Manufacturer's strategy of recommended oil change intervals.
09-17-2024, 01:15 PM
#11
Agreed on oil analysis 100%
Funny thing related to this discussion, that any GRC owner is familiar with....all mainstream Toyotas have 10,000 mile oil change intervals. Well, NOT the GR Corolla, and it very clearly states this in the owners manual. Yet, if you look on the GRC Facebook groups you'll see countless incidences of dealerships arguing that, no the GRC interval is 10,000 miles. (I myself has experienced this as well, multiple times...at same dealership!). It's pretty crazy that, all staff at the dealership will fawn over the GRC (they do, I love it) but then in the next breath insist its the same as every other Toyota and doesn't need 5,000 mile intervals. (FYI for anyone unaware, the GRC [and maybe all Toyotas?] comes with 25,000 miles of included maintenance. So the dealerships aren't even paying for this work.)
Now does the GR Corolla need to have the oil changed every 5,000 miles? Probably not. In fact the one time I submitted an oil sample to Blackstone after 5,000 miles they said it had plenty of life still in it. And that 5,000 miles included 70 laps around Virginia International Raceway and an 800+ mile weekend ripping around the mountains of NC & TN.
Funny thing related to this discussion, that any GRC owner is familiar with....all mainstream Toyotas have 10,000 mile oil change intervals. Well, NOT the GR Corolla, and it very clearly states this in the owners manual. Yet, if you look on the GRC Facebook groups you'll see countless incidences of dealerships arguing that, no the GRC interval is 10,000 miles. (I myself has experienced this as well, multiple times...at same dealership!). It's pretty crazy that, all staff at the dealership will fawn over the GRC (they do, I love it) but then in the next breath insist its the same as every other Toyota and doesn't need 5,000 mile intervals. (FYI for anyone unaware, the GRC [and maybe all Toyotas?] comes with 25,000 miles of included maintenance. So the dealerships aren't even paying for this work.)
Now does the GR Corolla need to have the oil changed every 5,000 miles? Probably not. In fact the one time I submitted an oil sample to Blackstone after 5,000 miles they said it had plenty of life still in it. And that 5,000 miles included 70 laps around Virginia International Raceway and an 800+ mile weekend ripping around the mountains of NC & TN.
Back on topic, before I brought my car in for service, the oil level was still perfect and the oil was marginally dirty. I do mine at 5k, twice a year, on all my cars. I also subscribe to the theory that it's total overkill and waste of money/resources, but it's sorta like why I wash my car regularly, it's just an excuse for me to slow down and take a look at things, and it makes me feel good the car seems to drive better afterwards so time/money well spent from that regard. I don't consider myself a very fastidious person when it comes to car care, I just do enough and pay attention. With my sportier cars, like my GRC, I don't see why I should stop. Given the G16's thermal capacity, high compression, high boost, small block, etc etc, it's the least I could do for it. If you could afford the car, you should be able to be overly diligent with the service. It's one large reason why I sold the GT350, 10 quarts of 5w50 and it will absolutely burn oil and needing a torque wrench for the oil filter? Not to mention doing it yourself on modern Ford V8s isn't exactly fund since they insist on putting the oil filter inside a small access window over crossmembers to ensure you either make a mess or scrape up your arms. One more thumbs up to the LS motors, oil filter, right at the bottom, facing down, right next to the drain plug. I don't understand why OEMs make some of these filters so impossible to reach (looking at you K series).
Regarding oil, I subscribe to the theory that the lubricating properties don't really break down, at least not in 5k, 10k, and beyond miles, but the detergents/additives do, oil gets contaminated, and of course the viscosity does change depending on heat cycles and life, and modern engines in some ways are less forgiving (but are more so in other ways). And of course there's the oil filter.
The following 3 users liked this post by TheDonEffect:
Yesterday, 07:06 AM
#12
Well, I am sure it is hilarious, but the argument was that a plugged filter was subject to fatigue cracking, especially in lower quality filters. It also restricts flow, which causes oil starvation. You can run a cheap clogged filter and test it out for us. 
The following users liked this post:
windhund116 (Yesterday)
Yesterday, 04:27 PM
#14
Oil is so good these days and almost all of the thin oils are automatically synthetic. 10,000 miles isn't too long anymore, 6000-8000 miles is perfect.
I've been running a plug in hybrid in past months, so if I drive 10,000 miles only 4000 of those miles would be on ICE, the rest is electric motor, I keep that in mind when deciding when to change my oil.
I've been running a plug in hybrid in past months, so if I drive 10,000 miles only 4000 of those miles would be on ICE, the rest is electric motor, I keep that in mind when deciding when to change my oil.
Today, 07:01 AM
#15
"A dirty filter just lets the dirt passed? Lulz."
I thought that comment was being snarky at what I posted: "He said something to the effect that all oil filters were not equal, and when they get plugged oil will not circulate as easily through the engine, or small failures can occur in the material that just lets grit keep circulating through the engine and causing wear."
Whatever. I am not upset. I thought I posting something that might be helpful and it was being ridiculed so I was like, ok you try it out. It's not a big deal.
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