Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by WobblyElvis
By the 70's most North American cars manufacturers recommended a 6 - 7,500 mile OCIs.
Were the engines in the 70's really ok with 6-7k OCI with conventional oil? Still had lead in gas (the pumps were around, and once you gutted the cat you were all set), carbs and old school motors.
Originally Posted by y_p_w
"Cheap insurance" isn't even all that cheap any more. Back when I started changing my own oil, a typical brand name motor oil like Pennzoil yellow bottle was around $1/quart at an auto parts store. Now today the equivalent is more than $4 depending on where, although 5 quart jugs are more common than they were in the early 90s. It's definitely the case that the price has outpaced inflation. But for that price I'd hope it's better and can last longer.
When did you start changing oil? Curious.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
2019: $4.00 This becomes:
2010: $3.47
2000: $2.74
1990: $2.08
1980: $1.31
1970: $0.62
1960: $0.47
So if you could buy oil for $1/qt in 1990 then yes, motor oil has outpaced inflation (although arguably the oil is "better" today and can do longer OCI's).
I'm starting to do more 5k OCI's. My '99 Camry was reputed to be "hard on oil" and none of my fleet is all that young these days. Cheap Supertech oil and rotate the tires at the same time. The vehicles that seem to come up with the most miles on here were taxis run on cheap bulk with "frequent" changes, although we don't know if they'd have gone just as far with "long" OCI going by just that observation.
Might have been around 1992 that I attempted my first oil change. I had my first car in 1995 and the oil was never changed by anyone but myself.
Of course a lot of pricing was extremely variable depending on where you got it. But even around 1995 one could typically find a reputable "conventional" oil brand such as Pennzoil yellow bottle for less than $1. For some reason Chevron Supreme was the low price leader. A friend claimed that since it was so cheap they must cut corners somewhere. I said it was probably because they didn't spend money marketing it like Pennzoil or Castrol.