Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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But efficiency is only part of the story. As I have said several times, a dirty filter is WORSE at allowing sufficient airflow to the engine. That is why we change air filters.
I am NOT saying a dirty air filter is better for your engine. It is not. Modern, computer-controlled engines need good airflow to run at peak performance, and that is provided by a clean air filter.
if you could maintain the consistent flow while the filter is dirty, then your theory would be correct.
efficiency of a filter is not just it's "trapping power" (so to speak). it's the combination of the ability to trap particles and maintain flow. both of these factor into the efficiency equation.
-Chris
"Efficiency" is only one part of the picture. I think you do understand that anytime you evaluate the quality of a filter, you have to look at BOTH the "efficiency" of filtration AND the airflow allowed, because there is an inverse relationship between them. In other words, more particles stopped equals less airflow.
Sorry for any confusion over terminology.
miles. they then proceeded to break down these engines and collect data. i don't recall all the tests performed but some were falex, hight temp viscosity , lubricity as well as chemical analysis of the oil in each vehicle. well what convinced me to switch to synthetic oil was the chemical analysis more than anything. the average % of bearing material found in the oil (metal particles) was 6x greater in the engines using dino oil and changed regularly. this is what convinced me that for no other reason other than the wear factor.
that was about 15 years ago and i am approaching 300+k miles on my van with never an engine related problem. i will continue to drive the vehicle forever . i found it was still cheaper to replace parts than buy new when the motor was still like new. that is my experience.
-Chris
However, I would not add some miracle oil additive that has it. The major oils are good and very carefully configured. Your oil may already have Moly added anyway. Don't waste your money!
Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
Brad.
Thanks
If your looking for a recommendation I'd say a good Purolator and Mobil 1 on factory schedule. I'd also recommend you read all of the previous posts about oil, additives, and filters and make a choice based on what you think might be best for your situation. Answers to questions like how long you want the truck to last, type engine, interest in maintenance, costs, availability, etc... will give you a basis for what you do. Good luck.
Guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
I agree that an accurate oil level check can be made with a fully warmed engine, vehicle parked on level ground, and after waiting 2 or 3 minutes. A check made before starting a cold engine will also be OK. Avoid, however, checking the oil level following brief operation of a cold engine. At such a time much of the cold (high-viscosity) oil is clinging to the engine component surfaces and the dipstick will falsely indicate a need to add oil.
Does anyone know if the excess oil burning could be caused by switching brands and/or kind of oil?
I have seen a decrease in oil consumption with 77 and 74 chevy at least 50% less. The 99 Astro does not use any oil as of this posting. Having used the oil for a while I have noticed the pcv valve and spark plugs life expectancy have increased dramatically(77 and 74 chevy). I check the spark plugs yearly by cleaning and regapping and then reinstalling (77 and 74 chevy). The pcv valve is done at the same time. I spray it down with carb cleaner.I have also seen an increase in throttle response. They also start easier when it is cold. Plus a 1-2 mpg increase in gas mileage mixed between highway and city driving. Oil changes at 6-8 k. Your mileage may vary with the type of driving. I do have some small oil leaks on the 2 older cars but do not contribute to any major oil consumption. I have owned these cars for 9 years 74 and 6 years 77. All 3 are still reliable and are daily drivers. I believe synthetic oil has increased the serviceable life of these vehicles.
THe extra expense is worth it for the cost of synthetic over dino oil.
Silverado will cold soak that entire week.
Just put M1 0W-30 in. Will report in two weeks when I get back.
We have two topic on motor oil running concurrently, This one and one on synthetic oil. Would you all like to see these two topics combined OR separate topic for dino oil and synthetic. I think there are enough differences in peoples question re. synthetics oils only , so that topic has merit as a standalone; for me anyways.
let me know.
your new host, Bruce
1. Should I eat the $42 oil change and go to another mechanic for the proper oil? I'm more inclined to do this as I wasn't able to provide them with a filter to install (they used a generic filter).
My personal strategy for oil changes will be as follows:
- Change with syn every 4,000 - 4,250 miles;
- Since most mechanics use a generic filer, provide filter for them to install (such as Purolator Premium Plus, Mobil 1 or AC Delco Duraguard Gold); and
- Alternate filter brands provided so that I KNOW they changed the filter.
Any thoughts or feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Ed
When you go to a quick lube or a general mechanic for an oil change, you should specify that you want 5w30 oil. They don't always have the time to look through your owner's manual and check the viscosity recommendation.
I wouldn't worry about a generic filter. Although they won't offer the best possible filtration, they won't harm your car. Anyhow, Toyota filters are crap, so don't let the service rep intimidate you because you didn't get your last service at Toyota.
My final advice is to keep the oil in the car until it's due, unless NY experiences a cold snap with very low temperatures.
Castrol (and Shell, and others, and Mobil in overseas markets) has stoped using expensive PAOs in Syntec, and now uses less expensive hydroisomerized base stocks. These base stocks are made from conventional oil that has been chemically altered through Shell's hyrdoisomerization process. They are a chemically altered form of natural petroleum distillates, and they do have properties superior to conventional oil, but they are not built up from smaller molecules, which is why Mobil objects to Castol's calling them synthetic.
Stay away from quick lubes, untrained, rushed, unsupervised.
From the limited info I've read, it seems the thing to do is break a car in with dino oil (with a change @ 1000 miles), then switch @ the 3000 mile mark to synthetic; changing every 4000-4500 miles after that. However, in a now-closed topic titled "GM 3800 oil leaks" (or something similar), it was mentioned that there was a problem with synthetics not reacting properly with the gaskets, and it was suggested NOT to run synthetics in this engine (or any GM product, for that matter).
Having put 116,000 miles on my '89 Celica with no problems using dino oil (and my brother has 340,000+ on his '84 Toyota pickup with dino oil as well), I don't have a problem sticking with it in the new car if it means no leaks. I think the key is simply changing oil regularly. However, I'd be willing to pay extra for synthetics if I knew it wouldn't lead to leaks down the road.
Thoughts?
All 4 Japanese cars have never leaked.
The scoop is that OIL deposits (in the earth) are from decayed animals (dinosaurs) and Natural Gas deposits (in the earth) are from decayed plant matter.
Does anyone remember the name of the gas company that used to have a green dinosaur as their logo? I think they were bought-out / changed-name to ARCO in the mid 70s.
Was it "Sinclair"?
your host, Bruce
Bruce
NW Florida That I ran for 189000 miles with no
oil related problems.Changed every 3K and used
Castrol GTX 20W-50 .It looked thick enough but seems the motor had no problem with it. I don't think I'd try it now but worked good back then.
Cool car, wish they made them now....very easy
to get to everything...That thick oil probably never actually cooled off.........see y'all
drando (I have a 99 s-10 Chev ZR2 now 10W-30 Castrol GTX)
nowadays..........)
The "3-month or 3000-miles" adage is a pretty good guideline for most drivers. This rule of thumb presumes that a low-miles-per-year car is accumulating miles slowly because most trips are short. Short trips imply frequent stops before the engine has fully warmed and thus excessive condensation of combustion products in the crankcase. Such an engine should have the oil changed at lower mileage intervals -- thus the "3-Month" guideline.
However, consider the example of a utility vehicle or RV that is driven infrequently for a total of 2000 miles per year but nearly every trip is 15+ miles. For this vehicle, I would be quite comfortable with an oil & filter change at 12-month intervals because the hot engine allows little condensation of combustion products in the crankcase.
Why take any changes with your car? The added cost of one or two more oil changes a year is well worth it, especialy if you plan on keeping the car for the long run.
Today many families have multiple vehicles and some of them see sporadic use. Thus the shelf life of engine oil eitner in container or in the crank-case assumes vital importance. I do not expect the Oil companies to disclose researched facts and recommendations based on these facts that would hurt their bottom line.
More research is immidiately needed on this issue if we are to leave this planet without further damaging it.
Odyssey: 2228 liters/year (~586 gallons/year)
Corolla: 1369 liters/year (~360 gallons/year)
(Look here for stats: http://autosmart.nrcan.gc.ca/pubs/fcg3_e.cfm9)
Should I consider you reckless when you are driving your van instead of one of your cars ???(unless you are actually transporting 6 or 7 passengers) Imagine how much more pollution it's dumping in our atmosphere compared to my Corolla!!!
Some people feel it is important to give their vehicles the best protection they can (within reasonable limits). That was the message I intended to pass along in my previous post. An extra 4 quarts of oil per year is not going to render our planet uninhabitable after that 4 quarts of oil is properly sent for recycling. I understand your point of view but I don't agree with it being called 'reckless'.
The impact on the environment is a concern, plus you (by changing at 3k) are using up my grandchildren's oil based on greed by Jiffy lube and the others.
Even after 1500 miles in my turbo eclipse, synthetic oil still turns just as dark as conventional. Should I not worry when I'm over 3000 miles since my last oil change and the color of the oil is black? Is the oil still efficient?