Pre oil change.

[theory816]

Hey Dave, I was thinking about draining the old oil and then filling it with a cheap oil. Drive it around for a couple of minutes for it to circulate. Then drain and refill with Mobil 1.

What do you think about doing this? I feel like it would do a good job of really removing contaminated oil. Is it overkill and unnecessary?

• This topic was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by theory816.

[admin]

I would only do this if the old-oil was really old and way overdue for changing. You would also want to change the oil filter each time; and leave the new cheap oil in for at least 500-1000 miles to give the detergents in the new oil some time to do the job of cleaning. Another thing to look for is evidence of sludge (remove the oil fill cap and look in). Other wise, you are better off just doing a single oil change with Mobil1, because there you can’t get all of the old oil out of the engine when you change the oil and filter and therefore you will be diluting your good Mobil-1 with about 1/2 quart of cheap oil. Probably the best approach would be to just do a oil change with Mobil 1 and only leave it in for 5000 miles. Why do you think the inside of your engine needs extra cleaning?

[theory816]

I don’t think my oil needs extra cleaning. It’s because whenever I change my oil at home, I use a jack and so the oil drains at an angle. I feel like some old oil might still get trapped. Having the car run really clean oil just gives me a peace of mind. lol.

I also watched some videos on how small debris can cause micro damage to parts over time. And so that made me kinda cautious to taking more precautions.

What brand of oil do you use btw?

[admin]

I usually use Pennzoil full synthetic, but really any major brand of full synthetic is fine. the possibility that you have extra undrained oil in your oil pan is not a good reason to do an extra oil ad filter change with cheap oil. You will never have to be concerned with the quality of oil in you engine if you just stick to a reasonable oil and filter change interval with a top quality oil. You should stop doing the extra flushing oil changes. Remember that most folks in Europe only change their oil and filter every 10k miles, and they rarely have any any wear issues. I recommend Pure-1, Bosch, and Fram filters because they publish their filter efficiency test results and they all have better than 95% efficiency at trapping 20 micron particles.

[theory816]

Oh I haven’t done the extra flush yet. I was just asking you what you thought of it.

I remember that you said to change oil often if you do short trips because of water building up in the oil. Would it just be safer than to do 5000 instead of the 10k interval then because of this?

Also a bit off topic, you said that you own a Mazda 3 and Hyundai Ioniq. Why did you pick those cars?

[admin]

If you do a lot of short trips, yes a 5000 mile oil change interval is a good idea. this would be considered “severe” service. Check you owner’s manual for their recommendation of oil change interval for severe service. If you do a lot of short trips and follow this by a long trip, the long trip will get the oil hot enough for enough time to drive off most of the water (as long as your PCV system is in good shape.

I chose the Mazda 3 because it is a fun-to-drive car (great suspension and handling, 6-speed manual, responsive engine) with great fuel mileage. I chose the Ioniq for similar reasons, though it is a larger car with an extremely efficient Hybrid system (50-60 mpg in real-world driving) and a fantastic warranty.

Dave

[Author]

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