Americans and oil changes, what gives?
Discussion
Just watched a video in the US where a guys GF forgets to do an oil Change for a whole year and they are making it out to be a bad thing, he takes out the sump plug and nothing comes out, indicating it’s clogged/seised.
In the UK, we do annual servicing at best (unless high mileage), my brand new Skoda didn’t want a 1st service for 2 years or 20,000 miles.
We on the whole drive the same cars, on the whole the climate is the same, and I assume the oil is similar
So what gives? Why the difference?
Yours confused
Sidekickdmr
In the UK, we do annual servicing at best (unless high mileage), my brand new Skoda didn’t want a 1st service for 2 years or 20,000 miles.
We on the whole drive the same cars, on the whole the climate is the same, and I assume the oil is similar
So what gives? Why the difference?
Yours confused
Sidekickdmr
I think it is just tradition that they do regular oil changes.
We (Brits/Europeans) used to have cars that needed 6000 mile oil changes but moved with the technology.
Oil and labour rates are much cheaper over there, so they can get an oil change at a Jiffy Lube for $50 whereas in the UK a billy basic oil change for a 2 litre engines is around £100 at places like Kwik Fit.
We (Brits/Europeans) used to have cars that needed 6000 mile oil changes but moved with the technology.
Oil and labour rates are much cheaper over there, so they can get an oil change at a Jiffy Lube for $50 whereas in the UK a billy basic oil change for a 2 litre engines is around £100 at places like Kwik Fit.
Truckosaurus said:
Oil and labour rates are much cheaper over there, so they can get an oil change at a Jiffy Lube for $50 whereas in the UK a billy basic oil change for a 2 litre engines is around £100 at places like Kwik Fit.
That in itself is quite annoying, compounded by the inevitable attempts at upselling to the unsuspecting punter who knows nothing about their car and just wants to "do the right thing". Not sure if that also happens Stateside?sidekickdmr said:
Just watched a video in the US where a guys GF forgets to do an oil Change for a whole year and they are making it out to be a bad thing, he takes out the sump plug and nothing comes out, indicating it’s clogged/seised.
In the UK, we do annual servicing at best (unless high mileage), my brand new Skoda didn’t want a 1st service for 2 years or 20,000 miles.
We on the whole drive the same cars, on the whole the climate is the same, and I assume the oil is similar
So what gives? Why the difference?
Yours confused
Sidekickdmr
In the UK, we do annual servicing at best (unless high mileage), my brand new Skoda didn’t want a 1st service for 2 years or 20,000 miles.
We on the whole drive the same cars, on the whole the climate is the same, and I assume the oil is similar
So what gives? Why the difference?
Yours confused
Sidekickdmr
I reckon the video is a load of tosh. Designed to sell something!
Got a link?
Broadly speaking, the US approach is high frequency oil changes with 'medium' quality oil, as opposed to our infrequent changes with relatively high quality oil.
Assisted by an infrastructure of drive thru oil change companies where it's a ten minute add on to a commute once every couple of months.
On utilitarian cars, the staggering majority, it feels like the appropriate approach - instead of the seeming routine here of medium quality oil changes done more infrequently than manufacturer advice on the average family wagon.
Assisted by an infrastructure of drive thru oil change companies where it's a ten minute add on to a commute once every couple of months.
On utilitarian cars, the staggering majority, it feels like the appropriate approach - instead of the seeming routine here of medium quality oil changes done more infrequently than manufacturer advice on the average family wagon.
Part of it is cultural - cars require frequent oil changes, anything less is guaranteed engine failure.
In the UK we tend to use fully synthetic or semi synthetic oils - in the USA, mineral oils are still very common, hence the requirement for more frequent oil changes.
America is a big place, and people tend to drive huge mileages and for some reason, the American's are great at trashing their cars - the state of some of the cars you see in workshops is impressive at times.
What is it with this bizarre notion than American gasoline is sub-standard and American oil low quality?
I perform (I do it myself) very regular oil changes, with high grade synthetic motor oil in both my vehicles because I want and expect them to last.
My pick-up has over 160k miles on it and runs perfectly. The oil comes out pretty much the same color/consistency/volume as it went in. That tells me the motor is healthy, clean and not burning or leaking lubricant.
That's what gives.
I perform (I do it myself) very regular oil changes, with high grade synthetic motor oil in both my vehicles because I want and expect them to last.
My pick-up has over 160k miles on it and runs perfectly. The oil comes out pretty much the same color/consistency/volume as it went in. That tells me the motor is healthy, clean and not burning or leaking lubricant.
That's what gives.
Matt Harper said:
What is it with this bizarre notion than American gasoline is sub-standard and American oil low quality?
I perform (I do it myself) very regular oil changes, with high grade synthetic motor oil in both my vehicles because I want and expect them to last.
My pick-up has over 160k miles on it and runs perfectly. The oil comes out pretty much the same color/consistency/volume as it went in. That tells me the motor is healthy, clean and not burning or leaking lubricant.
That's what gives.
It's not 'bizarre'. As noted, whilst you might use high grade fully synthetic, that's not the norm. Jiffy Lube's standard grade oil is non synthetic - and they're clear on their advertising that this is the norm for most vehicles. I perform (I do it myself) very regular oil changes, with high grade synthetic motor oil in both my vehicles because I want and expect them to last.
My pick-up has over 160k miles on it and runs perfectly. The oil comes out pretty much the same color/consistency/volume as it went in. That tells me the motor is healthy, clean and not burning or leaking lubricant.
That's what gives.
Meanwhile, whilst there are mid and premium grade petrol at stations, there's also regular, which is a lower grade than any you'll find in the UK - converting to UK RON gives a value of 91 versus 95 for the lowest grade available in the UK.
EmailAddress said:
Sheepshanks said:
Above posts, apart from the suggestion that they might use lower quality oil, don't explain why they seem to get sludging so much?
Lower revs, lower temps?I have cars in Canada and the US and this is the first I have ever heard this stuff. Most people I know in the enthusiast community use the dealer and the manufacturer recommended oil.
I do change oil more often than necessary (all Mobil 1 synthetic) as there are cars that spend 5/6 months parked so I get a good inspection when recommissioned.
Zero issues with sludge and have never had an engine failure in scores of cars including older cars with high mileages.
I have never heard that American gas or oil is of lower quality. There are many performance cars here and I have not heard of such problems.’
I do change oil more often than necessary (all Mobil 1 synthetic) as there are cars that spend 5/6 months parked so I get a good inspection when recommissioned.
Zero issues with sludge and have never had an engine failure in scores of cars including older cars with high mileages.
I have never heard that American gas or oil is of lower quality. There are many performance cars here and I have not heard of such problems.’
I've read some tosh on PH in my time and this thread's full of it.
You see exactly the same cars driving around in North America and in Europe with exactly the same service cycles.
Yes, some individual Americans still go for frequent oil changes and one wonders why, but to suggest the engines, fuel or lubricants are inferior is insane. Almost every automotive development in the last 50 years has started in North America and then made its way to Europe. Here's three at random off the top of my head,
Unleaded petrol/catalysts
Airbags
Reversing cameras
You see exactly the same cars driving around in North America and in Europe with exactly the same service cycles.
Yes, some individual Americans still go for frequent oil changes and one wonders why, but to suggest the engines, fuel or lubricants are inferior is insane. Almost every automotive development in the last 50 years has started in North America and then made its way to Europe. Here's three at random off the top of my head,
Unleaded petrol/catalysts
Airbags
Reversing cameras
Sway said:
Matt Harper said:
What is it with this bizarre notion than American gasoline is sub-standard and American oil low quality?
I perform (I do it myself) very regular oil changes, with high grade synthetic motor oil in both my vehicles because I want and expect them to last.
My pick-up has over 160k miles on it and runs perfectly. The oil comes out pretty much the same color/consistency/volume as it went in. That tells me the motor is healthy, clean and not burning or leaking lubricant.
That's what gives.
It's not 'bizarre'. As noted, whilst you might use high grade fully synthetic, that's not the norm. Jiffy Lube's standard grade oil is non synthetic - and they're clear on their advertising that this is the norm for most vehicles. I perform (I do it myself) very regular oil changes, with high grade synthetic motor oil in both my vehicles because I want and expect them to last.
My pick-up has over 160k miles on it and runs perfectly. The oil comes out pretty much the same color/consistency/volume as it went in. That tells me the motor is healthy, clean and not burning or leaking lubricant.
That's what gives.
Meanwhile, whilst there are mid and premium grade petrol at stations, there's also regular, which is a lower grade than any you'll find in the UK - converting to UK RON gives a value of 91 versus 95 for the lowest grade available in the UK.
99 RON (UK) is equivalent to 95 RON/MON combined to give an Anti-Knock Index (US) of 95 - which also equates to the lower grade petrol blends, per your erroneous comparison. In reality, you are paying twice the cost for the same stuff.
Panamax said:
I've read some tosh on PH in my time and this thread's full of it.
You see exactly the same cars driving around in North America and in Europe with exactly the same service cycles.
Yes, some individual Americans still go for frequent oil changes and one wonders why, but to suggest the engines, fuel or lubricants are inferior is insane. Almost every automotive development in the last 50 years has started in North America and then made its way to Europe. Here's three at random off the top of my head,
Unleaded petrol/catalysts
Airbags
Reversing cameras
No need to get precious.You see exactly the same cars driving around in North America and in Europe with exactly the same service cycles.
Yes, some individual Americans still go for frequent oil changes and one wonders why, but to suggest the engines, fuel or lubricants are inferior is insane. Almost every automotive development in the last 50 years has started in North America and then made its way to Europe. Here's three at random off the top of my head,
Unleaded petrol/catalysts
Airbags
Reversing cameras
There's a whole host of common vehicles in the US that are simply not seen on European roads.
There are very common (every gas station/jiffy lube or equivalent) fuel and oil products that simply aren't sold in Europe - or are a much smaller percentage of the market.
Most of my staff in Florida aren't 'enthusiasts', don't drive cars common in Europe, and will run those cars exclusively on 'regular grade' gas and have a bimonthly detour to a jiffy lube for an oil change using non synthetic oils.
Sheepshanks said:
Above posts, apart from the suggestion that they might use lower quality oil, don't explain why they seem to get sludging so much?
Bigger extremes of temperature I suppose for a lot of the USA?Panamax said:
I've read some tosh on PH in my time and this thread's full of it.
You see exactly the same cars driving around in North America and in Europe with exactly the same service cycles.
Yes, some individual Americans still go for frequent oil changes and one wonders why, but to suggest the engines, fuel or lubricants are inferior is insane.
In defence of the OP, it's extremely common on American forums like Reddit to see people post about changing their oil every 3000 miles or whatever.You see exactly the same cars driving around in North America and in Europe with exactly the same service cycles.
Yes, some individual Americans still go for frequent oil changes and one wonders why, but to suggest the engines, fuel or lubricants are inferior is insane.
I saw a post the other day with absolute disbelief that a car would have an 18K mile service interval. Fairly common here for fleet cars on 2 year service cycles. Yet people were insisting the UK based OP must have got it wrong by mixing up KM and miles (don't believe they had).
I can't find that exact thread now, but for example
https://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/do...
https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1pdo...
There's even a dedicated wiki page about it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3,000_mile_myth
Edited by budgie smuggler on Wednesday 25th January 15:23
sidekickdmr said:
Just watched a video in the US where a guys GF forgets to do an oil Change for a whole year and they are making it out to be a bad thing, he takes out the sump plug and nothing comes out, indicating it’s clogged/seised.
In the UK, we do annual servicing at best (unless high mileage), my brand new Skoda didn’t want a 1st service for 2 years or 20,000 miles.
We on the whole drive the same cars, on the whole the climate is the same, and I assume the oil is similar
So what gives? Why the difference?
Yours confused
Sidekickdmr
What vehicle was it? That would go a long way to assisting those getting slightly uppity on this thread In the UK, we do annual servicing at best (unless high mileage), my brand new Skoda didn’t want a 1st service for 2 years or 20,000 miles.
We on the whole drive the same cars, on the whole the climate is the same, and I assume the oil is similar
So what gives? Why the difference?
Yours confused
Sidekickdmr
If it's a big ole cast iron V8 with big tolerances and high-wearing contact parts like a single camshaft, pushrods and non-roller rockers, then I'd be expecting regular non-synthetic oil to need to be changed regularly. Especially in dryer, dustier/sandier climate regions.
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