Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkxingu
Is the interval the only thing you would've changed with the testing results? I mean, how many vehicles/machines fail because of oil quality? Other than running dry or overfilling, I'm not sure I've ever even heard of it happening.
I've only been driving and using machines for 27 years, but I'd be surprised if outside of racing/incredibly high tolerance engines, oil doesn't matter much beyond proper amount, viscosity, cleanliness, and interval.
I suppose if one is attempting to see how long an oil would last between changes, testing might be useful, but, for me, there are so many variables I'd have to build in a sizeable margin of error anyway.
For example, I go 10k on full synthetic in my 4Runner, but if I'm towing or doing a lot of backcountry runs in summer, I'll go 5K.
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Pretty much yes. I would start out around 7500 miles and see what blackstone would say as far as how much life left is in the oil I sent. Then if they said I could go say 3000 miles more I might add only 1000 miles instead (e.g. 8500 miles) on the next round and test again. I wanted plenty of margin. Like at least 1000 miles less than they said I could go. Because I might not always change it on the dot. I didn’t want to pick a number out of thin air like some folks do. The oil I was using on the last car was VERY expensive. So in the end it saved me money and time, and time is money. And I’d never let anyone change my oil even when it was free. Seen to many screw ups. And it took less of my time to do it myself.
An important measurement is TBN explained here. There are many other parameters to indicate the oil is still functioning. They will give you all the numbers (and typical range for your motor and age) and then a written recommendation. Sort of like what you get from a blood test. It’s not black and white.
https://www.blackstone-labs.com/do-i-need-a-tbn
And no, the most common reason for testing oil is NOT litigation. It’s probably the least common.