arod412 Raises a great question; What exactly is the on board oil life meter reading? Does it take into consideration load, speed, temps, the level of contaminants or simply mileage or time? Then again, there is the equally, if not more critical component being the filter.
Also, let us be clear here and specify Diesel or Gas engines. Totally different engine dynamics, loads, temps and viscosities.
I suffer from "Old Skool" engine philosophies, and fall prey to the old "wives' tales" or rules of thumb in regards to viscosities , concumption rates and periods between changes.
I always have a habit of feeling the need to immediately swap out factory "Break In" oils early on. More specifically filters. Not so much that they run light break in viscosities anymore, but the belief that it is cheap insurance compared to a new engine, and the theory that a new filter should be swapped out within 1000 miles, just to prevent a clogged filter from any sloppy assembly debris, from stray gasket materials, to metal shavings and human contaminants.
After that, I try to be confident to spread it out.
My newly purchased '07 gasser with the 5.7 (primary around town short hop daily driver) was changed with good synthetics and filters at 7,500 intervals. It started consuming oil early on, but not excessively. I find that it consumes more when operated at freeway speeds, specifically in "Tow / Haul" mode like when towing my boat. My theory is that it is not blowing past the rings under compression, but rather sucking it past the valve guides when held in a gear at higher rpm for extended periods, such as for "engine braking" . It will go through about 1.5 Qt in 5k miles. Somewhat alarming originally for a new truck. But, it has remained consistent as it now approaches 100k. Again, empty, in normal mode, minimal consumption. It may just the be the extremely light viscosity, combined with the synthetic nature and my consumption under high vacume conditions theory.
About 25k in, I tried the Amsoil 25k mile oil. I only made it so far as 15k miles and freaked. Even with spinning on a couple of new, quality filters and topping off during that period, my old ways simply ate me up and I had to change it out. No apparent harm, and it likely could have done the full 25k without incident.
The new 2013 PW with 5.7 gasser found me going back to my old ways. I changed the original oil and filter early on, just to get it out of there. Likely a huge waste.
The onboard oil life meter suggested the next two changes right at the 4400 mile mark. One wih Mobil 1, the last, with super high dollar quality filter and Royal Purple, full synthetic of the recommended light viscosity.
It too consumed a little between changes. Almost a quart in 5k miles of every use imaginable. I just swapped in some Valvoline Syntec and a full sized Bosch filter. Despite heading into winter, I did go with the 5-30, rather than 5-20 as it seemed to make a bit of noise on dry start up. I am hoping the slightly higher grade will quiet things down and take the abuse of heavy loads and extended high RPM running without too much loss in fuel mileage related to parasitic drag of the heavier oil.
I will report back how that goes, as I literally changed it yesterday.
FYI, I ran Mobil 1 in the "built" motor in my '03 Mustang Cobra. It is supercharged and driven hard. It would appear dirty, but I stuck with a 7500 mile change interval. When I smoked that motor (unrelated to oil) and broke it down, at 43k it was still spotless on the interior. I could do 10k intervals while still beating in high RPM, high temps at the dragstrip, high G-Loading and extended VERY high RPM running at the road race course, to lugging it along in bumper to bumper commuting and everything else and after seeing it's insides, and the lack of wear (it still showed factory cross hatch honing and machining marks in the cylinder walls).
But, old habits and the complete false feeling of "treating" the machine to a fresh, high dollar oil change die hard despite seeing the hard cold facts right in my face.
Sometimes, I think us "gear heads" are doing this, and paying the money for "upgraded" oils and filters at a accelerated rate for nothing more than mental peace of mind and a sense of security. ...and sometimes that just may be enough.
