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Oil change advice

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For you expert mechanics - I have a 2015 Rubicon FA7 with 3600 miles on it. I have always used Amsoil engine oil and Honda oil filters on my machines (full synthetic). I have always followed the recommended oil change intervals pretty close. My question is this - I changed the oil this summer and have done more riding than usual. Very little dust, mostly in the woods. Indicator say's it's time for a change. Does it really need to be changed that often with synthetic or just do the filter?

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16 minutes ago, PROV said:

For you expert mechanics

 

Well this disqualifies me but I'll give some thoughts anyway 🤣

 

Change the oil. It does more than pick up debris as you know and moisture plays a huge role.

If never ran, the bike would have no miles and no hours but could potentially (in the wrong conditions) pick up moisture in the case.

 

I'm not saying that I think you have water in the oil or anything but just as it doesn't cost much and is an easy job... go ahead and change.

 

I will change oil 3-4 times if riding hard and change the filter less regularly as a personal preference.

 

To answer your original question of do you need to change? No. Probably not

Would I and should you? Yep. Feel good knowing you are running on fresh oil!

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change the oil and oil filter, make sure to not install the oil filter backwards !..lol.

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2 minutes ago, shadetree said:

change the oil and oil filter, make sure to not install the oil filter backwards !..lol.

Hahahaha!! That will never happen. Been changing my own for 35 years. Have heard of it happening though 😂.

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38 minutes ago, PROV said:

Hahahaha!! That will never happen. Been changing my own for 35 years. Have heard of it happening though 😂.

hey..stupid owners do it all the time !..lol.

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Have never heard of someone having problems from over changing their oil , yet  ----- 

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Your riding might be different than for others so the real question is which tripped the meter first, miles or hours. I have customers with the 1000 sxs and since they are street legal here and the manuals conflict oil changes my best recommendation to them is to check the oil. Oil is cheap compared to major overhauls so once it's starting to turn dark you know it's breaking down and collecting particles. Judge it and change the oil when needed. For most of my customers I have seen no benefit of using synthetic over conventional as the heat breaks them down about the same (Ive never done the testing though). They are used for work mainly around here so that makes a difference since they get a lot of slow/idle time. 

Spoiler

 

 

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6 hours ago, PROV said:

Hahahaha!! That will never happen. Been changing my own for 35 years. Have heard of it happening though 😂.

 

How did you discide all those years ? color / texture of the oil or miles / hours ? i myself go by when the oil changes from amber to black .. and feels slightly thin, between your finger tips, but as stated .. it won't hurt to change it more often .. least not the engine, just the wallet.... i never go with those meters ... reminds of those dummy oil lights on the dash.. once they flash, that's all she wrote. 

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33 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said:

 

How did you discide all those years ? color / texture of the oil or miles / hours ? i myself go by when the oil changes from amber to black .. and feels slightly thin, between your finger tips, but as stated .. it won't hurt to change it more often .. least not the engine, just the wallet.... i never go with those meters ... reminds of those dummy oil lights on the dash.. once they flash, that's all she wrote. 

when my '' change engine oil '' notice flashes on my truck ( which is programed to come on every 3000 miles ) i change it as soon as i can ?, or when i have the money ?..lol.

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5 hours ago, _Wilson_™ said:

 

How did you discide all those years ? color / texture of the oil or miles / hours ? i myself go by when the oil changes from amber to black .. and feels slightly thin, between your finger tips, but as stated .. it won't hurt to change it more often .. least not the engine, just the wallet.... i never go with those meters ... reminds of those dummy oil lights on the dash.. once they flash, that's all she wrote. 

I have always changed it at the prescribed intervals in the manual. Just thought I would get opinions from the experts.

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Oil is cheap.  Engines are not

 

I change mine every 500.  Manual says every 600, but if I change at 500 it REAL easy to remember when it needs to be changed.  Every even 1K or 500 mile interval.

 

Once I started doing that I never have to try to remember when it's due for a change. 

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1 hour ago, jeepwm69 said:

Oil is cheap.  Engines are not

 

I change mine every 500.  Manual says every 600, but if I change at 500 it REAL easy to remember when it needs to be changed.  Every even 1K or 500 mile interval.

 

Once I started doing that I never have to try to remember when it's due for a change. 

 

id say i would be close to that ^^^^ i change mine every six months, but .. if i had to guess.... mine get changed too often. no way i add up 500. 

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5 hours ago, PROV said:

I have always changed it at the prescribed intervals in the manual. Just thought I would get opinions from the experts.

 

not a thing wrong with getting opinions..... I'm just used to bigger friction shell bearing engines ... which breaks down oil quicker .. unlike ball bearing engines... but granted ... heat variations ... do make a defrence. in the time oil does break down. 

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Something I was thinking and wanted to add to this discussion...

I would ask yourself these questions if you haven't already.

 

What determines the recommended oil change intervals?

and

Is there any disadvantage (aside from cost) to changing oil more often than recommended?

 

The intervals are determined by cost per hour (cost per mile)

Manufacturers want to design their engines in a way that they operating costs are lower than any competition. 

Everything else being equal if one machine needed the oil changed less regularly it is therefor less expensive to run.

This drives the manufacturer to use additives, synthetic blends, and recommend longer intervals to avoid having the high operating costs.

 

Tin foil hat on here but any smart manufacturer would want you to run the machine just long enough to feel like you got your money out of it and then buy another.

What is their incentive to make a machine that lasts forever? Nothing.

They make it last one day longer than the competitor at a lower price and they get all the money. 

Many people sitting in a boardroom having cost/benefit conversations from a shareholder perspective.

 

Rotella T6 5w-40 can basically be ran in any machine and bought by the case is a reasonably priced option.

I feel great about having fresh oil in my machines WAY more frequently than recommended. Lots of trouble free miles behind me so I'm good with it.

 

Changing oil more often than required is a pay for it now or pay for it later deal to a T.

Edited by oh400ex
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I use T6 as my regular oil.  When in doubt, I change it (for machines that don't have meters).

 

That said, in my experience with Honda engines, they'll last pretty much forever with REGULAR use if you go by the manufacturer's maint schedule.

 

I say regular use, because if someone is using an ATV as a race engine, or a mud pit bike, then yeah, more frequent changes would be a good idea.

 

I sold my 93 Accord with 360K on it, didn't use or leak a drop of oil, and I changed the oil every 3750 miles for the first 200K or so, then went to 5K on the intervals because most of the miles were highway miles, and the newer Hondas went to a 5K oil change interval.

 

I've done my current 94 Accord for 290K miles, just doing the 5K intervals, and it's been just as good. No issues with the engine, although the rest of the car hasn't been as good as the 93.  That's what I get for getting the first year of a redesign as opposed to the last year of a prior design  (94-97 was a different design than 90-93 in the Accord)

 

 

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