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Thread: 5,000 Mile Oil Analysis

  1. #31
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    I've never done an oil analysis, just read lots of them from you fine folks who do them and post the results.

    But, I switched to synthetic oil in the late 90's and soon thereafter started doing annual oil changes. I typically drive 6-8k miles in a year, sometimes more. My wife usually drives less than that. And my beater truck less still. (I put dino oil in it) But, I just do my oil changes in July and call it good. No problems. Had my Saturn for 7 years, my wife's Saturn for 10 years, my first Miata for 6 years, my wife's MINI for 6 years, and her first Miata for 7 years. Annual oil changes on all of them. (or more often if warranty required it)

    And here's the kicker for me. Brand new 2006 MINI Cooper. BMW put their fancy oil monitoring computer system on it to tell you when to change the oil based on how the car is driven, not just mileage. (I think it actually counts engine revs, or the amount of fuel burned, or maybe some combination of the two) The first oil change came due on that car at almost 10k miles. And the second one was over 11k miles. They do require synthetic oil in these cars. But, that's when I decided... you know, if a 10k+ synthetic oil change interval is good enough for BMW engineers, it's good enough for me!

    That's when I lost any and all guilt I may have had about doing annual oil changes. I'm not driving much more than 10k miles in a year. And if I did, it would be easy highway miles. So, I just don't even worry about it.

    5000 or 7500 mile oil changes on the Mirage? Nah. Once you're out of warranty, use good synthetic oil and change it every year or 10k miles and be happy.

    (No sciences were harmed in the making of this post. Pure speculation and hear-say.)


    Simplify and add lightness.

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  3. #32
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Loren View Post
    ...BMW put their fancy oil monitoring computer system on it to tell you when to change the oil based on how the car is driven, not just mileage.
    ...The first oil change came due on that car at almost 10k miles.
    I had a GM car with a similar Oil Life Monitor. I was skeptical and ran a couple of oil analysis tests to check the oil when I was running intervals of 10K+ miles based on their monitoring algorithm. All of my tests confirmed that the Oil Life Monitor was pretty accurate!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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  5. #33
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Here's my first used oil analysis.



    For this I changed the oil and filter in the spring of 2017 and changed the oil only (kept the Mobil 1 M1-110A filter) in the fall. When I changed the oil again for spring of 2018 I submitted a sample of the drain to Blackstone for this analysis.

    This is one five-quart jug of Mobil 1 0W-20 full synthetic motor oil and a Mobil 1 filter. I used a little over three quarts of the five quart jug in the spring and used the remainder in the fall, to use up the five quart jug in it's entirety for a full year's run. Looks like things will work out fine skipping the filter change, and it made the oil change job clean & easy.
    Last edited by Eggman; 06-04-2018 at 01:46 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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  7. #34
    Thanks for the report, Eggman !

    It's interesting to read an "expert" say it's OK to do filter changes every other oil change. I've often wondered about this.

    I have a sad story about not changing (cleaning) an oil filter on a 4-stroke boat motor: the filter became gradually plugged over time and it blocked enough oil flow to cause the engine to overheat & seize one hot day. It freed up when it cooled down, but damage was done. Tiny, tiny filter though (less filter area = plugs up much faster), not remotely comparable to a car's oil filter.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  8. #35
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Here's my latest 5,000 mile oil analysis. I change my oil every 5,000 miles because that's when I have my car on a lift to rotate my tires.

    I usually run Mobil-1 "Extended Performance" (up to 15,000 miles) oil because it's only $2 more than normal Mobil-1. The last time I needed oil, I decided to try a jug of Mobil-1 "Annual Protection" (up to 20,000 miles) oil. It was on sale and I got a free Mobil-1 filter with it....so I figured I'd take one for the team and test it. Besides...Kevin Harvick wouldn't lie to us...right?

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    My latest numbers below (in the green box) are from the Annual Protection oil...and the red box is my previous analysis using Extended Performance oil.

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    Be sure to read the COMMENTS section...



    HERE is an interesting article (and video) talking about how Mobil-1 tests their oil.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 06-08-2018 at 02:35 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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  10. #36
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jibles View Post
    I hear you, but to play devils advocate here... The mirage was designed to run on 0w20, so these viscocity ratings aren't low, they are in spec for the car. When you have a car that requires 5w30 do you instantly put in a 5w40? There just isn't any reason to unless you're under some extreme circumstances.
    The Mirage is spec'd for 5w-30 in different markets. It's the same engine so it would appear it doesn't matter what oil viscosity you choose, you'll still be within Mitsu factory recommendations.


    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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