New Engines and Oil Life Monitors

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I know everyone is really passionate about this but how about a reasoned discussion shall we.

I noticed my 2014 Mustang (5.0 with traditional Port EFI & 8 quart sump that averaged well over 20 mpg) called for a 10,000 mi oci by the IOLM.

A 2014 F150 3.5EB (GDI, Turbos, 6 qt sump and 16 mpg) also called for 10,000 mi oci by IOLM.

A 10,000 mi analysis on MC Blend from the Mustang was difficult to tell from the virgin sample.

A 6,000 mi sample of Mobil 1 from the EB looks like it's been shredded. Low-7's cSt in viscosity, near 10% fuel contamination and 6x the iron level and half the TBN of MC Blend in the 5.0 at 10,000 mi

Given these "challanges" is the consensus still to follow the oil life monitor? I will admit a 10,000 mi OCI on Synthetic on my newer F150 18 3.5EB would make me more nervous than a 20,000 mi OCI on conventional in my 14 5.0 Mustang.

What is the consensus on modern GDI Turbo engines with moderate oil capacity, modest mpg and a fairly aggressive IOLM program?

Follow the IOLM or change earlier?
 
My parents had a Ford Escape with the oil life monitor, but I'm not sure it actually did any monitoring. Just reset and go off very 7500 miles. Of course they changed it before 7500 miles, my father isn't a big fan of GDI engines and longer drain intervals.
 
I don't have the turbo but have DI in a 5.3L GM on 0w20. At 40% remaining ... changed my $5 filter and that makes room for a quart of HD30 ... $8 & 10 mins ...will finish the OLM
 
Change way earlier.

I only have an OLM on the church van. If I went by it we would change our oil about every 7 years.
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
Change way earlier.

I only have an OLM on the church van. If I went by it we would change our oil about every 7 years.


All my IOLM default to 365 days if you are a low miler.
After three two-day open track events within just a few weeks my Mustang called for a 1700 mi OCI so I'm fairly certain it actually does actually do something (I had previously thought it had a 3,000 mi minimum just like the 10,000 mi maximum but apparently not).
 
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Sounds like you have data to justify earlier change (or a reason to find better oil). So I'd definitely do that.

As to the oil life monitors, I'm pretty sure that the OEM's are putting in no small work into them. So I don't know what the problem is--seems like they ought to be good and conservative. That or maybe Ford doesn't think the wear and tear on the oil is that bad--we might think it awful, they might think, gee, it's worn out oil--what did you expect?--don't you feel good about getting all you could out of that oil?
 
Especially with Ford, I would never go with the OLM, if you want to keep the car past warranty.
Ford provides zero goodwill past warranty and even in warranty their warranty coverage can be difficult to get.
Ford's goal is to minimize perceived maintenance costs to potential onwers with the 10,000 mile OCI and to get cars past warranty.
1st hand experience in buying and maintaining 1,000s of Fords for a large private fleet.

If they were my cars, no more than 5,000 mile (or less if OLM calls for it) OCI with SN+, SG, D1G2 oil with appropriate Ford rating on the bottle.
 
I know the Ford 2015+ OLMs will count down ~2% per week even if the vehicle isn't driven. If the vehicle sat for a year without ever being started, the OLM would go from 100% to 0%.
 
My thought on OLM's is, they are just a hours in use timer. It doesn't know, or care what type of oil your using. I can reset the olm on my wife's Equinox, any time I want and it will rest the timer. When it goes another 5k mile's, it will tell you to change the oil again. I feel it's just a reminder for people that never give changing their oil a thought. If it actually could tell if you need to change it, you shouldn't be able to reset it unless you changed the oil.,,,
 
Originally Posted by BigCahuna
My thought on OLM's is, they are just a hours in use timer. It doesn't know, or care what type of oil your using. I can reset the olm on my wife's Equinox, any time I want and it will rest the timer. When it goes another 5k mile's, it will tell you to change the oil again. I feel it's just a reminder for people that never give changing their oil a thought. If it actually could tell if you need to change it, you shouldn't be able to reset it unless you changed the oil.,,,

That's not really an OLM then, that sounds more like a maintenance light instead. Two of my cars have the same light, and I'm supposed to change the oil every other time (5k rotations, 10k OCI's). I'm actually ok with that. But from what I've read here, other makes do have OLM's that take into account idle time and gas through the motor (heavy operation burns more gas and shortens OCI).
 
Originally Posted by Gene K
A 6,000 mi sample of Mobil 1 from the EB looks like it's been shredded. Low-7's cSt in viscosity, near 10% fuel contamination and 6x the iron level and half the TBN of MC Blend in the 5.0 at 10,000 mi


What you've noticed about EB engines is spot on. I've been saying this for years on BITOG. I have a first gen EB and noticed these things back in 2011. Every so often I post about it. So it came as no surprise when "mistreated" EB engines started showing up for timing chain replacements. Not to mention the near constant troubles with cam phasers.

An honest assessment of what is going on in modern engines really does point to the need to manage oil and viscosity better than simply going with the OLM and viscosity requirement. Those who make the statement that the "manufacturer knows best" give nothing more than "lip service" to the fact that the manufacturer is in the business of selling new vehicles, and not in the business of keeping them running beyond their "useful lives" They are also in the business of performing repairs. The fact that they last as long as they do has a lot to do with competition and EPA/environmental requirements.
 
We should also be mindful of the fact that UOA results don't really tell us how quickly the engine is wearing. A proper UOA with sufficient data can do two things. It can tell us when an oil has reached it's service limit. It can, at times, tell us what specific component is failing or has failed.

Would you continue to run an oil that meets all specs but has high levels of soot or Fe "if" you desire long engine life? Knowing both are abrasive...

Do the decreasing UOA "wear numbers" as oil ages, when compared to a fresh oil change wear numbers really mean engine wear is lower with old oil? We've all known vehicles that have early timing chain failures. This has been going on for half a century now... This is a lubrication related failure, related to low viscosity (fuel dilution too) and infrequent oil changes.
 
Originally Posted by Gene K
I know everyone is really passionate about this but how about a reasoned discussion shall we.

What is the consensus on modern GDI Turbo engines with moderate oil capacity, modest mpg and a fairly aggressive IOLM program?

Follow the IOLM or change earlier?


Not passion, just reality

ALL IOLM programs are nothing but various formulae based on laboratory testing and ranges- regardless of how many parameters they plug in.

There is no correlation whatsoever to actual real world conditions an "in service" oil endures and does not make any decisions or allowances for them.

Some are static equations based on SWAGs with maybe a few inputs like RPM, rev count,, temp etc so they are an "adjustable guess" based on a series of laboratory values that may or may not be anywhere close to what you are experiencing.

So if you believe the color selection of the car you buy somehow correlates to your performance doing your job at work then they are exactly what you need.

If not, I recommend analysis ( visual or laboratory) if determining a proper change frequency is important to you.
 
In the world of Honda, the IOLMs seem to be calibrated the same whether port, DI or TGDI: 10k plus if heavily highway biased, 5-6k if mostly city. In other words it's hard to see evidence that Honda changed anything despite the fuel dilution and soot that goes along DI.

I have and DI Honda and a DI Acura and change at 60%.
 
Ford's IOLM is not simply a counter.

While my 5.0 Coyote Mustang often shows 10,000 mi in street driving it has been as low as 1700 mi when doing three two-day open track events in a one month period. Yes I changed it between events. I just didn't reset the IOLM.

I actually believe the pre-GDI 5.0 IOLM is conservative. After an oil analysis at 10,000 mi the MC SB looked like it could easily go 20,000 mi when getting well over 20 mpg with that 8 qt sump on a simple blend or conventional.

It's the all engines will target a 10,000 mi OCI on any oil that meets the current API Standard (which is essentially what the Ford Spec reduces to) regardless that seems a bit arbitrary.

I have an acquaintance that has 420,000 mi (including roughly 20% with a trailer) on a 1st Gen 2013 3.5EB. 6,000-7,000 mi OCI of whatever is the cheapest name brand on sale at the local autoparts. So I guess I really shouldn't worry about going that long even if I'm making the cardinal mistake of relying on anecdotal evidence.
 
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