Slick Talk - Episode 130: When to Change?

[@ttocselbag5054]

Thank you guys. Between Blackstone Joe, and Lake Speed, “The motor Oil Geek,” I really get my nerdy tribilogy needs met. Much appreciation from this here North Carolina farm boy! 🙏👊💪

[@lgoamity]

Thanks for the details. My GM Ecotec 2.4L initially had very high Oil Dilution (5.5%) which meant that particular Interval/sample (3000 miles, 8 months, 56% OLM) showed that I (thankfully) didn't rely on the Factory Interval/OLM... I don't what to know what things would have been like had I gone the default OLM Interval of 12 months / 7500 miles OR "trusted" the various Oil company's claims of like 10,000 mile "Protection" (some even with wording about Warranty/Guarantee using their product). Thankfully down to 1.3% and Analysis is suggesting 5K at the moment... Other users typically are going 3-5K/6 months/OLM 50%... Given my "risk" (from "Short Tripping") that might/did get me in trouble should the Driving Habits slip or various other "fixes" I tried fail... So will have to be careful and watch for signs I need to change early...

[@franksaxton3583]

In my world, skimping on lubrication is folly. I have always used the best possible lubricants and done my own drains more frequently than recommended. For decades I visually inspected the condition of the drained fluids to get an idea how the engine/tranny/whatever was doing. Clearly not scientific analysis at all. But then, Blackstone wasn't available to me in the 1960's. It costs around $100 to change the engine oil in my Challenger and half that to do my Harleys. A $100 investment once a year to maintain my vehicle is a tiny fraction of what I pay for insurance on that vehicle. I've never had a chargeable accident or so much as a parking ticket either. So the tens of thousands of dollars I've paid State Farm got me NOTHING except for the dubious benefit of complying with government tyranny. $50 for a rack of synthetic and a good filter once a year helps get me a motor that's given me reliable service for decades. This is confirmed every time I send in a sample to Blackstone. So thanks Joe and your team!