Long life oils are they worth it

[thexav]

Is it worth getting a long life oil and leaving it in the car for 2 years or should I just get a good quality oil and change it every 12 months.

I only do 8-9000 miles per year but if the long life oil does what it says on the tin i'd make a saving over 2 years.

 

[HDi fun]

What car are we discussing and what type of journeys do you undertake?

 

[thexav]

2002 Renault Clio 172 2.0 16v mostly short runs I suppose of under 4 miles with a weekly long run of about 100 miles in 2 50 mile round trips.

Does that make a difference?

 

[HDi fun]

I think I go for the annual change in that case. No matter how long an engine oil can stay in grade there's nothing the oil makers can do to make it absorb acidic combustion byproducts and keep them away from engine surfaces.

Check with Oilman; I suspect he'll say something much the same.

 

[pgarner]

maybe a little less than a year with the short journeys

 

[HDi fun]

Yes, possibly so. Although if the weekly 50+50 mile run is done at higher speeds (ie. not 50 miles each way all below 40mph) this should help offset the problem a little.

Something worth considering is getting an oil sample analysed and seeing what contaminants are there. You really should only need to do this once if your usage pattern doesen't change and the car does not exhibit different behaviour all of a sudden. That way you can more accurately gauge what you should be doing regarding servicing.

In my opinion the long life oils and 30,000 mile+ change intervals in some cases are a bit of a marketing ploy for fleet buyers. The know the cars will be off their hands before 4 years and 90,000 miles and ithat it's unlikely in that time that faults will develop.

What this approach does for the real long term reliability is questionable. If you buy and run your own cars it's not a bad idea to be a little over-zealous with servicing - it will almost certainly save you money in the long run, especially if you keep your cars a long time.

 

[pgarner]

if you look at some of the long life stuff 20k + some still recommend yearly changes.
the fleet market can get away with it sitting at 80 for 30k a year isnt exactly putting much strain.

 

[HDi fun]

Exactly - short journeys are the arch-enemy of any engine. Cars that do only long distance, high speed runs have been known to hit enormous mileages without any appreciable engine deterioration.

By enormous I mean in excess of 300,000 miles, with no engine work and still driving perfectly. Sadly everything else wears out and this often spells the end before the 'end'.

 

[oilman]

Personally, I prefer the annual changes (and that's not just because people buy more oil that way) as a lot of people with cars over three years old aren't exactly impressed with the state of the engine on longlife services

 

[HDi fun]

Personally, I prefer the annual changes (and that's not just because people buy more oil that way) as a lot of people with cars over three years old aren't exactly impressed with the state of the engine on longlife services

I agree - it's fine for the first 3-4 years 60,000-80,000 miles where the accumulated level of 'crud' and accelerated wear is of no consequence. I've driven some 60,000 milers that are truly in chronically bad engine condition yet driven 200,000 milers that have been properly maintained and they drive disturbingly similarly to a new car.

 

[oilman]

True, also longlife oils are ok if you are doing huge mileage quickly. So 20,000 miles can rack up quite quick, lots of motorway use... oils like this. However if it is on longlive and it takes 18 months to do the same mileage and its lots of short, cold journeys... oils dont like this and suffer for it.

Cheers

Guy

 

[HDi fun]

True, also longlife oils are ok if you are doing huge mileage quickly. So 20,000 miles can rack up quite quick, lots of motorway use... oils like this. However if it is on longlive and it takes 18 months to do the same mileage and its lots of short, cold journeys... oils dont like this and suffer for it.

Cheers

Guy

If the driving conditions are ideal (ie. long journeys at motorway speeds) then a normal oil (obviously still with an oil that meets or exceeds the API, SAE and ACEA standards) will be equally as good as a car filled with long life oil. Car makers are playing this game as well. There's not a lot of margin in a new car for any dealer.

If, and when, I'm in the market for a second user car I'd rather take an honest 150,000 mile car (at the right price) that has been driven and serviced hard in preference over a 15,000 mile car that has done six million journeys, all of which are lass than 1/2 a mile each and hasn't even reached it's first service on mileage.

 

[jasio1978]

an anual change would be fine with that mil. just go for a good qual recomended liquer and new filter and you should keep that lump sweet. price wise its not gonna up the price by miles...you get what u pay for in the maintanence world remember. good luck. enjoy ya ride

 

[HDi fun]

an anual change would be fine with that mil. just go for a good qual recomended liquer and new filter and you should keep that lump sweet. price wise its not gonna up the price by miles...you get what u pay for in the maintanence world remember. good luck. enjoy ya ride

It's all good. Your car (300C) will be Euro IV/V compliant. It will have a DPF. As such, you need to use oils with a low sulphated ash content. These will all be fully synthetic formulations. But not all fully synthetic oils will meet that standard,

Oilman (Opie Oils) will give you the definitive answers.

 

[clio197MJB]

im somewhat of a sceptic when it comes to longlife oils.......probably fear of the unknown........but i sleep sounder in my bed knowing that i have my oil changed 12 monthly, because you know its been done and you know for sure that it will still be in grade. just my opinion.

 

[jasio1978]

REF HDI FUN

cheers for that one. the 300c has got full dealer sh, last one being 1500 miles ago in march. when i get my bum in gear and sorted the re map, would this change the servicing schedule, ie a little more often, or will i be able to carry on as normal. ill be clocking no more than 6k a year, and wont be driving it to hard all the time. its a big car for the little roads around here. i ll be keeping my little work horse (focus 1.8 tddi, 175k+) to go shopping in. but will be running to and from london/kent a few times a year in the300

cheers all

 

[HDi fun]

im somewhat of a sceptic when it comes to longlife oils.......probably fear of the unknown........but i sleep sounder in my bed knowing that i have my oil changed 12 monthly, because you know its been done and you know for sure that it will still be in grade. just my opinion.

On a practical level that's a good approach. I bet you still wouldn't get it filled with Tesco Value engine oil though!

A lot of the reason for the 30,000 mile intervals some cars boast is to attract fleet buyers. The makers know that in 3 years and 90,000 miles' time the car will be out of warranty. They've absolved of their responsiblity and the 2nd hand buyer adopts the problems.

I think every 12 months or 12,000 miles is enough unless you want to have oil samples taken to a lab for analysis. Whereupon you might just find that the long services oils do actually work.

 

[pgarner]

once you have it mappped you need to remember the engine will be working harder, so in turn the oil is being worked harder as well. more so with the turbo being oil cooled
6k would be ideal for an oil change