Quote:
Originally Posted by tpunx99GSX
Where the F did this 3000 mile mark come from? i remember seeing multiple places that the oil doesnt reach its full potential until around 4000 miles. then it starts to drop. Hence why most car manufactureres now recommend 5000 mile changes.
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This.... This is one of those retarded notions I deal with daily. It goes along with "An airfilter doesnt even start to work till it's 80% clogged"
How can something that starts to shear and break down the moment the engine starts after the oil change come into its "full potential" after 3000 miles?
Thats like saying your food isnt awesome until you have chewed it for 5 mins, spit it back out then ate it again.
Or, your engines compression is at its max until 100,000 miles, after it has had a chance to build up sludge and other shit in it for awhile.
And then to answer the question instead of belittling tom....
I do BELIEVE it came from the fact that when non-detergent oils break down there is nothing to clean up the sludge, so to keep sludge to a minimum it was recommended to get it out at 3k miles before it reaches the break down point where large amounts of sludge develop. Remember, this was on technology that is decades old and where conventional was king and the only synthetics being used were in airplane engines. This was also when people use to tune their car by ear and backed off 5* after getting a pinging noise. Time to get into the 21st century with this and just give in to the fact that more demanding engines with higher compressions and tighter tolerances need thinner and easier flowing oils that are sludge free. Hence synthetics and changing the oil every 5k or less.
VAG and BMW specs for 10-15k are because Europe is requiring their cars to run longer on the oil so as to reduce pollution overall from used oil. They counteract this with "premium filters" that have a higher capacity for debris, as well as synthetic mediums.
/trying to be smart