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Re: First oil change for the anal retentive Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Fri, 16 Sep 2005 05:15:20
In Reply to: First oil change for the anal retentive, pokeyjoe [Profile/Gallery]
, Thu, 15 Sep 2005 17:33:53
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Engines don't use 'break in' oil these days, so you can do your first oil change early. There is a good reason to do an early oil change - a 'green' engine produces more wear metal as it breaks in. Yes, the oil filter catches most. But the ultra-fine particles are still floating around. And break in can cause localized heating, which can break down the oil. Yes, synthetic resists breakdown, but we're talking about a localized phenomenom, not a bulk oil issue.
I see two rules to oil changes and break in-
Breaking in an engine doesn't show results for a long time. A poorly broken in engine won't die at 40K; it's when you get up over 100K that the difference shows. If you don't plan on keeping the car forever, you can drive the snot out of it from mile 1, and let the next guy worry about it. If you want to keep the car for a long time, a gentle break-in helps.
Oil changes - two different things going on here. Infrequent oil changes cause two issues - wear and sludge. The longer the oil is around, the more gunk in it (that the filter can't remove) and the more the lubrication qualities reduce. Again, you won't wear and engine out at 40K due to infrequent oil changes - the difference will show up at 140K. Using synthetic helps because it holds its lubricity longer.
Sludge- didn't seem like a big problem years ago, but now it's big. All manufacturers are dealing with sludge, not just Saab. Toyota has a big issue with it. Sludge can and will kill a car at 30 or 40K. That's because the sludge can block the oil pickup tube, and you get catastrophic oil starvation. Again, synthetic oil is more sludge resistant, but not perfect.
For a new car that I just got, I'd do an oil change at 1500 to 2000 miles. Is it necessary? No. Will it hurt? No; it can only help.
As to oil change intervals, I would go no longer than 5K miles. Yes, I know that many folks do 7500 or 10K or have the same crankcase oil for 75K miles and the car still runs, somewhat. But I have seen lots of cars with blown engines due to sludge that followed the manual. My advice is to, at a minimum, do oil changes by the 'harsh condition' recommendations.
What are the downsides? More waste oil, but I get mine recycled. That's not perfect, but then again, if I wanted to have no environmental impact I'd kill myself and be buried in a cornfield as fertilizer. Cost? Yes, you'll spend more doing oil changes every 5K miles than every 15K. By the time you've put 75K miles on the clock, that's 15 oil changes instead of 6, and assuming about $25 an oil change, that's an additional $175. That might seem like a lot, but that's spread over, what, 4 or 5 years? In that time you'll have replaced a set of tires at over $500, and price a 30K and 60K checkup. For a $25K to $35K investment, an extra $175 is cheap.
I believe that most of the sludge issues plaguing manufacturers right now are due to the extended oil change intervals - 7500, 10,000, or even 15,000 miles. Yes, modern synthetic oils don't break down as quickly, but they do break down. Filters remove particles, but not sludge. There are other factors in an engine (moisture, dust, etc) that can cause sludge buildup. I see nothing wrong with reducing the problem by getting the old stuff out on a regular basis.
posted by 192.249....
, Thu, 15 Sep 2005 17:33:53, Fri, 16 Sep 2005 05:15:20 <-- Viewing This Message
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