^ That's exactly what I was trying to say, f-minus.

My latest understanding of the oil minder is that it's not a sensor that measures impurity or anything. Instead it's a driving condition meter (revs, etc). If that's the case, than the oil minder won't take into account the difference betwween synth and dino.

From what I've read from some of the (real) experts around here, that 2 - 5 times estimate is wrong. Modern dino oils have come a long way.

So, that said, my advice to you as a moderator here and representative of s2ki.com is to just follow the minder. That's what it's there for. Personally, I also would use synthetic, but I do not think you should leave it in any longer than dino (for the reasons svatne just described)

 

So long as your car is under warranty, do you really want to go with some other data base? What happens if you have an engine melt-down that was not of your doing? You go into your dealer for a warranty repair and the guy asks you, "How long has your oil minder been on 0%? How long was it since your last oil change?" And you tell him, "Oh, I use synthetic and this report says I can leave synthetic in there 5 TIMES longer than normal oil, so it's been about 3 or 4 years now." Do you think they'll fix it for you under warranty? Don't be so quick to think you can leave synthetic in your engine for an extended period of time, at least not till the repair is on YOUR nickel. Till then, do what the OWNER'S MANUAL says.

 

I was thinking that I could go on 2 cycles of the oil minder while checking the fluid clarity on synthetic.

 

I think we're done with this discussion. Follow the minder or not; it's your car. We all told you the same thing, F-minus.

 

I was addressing the xviper's comment on what the dealer would say about the oil minder. If I just manually reset the minder for 2 cycles, it wouldnt show on the ECU.

 

 

I'm not sure what you're trying to prove, f-minus. Yes, you can reset the minder. It's there to help guide you. Use it.

 

He's not trying to prove anything.

He's asking this: Can he run say, amsoil for 10,000 miles (instead of dino for ~5k). The answer is, well do an UOA and find out, but POSSIBLY yes. The MMS will say no, but if the oil is still good and a UOA shows that it can be extended for another 5k, why not? Just replace the filter and throw some new oil in to make up for the loss during the filter change.

There is no reason to waste perfectly good oil by changing it early if a UOA shows that the oil use can be extended. Sure it won't hurt anythng either.. except maybe his bank account.

 

Sorry, I'm a little cranky today. You're right; I apologize.

That said, long-lasting oil won't change the fact that particulates in the filter mean it should be replaced. So, that's why not.

 

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now the question is.... How do I do a UOA? Buy a kit? Send it out?