Why do people stretch out their OCIs?

[996GT2]

This is something I've never understood. Even if you take your car to the dealership, an oil+filter change costs around $30 for most cars. That's less than the cost of 1 tank of gas, and you only have to do it once or twice a year under normal driving conditions. So why do many people on forums like BITOG feel the need to stretch out their OCIs to 15K+ miles? They're not even saving any money once the cost of the expensive full-synthetic oils are factored in.

 

[jlee]

Once or twice a year is stretching, compared to most people who are still following 3k/3mo.

I do annual changes. ~6-8k miles. I run very good oil. $50-80 (LX450 takes 8 quarts) is not a big annual expense per vehicle, and I'd be changing oil twice otherwise anyway.

 

[kitatech]

I agree...
Since it can't be the money, (they can't be THAT cheap, can they?), I've suspected the reason is paranoia about taking the car to the dealer, fearing that it'll come out worse than it went in...so they put it off as long as they can...and BiTOG is rife with paranoia...(of course, just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean that they're not out to get you...they'd say)..

Personally, when I had a car over 150k miles I KNEW what was wrong with it going in so the dealer's report back to me wasn't anything I didn't already know...and with the Camry now at 120k miles I am happy to have it on a hoist 2x a year (once by the dealer, once by an indie, each reconfirming the other...okay, maybe I'm a bit paranoid too!)....having it checked out 2x/yr avoids any surprises...even as I keep a pretty close eye on it to know that it's in great shape...

 

[Jimzz]

Because at the other extreme are people that change at 3000miles for no reason other than jiffy lube type places tell them.

 

[Zodiark1593]

I run my oil to roughly 5k miles in my 98 Volvo V70 GLT. I ak considering changing to Synthetic, but I don't know enough about it to know if it will work well with my car.

 

[Mark R]

This is something I've never understood. Even if you take your car to the dealership, an oil+filter change costs around $30 for most cars.

Some dealers like to charge more; a lot more.

My local lexus dealer charged me $220 for an oil+filter change. That said, even a local independent shop charged $100 and that was labor only (I supplied the oil/filter - cost about $60 for full synth + a decent 3rd party filter)

 

[Gillbot]

Some don't like to "waste" oil, so by using up the oil to its maximum life, they are extracting all their value out of it. I do testing on my own oil typically and establish a safe OCI that gets the best protection yet still gets maximum useful life out of the oil.

 

[SithSolo1]

I change my synthetic every 5000-7000 miles, I don't think I've ever gone past 7500. When I had dino juice its was every 3500 or so.

 

[AdamK47]

Have we really gotten to the point where oil change interval is now commonly abbreviated? In that case, don't get so OCD over OCI.

 

[kitatech]

A local Toyo dealer charges me $20 (less 15% discount for old farts) to change oil and filter I bring to it...I get a jug of Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30 syn for $5 after rebate, the filter for $6 so the OC cost under $30....

 

[skyking]

The recommended interval is 10K on our diesels. It just does not feel right for an old dino oil guy like me, but I am getting there.

 

[Raduque]

I use a high mileage full synth in my truck. I last changed it about 10k miles ago, so I probably should change it. I check the oil once a week and it still looks good. It's not clear, fresh brand-new looking, but it's not ugly nasty black tar either.

My truck is 10 years old, has 135k miles and still idles and runs smooth and has plenty of power.

 

[DougoMan]

I use a high mileage full synth in my truck. I last changed it about 10k miles ago, so I probably should change it. I check the oil once a week and it still looks good. It's not clear, fresh brand-new looking, but it's not ugly nasty black tar either.

My truck is 10 years old, has 135k miles and still idles and runs smooth and has plenty of power.

Obligatory you can't tell if your oil needs to be changed by looking at it comment.

 

[Raduque]

Obligatory you can't tell if your oil needs to be changed by looking at it comment.

It tastes fine, too.

 

[manimal]

Dont forget if your doing lots of stop and go or aggressive driving you should take into consideration staying on the safe side of the wear envelope of the oil you use.

if your cruising 50 miles a day then by all means stretch.

 

[kitatech]

Dont forget if your doing lots of stop and go or aggressive driving you should take into consideration staying on the safe side of the wear envelope of the oil you use.

if your cruising 50 miles a day then by all means stretch.

Very true...one person asked today, elsewhere, about a 5k OCI when driving only 5k miles a year...if that's a lot of short runs, then it's in the "severe" category I would think.

 

[skyking]

yep, mine is zero short trips, 20 miles one way over 40-ish minutes every work day. The recommended interval seems appropriate for my use.

 

[BUTCH1]

This is something I've never understood. Even if you take your car to the dealership, an oil+filter change costs around $30 for most cars. That's less than the cost of 1 tank of gas, and you only have to do it once or twice a year under normal driving conditions. So why do many people on forums like BITOG feel the need to stretch out their OCIs to 15K+ miles? They're not even saving any money once the cost of the expensive full-synthetic oils are factored in.

I've never bought into the synthetic of extended intervals, yes, it's a fact that they perform better in high-heat conditions but every engine has blow-by and cheap dino or synthetic is going to get contaminated, plus the additive package has to be worn down to zero before 15K miles, I'm probably just paranoid but I use the OLM in my car and change it at 20% life left for a little room for error.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I've done UOAs and established an OCI that I feel comfortable with based on my driving habits.
Usually stick with M1 5W20 EP + Wix filter and change the oil + filter every ~ 8 months.

 

[Throckmorton]

Because you can't just magically get an oil change. You have to take a couple hours off from work to go and get an oil change done

 

[roguerower]

I used to run my civic about 5,000mi between changes when I was using high mileage synthetic. My cherokee has that handy dandy little "Oil Life" indicator on the dash that I'm following. About 4,000mi and I'm at 50% according to it. Not sure how much farther past 5k I'll take it since there's supposedly a cruise control brake issue with the car that was just identified through a "recall".

 

[evident]

I just listen to my maintenance minder which takes me to around 7500ish so i dont go off "schedule". I burn half a quart every 1000ish miles though, mostly highway miles.

 

[mvbighead]

I am sure the 3000'ers do it simply because that was the way they were told to do it. My dad is one of those, and I figure someone that does that is in a far better position than someone who exceeds their recommended OCI. He has a 2003(?) Dodge Ram 1500 (4.7l) with over 200k miles on it that is still running strong.

That said, I've read somewhere that dyno oil of this decade is far superior to the dyno oils of yesteryear. So, everyone has been doing 3000 for quite some time. That is a tough habit for many to break. And if I am an oil change place, I am putting 3k on that sticker every time because it means my shop makes more money if the customer follows it.

 

[SearchMaster]

I generally start thinking about an oil change at ~6000 miles. I never "intentionally" stretch that out too far, but sometimes life gets in the way and it ends up being 7000-8000 miles. I live somewhat in the boonies, so it's a minimum 20 minutes to get to a place to change it, then add 15-45 minutes on top of that and it's stretched my patience. So I generally do it myself but when I have a busy month of weekends, it might stretch out 1500-2000 miles.

My last couple of cars had 220K miles (totalled) and 255K+ miles (still running great) so I'll keep doing what I'm doing. I drive my current car harder than previous cars, but I use high quality synthetics and the car's OLM generally indicates 10K changes, so I'm comfortable staying at 6000-8000 miles.

 

[soccerballtux]

Some don't like to "waste" oil, so by using up the oil to its maximum life, they are extracting all their value out of it. I do testing on my own oil typically and establish a safe OCI that gets the best protection yet still gets maximum useful life out of the oil.

it's mainly this, and I don't like changing it myself every 3 or 4k, gets annoying.