Seeking recommendations for oil (and filter if relevant) for frequent (1k) change intervals.

So cheap and stable is basically what I'm after, emphasis on cheap.

Reason for 1k intervals - oil analysis.

Reason for oil analysis - I like numbers. I like diagnostics. Simple as that.

More info:
1. City driver, no track, daily driver.
2. I try to keep trip length as long as possible, but short trips are inevitable.
3. Weather - midwest.
4. Time interval - 1 to 2 months.
5. Current oil - mobil1 0w40, for no particular reason.
6. Past oil - always mobil1 synthetic, whatever viscosity the owner manual said, I'd have to look it up.

Feel free to ask for further clarification. Thanks.

 

this is a joke...right? please say you are kidding

 

Oh, yes, further clarification please.

In the meantime, my advice would be to just use whatever oil you have been using. Why not continue to use this oil? I see no reason to probably compromise the engine's lubrication for the sake of some oil analysis numbers.

Speaking of numbers, price a replacement engine (sans a suitable core). The numbers will scare you into I hope using the right oil in your effort to gather some other numbers.

Be sure when you collect a sample of oil you let the oil drain a bit. You do not want to catch the first bit that comes out of the oil drain hole neither do you want to the last dregs that come out either.

Some shops that collect oil for analysis use the oil filter housing oil but this is risky. My experience is this oil can be quite full of stuff and the analysis results can have some metal PPM readings off the charts. 'course, these shops -- big rig shops -- use the high numbers to justify an oil/filter service. (Oh, the oil/filter service: 10+ gallons of oil and a huge filter, then labor on top of that. Oil service can run to nearly $500 in some cases.)

 

@ extanker - LOL take a look thru my post history, I'm not one to kid.

 

I don't think the filter is relevant. Stick to the paper cartridge, since it sounds like you're going to throw a lot of them away.

I buy TOTAL Quartz Energy 9000 5W40, Full Synthetic in 5-quart jugs for $39 (about 8 bucks a quart) - it's the oil my indy recommends.

Is the data you're going to collect - since the intervals are so short - worth the cost of collecting it? I'm not arguing or trying to talk you out of it - just curious. I thought the point of UOA was to determine a baseline and then notice any (a) trends, or (b) sudden changes. A boatload of 1K oil changes with no historical data seems...like random data points.

 

i would rather not...i have read enufgood luck dude

 

Yes, good point, I have no problem with the Mobil1 0w40, and at $22/5qtjug it's the cheapest.

You're right.
Ok so there's no baseline. That's okay with me.
I still want some numbers, so of course I'm going ahead.
Why do I want numbers? Because my car is in the high risk category- low miles, etc. I sleep better when I have numbers, not just here, but in my job (software dev.).

Back to cost:
1. Filters - dealer is $30+ per filter. Mahle is $11, but no free shipping. I'd like to get something tomorrow, and I'd like it to be $11. Any acceptable filters avail. at chain stores?

 

Phil, this is a meaningless waste of money and oil.

You conduct the oil analysis on the well used oils to determine how the engine is doing and see how well oil stands up to the mileage.

Normally driven car will show no oil wear on even the non-synthetic oil after 1,000 miles. Your tests will be worthless as oil will be changed too frequently and it will not show any wear or metal deposits. All of your data will be meaningless, as you will be essentially sending the samples of brand new oil to the lab.

 

Mahle filters for $9.75 on Amazon - free 2-day shipping if you have Prime.

By high-risk cars, do you mean the ones that (per anecdotal evidence) suffer sudden, catastrophic failures? If so, isn't using thousand-mile-interval data points to try to predict an essentially unpredictable catastrophic failure sort of like using a rectal thermometer to predict whether you're going to get struck by lightning?

Even if you notice something you believe to be symptomatic of a pending failure, the options are what? Continue driving it to see if it actually fails, or pay someone to take it apart and determine whether the blip in some metal content was just a bad additive pack vs. a spun bearing?

If you've put together a spreadsheet or other data collection methodology, maybe it would help me wrap my head around what you're up to. Of course, my understanding may not matter to you, and I may just be incapable of understanding it anyway. *shrug*.

Good luck with the project. If nothing else, you're going to develop some mad oil change skills and get to know with the staff at the nearest shop that has an oil collection tank...

(you are also going to rob Krazy K of the Oil Change King title...this may not sit well with him.)

 

Good point. I know nothing about oil analysis (yet).

 

Bingo. Looks like Prime is finally going to get me as a paying customer.

 

Why not just change the filter at 1k and use oil from that for analysis - top up with cheap m1 from wallymart . Hengst filters from pelican are what I use. I'd be interested to see the uoa trends you post here - and bet you could go way beyond 5k before the oil shows any issues

 

Thanks for the new idea, that makes sense. Yes I'll post my uoa trends.

 

A similar type question was ask of the North America Mobil Rep at Porscheplatz during the races at Road America this month. His response was use the cheapest oil you can buy. Does not even need to be synthetic. At 1,000 mile intervals, it doesn't matter.

Good luck with your M96 experiment. God speed.

 

I think KK would be proud of this. If you're seriously thinking of doing this and the fact that you're in the Midwest, you should look into waste oil heaters.