Ever Regret Starting the Motor Oil Journey?

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Each of us started a journey when we signed up to BITOG. A quest for motor oil knowledge.

After a while it seems that the main motor oil wisdom is to use the correct oil specified for your car, use a decent quality filter that doesn't tear, and change it at a reasonable time.

Do you ever feel disappointment when you discover this truth after hours of analyzing UOAs, MSDS, white papers, and anecdotal evidence on BITOG? I mean instead of doing all that we could have just read our car manual?

I have 1400 posts of BITOG. Lets say it takes an average of 5 minutes to read a thread, and an average of 5 minutes to type a response. That's 233 hours spent on BITOG or 5.8 weeks. A conservative estime.

How else could you spend your time? You could be learning a new language, learning a musical instrument, spending time with your family, or maybe making more money? There is so many other things you could be doing.

If I visit a quick lube place every 5k miles, provided they don't strip my drain plug, my car will make it to 300k miles no problem.

Was it worth starting the motor oil journey to learn this fact? Or did you discover other fundamental motor oil truths?
 
Yeah, every so often I take stock of how much time I spend online, and realize that I need to spend it elsewhere, being more productive.

Personally I just skim through and try to take notice of who argues what. After a while patterns emerge. That may not be correct but it may be good enough to form opinions & move on. Then continual monitoring to see if opinions change will dictate future actions. For instance, auto manufacturer sucks. So we all avoid. But eventually they start making good again. So it becomes ok to buy their xyz model now. What was true in the past won't necessarily be true in the future.
 
I came here trying to get a failed cat past emissions inspection. I'm good with oil or set in my ways. But there are many interesting folks here. This is one of my hang outs .
 
No. not at all. If I can pass something I learned on then its worth it. Not that I know much mind you but if someone got something out of it its all good, I learn a lot of things too so that makes it worthwhile.
 
I didn't regret it until you started making me think of how much time I spend on here reading this stuff...


In all seriousness, I don't, though. I've found a good hobby (CLEARANCE OIL) and now have a greater awareness of all my vehicles lubrication needs, etc.
 
I think there are several phases involved. Firstly there is a a steep learning curve to pick up the lingo, and then the details on the UOA’s and properties on motor oils. Very useful information. Then you find out there is a wide range of opinions on topics such as thin oil vs thick oil. Then you can’t help noticing the amount of OCD going on and start wondering why someone would argue about a $300 lawnmower as strongly as a $30,000 car. Then you notice it’s about way more than motor oil. It’s about topics that Tim from Tool Time would discuss. Also, there is a fraternal aspect to it. In the end I think it’s a good diversion from everyday life. Every once in a while you go, why did I go that deeply into it, but that wears off and you are back at it. What’s the best oil weight for a Honda GCV 160 lawnmower.
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Plus you find out where to get deals on oil and filters, so no, only occasional regrets.
 
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It's a form of entertainment much like watching TV so nah.

Everything I buy can be used although I am trying to stray away from oil stashing for leak purposes. If I can get it for cheap $1-2 a quart, then I'll buy it up. Bought 12 5 quart jugs of Synpower when WM had it for $22.xx a 3 pack box. Only 4 jugs left and I had the stuff less than a year. Certainly worth stashing in this situation.
 
No regrets...yet. I've learned a lot from many members, some very opinionated, some very intelligent 'in the know' engineers, and everything in between.
I feel very fortunate to have this knowledge at my finger tips whenever i need it.
Thanks to all who choose to share their knowledge, experiences and time on the best forum on the planet!
 
I don't regret the time I've spent here, but that's because (1) a lot of this time has been simply unwinding from my job, which a lot of the time makes my mind feel like mush (a lot of thinking & concentrating), so I love being able to unwind here for a few minutes--and then back to the grind. (2) it has saved me money, even including the cost of my ramps and filter remover pliers and kitty litter. (3) its also saved a few trips across town to my mechanic.

Because I didn't want to spend 90 mins at the dealer getting my oil changed, and I was afraid of quick lube places, I started going to a mechanic who was charging me $25 for labor when I brought him my oil & filter to put in my car. So every oil change I do myself saves me that much money. There's no way I would be doing this (or the coolant drain & fill that I did on my civic) without coming here and listening to you experts, who could probably drain and fill coolant in your sleep.

So I'm good to go.
 
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"Moderation in all things". My Mom said the ancient Greeks said that.

We're excellent sometimes:
Advising against MMO or wasteful, premature oil changes.
Warnings of truly bogus oil products (City Star, No-name dollar store etc.) and bad tooling at oil filter factories (Tearolater comes to mind).

We're OK for the most part:
Oil obsession is warned against.
Unreasonable expectations at mechanics is pointed out.
Due maintenance is stressed.
Just how deeply does the AVERAGE member go into the oil chemistry details (etc.) available here?

There are excesses in evidence:
Who needs 1,240 quarts of various oils in their cellar?
How many big lots of, say oil filters, lay in disuse because the particular car died or was crashed?
The odd propensity of people to look at pictures of opened oil filters and conclude that the filter is a "good one". Really, how can you tell?
Regular HUGE gaps in data. EX: Failure to mention whether a car company pays its emergency loan back or not.
Regular cheap shots which dovetail perfectly with hate radio.

All in all....it ain't bad. King Solomon has spoken.

"When King Solomon decreed that the Purolater should be installed one claimant sighed in relief and the other freaked out. Solomon then knew who the rightful owner was.
 
This was one of a handful of site that I can access at work without the barracuda server web filtering.

I was also trying to find out why I was getting excessive VT noise for days after doing an oil change.
No real help here as NO ONE believed a well appearing filter could cause that kind of problem. Well, That made me MORE determined to solve this mystery so going forward using basic logic and methods I was able to pinpoint defective filters simply by just removing the new part then reinstalling the "dirty" original and having the problem go away ... only to have it reappear with the installation of the offending unit a second time.

This place was a bit different a decade ago. some really great knowledgeable and entertaining ADULT and well mannered members, many have sadly passed or left.

The place is still worth a visit especially compared tom, say, the Suzuki or Yaris world Forums A forum of 95% early 20 somthings can get tiring pretty fast!
 
Just had my 14 Buick Encore towed after being totalled-- 97.7K miles. I have no doubts that had it not been done in by collision something else would have failed long before the engine. I've owned close to forty vehicles and had only two engine failures-- an '88 Festiva that I bought for way below book and whose owner probably hadn't changed the oil in 28000 miles-- got a wreck yard engine, transmission and new clutch for it for about $700 @110,000 miles. Also a '76 Plymouth Arrow that overheated. Nothing else. Oil made very little difference in their longevity. Something else always got them.

I'm not allowed to change my own oil in the condo where I live or I'd probably be buying syn. oil at Rural King. As it is I'll probably continue with low priced $20 oil changes @ 6000 miles and something else will come along to take my car out which has nothing to do with the engine.

I read this site because I find it interesting, and it's fun (and snotty) to ask the service writer whether their bulk oil is SN+ yet.
 
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This forum did help tremendously in my understanding of oil properties and specs, especially the cold specs. It made me realize that I should not be overthinking oil. That is why I hardly even read the oil section now. This forum offers a nice variation of topics, not just oil.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
This forum did help tremendously in my understanding of oil properties and specs, especially the cold specs. It made me realize that I should not be overthinking oil. That is why I hardly even read the oil section now. This forum offers a nice variation of topics, not just oil.


I was diagnosed with high eye pressure by an optometrist a few months ago. Was referred to an ophthalmologist who didn't find elevated pressures but wants me to come back every six months (probably til I die, that's usually the case, right?).

I got on the glaucoma board and was bombarded by technical posts from people stressed with failing eyesight--understandable. It was like drinking from a firehose for a subject that didn't really interest me. I asked a question on this board and got a few responses from people not glaucoma-obsessed. ("I've been taking eye drops for years, and it's not too bad", "my aunt had glaucoma for twenty years and didn't go blind".

Some people question these side topics which have respondents that don't always know what they're talking about, but I think that the broad, free ranging topics that come up on this board are a real plus, and add to the feeling of community. If I really want to know a lot about tax software or barbecuing I can find a lot of in depth sites elsewhere, but having these eclectic side topics addressed by people not obsessed with the subject is one of the best things about the forum.
 
Yup, I went from simply dumping in whatever was cheapest to paying a bit more attention. But now I have like $100+ worth of motor oil floating around and boxes of Microgard filters that I get for free and I'm not going to use them on my cars because I am too worried about not having silicone ADBVs
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Naw, I'm not unhappy. My family does not really care too much for gearhead stuff. Their eyes glaze over ... Yeah, BIL is a serious hot rodder with trophy's to show for some of his builds. Friends are mostly gearheads, but no place to discuss the finer points of these technologies.

I've built engines for cars, trucks, boats and tractors over a life of wrenching and engineering. So I have an idea of what works where and why. It's relaxing to see a question and go back and think through what really applies in the posed scenario, then propose and answer ...

Fan "boys" and automatic OM comments are just chaff in the wind. Some of the discussions are quite well informed (EX: SonofJoe) and you can't get that info any place else w/o doing actual research and digging. Comparing that to what I heard at the refineries and technical lectures on lubrication in the past is enlightening. Much better here
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For me its escapism in a way..getting into subjects thats interesting and technical ..away from mainstream media and boring brainless tv and websites..kinda look forward to seeing what the topics discussed are..plus im learning a few things along the way so cant all be bad
 
No, don't regret it a bit! If I would have learned sooner in life I'd probably still own my 74 Capri with a V-6. A cam bearing turned shutting off the oil supply to one of the banks. I'm sure it would have been fine had I been changing it with the right oil, at the correct intervals.
 
Not at all. It's educational entertainment.

Most other people would be watching TV, I don't watch much TV, I come on here and browse and read about cars, which I find interesting. I learn about technical things and repairs, what could be causing certain issues.

This is a good forum with great members. Other forums like the Toyota forums have a lot of dumb people, not to be rude. But they talk about uninteresting things and aren't very experienced with repairs. Things like posts about a car being low on power and someone saying the battery might be low.
 
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