1st oil change done

[wr_guy]

2200 miles 1.8l motor.

Oil came out a little dark but clean as a whistle. sometimes your 1st oil change looks a bit like metalic paint with all the aluminum swarf in it....not this one...not a speck in the oil nor the oil filter.

Drain plug is a 30 torks head and it is horizontal at the bottom of the aluminum oil pan. only 14mn on it and it is labeled right on the pan...do not overtighten!

Oil filter is a simple canister element that for some reason is more expensive than a steel cased filter element with a drain back valve that is obviously more expensive to manufacture??

This type of filter will let you see everything whereas a steel cased filter will show you nothing unless you cut it open.

All in all....looks like we got a good motor.

 

[barch88]

Not sure when to do my first. Thinking around 4k-5k. GM says follow oil life monitor. I know a lot of these posts are going to say do it early, but I think I honestly change my oil too often just due to the fact of habit over the years with older motors needing it every 3k-6k

 

[SonicBoy24]

Not sure when to do my first. Thinking around 4k-5k. GM says follow oil life monitor. I know a lot of these posts are going to say do it early, but I think I honestly change my oil too often just due to the fact of habit over the years with older motors needing it every 3k-6k

I would not recommend following the oil life monitor.
I just did my second oil change at 8800 miles (4400 miles on that oil), and the car said there was 44% life left on the oil.

That oil was darker than any oil I have ever seen, there is no way I was going to make it the rest of the distance the car was telling me I had without some problems.

 

[barch88]

When do you recommend to do my first? Around 3-4k?

 

[SonicBoy24]

When do you recommend to do my first? Around 3-4k?

My first was 4400, but idk how the oil looked cuz I used the one free oil change that GM game me. I wouldn't go too much further than that.

 

[T-BONE]

I would not recommend following the oil life monitor.
I just did my second oil change at 8800 miles (4400 miles on that oil), and the car said there was 44% life left on the oil.

That oil was darker than any oil I have ever seen, there is no way I was going to make it the rest of the distance the car was telling me I had without some problems.

can I ask you why your would not trust the system? Given that oil technology has greatly increased since the days of 3Kmiles or 3months that this "gold standard" is truly dead. I have gone 10K and even 15K on my mini (along with periodic oil analysis at blackstone labs) that gives evidence that oil interval can indeed be that long.

The fact that the system monitors the oil for you based on your driving and the quality of oil put in that it should be a fairly accurate measure of interval. Why not send a sample to blacksone to confirm. That is my plan when I get my code flash.

 

[T-BONE]

My first was 4400, but idk how the oil looked cuz I used the one free oil change that GM game me. I wouldn't go too much further than that.

looking at how your oil looks is a very poor measure of its life time potential. Other than seeing coolant in it (chalky brown sludge) that is about the only diagnosis you can make.

 

[SonicBoy24]

The fact that the system monitors the oil for you based on your driving and the quality of oil put in that it should be a fairly accurate measure of interval. Why not send a sample to blacksone to confirm. That is my plan when I get my code flash.

there are many things the oil life monitor can't account for, such as dirt in the oil which can shorten life, among other things.
If you like to read, check out this

I maintain that the color and smell of oil is a good indicator of its life. This oil was pitch black and smelled burnt, something I have never smelled in nearly 15 years of being around, and doing, oil changes.
and for the computer to tell me that I had 44% oil life remaining? bullllshizzz

 

[T-BONE]

there are many things the oil life monitor can't account for, such as dirt in the oil which can shorten life, among other things.
If you like to read, check out this

I maintain that the color and smell of oil is a good indicator of its life. This oil was pitch black and smelled burnt, something I have never smelled in nearly 15 years of being around, and doing, oil changes.
and for the computer to tell me that I had 44% oil life remaining? bullllshizzz

I maintain you are incorrect. regarding the indicator accuracy, I will test that directly via detailed oil analysis via blackstone labs.
Top 7 Urban Legends About Motor Oil

4. Check the oil on the dipstick. If it's black, change the oil. Experts say this is a myth, as is the related notion that you can identify spent oil by smell. "That is old school," says Kristen Huff, vice president of Blackstone Laboratories in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "Oil is meant to get dark — it means it's doing its job," she says. As GM's Matt Snider says in this video, different additives change the oil's color. The bottom line: Black oil still has plenty of life left in it.

Blackstone Labs

test it via chemical analysis and see how it compares to the monitor system.

 

[13TurboLTZ]

Oil changes are relatively cheap - I don't care what internet analysis says. I'm doing my first at 1,000 - second at 3,000 - then I'll follow the monitor and go to 20%

 

[T-BONE]

Oil changes are relatively cheap - I don't care what internet analysis says. I'm doing my first at 1,000 - second at 3,000 - then I'll follow the monitor and go to 20%

You should care what is best for your car. No one really thinks about this but every time you change your oil you open it up to contaminates. Moreover, if you let someone else do it...

good luck with that. And just to clarify it is not the internet telling you anything. It is science and it is your owners manual.

Do what you want even if its wrong.

 

[$ub$onic]

Every time you open your engine up it causes contamination???? Where the hell are you changing oil at. The middle of a dust storm? Engines are as sensitive as ever in today's world but there not that sensitive that you need a clean room I change the oil.

Just because someone changes there oil at 5k ( myself included) doesn't means there wrong. It mainly depends on driving condition and the fuel you run.

 

[T-BONE]

Just because someone changes there oil at 5k ( myself included) doesn't means there wrong. It mainly depends on driving condition and the fuel you run.

What I am saying was that using milage as a sole indicator of oil life (or color or smell) is not right.

People saying their Oil system is telling them they have 50% lifetime left they are neglecting to tell us how many miles was on the oil at that time. They composition of the oil used has the most impact on oil life. Oil that has break down within its components can be accurately be determined. In such circumstances I am simply gobsmacked that so many people are content simply guessing at what is best. I will also say that I would bet that using OEM oil that the OMS will be fairly consistent with what an oil analysis would actually reveal. If that were not true anyone with a damaged engine following the OMS would be able to prove the system was crap and likely the cause of their damage.

 

[13TurboLTZ]

You should care what is best for your car. No one really thinks about this but every time you change your oil you open it up to contaminates. Moreover, if you let someone else do it...

good luck with that. And just to clarify it is not the internet telling you anything. It is science and it is your owners manual.

Do what you want even if its wrong.

I really want to pick apart this post in regards to how every line you wrote is incorrect - but I feel that someone like you would just keep on arguing regardless.... Lets just say to each their own. If you dont want my advice then dont take it - but dont just say Im "wrong" without backing it up (which, even after reading your posts, you did NOT).

And if you think that people are going to have their oil analyzed every time they "feel" they need an oil change, you're friggin nuts.