You guys who are paying $70 or $80 for an oil change are really getting ripped! You must have a lot more money than I have. Sure, many places want that much -- the BMW dealer here in Nashville wanted $85 to change the oil in our 528i. I thought they were kidding at first so I laughed at them, then when I saw they were serious I got PO'd and told them exactly ( and loudly ) what I thought of them. I have since found several shops, including one which specializes in BMWs, that will change oil for a $10 or $12 labor charge. I buy the oil at Walmart and bring it with me when I get the oil changed.

As for my Corvette, the best place I have found for an oil change is Walmart. They do not have to raise the car, and I can stand right by it and watch them! And it costs about half what you guys are paying!! ( I would love to be able to change it myself, but I have muscular dystrophy so I can't physically do it. ) :cheers:


[Modified by 1g1yy, 3:38 AM 9/7/2003]

 

Like I said, oil analysis proves that the 0w30 doesn't show lower wear than the 5w30 or 10w30 Amsoil, so you believe what you've been told, and I'll go by the facts as I see them.

Yes the 0w30 will flow better in cold, but it has to be extremely cold for it to show an advantage over the 5w30. Look at the viscosity at 40c of Amsoil 0w30 vs Amsoil 5w30 and they are very close.

BTW, I'm one of the admins on BOBISTHEOILGUY.com so I just so happen to see a lot of oil analysis reports. And I read a lot of posts by Amsoil dealers themselves who readily admit that they recommend the 5w30 and 10w30 to most of their customers over the 0w30, simply because the 0w30 costs more and doesn't give you lower wear.

FWIW, I'm running a 0w30 oil right now myself, but it's not Amsoil, it's german made Castrol Formula SLX.

 

patman, yes it was mobil 1, but i just put schaeffer's in both vettes
we will see how it does next

 

Have we found something that folks are a little sensitive about here?? I, too, change my synthetic @3,000 miles and KNOW that it's overkill, but it's my motor and my oil. I run a fleet of cars, trucks and buses and have done extensive lubrication analysis over my 30+ years in vehicle maintenance. I KNOW that synthetic oil lasts much longer that 3-5,000 miles. What nobody has mentioned here is dirt and additives. Even though oil analysis shows that the oil hasn't lost it's lubricity, it doesn't show where the additives are in the mix. Additives help keep the foreign materials, moisture(water), and carbon (and other bad stuff) suspended and away from your bearings, rings and cylinder walls. Oil analysis doesn't tell you the status of your additive package, or completely how dirty the oil is (in some cases). It's informative and works to a point. Nothing worse than opening that oil analysis envelope you get in the mail and finding out you should've dropped that oil the week before! Before you guys jump on me I also KNOW they're supposed to let you know by phone or email when there is a problem. Does it always happen? Nope!
I enjoy the oil change task and crawling around under the car every now and then. Keeps my own eye on everything and that's a good thing, for me!
Joe :chevy

 

Oil analyses help to some degree, but until you open up the motor and have a look see, you will never get a full idea of how the oil is doing along with everything else in there. Furthermore, a compression test will offfer you a better picture of how the oil is protecting.

And great write by Wagonmaster.


[Modified by Sabby, 2:28 PM 9/7/2003]

 

Joe, with all due respect, you are totally wrong! One of the benefits of oil analysis is that instead of guessing on the condition of your oil, it tells you EXACTLY what it's condition is. When you get a TBN reading with your oil reports, that right there shows you the acid neutralizing ability left in the oil, so if the number is still high, it shows you that the oil's additive package is indeed very active and doing it's job. This is where synthetics shine, they retain their TBN longer than conventional oil.

A good oil analysis lab will show you all the info you need to determine any contamination in your oil, and how the oil's overall condition is. For example, you can see % of fuel in the oil, water, glycol, silicon (dirt), and it'll also tell you how oxidized the oil is too. Blackstone also has a reading on insolubles, which will help you determine the contamination level in the oil too.

I find it kind of odd that you claim to have 30+ years doing lubrication analysis, but yet did not know those facts, since I've only been doing oil analysis on my cars for one single year and I knew all that. The guy who interprets my results has 24+ years experience, and he can pinpoint mechanical problems before they become severe, just by interpreting the results from the oil analysis. This guy can also pinpoint just exactly when you should be changing your oil, and he would never recommend to his clients to change synthetic every 3k unless it was absolutely necessary. In all of my reports so far he's told me I was safe to go further.

My point is, don't just continue to use the 3k interval because you think it's the only way to prolong the life of your engine, because it's simply not true. You aren't doubling your engine life doing 3k changes compared to someone doing 6k changes. In fact the guy doing 6k changes will get just as long engine life, but spend half as much money and half as much time under the car. I know one guy who goes 15k on Mobil 1 in all his vehicles, including his 2001 Z06. He's gotten over 250k on two different vehicles (Toyota Landcruisers) using this method, and I guarantee he'll see long life out of his Z06 too.

 

You can't pinpoint mechanical problems with oil anaylses Patman.

If you think changing oil is useless at 3k vs 6k, you might as well go tell the Computech Corvette team to stop rebuilding thier motors after each race. Oil is the lifeblood of any motor, changing it more frequently will keep it at its optimum, but when you look at it as a monetary issue, it looses some of its whim.

Your comments are unneccesary on this board, especially for someone who does not have a Corvette. Please do not contribute any more to this unless you have factual info. I would suggest you take a basic engine managment course because you don't make any sence.

 

I don't have a Corvette so my comments aren't welcome? That is so lame! I'm sure you're in the minority of people who feel that way on this board, you give Corvette owners a bad name with your pathetic "holier than thou attitude!"

You are so entirely wrong about oil analysis not allowing you to pinpoint future mechanical problems. The guy who interprets my reports would laugh if you said that to him, as he's helped many customers of his find very minor coolant leaks which could've turned into major problems if left unchecked. Plus if one of the wear metals shows an unprecidented spike, he could find a bearing problem, or something wrong in the valvetrain, you name it. So it seems to me that you need to do some more research here before you tell me I'm wrong.

As far as race teams rebuilding their motor after a race, that's a whole different ballgame! Obviously when you push an engine to it's limits, you want to tear it down and check it if you're serious about racing and also if your budget is unlimited. For smaller amateur racers, they can't afford to do this, and that's why they do oil analysis in order to keep an eye on things more closely.

So maybe you should be the one to try and contribute some facts into this thread, I've yet to see you post one yet!

 

This conversation is between me and you at this point, it has actually turned into a whole new discussion form its original intent and that is not fair to the forum members.

I will not contniue to waste my time and yours over this. You have your beleifs in things and I have mine, you treat your vehicles the way you want and I treat mine the way I want. I am sure they get better care then need be, so who cares.

:flag


[Modified by Sabby, 2:34 AM 9/8/2003]