First time changing my oil since I was a kid

[Balog]

Ouch, that stuff is expensive! Of course my frame of referrence is the 90's and my dad buying the cheapest stuff he could get, and I went ahead and sprung for high quality. IIRC it was $13 for the filter and almost $60 for 6 quarts. Even if it only makes a marginal difference given the delta in cost and the importance and value of my cars in my life I figure it's worth it. At least until I can do some actual research and see if there is a lower cost option that offers statistically identical performance.

[mtnbkr]

What kind of oil were you buying and where?  I use Mobil 1 Synthetic from Wal-Mart and pay $5/quart by buying a 5quart jug.  Filters are roughly $8ish.

Chris

[Ben]

$60 for 6 quarts? Unless there is some kind of ridiculously high environmental fee in WA, you need to do some comparison shopping. I buy the 6qt box of Mobil One at Costco for like $35 regular price, and usually stock up when they have the $10 off coupon.

Otherwise, good on you. I think regular fluid changes are the number one thing you can do for longevity of a vehicle.

ETA: Speedy fingers Chris got in ahead of me.

[Balog]

What kind of oil were you buying and where?  I use Mobil 1 Synthetic from Wal-Mart and pay $5/quart by buying a 5quart jug.  Filters are roughly $8ish.

Chris

Mobil 1 oil and filter, from the local auto parts store. I think it was something like $9.xx a quart, filter was $12.xx. Didn't even occur to me to check WalMart, we have one local but I don't go there very often. To be honest I was just killing time with our toddler after she decided to not take a nap, to give my wife a break. I generally do a lot of research about this sort of thing, so this was an uncharacteristic bit of extravagance.

$60 for 6 quarts? Unless there is some kind of ridiculously high environmental fee in WA, you need to do some comparison shopping. I buy the 6qt box of Mobil One at Costco for like $35 regular price, and usually stock up when they have the $10 off coupon.

Otherwise, good on you. I think regular fluid changes are the number one thing you can do for longevity of a vehicle.

ETA: Speedy fingers Chris got in ahead of me.

Huh, never seen oil at our local Costco, will have to double check next time I'm there.

We've always been pretty good about having it done, just got out of the habit of changing it myself between living in apartments that had pretty strict no vehicle maintenance policies, and all the time I spent training or deployed in the .mil. I've done it for our motorcycles in the past, feels good to start doing it for the cars again.

[Ben]

That explains it. Never buy oil at the parts store (unless they have some killer sale). Walmart works good for everyday decent prices on oil, and they stock most filters too.

[Balog]

That explains it. Never buy oil at the parts store (unless they have some killer sale). Walmart works good for everyday decent prices on oil, and they stock most filters too.

Huh, interdasting. Dad was massively cheap and he always bought oil from the parts store, although (once again) that was literally decades ago in a different state so it's probably not a relevant comparison.

[roo_ster]

I do enjoy going 5k miles between changes with synthetic rather than 3k miles between changes with dead dino oil.

$10/quart is high, but not crazy.  Single quarts of synth at Wally World or an auto parts store is in the $8.xx range when buying discrete quarts.

[Balog]

What are the prevailing opinions about filters? Worth it to pony up for a Mobil 1 level, or does a bargain basement Fram work as well? Somewhere in between?

[Ben]

What are the prevailing opinions about filters? Worth it to pony up for a Mobil 1 level, or does a bargain basement Fram work as well? Somewhere in between?

There is an excellent website on filters. I'm at work so don't have it handy, but will post it when I get home. The guy completely tears down and analyzes a bunch of the most popular filters. Most prevailing opinions are that the orange Frams are colored that way as a "Danger Will Robinson" warning. Based on that website I mentioned though, I have been using the Fram Toughguards, which he rates as "very good"  in my Trooper for 14 years. I might have gone to Purolator if they weren't hard to find for that particular year and engine.

ETA: Actually I think this is the website. I can't tell for sure because I get the stupid fed.gov "not authorized" window blocking me when I try to go to it. But it looks like it.

http://wetwesties1.tripod.com/oilfilterstudy/

[roo_ster]

What are the prevailing opinions about filters? Worth it to pony up for a Mobil 1 level, or does a bargain basement Fram work as well? Somewhere in between?

Great Scot, man!  Do you want to start a war in this forum?  Might as well ask which synthetic is best and which synthetic is truly a synthetic.  

[sotto_voce]Avoid Fram. Hard to go wrong with NAPA parts. Others are good too, but Fram is notorious.[/sotto_voce]

[Jamisjockey]

I'm going to attempt doing the oil on my boat here soon....   

[Balog]

Great Scot, man!  Do you want to start a war in this forum?  Might as well ask which synthetic is best and which synthetic is truly a synthetic.  

[sotto_voce]Avoid Fram. Hard to go wrong with NAPA parts. Others are good too, but Fram is notorious.[/sotto_voce]

I'm going to change the oil after making a run to get LED lightbulbs for my house, but before I cook up a batch of cornbread.

 

[Balog]

There is an excellent website on filters. I'm at work so don't have it handy, but will post it when I get home. The guy completely tears down and analyzes a bunch of the most popular filters. Most prevailing opinions are that the orange Frams are colored that way as a "Danger Will Robinson" warning. Based on that website I mentioned though, I have been using the Fram Toughguards, which he rates as "very good"  in my Trooper for 14 years. I might have gone to Purolator if they weren't hard to find for that particular year and engine.

ETA: Actually I think this is the website. I can't tell for sure because I get the stupid fed.gov "not authorized" window blocking me when I try to go to it. But it looks like it.

http://wetwesties1.tripod.com/oilfilterstudy/

Thanks for that link Ben, very interesting.

http://wetwesties1.tripod.com/oilfilterstudy/#m1-301

Like the Champ filter, this filter is made by Champion Labs. However, it uses a unique end plate and a thicker can that make it the strongest filter available for wide distribution retail sale. It also uses a synthetic media, which inproves filtration and flow. I'm happy to say that this filter is NOT a fake. It is definitely a unique design.
It uses a synthetic fiber element that can filter out very small particles and is very strong. It is rated just under the Purolator Pure One as far as filtering capability, but is still very much above conventional paper filters. It also has a very strong construction to withstand high pressure spikes during start-up. However, as with all Mobil 1 products, expect to pay 2 - 3 times as much for this filter.

I have received many reports of these filters failing at high pressures. It seems that the seam where the backplate crimps to the case can split.

So, it's extra strong but tends to catastrophically fail under pressure?  

Edit: Ben's page was last updated in 2000, so a bit dated.

[roo_ster]

I think this is they guy Ben wrote about:
http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/oilfiltertest.htm
[Reads Ben's reply]
Or maybe not.


Other resources:
http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-engine-turbo-drivetrain/637158-official-oil-filter-testing-results-thread-4g63t-4b11t.html
http://filtrationcomparisons.weebly.com/index.html
http://funwithcaroilfilters.blogspot.com/2010/02/oil-filter-tests.html

[Ben]

I think this is they guy Ben wrote about:
http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/oilfiltertest.htm
[Reads Ben's reply]
Or maybe not.

The one I mentioned is well over ten years old and I don't know if he's even updated the site recently. I haven’t been on it in forever, so there may be more up to date stuff from others. I just remember he was pretty thorough in his study.

[Balog]

Huh, apparently I could have ordered the oil and filter from Amazon and come out ahead. 

The time value to research all this vs just buying a known good product makes me think this is a rational ignorance, just buy the best kind of situation.

[brimic]

I do enjoy going 5k miles between changes with synthetic rather than 3k miles between changes with dead dino oil.

$10/quart is high, but not crazy.  Single quarts of synth at Wally World or an auto parts store is in the $8.xx range when buying discrete quarts.

Yikes!
I do 5K with dino, but I thought Synth was good for about 10K, so long as you change the filter a few times in between?
I have yet to wear out an engine... my current daily driver is coming up on 240K, been running nothing but quaker state dino in it since new.

[Brad Johnson]

There are some excellent synth blends out now.  Motorcraft Synthetic Blend is pretty highly regarded  Has one of the highest boron contents (keeps the innards of your engine all sparkly clean).  Price is good too.

Brad

[mtnbkr]

There are some excellent synth blends out now.  Motorcraft Synthetic Blend is pretty highly regarded  Has one of the highest boron contents (keeps the innards of your engine all sparkly clean).  Price is good too.

Brad

My 2013 Focus uses that.  The only reason I'm considering switching to Mobil1 is that I use the same weight in my minivan and it'll reduce the types of oil I have to keep on hand.

Chris

[Brad Johnson]

My 2013 Focus uses that.  The only reason I'm considering switching to Mobil1 is that I use the same weight in my minivan and it'll reduce the types of oil I have to keep on hand.

Chris

Something to double-check before changing... A lot of the new variable cam/valve timing setups are hydraulically actuated.  Straying too far outside the mfg recommended oil weight can have dramatic effects on performance/economy.  The Ford 5.4 truck engines were notoriously sensitive, especially in colder climes.

Brad

[41magsnub]

I hollow out my old filters and stuff them with cornbread for re-use. 

[Balog]

I hollow out my old filters and stuff them with cornbread for re-use. 

I hear it helps to dry them out over a pile of burning floppies or an indoor propane heater first.

[zxcvbob]

There are some excellent synth blends out now.  Motorcraft Synthetic Blend is pretty highly regarded  Has one of the highest boron contents (keeps the innards of your engine all sparkly clean).  Price is good too.

Brad

I use Motorcraft synthetic blend in my Ford Focus; sometimes I change it myself and sometimes I take it to the Ford dealer when they send me a coupon, and that's what they use.

In the truck, I generally use Philips TropArtic syn-blend; I buy that by the case at Sam's Club.  Unless the GM dealership sends me a coupon -- I don't know what kind of oil they put in.

Purolator or Quaker State or Motorcraft or Delco filters; I buy a few whenever I find 'em on sale.  I have been known to use Super·Tech (Walmart) filters on occasion.

[Fitz]

Rotella T6 :-D

[Nick1911]

In the Corolla, I put in whatever I can find that is thin enough (0w-20).  Around here that's usually Castrol GTX.

The van and pickup both get cheap Supertech from Walmart.

I like doing my own oil changes - it gives me a chance to take a peak under the car and observe for any problems.