Oil change

[Rampmonkey]

Quoting Roger Ford: 

Poor old planet ☹️ What will you put in it when the oil runs out?

 

Roger, can assume that was tongue in cheek? 😬

 

After all, you DO own what can only be described as a 'luxury item' and by the very fact you're on this site you probably get through a fair whack of some other form of oil derived product on a regular basis!

 

(I'm a firm believer that there is very little time left before oil is scarce to the point of becoming prohibitively expensive and beyond the everyday punter. But that's the price we're all going to pay. I'll ease up on the oil changing though, give those SUV/rangerover owners a bit more time to enjoy the school run!) 😬

[Fil M]

Definitely 'mechano for men'!! I too enjoy getting my spanners out. Mine is due her yearly service and i have all kinds of little 'jobs' to get done. A proportion of which probably don't need to be done. It's part of the fun of it for me too. As for oil changes .. I have never added an additive prior to a change. Does this really make a difference as opposed to flushing? Which is proven to be the best way?

[Roger Ford]

Roger, can assume that was tongue in cheek?

Only partly.

 

I burn fuel but I try to make the most of it. Chucking away good oil after less than 500 miles seems more than a little wasteful to me. But each to his own - if Rampmonkey get as much pleasure through changing his oil as I get through racing my car, then who am I to say he shouldn't? But I do think we all need to be aware that it's a limited resource, and one day there's going to be none left - and we might have solved the transportation issue, but we probably won't have found an alternative for making plastics and all the other petrochemical derivatives that we rely on.

 

Edit: sorry, I thought that was someone else replying. Apologies for referring to you in the third person form.

 

 

Edited by - Roger Ford on 23 Jun 2013 23:35:20

[the_village_idiot]

Quoting Roger Ford: 

Roger, can assume that was tongue in cheek?

Only partly.

 

I burn fuel but I try to make the most of it. Chucking away good oil after less than 500 miles seems more than a little wasteful to me. But each to his own - if Rampmonkey get as much pleasure through changing his oil as I get through racing my car, then who am I to say he shouldn't? But I do think we all need to be aware that it's a limited resource, and one day there's going to be none left - and we might have solved the transportation issue, but we probably won't have found an alternative for making plastics and all the other petrochemical derivatives that we rely on.

 

Edit: sorry, I thought that was someone else replying. Apologies for referring to you in the third person form.

 

 

Edited by - Roger Ford on 23 Jun 2013 23:35:20

 

With the crazy high 🥰consumption of fossil fuels with pitiful or non existant emmissions regulations of china, india and other developing countries i generally ignore the green brigade.

 

However, you do raise a good point- it surprises me that it's not yet cost effective to filter and reuse oil for less intense purposes.

[Roger Ford]

Quoting the_village_idiot: 

With the crazy high 🥰consumption of fossil fuels with pitiful or non existant emmissions regulations of china, india and other developing countries i generally ignore the green brigade.

 

Chinese Indian and other countries' fuel consumption per capita is way below ours. China has just taken a lead in unilaterally imposing carbon targets, unlike the rest of the world who still have their heads in the sand over the issue. But if that's the excuse you need to ignore the problem, go ahead.

[the_village_idiot]

Quoting Roger Ford: 

Quoting the_village_idiot: 

With the crazy high 🥰consumption of fossil fuels with pitiful or non existant emmissions regulations of china, india and other developing countries i generally ignore the green brigade.

 

Chinese Indian and other countries' fuel consumption per capita is way below ours. China has just taken a lead in unilaterally imposing carbon targets, unlike the rest of the world who still have their heads in the sand over the issue. But if that's the excuse you need to ignore the problem, go ahead.

 

Per capita it's lower, but still crazy high as a country compared to us. And increasing. At a near exponential rate.

 

It's imposed a Greenhouse gas emissions cap from 2016- but thats not a reduction- just a cap on an already incredibly high level- so they have 3 years to raise that level further then cap it. Plus If they changed their minds it wouldn't be the first time china had backtracked on a massive deal.

 

China will continue to go through the motions of obeying the west as they rely heavily on our business- but the moment they are more independent and the tables have turned- do not expect china to be in the least bit compliant or forgiving. They have a vast amount of natural resources (some of which are incredibly rare) which they do not use, choosing to buy much of it in. They will sell it to us at an exorbitant rate when we are desperate enough.

 

Do not be fooled by chinas apparent compliance.

[RichardOlive]

Quoting Rampmonkey: 

I change the oil on my motor EASILY every 500 miles, if not more often. I certainly carry out a drop after each track day. As a result, it tends to come out the same colour it goes in and to date I've never had an engine issue.

 

That probably does more harm than good as when you start the engine up after an oil change it takes a few seconds for the oil pressure to build up potentially causing engine wear in the process. With the sort of miles you're doing it'll take a long time to do any noticeable damage but it still seems quite an anal thing to do and a waste of money to me.

 

As long as you dispose of the used engine oil in a council recycling centre it'll end up being used as heating oil etc. so that's something for the Greens to celebrate! 😬

 

Richard.

[Rampmonkey]

Oil change to green debate. Isn't the tinters a wonderful thing! 😬

 

I don't feel too bad. I don't run an everyday car. I have never put a brand new car on the road, only recycled old ones that were there already. I walk or cycle everywhere I need to go and only make use of the missus' motor if we go anywhere further a field as a family. (Not even 5000 miles a year!) I squeeze 60+ Mpg out of her Audi 2.0tdi.

 

Ok, I have a seven sat in the garage. That does WAY less than 1500 miles per year on average. I may change the oil a little more frequently than most but it's all relative; I'm hardly doing it every weekend. In the big scheme of things, I'm not exactly draining mother earth. What I am doing, and will continue to do, is preserve the longevity of any vehicles I do own in a bid to reduce material waste.

 

I'm going to bow out of this one as I find any hits on the use of natural resources a tad strange in a forum dedicated to recreational motoring.

[charlie_pank]

Quoting RichardOlive: 

Quoting Rampmonkey: 

I change the oil on my motor EASILY every 500 miles, if not more often. I certainly carry out a drop after each track day. As a result, it tends to come out the same colour it goes in and to date I've never had an engine issue.

 

That probably does more harm than good as when you start the engine up after an oil change it takes a few seconds for the oil pressure to build up potentially causing engine wear in the process. With the sort of miles you're doing it'll take a long time to do any noticeable damage but it still seems quite an anal thing to do and a waste of money to me.

 

As long as you dispose of the used engine oil in a council recycling centre it'll end up being used as heating oil etc. so that's something for the Greens to celebrate! 😬

 

Richard.

 

How is draining the oil out of the sump, pouring a new lot in from the top, then starting the engine any worse than stopping the engine, leaving it for a day so the oil drains down into the sump, then starting the engine?

[myothercarsa2cv]

Rampmonkey, where are you? Your 500 mile semi-syn would be perfect to chuck in the 2CV 😬 There's probably something wrong with recycling oil like that, but the car is over 30 years old, I daresay your second hand oil is much better than what it was designed for. 😬

 

It would also cheer up Roger

[Jonathan Kay]

Quoting the_village_idiot: 

However, you do raise a good point- it surprises me that it's not yet cost effective to filter and reuse oil for less intense purposes.

Are there any sectors in which this is done? Aviation, truck fleets, F1... ?

 

Jonathan

[Birkin S3 ZA.]

Most of my used oil gets put in the oil lub systems for the lathe and milling machine, keeps the beds smooth with synthetic oil on them. 😬