Anybody going by the GM Oil Life System?

[Big Dad]

When I bought the vehicle I bought a contract that changes my oil (at the dealer) every 3000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first for the life of the vehicle. Good in Alaska and Washington so far. That was offered to all of you, right?

[ctluba]

I was curious as to when that system would call for an oil change. I didnt wait to see. I change my oil around every 3000 or 3500. Since this is the first new vehicle I ever bought I take care of it better than my poor kids!!

[Huck BB62]

I use the oil life monitor. It's been proven through oil analysis to be a conservative calculator of when to change your oil. New closed loop fuel injected engines do not contaminate the oil like the engines of the past. Oil forumulations are much improved. Group III base stocks (hydrocracked, highly refined) nearly mimic synthetic base stocks. Additive packages have been greatly improved. Lastly, synthetic oils are absolutely up to the task of completing their life cycle that the GM oil life monitor calculates. You can see a basic writeup of how the system calculates here: http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/_res/pdf/OLS1.pdf

A search of the internet will show you where the monitor's algorithm is conservative. If nothing else, for your peace of mind, run a good synthetic.

I'm not going to get preachy here, but anything I can do to keep from pouring money to people that hate us, I do. I don't buy chicom crap unless there's no alternative and I have to have it. My spending has gone way down since I started this. Another thing is that I drive a little slower most of the time. I've been amazed at the increased mileage of all my vehicles since I've started this. And I run Royal Purple in everything that rotates (there's other quality synthetics, pick your favorite) and Mobil 1 oil filters.

Seriously, with today's closer tolerances, better filtration, and seriously decreased contamination, it's overkill to do a 3k oil change unless you're racing or towing, but even then, they GM oil life monitor takes this into effect. Oil analysis has shown the system to be an accurate indicator, even conservatively, of your oil life. It will save you money. It protects your engine. Most importantly, it cuts back on how much oil we need. It's really hard to get off of the recreational oil change bandwagon, but it's the prudent thing to do.

If the oil monitoring system were a bad one, you'd be reading all over the internet of engine failures and GM would kill that program yesterday.

Help us save millions of gallons of oil folks, trust the technology. I'm saying this as a certified tribologist and have read plenty on it.

[wpage]

Originally Posted by Huck BB62

I use the oil life monitor. It's been proven through oil analysis to be a conservative calculator of when to change your oil. New closed loop fuel injected engines do not contaminate the oil like the engines of the past. Oil forumulations are much improved. Group III base stocks (hydrocracked, highly refined) nearly mimic synthetic base stocks. Additive packages have been greatly improved. Lastly, synthetic oils are absolutely up to the task of completing their life cycle that the GM oil life monitor calculates. You can see a basic writeup of how the system calculates here: http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/_res/pdf/OLS1.pdf

A search of the internet will show you where the monitor's algorithm is conservative. If nothing else, for your peace of mind, run a good synthetic.

I'm not going to get preachy here, but anything I can do to keep from pouring money to people that hate us, I do. I don't buy chicom crap unless there's no alternative and I have to have it. My spending has gone way down since I started this. Another thing is that I drive a little slower most of the time. I've been amazed at the increased mileage of all my vehicles since I've started this. And I run Royal Purple in everything that rotates (there's other quality synthetics, pick your favorite) and Mobil 1 oil filters.

Seriously, with today's closer tolerances, better filtration, and seriously decreased contamination, it's overkill to do a 3k oil change unless you're racing or towing, but even then, they GM oil life monitor takes this into effect. Oil analysis has shown the system to be an accurate indicator, even conservatively, of your oil life. It will save you money. It protects your engine. Most importantly, it cuts back on how much oil we need. It's really hard to get off of the recreational oil change bandwagon, but it's the prudent thing to do.

If the oil monitoring system were a bad one, you'd be reading all over the internet of engine failures and GM would kill that program yesterday.

Help us save millions of gallons of oil folks, trust the technology. I'm saying this as a certified tribologist and have read plenty on it.

Huck,
I respect what you are saying here. What does this average out to using RP Syn and the GM monitor in miles B4 changes are needed 6K, 10K?
Some seem to think the GM monitoring system is nothing more than a mileage alarm...

[ctluba]

Gee Huck, I never looked at it from that perspective. You seem to know your sh-t. I will read up on it to educate myself and then go from there. Thanx.

[pdsq99f4]

If you've ever seen under the valve cover of an H3 that goes by the oil life monitor and one that is changed every 3K miles, you would change it every 3,000 miles.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

[quote=Big Dad]When I bought the vehicle I bought a contract that changes my oil (at the dealer) every 3000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first for the life of the vehicle. Good in Alaska and Washington so far. That was offered to all of you, right?[/quote]

NO !!!

[Viet Nam Vette]

I'm Old School... I dump that balck Chit at 3000 miles. I use Mob-el One.
The only oil life monitor that would work for me would be a real ...real small midget inside the crankcase with a Chemistry Set to test the Oil and call my cell and give me the report.

Other wise..It's Old School..

[Big Dad]

[quote=RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by Big Dad

When I bought the vehicle I bought a contract that changes my oil (at the dealer) every 3000 miles or 3 months whichever comes first for the life of the vehicle. Good in Alaska and Washington so far. That was offered to all of you, right?[/quote]

NO !!!

The contract was 300 bucks...as long as I owned the vehicle. I'd have probably been better off investing the money in something with a decent rate of return and used the profit for my oil changes. But more than likely I'd have blown through it in a couple of months by using it for my lunch-time cocktail bill.