First UOA. What mileage?

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I have a 2006 pontiac vibe, 219k kms on the clock with the 1.8L toyota motor. The fill right now is Motul xclean efe 5w-30 with a toyota short filter. It's approaching 10,000kms and 4 months on this oci and I want to do a UOA next oil change with an interest in stretching the OCI out. The farthest I'd want to take the oil to time wise is 6 months (change it in the spring and in the fall.)

Any suggestions on where to start? I can change it at 10,000kms (6200 miles) or string it to 12k (7400 miles). Obviously the next OCI will be determined by the UOA just trying to find the sweet spot where the UOA and associated oil change wouldn't be considered a waste.
 
I live close to you and suffer a similar climate. You didn't state the type of driving you do or how many kilometers a year but I will assume it's similar to my own. I put 200,000 km on a car while changing the oil/filter twice a year [ spring and fall ] or approximately every 13,500 km. and I learned a few things by looking under the valve cover and sending in a few oil samples.

The engine got a little dirty as small amounts of sludge started to form in the corners, The engine stayed much cleaner on cheap conventional oil using 8,000 km OCIs as the previous owner had done. Used oil analysis showed increased wear, fuel dilution and insoluble levels during the winter months as opposed to summer months.

Over all the engine outlasted the rest of the car and was still in good condition at 374,000 km when it was scrapped. I learned that if I was going to change oil only twice a year I would make the OCI longer in the summer months and shorter in the winter. Maybe change April 1st and Nov 1st. a 7 - 5 months split.

Everyone's driving habits and conditions are different, and engines are expensive, so you want to be cautious. A UOA does not tell the whole story but it helps. I wouldn't really recommend you change oil only twice a year unless you keep a close eye on the engine.
 
Originally Posted by WobblyElvis
I live close to you and suffer a similar climate. You didn't state the type of driving you do or how many kilometers a year but I will assume it's similar to my own. I put 200,000 km on a car while changing the oil/filter twice a year [ spring and fall ] or approximately every 13,500 km. and I learned a few things by looking under the valve cover and sending in a few oil samples.

The engine got a little dirty as small amounts of sludge started to form in the corners, The engine stayed much cleaner on cheap conventional oil using 8,000 km OCIs as the previous owner had done. Used oil analysis showed increased wear, fuel dilution and insoluble levels during the winter months as opposed to summer months.

Over all the engine outlasted the rest of the car and was still in good condition at 374,000 km when it was scrapped. I learned that if I was going to change oil only twice a year I would make the OCI longer in the summer months and shorter in the winter. Maybe change April 1st and Nov 1st. a 7 - 5 months split.

Everyone's driving habits and conditions are different, and engines are expensive, so you want to be cautious. A UOA does not tell the whole story but it helps. I wouldn't really recommend you change oil only twice a year unless you keep a close eye on the engine.



You're right, I realized after I posted I didn't mention the driving. It's typically 80% highway 20% city. I realize I wasn't being totally clear.

My aim is to change the oil either twice a year or at XX,XXX kms. Typically with this car I won't make it to 6 months. I change the oil when I do the winter tire swap and hope to not hit the mileage until it warms up and I have use of the hoist (when my summer toy comes out).

To be completely honest, I'm thinking my target OCI for this particular car is going to be 10-12k or 6 months whichever comes first with the oil changes being Oct/Nov and April/May (if I make the time limit.) Other than that I'll have to take the car off the hoist to change the oil on the pontiac.

My wifes 2013 Santa fe is the one I really worry about. She drives less than 10Kms one way to work so it never really warms right up. I have her Park it in the heated garage in an effort to speed up warm up time in the morning at least and we drive it for evening running around and weekend excursions. That one does way less mileage and usually hits the time limit.

Thanks for the input. Definately food for thought.
 
Im pretty comfortable around 7500 miles with any SN+ lube to the point i wouldn't bother with a UOA until around 10k miles.

This is assuming your not direct injected. If that's the case id run the cheapest SN+ i could find and change it a 5k. My father has one of the early and very problematic GM 3.6l v6s. He's changed the oil at every 5k with either coastal or service pro and his engine runs like a top with over 150k on it.

Direct injection, turbo, or combo means 5k OCI in my book and at that interval oil quality really doesn't matter any more assuming its API Sn or Sn+
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Doublehaul
Im pretty comfortable around 7500 miles with any SN+ lube to the point i wouldn't bother with a UOA until around 10k miles.

This is assuming your not direct injected. If that's the case id run the cheapest SN+ i could find and change it a 5k. My father has one of the early and very problematic GM 3.6l v6s. He's changed the oil at every 5k with either coastal or service pro and his engine runs like a top with over 150k on it.

Direct injection, turbo, or combo means 5k OCI in my book and at that interval oil quality really doesn't matter any more assuming its API Sn or Sn+


From what I've been reading the SN+ rated oils are reserved mostly for the Turbo GDI engines not NA GDI engines. Am I incorrect here? My vibe is PFI so that is a non issue, but the Santa fe is a GDI and it only calls for an API SN oil in the manual. Shout I be looking for a SN+ oil?
 
Originally Posted by STIcandy
From what I've been reading the SN+ rated oils are reserved mostly for the Turbo GDI engines not NA GDI engines. Am I incorrect here? My vibe is PFI so that is a non issue, but the Santa fe is a GDI and it only calls for an API SN oil in the manual. Shout I be looking for a SN+ oil?

Using SN+/dex1 Gen2 oil in my PFI vehicles and working quite well.
 
Originally Posted by WobblyElvis
I live close to you and suffer a similar climate. You didn't state the type of driving you do or how many kilometers a year but I will assume it's similar to my own. I put 200,000 km on a car while changing the oil/filter twice a year [ spring and fall ] or approximately every 13,500 km. and I learned a few things by looking under the valve cover and sending in a few oil samples.

The engine got a little dirty as small amounts of sludge started to form in the corners, The engine stayed much cleaner on cheap conventional oil using 8,000 km OCIs as the previous owner had done. Used oil analysis showed increased wear, fuel dilution and insoluble levels during the winter months as opposed to summer months.

Over all the engine outlasted the rest of the car and was still in good condition at 374,000 km when it was scrapped. I learned that if I was going to change oil only twice a year I would make the OCI longer in the summer months and shorter in the winter. Maybe change April 1st and Nov 1st. a 7 - 5 months split.

Everyone's driving habits and conditions are different, and engines are expensive, so you want to be cautious. A UOA does not tell the whole story but it helps. I wouldn't really recommend you change oil only twice a year unless you keep a close eye on the engine.

*Good comments here - in my GD! Sonata engine I have been running 4K mile / 4 month OCI's (or approx. three oil & filter changes per year) with synthetic D1 / Gen 2 rated oils . My worse case OCI is winter , so upon completion of this upcoming OCI I will get a UOA done to see how my engine looks on a 4K / 4 month OCI ? Then I will know if I can extend the OCI or not ? If I was only going to go with two oil changes per year - I would use M1 EP or Castrol EP for the longer oil drain benefit .
 
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