1st Oil Change

[psi365]

I changed mine a little bit over 1k. While in tech school, and from old timers this is the reason behind it. For your initial 1k or so your engine is doing its break in. So at this time you will be having a lot more then normal metal shavings and such getting recirculate through your engine causing even more wear. You really don't need to change the oil, but more the oil filter which traps all those metal shavings. However most people just do a full oil change to be extra careful.

 

The biggest advantages to synthetic oil from what I've learned are this. At extremely cold temps, synthetic oil flows the same as it does at a normal temp which means those winter days syn oil will instantly flow on start up, were dino oil wil be extra thick and not flow as well. Syn oil also has a better engineered detergant and additives package put into the over dino oil which allows syn to extend your times between oil changes. However syn oil usually cause more oil leaks because they don't have impurities like dino oil does. Those impurities kind of clog little leaks were syn oil doesn't. Honestly if you change your oil enough, you can get away without syn unless you are planing on beating on your car a lot. The maintainance schedule is only a guide line as to what the factory recommends as to basic stuff. Personally I don't really trust them considering Audi does the first oil change at 5k and every service after that is in 10k increments. I don't at all like 10k between oil changes.

[tdoggydog]

So basically I oughta take mine in for a little tardy 1K oil change just because? I'm at 1500 now - I guess, since I'm planning on having this car for awhile, that I should go ahead and do it, right? But do dino until about 12-15K for the rest of the enging break in, then switch to syn - is this correct? I'm trying to skim out all the meat of the posts.

[goBlue]

I changed mine a little bit over 1k. While in tech school, and from old timers this is the reason behind it. For your initial 1k or so your engine is doing its break in. So at this time you will be having a lot more then normal metal shavings and such getting recirculate through your engine causing even more wear. You really don't need to change the oil, but more the oil filter which traps all those metal shavings. However most people just do a full oil change to be extra careful.

 

The biggest advantages to synthetic oil from what I've learned are this. At extremely cold temps, synthetic oil flows the same as it does at a normal temp which means those winter days syn oil will instantly flow on start up, were dino oil wil be extra thick and not flow as well. Syn oil also has a better engineered detergant and additives package put into the over dino oil which allows syn to extend your times between oil changes. However syn oil usually cause more oil leaks because they don't have impurities like dino oil does. Those impurities kind of clog little leaks were syn oil doesn't. Honestly if you change your oil enough, you can get away without syn unless you are planing on beating on your car a lot. The maintainance schedule is only a guide line as to what the factory recommends as to basic stuff. Personally I don't really trust them considering Audi does the first oil change at 5k and every service after that is in 10k increments. I don't at all like 10k between oil changes.

 

I've read 4 different owner's manuals, 1 Nissan, 2 Hondas, and now a Subaru, none of them recommends first oil change at 1k. If having first oil change at 1k is beneficial to life of engine, how come most manufacturers aren't recommending that?

[tdoggydog]

I've read 4 different owner's manuals, 1 Nissan, 2 Hondas, and now a Subaru, none of them recommends first oil change at 1k. If having first oil change at 1k is beneficial to life of engine, how come most manufacturers aren't recommending that?

 

I agree - but all of these guys are suggesting that the manufacterer's recommendations are phony!

[psi365]

Pretty much its all a toss up as to who is right. Some say the first o/c at 1k is over kill, some say its the way to go. The manufacturers say the basic stuff to do at certain intervals. Audi for example say its ok to go 10k between o/cs with synthetic oil. I for one would never go that long. Some manufacturer's also say they put in a special blend of oil to assist in the engine break in and not to do an early o/c. The way I was tought, and makes extremely good sense is this. In the first 1k on a new engine the internals of the engine are doing the most wear cause parts are seating into each other. So the piston rings are seating to the cylinder walls, as are bearings, valves, etc. With all that wear going on a ton of metal particles are floating around in the oil. With the addition of those metal particles in the oil it tends to cause more wear. Now the amount of miles vary. Some say that in 500 miles an engine has done most of its wear in, some say 1k, etc. Therefore if you do an oil change you get rid of the metal polluted oil and the oil filter thats trapped all those metal particles. An extreme example would be like throwing a hand full of sand down the oil fill. That grit is what you are trying to get rid of since your engine should be pretty much broken in by then. Remember Subaru states for the break in period of 500 miles you are supposed to keep the car under 4k rpms and vary rpm. So they are saying after 500 miles your engine should be broken in.

[goBlue]

Pretty much its all a toss up as to who is right. Some say the first o/c at 1k is over kill, some say its the way to go. The manufacturers say the basic stuff to do at certain intervals. Audi for example say its ok to go 10k between o/cs with synthetic oil. I for one would never go that long. Some manufacturer's also say they put in a special blend of oil to assist in the engine break in and not to do an early o/c. The way I was tought, and makes extremely good sense is this. In the first 1k on a new engine the internals of the engine are doing the most wear cause parts are seating into each other. So the piston rings are seating to the cylinder walls, as are bearings, valves, etc. With all that wear going on a ton of metal particles are floating around in the oil. With the addition of those metal particles in the oil it tends to cause more wear. Now the amount of miles vary. Some say that in 500 miles an engine has done most of its wear in, some say 1k, etc. Therefore if you do an oil change you get rid of the metal polluted oil and the oil filter thats trapped all those metal particles. An extreme example would be like throwing a hand full of sand down the oil fill. That grit is what you are trying to get rid of since your engine should be pretty much broken in by then. Remember Subaru states for the break in period of 500 miles you are supposed to keep the car under 4k rpms and vary rpm. So they are saying after 500 miles your engine should be broken in.

 

i think that makes sense too. it would be interesting to see an UOA when someone changed out his oil at 1k as opposed to someone changed out his at 3k.