Carter Caterpillar labs does the UOA for my work fleet. They tell me that every engine hour is the equivalent to 50 miles of driving. My diesel fleet is very low mileage so we service by hours. Every 250 hours the trucks get the oil changed. That might be once or twice a year. I'm wondering if this is the better way to service personal vehicles. A 100 hour OCI would be the equivalent of a 5,000 mile OCI but would factor in idle time as well. Just wondering if it would be beneficial in the long run, especially in a turbo GDI like my wife's daily driver?
Would changing oil by hour be better than miles?
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Better ? Maybe..... I'd say there's really nothing wrong with going by miles either.
How would you track it in a current vehicle that doesn't record this ? Actually, we just rented a newer Traverse that records driving time. 99% of people pay no attention to this menu so you could reset it to "0" after changing the oil and go from there.
How would you track it in a current vehicle that doesn't record this ? Actually, we just rented a newer Traverse that records driving time. 99% of people pay no attention to this menu so you could reset it to "0" after changing the oil and go from there.
My owners manual states 350 hours or 10k
Funny as I don't have a hour meter.
Funny as I don't have a hour meter.
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Better ? Maybe..... I'd say there's really nothing wrong with going by miles either.
How would you track it in a current vehicle that doesn't record this ? Actually, we just rented a newer Traverse that records driving time. 99% of people pay no attention to this menu so you could reset it to "0" after changing the oil and go from there.
There are many OBD2 gauges on the market these days that have trip meters with timers. Or, you can wire an old fashioned hour meter into a key-on power source .
Better ? Maybe..... I'd say there's really nothing wrong with going by miles either.
How would you track it in a current vehicle that doesn't record this ? Actually, we just rented a newer Traverse that records driving time. 99% of people pay no attention to this menu so you could reset it to "0" after changing the oil and go from there.
There are many OBD2 gauges on the market these days that have trip meters with timers. Or, you can wire an old fashioned hour meter into a key-on power source .
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
Originally Posted by tiger862
My owners manual states 350 hours or 10k
Funny as I don't have a hour meter.
I bet its buried in the settings menu. My 2007 has hour meter you can clear like the trip gauge, while my 2018 shows engine and idle hours in the self check menu.
My 1994 has nothing.
My owners manual states 350 hours or 10k
Funny as I don't have a hour meter.
I bet its buried in the settings menu. My 2007 has hour meter you can clear like the trip gauge, while my 2018 shows engine and idle hours in the self check menu.
My 1994 has nothing.
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Originally Posted by demarpaint
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
This is just a rule of thumb for equivalent wear on an engine, not a guide for mileage tracking. It's supposed to mean than an engine should wear the same amount in 50 miles as it would in running for 1 hour in terms of wear numbers on UOA.
Originally Posted by demarpaint
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
This is just a rule of thumb for equivalent wear on an engine, not a guide for mileage tracking. It's supposed to mean than an engine should wear the same amount in 50 miles as it would in running for 1 hour in terms of wear numbers on UOA.
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Kestas
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50 miles per hour is the number I use for estimating interstate travel.
Kestas
Staff member
50 miles per hour is the number I use for estimating interstate travel.
My John Deere uses an hour meter and specifies maintenance according to hours. I suppose it wouldn't be that difficult to put an hour meter on an automotive engine, considering all the useless electronic nonsense that we have on cars.
My John Deere uses an hour meter and specifies maintenance according to hours. I suppose it wouldn't be that difficult to put an hour meter on an automotive engine, considering all the useless electronic nonsense that we have on cars.
I would think perhaps xxx gallons of fuel per oil change would be a better measure than hours. Not sure what that number would be, maybe 300 gallons of gas?
Originally Posted by mpgo4th
Originally Posted by demarpaint
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
This is just a rule of thumb for equivalent wear on an engine, not a guide for mileage tracking. It's supposed to mean than an engine should wear the same amount in 50 miles as it would in running for 1 hour in terms of wear numbers on UOA.
Agreed.
Originally Posted by demarpaint
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
This is just a rule of thumb for equivalent wear on an engine, not a guide for mileage tracking. It's supposed to mean than an engine should wear the same amount in 50 miles as it would in running for 1 hour in terms of wear numbers on UOA.
Agreed.
Originally Posted by spasm3
I would think perhaps xxx gallons of fuel per oil change would be a better measure than hours. Not sure what that number would be, maybe 300 gallons of gas?
I've proposed the same idea, and like it. That would give at least semi-appropriate extra credit for excess idling, short trips, towing, etc. The target number of gallons would obviously vary with the size of the engine. For road vehicles, how about a number of gallons equal to the the number it would consume under favorable conditions travelling the maximum distance the manufacturer recommends between changes?
I don't know whether they still do, but tractors used to have cable-driven mechanical tachometer+hour meters, wherein the "hour" display was actually just a geared counter that showed a number directly proportional to engine revolutions. For example, the one on my father's IH 444 would register one "hour" if you ran the engine for one hour at a constant 1700 RPM, approximately. At any other speed, or varying speeds, it still showed one hour every 1700×60 = 102,000 engine revolutions, regardless of actual time. We changed the oil every 100 "hours." That's about as good as miles or actual hours, but doesn't allow for load.
I would think perhaps xxx gallons of fuel per oil change would be a better measure than hours. Not sure what that number would be, maybe 300 gallons of gas?
I've proposed the same idea, and like it. That would give at least semi-appropriate extra credit for excess idling, short trips, towing, etc. The target number of gallons would obviously vary with the size of the engine. For road vehicles, how about a number of gallons equal to the the number it would consume under favorable conditions travelling the maximum distance the manufacturer recommends between changes?
I don't know whether they still do, but tractors used to have cable-driven mechanical tachometer+hour meters, wherein the "hour" display was actually just a geared counter that showed a number directly proportional to engine revolutions. For example, the one on my father's IH 444 would register one "hour" if you ran the engine for one hour at a constant 1700 RPM, approximately. At any other speed, or varying speeds, it still showed one hour every 1700×60 = 102,000 engine revolutions, regardless of actual time. We changed the oil every 100 "hours." That's about as good as miles or actual hours, but doesn't allow for load.
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We know that the lowest wear occurs at steady state operation at less than 2000 rpm.
Things not accounted for by hours is sustained higher rpm(high speed driving or continuous operation in 4 lo for 4wd vehicles) short trips with cold starts. Stop and go traffic. Towing.
Fuel use would be more reflective of the stress put on the engine.
Things not accounted for by hours is sustained higher rpm(high speed driving or continuous operation in 4 lo for 4wd vehicles) short trips with cold starts. Stop and go traffic. Towing.
Fuel use would be more reflective of the stress put on the engine.
Use both hours and miles on passenger vehicles. On some simpler OLM's the hours might be a linear function. But there should be more points scored for hours outside normal operating temps.
OLM systems from GM, Ford and Chrysler are basing the oil change interval on actual data from the vehicle. At the heart of the equation is still mileage, revolutions and hours of operation. But, these systems also log oil and coolant temperatures to see if the engine has had time to burn off condensates in the oil.
OLM systems from GM, Ford and Chrysler are basing the oil change interval on actual data from the vehicle. At the heart of the equation is still mileage, revolutions and hours of operation. But, these systems also log oil and coolant temperatures to see if the engine has had time to burn off condensates in the oil.
You could base it on hours. I don't know that it would be a better correlative than mileage, let alone an IOLM.
A lot of people criticize the Ford IOLM as being a countdown meter. I think the truth is that very few things dramatically affect service life of the oil in any big way.
A lot of people criticize the Ford IOLM as being a countdown meter. I think the truth is that very few things dramatically affect service life of the oil in any big way.
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My female work partner uses her 90 minute lunch everyday (four day work week) to nap in her car, with the engine idling and heat obviously on. I doubt her husband is aware - to change the oil more frequently.
Myself? I'm not saying a word to her.... no advice currently. I remain happy-go-lucky working beside her and won't give her any engine obstructive criticism of her daily habits.
Our job duties carries minor differences of opinions on occasion. I'm certainly not going to expand any differences, to include private life matters. That's not how I roll. I continue to believe in the miles OCIs, instead of hours run (light-duty gasoline vehicles).
Myself? I'm not saying a word to her.... no advice currently. I remain happy-go-lucky working beside her and won't give her any engine obstructive criticism of her daily habits.
Our job duties carries minor differences of opinions on occasion. I'm certainly not going to expand any differences, to include private life matters. That's not how I roll. I continue to believe in the miles OCIs, instead of hours run (light-duty gasoline vehicles).
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It really depends on the operation of the vehicle. If the vehicle idles for 90% of it's operation time using mileage does not make sense.
Originally Posted by mpgo4th
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Originally Posted by demarpaint
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
This is just a rule of thumb for equivalent wear on an engine, not a guide for mileage tracking. It's supposed to mean than an engine should wear the same amount in 50 miles as it would in running for 1 hour in terms of wear numbers on UOA.
Ok thanks for that information. Then going by miles is not a good idea at all for the reason I mentioned, go strictly by hours and don't get wrapped up in miles. At least then there will be some real consistency.
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Originally Posted by demarpaint
50 miles is equivalent to one hour of driving? No way in this neck of the woods. I logged ours over several OCI's with the hour meter two of my vehicles have. I average a little under 20 mph. Which is another reason why I stay away from blanket statements, like a good dino oil can go x miles, and good synthetic oil can go y miles. I would say hours is a safer way to go than miles in a lot of cases.
This is just a rule of thumb for equivalent wear on an engine, not a guide for mileage tracking. It's supposed to mean than an engine should wear the same amount in 50 miles as it would in running for 1 hour in terms of wear numbers on UOA.
Ok thanks for that information. Then going by miles is not a good idea at all for the reason I mentioned, go strictly by hours and don't get wrapped up in miles. At least then there will be some real consistency.
I was looking at some municipal auction vehicles up around green bay last year and I inquired about maintainence and the fleet manager said every 600 gallons of fuel we changed the oil
I walked away,,, that seemed to be stretching it a little in my book
I walked away,,, that seemed to be stretching it a little in my book
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