filter.
But then running a torn filter element or a failed leaf spring in the filter for a long oil change interval could lead to unfiltered oil for lots of miles . since we are going there.


True, but despite the fact I mentioned filters I think the biggest risk is a problem with the labor. Drain plug not all the way in, filter installed incorrectly, jack in the wrong place, etc.
 
OP: There are none that I know of. Other than you what you mentioned. Although, as a starting point I would refer to your Owner's Manual. It's your money and property. Do your OCI as you deem appropriate for your application. You could do a UOA to give you the condition of your oil if it interest you. Happy Oil changes!
 
Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by CT8
Why run syn oil for 3,000 mile intervals. there is little advantage over "conventional" oils when doing this

There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

Besides, with all the good deals on synthetic oil (such as M1 and Pennzoil rebates, Harvest King or Supertech synthetic both under $16 a jug) it doesn't make sense to pay roughly the same amount of money for conventional anymore.

+1
 
Originally Posted by Patman
There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

But only if the synthetic oil has a winter rating appropriate for the conditions, right? Won't a 5W conventional behave the same as a 5W synthetic? Otherwise how would the oil attain the rating?
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Patman
There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

But only if the synthetic oil has a winter rating appropriate for the conditions, right? Won't a 5W conventional behave the same as a 5W synthetic? Otherwise how would the oil attain the rating?

It does at the start. The synthetic tends to hold grade better over time vs. the dino.
 
Originally Posted by Danno
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Patman
There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

But only if the synthetic oil has a winter rating appropriate for the conditions, right? Won't a 5W conventional behave the same as a 5W synthetic? Otherwise how would the oil attain the rating?

It does at the start. The synthetic tends to hold grade better over time vs. the dino.


I was under the impression that most synthetic oils had a better cold cranking or MRV than the same viscosity conventional oils. In other words while conventional met these requirements the synthetic oils bettered them. I could be mistaken, though when I used conventional 10W-30 conventional vs 10W-30 synthetic in my truck in the winter the synthetic started easier and quieter. 10W-30 was spec'd for this truck.

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted by Whimsey
Originally Posted by Danno
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Patman
There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

But only if the synthetic oil has a winter rating appropriate for the conditions, right? Won't a 5W conventional behave the same as a 5W synthetic? Otherwise how would the oil attain the rating?

It does at the start. The synthetic tends to hold grade better over time vs. the dino.


I was under the impression that most synthetic oils had a better cold cranking or MRV than the same viscosity conventional oils. In other words while conventional met these requirements the synthetic oils bettered them. I could be mistaken, though when I used conventional 10W-30 conventional vs 10W-30 synthetic in my truck in the winter the synthetic started easier and quieter. 10W-30 was spec'd for this truck.

Whimsey

+1 that's what I thought.
 
Originally Posted by CT8
Originally Posted by dogememe
... I'd say the more often you change your oil the more often you might... get a defective filter.
But then running a torn filter element or a failed leaf spring in the filter for a long oil change interval could lead to unfiltered oil for lots of miles . ...
Those two opposing arguments about possibly defective filters cancel each other out, exactly. Therefore, it's not a relevant factor.
 
Originally Posted by double vanos
5k OCIs are the new 3k OCI.
Funny you should mention that d v, reading this thread was just thinking about that very saying. When I first joined this site some 10 years ago that was the very common saying here. As I was doing ~3k mi. ocis I took it to heart, and starting doing ~5k mi oci min. Back then mostly MC syn blend 5w20, Havoline and Castrol conventional. Now mostly use closeout and rebated full synthetic.

Reading some posts in this thread seems like, 3k mile full synthetic ocis is the new 5k mile conventional, 6-7.5k+ mile full synthetic ocis.
smirk.gif
To each their own, but I won't be taking that to heart.
 
More chances to mess something up, using more energy, using more resources(recyling oil does not recover 100% of the oil), increase risk of contamination. If you are willing to take the mentioned risk I am not going to condemn you.
 
Originally Posted by Whimsey
I was under the impression that most synthetic oils had a better cold cranking or MRV than the same viscosity conventional oils. In other words while conventional met these requirements the synthetic oils bettered them. I could be mistaken, though when I used conventional 10W-30 conventional vs 10W-30 synthetic in my truck in the winter the synthetic started easier and quieter. 10W-30 was spec'd for this truck.

Well it can't be out of the range of the requirement but it could be more to one end than the other I guess. How one would know I have no idea.
 
Originally Posted by Danno
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Patman
There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

But only if the synthetic oil has a winter rating appropriate for the conditions, right? Won't a 5W conventional behave the same as a 5W synthetic? Otherwise how would the oil attain the rating?

It does at the start. The synthetic tends to hold grade better over time vs. the dino.
3,000 miles?
 
Originally Posted by Danno
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Patman
There is a huge advantage at this time of year for a lot of people, the cold weather performance of synthetic is much better. If you live somewhere that gets super cold (-40) it could be the difference between your engine starting or not starting.

But only if the synthetic oil has a winter rating appropriate for the conditions, right? Won't a 5W conventional behave the same as a 5W synthetic? Otherwise how would the oil attain the rating?

It does at the start. The synthetic tends to hold grade better over time vs. the dino.


Every "W" grade is allowed to slip a grade in service and be considered to be in grade (yes, sounds weird).

While I gut feel agree with you, do you have any evidence that synthetics do that ?

DEXOS mandates a lower target than the API, and I speculate that's to better keep the "W" in grade
 
Originally Posted by BigShug681
Is the process of removing the quart and topping off capable of extending the oil life? Sorry I'm not entirely sure why you'd only remove 1 quart but I'm also very intrigued if it works


Here's the trends on M1 when the oil removed was that used to perform an oil analysis, plus the regular filter changes...

Here's an industrial system that takes some of the engine oil, dumps it in the fuel tank (diesel), and tops it up.

http://www.reservesystems.net/Reserve_Literature_with_Basic_Catalog_Information.pdf
Some Cummins egines are fitted similarly.

spacebears.webp
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
Nothing beats clean oil
however there is a no reason to dump it early. Do a UOA to see what the lubricant is capable of and then operate within those limits. Quality oil, changed on time is the same as any oil changed way too soon IMO.


You were saying something completely different a couple months ago.
 
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