don't put much confidence in an OLM, but if you drive longer trips to remove condensation it can go longer compared to short hops!! i would think REAL group IV + V synthetics would last the longest as they should have premium additives along with base oil that needs less viscosity improvers to "prop up" lesser "fake synthetic" base oil!! even expensive oil is a LOT cheaper then engine work!!!!
How many months can a synthetic oil last
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Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Oil is stable doesn't care about sitting around.
Right, but the engine might care if there is fuel and moisture in there.
Oil is stable doesn't care about sitting around.
Right, but the engine might care if there is fuel and moisture in there.
Originally Posted By: Dave9
It depends upon the conditions under which you put on the miles you do. Suppose every time you drive it, you only go a couple miles. That is not long enough to warm up the engine, have it run lean, and have the oil heat up to cook off moisture. This is even more true in a Michigan winter where you might have to drive quite a while to get the oil up to temperature.
50 trips in this state is much harder on oil than 1, 50 mile trip. It also means starting the engine an additional 49 times, supposedly when engine wear most often occurs and where do these wear particles end up? Either as deformation or more often in the oil.
No it does not need changed every 6 months in "most" cases, but if you were to drive a mile a day every day, "maybe" it needs changed on a yearly schedule.
I also agree , if the usage is many short trips , I would change it at 6 months .
More to the point, if I were you with low miles, what I would do is "sneak" in an additional oil change between each of the dealer free 7K oil changes. Maybe use the same filter brand so they don't catch on (or don't, that shouldn't really change anything). Don't reset the oil change indicator if the vehicle is so equipped.
It may not be the perfect interval but it seems to make the most sense and still take advantage of the free oil changes.
When we bought our 2015 Chevy Sonic , it came with 4 free oil changes .
Rightly or wrongly , I decided on oil / filter change at 55% & 5% Oil Life Indicator . So , I changed oil myself in between the dealer oil changes . I used full synthetic 5W-30 oil . The filter is a paper cartridge & I used AC Delco .
Since then , I have kept up this pattern . But the car is accumulating miles fast enough that time is a non issue .
Going to try to change oil / filter this afternoon or this weekend . Has some where around 44,000 miles on the clock , presently .
It depends upon the conditions under which you put on the miles you do. Suppose every time you drive it, you only go a couple miles. That is not long enough to warm up the engine, have it run lean, and have the oil heat up to cook off moisture. This is even more true in a Michigan winter where you might have to drive quite a while to get the oil up to temperature.
50 trips in this state is much harder on oil than 1, 50 mile trip. It also means starting the engine an additional 49 times, supposedly when engine wear most often occurs and where do these wear particles end up? Either as deformation or more often in the oil.
No it does not need changed every 6 months in "most" cases, but if you were to drive a mile a day every day, "maybe" it needs changed on a yearly schedule.
I also agree , if the usage is many short trips , I would change it at 6 months .
More to the point, if I were you with low miles, what I would do is "sneak" in an additional oil change between each of the dealer free 7K oil changes. Maybe use the same filter brand so they don't catch on (or don't, that shouldn't really change anything). Don't reset the oil change indicator if the vehicle is so equipped.
It may not be the perfect interval but it seems to make the most sense and still take advantage of the free oil changes.
When we bought our 2015 Chevy Sonic , it came with 4 free oil changes .
Rightly or wrongly , I decided on oil / filter change at 55% & 5% Oil Life Indicator . So , I changed oil myself in between the dealer oil changes . I used full synthetic 5W-30 oil . The filter is a paper cartridge & I used AC Delco .
Since then , I have kept up this pattern . But the car is accumulating miles fast enough that time is a non issue .
Going to try to change oil / filter this afternoon or this weekend . Has some where around 44,000 miles on the clock , presently .
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I have taken seldom run trucks out to 5 years on conventional. It all depends on what shape the motor is in ...
We have a member here who has 67,000 miles and many years on Amsoil in his Lincoln. BUT, he has by-pass filtration and he gets annual UOA's so he knows exactly what he's doing. He tops up once in a while and adds a qt when he changes filter media. I think he expects to go 100,000 miles and something like 7 years on the oil
We have a member here who has 67,000 miles and many years on Amsoil in his Lincoln. BUT, he has by-pass filtration and he gets annual UOA's so he knows exactly what he's doing. He tops up once in a while and adds a qt when he changes filter media. I think he expects to go 100,000 miles and something like 7 years on the oil
Years possibly, i remember seeing a Mobil 1 UOA of a car that was driven infrequently only a few times a year in the summer but every time it was started it was driven on long highway trips.
I remember that said car had gone 5 years with the same oil and the UOA showed it was just fine.
I remember that said car had gone 5 years with the same oil and the UOA showed it was just fine.
Originally Posted By: benjy
don't put much confidence in an OLM, but if you drive longer trips to remove condensation it can go longer compared to short hops!! i would think REAL group IV + V synthetics would last the longest as they should have premium additives along with base oil that needs less viscosity improvers to "prop up" lesser "fake synthetic" base oil!! even expensive oil is a LOT cheaper then engine work!!!!
My wife's new truck is a 2018 Colorado with 3.6 V6. First time we have had an OLM.
So far, I'm impressed. Her driving style is many short trips, often less than two miles. Add to that a very cold winter here.
The other day, at 1,800 miles - it was already down to 39%.
don't put much confidence in an OLM, but if you drive longer trips to remove condensation it can go longer compared to short hops!! i would think REAL group IV + V synthetics would last the longest as they should have premium additives along with base oil that needs less viscosity improvers to "prop up" lesser "fake synthetic" base oil!! even expensive oil is a LOT cheaper then engine work!!!!
My wife's new truck is a 2018 Colorado with 3.6 V6. First time we have had an OLM.
So far, I'm impressed. Her driving style is many short trips, often less than two miles. Add to that a very cold winter here.
The other day, at 1,800 miles - it was already down to 39%.
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Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
YI remember seeing a Mobil 1 UOA of a car that was driven infrequently only a few times a year...I remember that car had gone 5 years with the same oil and the UOA showed it was just fine.
That's a member on here that chimes in from time to time. I think it's a chevy suburban.
YI remember seeing a Mobil 1 UOA of a car that was driven infrequently only a few times a year...I remember that car had gone 5 years with the same oil and the UOA showed it was just fine.
That's a member on here that chimes in from time to time. I think it's a chevy suburban.
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
YI remember seeing a Mobil 1 UOA of a car that was driven infrequently only a few times a year...I remember that car had gone 5 years with the same oil and the UOA showed it was just fine.
That's a member on here that chimes in from time to time. I think it's a chevy suburban.
Yeah i was going to say it was some kind of Chevy or GMC truck didn't remember.
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
YI remember seeing a Mobil 1 UOA of a car that was driven infrequently only a few times a year...I remember that car had gone 5 years with the same oil and the UOA showed it was just fine.
That's a member on here that chimes in from time to time. I think it's a chevy suburban.
Yeah i was going to say it was some kind of Chevy or GMC truck didn't remember.
That was me and it was a 92 Suburban Big Block that went 5 years. Less than 1800 miles though. I don't know if I'd stretch an extended multi year OCI to 7,000 miles. 5k would probably be my limit. My 99 Aurora is 8 years into a change now with only about 1,000 miles - OCI planned at 10 year mark unless I start driving it a lot more - it's another garage queen.
Suburban UOA: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthr...M1_#Post4190879
Suburban UOA: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthr...M1_#Post4190879
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Oil is stable doesn't care about sitting around.
Right, but the engine might care if there is fuel and moisture in there.
It better not, its a crankcase and its generally loaded with fuel and moisture from the OPERATION of the engine
I have learned to not worry about stuff like that.
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Oil is stable doesn't care about sitting around.
Right, but the engine might care if there is fuel and moisture in there.
It better not, its a crankcase and its generally loaded with fuel and moisture from the OPERATION of the engine
We routinely change oil every 20-24 mo on one vehicle. It is used mostly for short trips of < 10 mi, in SE Michigan - going by the oil monitor and changing at around 12K mi with M1EP and an extended life filter, 0.5Q top up oil.
On another vehicle it's more like 14mo/15K, but that has 2Q of top up, and has daily drips of 20-25 mi one way.
On another vehicle it's more like 14mo/15K, but that has 2Q of top up, and has daily drips of 20-25 mi one way.
That’s a very long drip
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