Oil age vs mileage

[fordtruckman2003]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/motor-oil-age-doesnt-matter-as-much-as-mileage-study

Apparently mileage wears oil more than age.

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[HammaMan]

I've got less than 2k miles on my oil and it says its got 7% life left per the truck. I'll be resetting the meter here shortly. The last 2k miles were 95% highway / not towing.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

I've always been of the thought miles matter more than age. Never really got into sitting oil being bad because it has whatever in it. It is suspended in oil and the additives do the job holding it. Just my thought on it. I suppose as long as oil is properly recycled it really doesn't harm anything doing unnecessary changes other than the wallet of the owner.

 

[WhiteLightningnshitshadow]

Didn't read the article. The drive is only good for TWZ.

If it's conventional, age is more of a factor than with synthetic.

 

[Calson]

With motor oil it is contaminants and the by-products of heat that affect a multi-viscosity motor oil. All multi-viscosity motor oils are subject to sheer by their very nature and this in part is why they all needed to be reformulated for the 2017 and later engines that use a much lower viscosity oil to improve fuel economy.

Mileage is a crude indicator when one considers that 10,000 miles driven in city traffic and lots of short trips of less than 20 minutes duration is quite different than 10,000 miles from driving primarily on the freeway at twice the average speed or putting 10,000 miles on an engine that is used in a tow vehicle situation.

 

[SALEEN961]

The big issue you run into with modern GDI engines is fuel dilution causing a substantial decrease in viscosity and flash point. I see plenty of vehicles that come in with significant fuel dilution after 6 months and it's typically vehicles that are frequently driven, but aren't driven very far in cold weather.

I also see certain vehicles come in after 6 months that are 2-4 quarts lows on oil. When a customer has proven that they are unwilling to check their own oil, I just start shortening the time and mileage on their lube sticker and in-vehicle service reminder if possible. I would rather have you "waste money" on an early oil change instead of wasting money on a completely preventable engine failure. Regardless of how often you change your oil, the level and condition need to be checked often.

I run Royal Purple full synthetic oil in my 3.5EB and I change it every 6 months which winds up being roughly 3,000 miles. I know most people will say that this is wasteful and excessive, but the 3.5EB isn't exactly known for being the most reliable engine. The risk/reward profile for trying to go 12 months on an oil change just isn't worth it for me. I always recommend checking over your vehicle thoroughly at least every 6 months so you can catch problems early on before a minor issues causes a breakdown.

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