A lot of car owner believe they need to change engine oil every 3,000 miles (4,828 km) depending on the vehicle and driving habits. High-performance full synthetic engine oils like Mobil 1 0W-16 promise to push that margin up to 10,000 miles (16,000 km). While new-age vehicles come with oil indicators that send notifications when it's time for an oil change, a little bit of math and solid engineering advice could save you some trouble.
A lot of car experts recommend changing your engine oil every 3,000 miles (4,828 km). For most people, this is common knowledge, but for a curious mind, this marker is ambiguous, considering no two cars or driving habits are equal.
Additionally, recent car models require a blend of synthetic or full synthetic, low-viscosity oils that minimize friction and improve fuel economy. For a new car owner, this 3,000 miles/oil change "blanket statement" is a little confusing.
Two years ago, an engineer shared some solid gems on Reddit that offer more clarity on oil life. It involves a little bit of math and sound scientific reasoning. The post got an overwhelming approval rate from car enthusiasts and still acts as a reference point today.
Photo: Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
"Engineer here for a major automotive company. An older colleague passed along this oil life rule of thumb before he retired. It's too good not to share." He wrote on the platform.
According to the engineer, his colleague reviewed thousands of oil analysis data over his career and developed a simple formula: Oil life in distance = engine oil capacity x 200 x fuel economy. In this rule of thumb, fuel burn is 200X oil capacity.
The main idea is to calculate the fuel volume used in one oil service and then convert it to distance using your vehicle's fuel efficiency (Oil life in distance = engine oil capacity x 200 x fuel economy).
If your oil capacity is 5 liters, multiply that by 200. The result is 1,000 liters. Considering your average consumption is 8L/100 km, divide 1000 liters by 8 liters, then multiply by 100 km. Your oil life is 12,500 km.
Oil capacity = 5L
Average fuel economy (for example, is 8L per 100km)
Calculation:
5L x 200 = 1000L
1000L divided by 8L = 125
125 x 100km = 12,500 km
Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
If your capacity is 5 quarts of oil, you will multiply 5 quarts by 1,000 quarts of fuel. Convert it to gallons (1 quart = 0.25 gallons). The result is 250 gallons. Multiply the result by your average consumption (e.g., 20 mpg). The result is 5,000 miles.
Oil capacity = 5 quarts
Calculation:
5 quarts X 200 = 1,000 quarts
Conversion to gallons: (1 quart = 0.25 gallons)
1,000 X 0.25 = 250 gallons
250 gallons of fuel consumption X 20 mpg = 5,000 miles
The formula, while complicated, seems relatable. Most commenters agreed with the values. The post has over 1,200 upvotes, 11 approval badges, and more than 500 comments. What's the oil life of your vehicle based on this RoT? Are they relatable? Share them in the comment section. We'd be happy to discuss this further.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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