Motor oil 'condition' sensors... do they work?

[bruceb58]

The crude oil is a fraction of the total cost. There are 168 qts in a barrel of oil. At $60/barell that is $0.35/qt of oil. Lets say it takes 2 qts to make one qt of motor oil. That is only $0.70. So if the price drops in half, the motor oil will drop accordingly. Too many fixed costs to make the price of oil dropping making a dent in the price. JMHO

 

[sam am I]

For me, I would never depend on a sensor/computer to monitor my driving habits/conditions and when to change oil....

Would you depend on sensors/computer to alert you or a doc/nurse if the sensors/computer were monitoring your body temperature? heart/pulse rate? respiratory rate? blood pressure? What about home blood glucose monitors? Wife or daughters giving birth and using contractions monitor? digital bathroom scale? smoke alarm? Personal thing, I know but, just curious is all......

 

[alldodge]

Thread has taken some tangents
Do oil sensors work
To change intervals
Touch on types of oil
Price of oil base on global markets
How trusting are sensors

Wonder what's next :noidea: will stay tuned to find out

 

[Fleetwin]

Reading these comments makes me wonder. If cruel oil is presently less then $30 dollars a barrel now (and they are talking $20 as well), why is oil and oil products not coming down in price? Engine oil hasn't changed price in the least for a long long time. But gas has dropped a lot. Do I smell something rotten going on? :noidea:

And there are so many other products that are oil driven and their prices haven't dropped either. Look at the price of Mineral Spirits, or K1 Kerosene fuel. Why are they still so high?

It will drop. Other products such as engine oil are a much smaller percentage of refinery production than gasoline, diesel, jet, etc. The market takes much longer to reflect. The other products may have been produced a year or more ago.

 

[GA_Boater]

Thread has taken some tangents
Do oil sensors work
To change intervals
Touch on types of oil
Price of oil base on global markets
How trusting are sensors

Wonder what's next :noidea: will stay tuned to find out

Ford sensors are better than Chevy, but not as good as VW diesel sensors.










:couch2:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Ford sensors are better than Chevy, but not as good as VW diesel sensors.



:couch2:

Im eating a ham/cheese/spinach panini...

 

[dingbat]

Thinking about an actual oil sensor(s) to determine when oil needs changed is interesting. I could easily see a sensor that would read the oil amount and the possible resistance reading across the oil with microscopic metal particles suspended in it. That would offer a need for change. Also a sensor to pass a certain about of preset light through it to see if there was too much dirt imbedded in it. I could also see a sensor that could read the acidity of the oil as well to determine if the oil needs changed. There are ways to make that a realistic capability. JMHO!

All there functions are easily accomplished with an off the shelf spectrometer.

Considering the cost of an oil change, your adding a lot of cost to vehicle with very little ROI

 

[gm280]

Of course this thread has taken on new tangents. That is how we get to learn more info about different things. I get additional education most every time I come on these forums and read the varied topics, with the exception of my comments, of course. :facepalm:

 

[HT32BSX115]

Thinking about an actual oil sensor(s) to determine when oil needs changed is interesting. I could easily see a sensor that would read the oil amount and the possible resistance reading across the oil with microscopic metal particles suspended in it.

The oil "sensor" everyone is talking about is not a "sensor" at all. It's really an oil life Calculator. The industry has developed them over several years of testing. They ARE for the most part fairly accurate.

Consumer Reports did a taxicab "test" many years ago (1996) running HUNDREDS of thousands of miles, with engine teardowns and oil analysis and they found that 6000 miles is still VERY conservative for the average car. Here's the article

The sensor you mention doesn't exist (by itself) ........ Just take a look at a Blackstone Labs oil analysis. They test for a great many different components in the oil (including stay-in-grade) to generate a report. Their test equipment costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. You're not going to get a valid test of used motor oil just looking for microscopic metal particles. Besides, if the microscopic oil particles are so microscopic that they don't get "stopped" by the filter, they likely don't hurt anything at all.

They DO tell you that something is going on that possibly should be addressed. But if a sensor only told you to change the oil based on that, it wouldn't really be telling you what you REALLY need to know.

Back to the OP's question.

Are the "Sensors" accurate? Sure. The manufacturers put a LOT of research and development and have have staked their warranties on them. Cars nowadays easily go 200,000 miles and more (following the manufacturers OCI advice of course) with little or no significant engine problems (and those "problems" are usually NOT oil related).

So I would suggest that in anycase, when following the manufacturers advice on oil changes (Boat, Car or Truck) even if there's a computer telling you when to change the oil, You STILL won't go wrong.


:deadhorse: op2:

 

[bassman284]

After my last oil change on my 2008 Jeep GC, the Oil Change Required warning came up at about 2100 miles. Of course I ignored it and was kind of annoyed by it. I think I know why it came up on that short interval (assuming it works at all). I'm retired and don't get around a whole lot. Most of my driving is very short trips, like a mile or less. I do take it out on the interstate about once a week and drive about 25 miles out and back to charge the battery. I also pull the dipstick about that often and look at it, feel it and smell it (I would taste it if I had any idea what good oil shold taste like) and based on the 3 criteria mentioned, the oil is good, nearly new. Which leads me to believe that the computer recommendation is way overkill on oil change interval. I drove my old Jeep 198,000 miles using dino and changing about every 5,000 to 6,000 miles.

HT, I was a Consumer Reports subscriber back when that article was published. It definitely influenced my oil change habits.

 

[JoLin]

Thread has taken some tangents
Do oil sensors work
To change intervals
Touch on types of oil
Price of oil base on global markets
How trusting are sensors

Wonder what's next :noidea: will stay tuned to find out

Okay... which brand of oil is best?

(kidding- please don't go there)

 

[gm280]

Okay... which brand of oil is best?

(kidding- please don't go there)

I think we all know the answer to "which oil is the best". But my question is "ethanol or non-ethanol fuel for boats?" ound:

Also kidding folks, please don't even try to answer either question!

 

[Tim Frank]

The crude oil is a fraction of the total cost. There are 168 qts in a barrel of oil. At $60/barell that is $0.35/qt of oil. Lets say it takes 2 qts to make one qt of motor oil. That is only $0.70. So if the price drops in half, the motor oil will drop accordingly. Too many fixed costs to make the price of oil dropping making a dent in the price. JMHO

Agreed, but also, the lubricant content of a "typical" barrel of crude is about enough to yield only one quart of refined motor oil.
Also factor in the huge stockpile of crude (which is one of the factors in why the current market price of crude is so low) at a much higher price, and you can see why the raw material cost component of a quart of 10W30 is fairly static.

 

[NYBo]

After my last oil change on my 2008 Jeep GC, the Oil Change Required warning came up at about 2100 miles. Of course I ignored it and was kind of annoyed by it. I think I know why it came up on that short interval (assuming it works at all). I'm retired and don't get around a whole lot. Most of my driving is very short trips, like a mile or less. I do take it out on the interstate about once a week and drive about 25 miles out and back to charge the battery. I also pull the dipstick about that often and look at it, feel it and smell it (I would taste it if I had any idea what good oil shold taste like) and based on the 3 criteria mentioned, the oil is good, nearly new. Which leads me to believe that the computer recommendation is way overkill on oil change interval.

The part I bolded is what caused the early warning. That use pattern is a killer for the oil as the motor never warms up sufficiently to boil off any water condensation, and it just builds up.

 

[GA_Boater]

Yep! ^^^^ Driving habits as monitored by the computer will greatly affect when the change oil light comes on. Short trips are the hardest on a motor, probably worse than pretending you're Mario Andretti.

Which reminds me of the Leno's Garage episode with Andretti. He told Jay he got pulled over and the officer asked if he thought he was Mario Andretti. As he handed over his license, Andretti said "As a matter of fact"..

 

[keith2k455]

I thought I read something a short while back comparing these systems and how good they were. I think some high end brands may have a score to measure, but most are am algorithm in the computer. I know the new gm vehicles with maintenance included won't cover oil changes unless the light comes on. Not sure I want to let my ls3 be subject to a light, so I'm just changing it twice a year. In the escalade I go by the light and it amounts to changes about every 3k while towing.

 

[Harritwo]

While I personally change oil on my Ford every 4-5 thousand miles, I let the computer tell the Dealer on my GM. As long as it is under warranty, i am not raising the hood on it and it is under warranty until 100k. So far the GM averages about 6000-6500 miles between changes and uses Dexos from the dealer. Until it is out of warranty, I will continue to allow the computer to dictate it and let the dealer service it. Then there is documentation that it was done and when they pull the engine for the 3rd time due to it using oil and antifreeze, it is still covered under warranty. The 3.6L has to be the sorriest excuse for an engine I have ever had the pleasure to own. It also has a low oil warning sensor that works. It has already had a top end overhaul and a valve guide seal replacement done a d just barely has 70k on it.

 

[bassman284]

The part I bolded is what caused the early warning. That use pattern is a killer for the oil as the motor never warms up sufficiently to boil off any water condensation, and it just builds up.

Yeah, I know. That's why I go for the 3,000 mile interval. I'm not sure I think it's bad enough to drop to 2,000, though. Maybe I'm wrong. As noted, I do take it out for exercise weekly. Maybe that's not enough.

 

[NYBo]

Yeah, I know. That's why I go for the 3,000 mile interval. I'm not sure I think it's bad enough to drop to 2,000, though. Maybe I'm wrong. As noted, I do take it out for exercise weekly. Maybe that's not enough.

Trust the computer. especially since it's recommending an even shorter change interval than what you're using.

 

[Volphin]

I'm at 5K-6K intervals for our fleet with a full synthetic. Growing up, it was a 5K interval. Then someone along the way decided it was 3K. (hmmmm, who could that be?) Follow the $$ guys. Over servicing is wasteful on the wallet and natural resources.