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Slippery Issue... Posted by Mike Lynch [Email]  (#81) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Mike Lynch) on Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:08:23
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Did I violate any copy laws? Do I care? From R&T on a very controversial subject:
"Slippery Issue
I recently purchased a 2006 Mini Cooper S and the recommended oil-change interval is 15,000 miles with synthetic oil. Being an old school kind of guy, I first changed the “break-in” oil at 1500 miles. I understand new technology may have improved lubricity and viscosity over conventional oils, but engine oil also picks up dirt and contaminants from the engine, which are then recirculated throughout the oiling system. I wrote to Mini USA with my concerns, and their reply was basically “not to worry.”
What is your take on this slippery issue?
Scott Gamlen
HOUSTON, TEXAS
To start a fight, you can do far worse than spark a discussion on extended oil-change intervals. We’ve been asked our opinion on this subject many times, and our only iron-clad conviction on the subject is: We don’t know. In fact, it’s doubtful if anyone truly knows this answer; there are likely too many variables and not enough long-term, real-world data points to draw doubtless conclusions.
That said, even though there are strong marketing reasons to keep oil changes short (sell more oil, get customers into the shop, etc.), oil-change interval recommendations have definitely gotten longer. Many customers have followed these longer change intervals and not suffered for it. That makes us think there is something to it.
Like you, we’re pretty old school on this subject, but we have to account for changes since the 3000-mile guideline was established decades ago. Engine manufacturing is cleaner than it was; we see less casting sand and broken bits of cast-iron slag in modern engines. Improved materials and tighter tolerances mean modern engines break in quickly and produce relatively little metal in the process. Reduced blow-by is certainly another hallmark of modern engines, and this avoids cooking the oil and loading it with gritty combustion byproducts. Engines are also better sealed than before so the outside world doesn’t have free access to our engine innards. Oil filtration can be better than ever if premium filters are used; the trick is knowing which filters are the good ones. Certainly the trucking industry has been paying attention to this technology and weighing it in its oil-change interval calculations. We also have spectroscopic oil analysis readily available today. It allows lab-level watch-dogging of our oil and engine health. And, of course, there are the improved oils, especially the synthetics, which don’t burn or varnish like the stuff granddad put in his ’55 Chevy with the road draft tube and oil bath air filter.
Again, to state unequivocally that synthetic oil can live 15,000 miles in your Mini’s sump is going to take decades of experience to prove beyond a shadow of a marketing-driven society’s doubt, but reasonable assumptions make us think it is more true than not. To quiet that doubting whisper, however, oil is still cheap, so change the synthetic at 10,000 miles if that feels better."
, Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:08:23 <-- Viewing This Message
, Thu, 2 Aug 2007 13:47:15, Fri, 3 Aug 2007 05:19:57
, Sat, 4 Aug 2007 19:34:47
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