* Copied (from: COFFEE_KLATSCH) by Roger Nelson using timEd/386 1.10.y2k+.   
      
   Like the '55 Chevy, the 3,000-Mile Oil Change Is Pretty Much History   
       
   The New York TImes   
       
   ALINA TUGEND, On Friday September 10, 2010, 1:25 pm EDT   
       
   I STILL remember learning from my father how to carefully remove a dipstick to   
   check the oil level in our cars. It was drilled into me - along with turning   
   off the lights when you left a room and clearing the plates off the table   
   after dinner - that oil needs to be changed every 3,000 miles or so.   
       
   I'm not sure what I thought would happen if I didn't, but I vaguely imagined   
   an unlubricated engine grinding to a halt.   
       
   Childhood habits are hard to undo, and that's often good. To this day, I hate   
   seeing an empty room with the lights on.   
       
   But sometimes, we need to throw aside our parents' good advice. In March, for   
   example, I wrote about how we should relearn the dishwasher and laundry soap   
   habits we inherited from our mothers.   
       
   Add frequent oil-changing to that list.   
       
   "There was a time when the 3,000 miles was a good guideline," said Philip   
   Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the car site Edmunds.com. "But it's no   
   longer true for any car bought in the last seven or eight years."   
       
   Oil chemistry and engine technology have improved to the point that most cars   
   can go several thousand more miles before changing the oil, Mr. Reed said. A   
   better average, he said, would be 7,500 between oil changes, and sometimes up   
   to 10,000 miles or more.   
       
   The California Integrated Waste Management Board ran public service   
   announcements for several years about "the 3,000-mile myth," urging drivers to   
   wait longer between oil changes. Although the information is a few years old,   
   the board has a list of cars on its Web site and how often they need oil   
   changes. The concern is not only the cost to drivers, but the environmental   
   impact of throwing away good oil, said Mark Oldfield, a recycling specialist   
   for the agency.   
       
   But the situation is not that clear cut, according to Robert Sutherland, a   
   Pennzoil scientist who works at Shell Global Solutions.   
       
   Rather than picking a number, Mr. Sutherland said, he recommends following   
   what your owner's manual advises. I checked the manual for our 2007 Mazda5 and   
   had to determine if my typical driving included a lot of stop-and-go driving,   
   short distances, extended idling, muddy, rough or dusty roads or really humid   
   or cold temperatures.   
       
   Hmm. Yes, to short distance and stop and go. So that meant I should get the   
   oil changed every 5,000 miles. If I did a great deal of longer-distance   
   highway driving, it would be every 7,500.   
       
   The different types of driving are usually known as severe and mild (which is   
   also sometimes called normal), Mr. Sutherland said, which seems    
   ounterintuitive since most of us probably don't think we drive in severe   
   conditions. But we do.   
       
   The reason, he said, is that if you take a trip of less than 10 miles or so,   
   the engine and the oil are not completely warmed up. And if the oil is still   
   cool, he said, it cannot absorb the contaminants that come from internal   
   combustion as efficiently.   
       
   "It's designed to work best when fully warmed up," Mr. Sutherland said. "If   
   you're running to the music lesson, to school, the gym, that's severe driving   
   conditions."   
       
   Mr. Sutherland said he has a mild commute. "It's 47 miles, all highway."   
       
   What actually happens if you don't change your oil? Well, it doesn't run out,   
   it simply gets dirtier and dirtier. It's like mopping the floor with a bucket   
   of water and detergent. The water starts out clean, but the more you use it,   
   the filthier it gets. Eventually, you're making the floor dirtier if you don't   
   change the water.   
       
   Some people remain attached to the 3,000-mile oil change and have a hard time   
   trusting the recommendations in the owner's manual. If you're one of those   
   skeptics, you can send your engine oil out to be analyzed. Blackstone   
   Laboratories in Fort Wayne, Ind., one of the best-known places for engine oil   
   analysis, will send you a free kit.   
       
   You send back an oil sample and for $25, they'll tell you all sorts of things   
   about your car.   
       
   "We would compare what your oil looks like compared to the average Mazda5 of   
   that year," said Kristen Huff, a vice president at Blackstone. If there is a   
   lot more lead in my oil than in a typical Mazda5, for example, it means I have   
   a bearing problem, she said.   
       
   Her lab runs about 150 samples a day and a fair percentage of those are   
   consumers looking to find out how often they need to change their oil, Ms.   
   Huff said.   
       
   "Very often, it is the case that they're changing their oil too often," she   
   said. "They do what their dad did with his '55 Chevy."   
       
   Another way to get a more accurate assessment of your oil needs is to buy a   
   car that has a maintenance minder, like a Honda. A light on the dashboard   
   alerts the driver when the system judges that the oil has only 15 percent of   
   its useful life remaining. The time between oil changes varies depending on   
   the driver and driving conditions.   
       
   Honda has used such maintenance minders on most models for at least the last   
   five years, said Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman. Previously, the owner's   
   manual suggested changes every 10,000 miles in mild conditions and 5,000 miles   
   in severe conditions.   
       
   Still, some people stick to the 3,000-mile changes, because "the Jiffy Lubes   
   of the world have done a good job convincing people," Mr. Martin said   
       
   It's not just the fast oil change outlets. My sticker from my trusted mechanic   
   states that I'll need a change in 3,000 miles or three months. But Jiffy Lube,   
   the largest quick oil change company in North America, is now under pressure   
   to change its automatic 3,000-mile recommendation.   
       
   For about a year, the company has run a pilot program with some franchises   
   across the country suggesting that instead of a blanket recommendation,   
   mechanics tell customers what the manufacturer recommends under mild or severe   
   driving conditions.   
       
   "By this time next year, every Jiffy Lube will do it," said Rick Altizer,   
   president of Jiffy Lube International. And the little sticker on your   
   windshield will no longer simply state when the next oil change should occur,   
   but, "I choose to change my oil" at a specific mileage.   
       
   "It's so it's not some arbitrary technician saying this," Mr. Altizer said,   
   but the consumer's decision.   
       
   Mr. Reed of Edmunds.com said car owners often got conflicting messages because   
   of an inherent tension: "The car manufacturers want the reputation that it   
   makes cars that last a long time. The dealership wants to see you every three   
   months."   
       
   But he acknowledged that "3,000 miles strikes a deep chord with the consumer,"   
   adding: "It feels good to get an oil change. If you fill up the car with gas,   
   wash it and change the oil, it runs better. Of course, it doesn't. But it's   
   the perception."   
       
   Although Mr. Reed is doubtful that most drivers fall into the severe driving   
   category and fears mechanics will use that to push drivers into paying for   
   more oil changes than necessary, Mr. Sutherland said he wouldn't want "to   
   second-guess the manufacturer." Vehicles, he said, "are a substantial   
   investment and changing fluids is how you protect that investment."   
       
   So before you go in for your oil change, dig out your owner's manual and see   
   what it says. And when the mechanic slaps on a sticker that gives the next   
   change date in 3,000 miles, ask questions. And then, go get the car washed.   
   That's one thing that always seems to be needed.   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   ... Celebrate your freedom: Read a banned book.   
   --- D'Bridge 3.54   
    * Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)