Synthetic oil change interval

[dpuckett]

My girlfriend works at a small, independent shop that will for now remain unnamed and unlocated. Her boss was telling her that you can put on a Wix type (cellulose) filter, and double the change interval if you use synthetic oil. I thought the extended interval was achieved with either a bypass filter or a combination of the bypass and synthetic oil, not just the syn oil itself. From my reading here and in the magazine, the synthetic oil itself wont double your change interval, and can void the warranty if you dont have an analysis to verify that the oil is still good at x miles. What do you all think? BTW, I still do all my own work



Daniel

 

[TWilkening]

Not sure on a diesel, but both of my parents run amsoil in their cars, and they run 12k change intervals. While not clean as the day it goes in, it's till not black as can be.

 

[CarlJensen]

Clear or black doesn't mean a thing. Oil analysis does. Especially with enough samples to run a trend. If the big boys changed oil every 7000 they could not afford the runs. The changes are done using data from samples taken.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

dpuckett the oil type does matter when extending oil drains. . . certain oils are formulated with that in mind, such as Amsoil & Mobil Delvac 1. With good filtration (not necessarily bypass) and oil sampling you could take any good syn further than OEM recommended intervals.



As for the Wix filter? I believe the Fleetguard Stratapore is the best filter you can put on a Cummins, period. Unless it's some newfangled technology or media type they've got the market on I think the Stratapore does the best job with the filtering media, durable shell and largest oil passage holes.



When I ran Amsoil and Delvac I didn't fool with that bypass stuff. I just changed my filter at each oil change and twice in between when I ran 20,000 mile change intervals.



Vaughn

 

[dpuckett]

THanks, guys.



CarlJensen, I realize the black/ not black is just soot, at least in a diesel, and depends largely on past maintenance, how BOMBed the engine is, and how much you use said BOMBing.



Vaughn MacKenzie- Thanks for the clarification. But I was partly right- the increased interval depends on good filtration. And I agree, the Stratopore is the best filter media (at least I liked the pics printed in the magazine a while back, and the filtering numbers compared to cellulose), but I cant see my way to $15 for it just yet when I can go a little shorter on a $5 Donaldson (the southern Missourian in me showing through) and go 4K instead of 5K.



-DP

 

[amsoilman]

AMsoil Recommendation is 2 times the "normal" drain with regular filtration, but using analysis, can go much further. When using by-pass filtration and analysis, drain intervals can be extended indefinately, depending on the trends with the oil analysis.



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Ereynolds72]

Along the same lines as this discussion, did any of you read the article in a recent TDR issue about the guy who ran 125,000 + on his Amsoil Oil? He used a bypass filtration system and sample analysis. I don't have it in front of me but I'm thinking it was closer to 153,000 miles on the oil.



In addition, is there a specific method to be followed to convert to a full synthetic or do you just swap at the next oil change?



Do dealerships test the samples or do you have to go to a diesel shop. Where can you go to get you samples analysed?

 

[amsoilman]

Along the same lines as this discussion, did any of you read the article in a recent TDR issue about the guy who ran 125,000 + on his Amsoil Oil? He used a bypass filtration system and sample analysis. I don't have it in front of me but I'm thinking it was closer to 153,000 miles on the oil.



In addition, is there a specific method to be followed to convert to a full synthetic or do you just swap at the next oil change?



Do dealerships test the samples or do you have to go to a diesel shop. Where can you go to get you samples analysed?

The longest I have gone on a "single" oil drain, was 105,000 miles over a 5 year period of time, and the oil at that time was still in "suitable for continued use", as per the oil analysis at the time. I did change the oil, simply because I wanted to try the Amsoil 5W-30 Heavy Duty Diesel oil.

I use oil analysis on a continuing basis at 10,000 mile intervals, and I have the Amsoil by-pass oil filtration system as well. My current truck, an 03' 4X4 Quad Cab, now has 37,000 plus miles, over a 2 year period of time. The 15W-40 Amsoil Diesel/Marine oil was installed at 8,500 miles and is still in the engine at this time. I have had 2 oil analysis, and is now due for the third analysis.

There is nothing special you have to do to convert from a petrolium oil to synthetic oil, unless you have a lot of miles on your egine... ... ... ... ... ..... just dump the current oil, and put the synthetic in.



If you are going to extend your oil drain longer than a year/10,000 miles, then I would suggest haveing the oil analysed. (It is a very simple process) I use Oil Analyzers Inc. and get the kits from Amsoil Inc.



Hope this helps,





Wayne

amsoilman

 

[PLaFrombois]

I've been using the 3000 5w-30 for the past 85,000 miles with changing the filter every 10,000 miles. Oil is still good for continued use. I'll probably continue doing this until I'm ready to sell the truck, or the analysis says otherwise.



Paul

 

[WWalters]

Vaughn, I would have to disagree with your statement that the Fleetguard Stratapores are the best filters for the Dodge CTD. I've done a little research on the subject. According to Fleetguard, the Stratapore is efficiency rated at 100% on 30 micron size particles and 60% on 10 micron size. The Donaldson Endurance filter is rated at 98. 7% on 15 micron size particles and 50% on 7 micron. I was told by Amsoil tech support that the Amsoil Superduty filters have a nominal rating of 7 to 10 microns. That's as technical as they would get. Based on this information, I would say the Donaldson is the best filter and the Amsoil Superduty is second. Now, what I'm assuming is the above data is for the first pass through the filter. Other than that who knows. I have used both the Stratapore and the Superduty. Both filters feel hefty and have the large holes that you referred to. The Amsoil filter is slightly larger and when I remove it, I don't have to use a large ziplock bag to catch any spilling oil as I have to do with the Stratapore.



I just recently purchased a Donaldson Endurance filter for my truck and it's about the same size as the Stratapore. It doesn't feel quite as hefty and the holes on top of the filter are smaller. The holes inside the filter are also smaller and they are shaped differently. They have a retangular cover over them that is open on both ends so the oil is directed up and down as opposed to straight out from the filter media. I just thought that I would pass that info on and before anyone says it, I realize that neither the Donaldson or Amsoil filters are on the Cummins approved list as is the Stratapore.



One other bit of information that most of you probably already know. From what I've read, most of the experts say that 60% of engine wear is caused by particles in the 5 to 20 micron size. Obviously a good oil by-pass system would be needed to pick up the particles that are 5 microns or smaller. If you can believe the claims of Donaldson and Amsoil, their spin-on, full flow filters do a pretty decent job of removing the particles that are in the most damaging range.

 

[CGriffith]

I agree with WWalters on the fleetguard filters. There are better or just as good filters out there for the same price. Fleetguards are high flow/large pore size filters. Thats fine if that what you want. I think wix and amsoil filters are a good balance of flow and filtration. I base my statements on things I have read including this Filter test.

Go to the spread sheet and look at the flow rates and pore sizes. I don't know how the LF-3679 compares to the stratapore.

For some reason this is the only forum where fleetguard is held at such a high level. I guess it is because thats what cummins specs. Cummins endorses valvoline too but I know some people here that won't run that if you gave it to them. No matter what filter you run, a bypass is good idea. No flames and facts only please.

 

[WWalters]

In my previous post, I forgot to mention another aspect of full flow filters that is very important and that is capacity and service life. The Amsoil Superduty and Donaldson Endurance filters are designed for extended drain intervals. I believe that Amsoil recommends 6 months or 7,000 miles in diesel applications. I'm not sure what Donaldsons recommendations are. I would have to believe they are at least the same as Amsoil's or longer. When I asked Fleetguard about the capacity and service life of their Stratapore filters, their reply was to follow the OEM recommendations.