SameGuy
New member
- Jul 1, 2011
- 1,927
- 0
Regardless of how much is "added" to an engine that consumes oil between oil change intervals, it's simply prudent -- and relatively cheap insurance -- to nevertheless change at or before the recommended intervals, and to change the filter at the same time. Most car brands also have specs that an oil must meet in order to be labeled with that brand's specification. Check your owners manual for the recommended grade, viscosity and spec, and find an oil that meets those on the shelves of any store. Like radiator fluid, just because it's the right viscosity doesn't mean it's the right oil. Of course, if you don't give a whit about your investment in the car, ignore all this. Personally, I only use Mobil 1, Amsoil, Royal Purple, Motul, Total or LubriMoly full synthetics in my European cars, and Syntec Edge or similar (spec-meeting) synthetics in our older non-European cars. I tend to use filters made by Champion Labs (K&N, Bosch, PureONE or Mobil 1) but have also used cheaper ones on the older, less-driven Asian cars.
Many (most?) newer cars have on-board oil minders that take many factors into consideration and display a countdown to the next recommended change, though some factors (that equate to "severe service") should necessitate that the change be done before that countdown reaches zero. In a normal dusty summer in hot, slow traffic doing my fairly short commute, I don't let the countdown get much past 2000 km (~1200 miles) to go. Its baseline is 8000 km (5000 miles) but in mild weather on long trips I've seen the countdown adjust itself as much as 2000 km longer than the odometer reads.
FWIW I prefer to use an air-powered Mity Vac vacuum fluid pump to get out the old oil in all our cars, even though only the smart lacks a drain plug. You'll hear arguments pro and con, but at the end of the day it's easier, quicker and less messy (have you been inside the service bays at a German car dealership, where they drain oil almost exclusively with vac pumps? Cleaner than most hospitals!), and on at least two of my cars I get measurably more of the old oil out with the sucker than by draining.
Many (most?) newer cars have on-board oil minders that take many factors into consideration and display a countdown to the next recommended change, though some factors (that equate to "severe service") should necessitate that the change be done before that countdown reaches zero. In a normal dusty summer in hot, slow traffic doing my fairly short commute, I don't let the countdown get much past 2000 km (~1200 miles) to go. Its baseline is 8000 km (5000 miles) but in mild weather on long trips I've seen the countdown adjust itself as much as 2000 km longer than the odometer reads.
FWIW I prefer to use an air-powered Mity Vac vacuum fluid pump to get out the old oil in all our cars, even though only the smart lacks a drain plug. You'll hear arguments pro and con, but at the end of the day it's easier, quicker and less messy (have you been inside the service bays at a German car dealership, where they drain oil almost exclusively with vac pumps? Cleaner than most hospitals!), and on at least two of my cars I get measurably more of the old oil out with the sucker than by draining.
