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Oil Change Intervals / Dealership Recommended Intervals

chilehed

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So what do you think of catch cans for turbo GDI engines?
I don't think of them. I know that boost complicates the design of the air/oil separation features in the PCV system; if the system on a particular engine isn't quite effective enough then perhaps an aftermarket unit is appropriate.

This is a great video going over the plusses and minuses of port and direct injection in nice detail:
Interesting video, although I could quibble about some of he things he says. It's been a long time since I went to the durability engine teardown inspection area, kinda makes me want to drive over some time and have a look. I couldn't really talk about anything I see, though. I suspect that a lot of my internal "well, that depends" commentary isn't too far off the mark.

One thing he said that I would caution about is his recommendation towards the end about switching from a factory recommended 0W-20/30 to a 5W or 10W. Above 100C, 10W-30 is thinner than 0W-30, and the hotter the temp the greater the difference is; I can't find the spreadsheet I had that calculates the exact viscosity difference but my recollection is that at 140C it's not trivial. Plus, there's a shear rate effect that happens in the hydrodynamic film that reduces the viscosity even more as a function of clearance and relative velocity between the journal and the bearing. I reckon that maybe the turbo bearing is the hottest, fastest spot in the engine... if everyone else is doing it and not having any trouble perhaps it's okay but I wouldn't want to be the first to try it if I was in the habit of flogging things really hard.
 
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crgildart

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How often does the oil in a Tesla need changing?
 

oldschoolskier

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The need for catch cans is a result of direct injection into the cylinder, good for fuel burn control, bad for carbon build up in the intake. Catch cans greatly reduce fuel and oil vapors in the intake runners (which under the direct injection should only be clean air).

As to oil changes I change every 10k km, easy number, in imperial likely would use 5k miles. With synthetic oil it is below what is required now.

How I came up with this number (10k) was easy as I tracked mileage and found beyond 10k mileage dropped. Oil changed, mileage improved. The key is mileage drop over 2 fill ups, variances in gas supply can drop performance. (I’ve tracked over 2,000,000km in both gas and diesel in my cars, pickups and suv’s over the years). Older cars (even low mileage) don’t give long oil life. Nee cars can easily exceed the 10k number.

I can also say which oils last longer and which don’t. Cost does not mean anything, some cheaper oils perform great and some expensive oils suck.

Finally dealer synthetics I generally find are on par with good oils and price wise, middle of the road.
 
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James

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It's been a long time since I went to the durability engine teardown inspection area, kinda makes me want to drive over some time and have a look.
Yes, go on over there and get the scoop!
 

chilehed

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How I came up with this number (10k) was easy as I tracked mileage and found beyond 10k mileage dropped.
I suggest that without monitoring the chemistry of the oil, you very well might be missing something important.
 

James

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Tesla oil.
25C438A4-1892-4D0A-872C-75C9F5EC4A23.jpeg

 

crgildart

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Every time I can get someone to pay for it.
I seriously heard someone ahead of me in a service center customer service ask about changing the air in their tires.. and they weren't talking about switching to nitrogen. Everyone laughed at them.. English wasn't their first language, they had a flat..
 

oldschoolskier

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I suggest that without monitoring the chemistry of the oil, you very well might be missing something important.
Not really, I do my own changes and check the oil every time. My 98 TDI did over 400k miles my 09 TDI did over 400k miles and my current 14 F150 has 200k miles and going strong, I’ve looked at the upper valve train (recently when replacing a coolant pressure sensor) and it looks new and spotless.

As I’ve mentioned before you can see oil problems before they become wear and damage issues by looking at mpg or l/100 religiously. If it drops over 2 fill ups change it or check it.

The only other caveat is do scheduled maintenance (including the expensive ones).

The only hidden issue is electronics and wiring, that’s another very difficult discussion.
 

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