The following is a reply to a question I ask about oil changes. (every 3000 miles or what the owners manual says) If you were on the Deere board we had a man, JD Clooney, who was the best and smartest I have every seen. This don't go to the heart of your question but I hope adds a little to the subject. Besides being a Deere collector he is an advanced engineer for GM. "CLW, that’s an easy answer.. Just do what the owners manual tells you.. They put a lot of testing into those recommendations.. Now what I personally do is only change mine twice a year.. But I have a lot of vehicles & drive most less than 15,000 each.. My personal belief is time is more important than miles.. With few miles over a long time that means many short trips & many starts & warm ups.. With lots of miles over the same time period means long hi-way trips.. Personally I would rather see an hour meter on a vehicle than an odometer for oil change reasons.. Ever see industrial or farm equipment’s oil changed by miles? Some new cars & trucks have an algorithm in the computer that uses # of cold starts, type of operation, number of idle & start cycles, hi-way speed & duration, length of time running hot or cold, etc. I have that system in one of my new cars.. I have changed the oil 3 times now without re-setting the oil change light & it finally came on at over a year & 18,000 mile.. Almost all the driving on that car is long duration hi-way though.. Your oil change interval REALLY depends on your driving conditions & type of driving & what type of loads you pull with it.. All cold weather short trips need frequent oil changes.. Long hi-way trips can go a long time.. Engine idling [like winter warm ups are killers also].. Probably the best way is to have an oil sample analyzed every so often but that costs more than an oil change so might just as well change it as have it sampled.. Just wait until all the new cars & trucks have oil change monitor lights [not just the time vs miles ones like some have now] but acid sensors or real complicated algorithm systems.. I think a lot of people will get a real surprise on what is recommended vs what they are doing now.. " Clooney
|