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In this case I think the times have changed but old advice has stuck. From my understanding, cars until the 80s or so did need their oil changed this often, but

In this case I think the times have changed but old advice has stuck. From my understanding, cars until the 80s or so did need their oil changed this often, but newer cars with EFI and especially if you use synthetic, its no longer necessary to do so. Its been many years since I bought a new car, but IIRC even the mid 2000s you were supposed to get an oil change relatively soon after getting a car as fine particles that weren't entirely machined off should have been worked off in the first thousand miles or so and you were told to get an oil change then. There is also the case of changing oil for hot and cold seasons- getting thinner oil in the winter and thicker in warmer weather to adjust. I think thats more or less a thing of the past as well, my Honda does not specify/recommend this in the owners manual but perhaps some cars do? Old adages sometimes stick around forever though- especially when there is money to be made in keeping them alive.

jtriangle 2y ago
Remember that the manufacturers recommendations are designed around keeping the car operational through whatever warranty period they sell the car with. It's not some sort of ideal program and some benefit exists from changing fluids more often than specified. Specifically, transmission fluid is often considered 'lifetime' fluid that doesn't need to be changed, and, if you follow that advice, you end up replacing the transmission, an expensive endeavor, whereas if you don't, you can typically double its usable lifetime. You also have to be careful about engine oil, because the margin of error is very small. Most modern cars have an oil minder, and those work well provided the oil itself is in spec.
deleted 2y ago
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mrintegrity 2y ago
>Old adages sometimes stick around forever though- especially when there is money to be made in keeping them alive. Don't forget to make your swap space double the size of your ram!

jtriangle 2y ago

Remember that the manufacturers recommendations are designed around keeping the car operational through whatever warranty period they sell the car with. It's not some sort of ideal program and some benefit exists from changing fluids more often than specified. Specifically, transmission fluid is often considered 'lifetime' fluid that doesn't need to be changed, and, if you follow that advice, you end up replacing the transmission, an expensive endeavor, whereas if you don't, you can typically double its usable lifetime. You also have to be careful about engine oil, because the margin of error is very small. Most modern cars have an oil minder, and those work well provided the oil itself is in spec.

deleted 2y ago

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mrintegrity 2y ago

>Old adages sometimes stick around forever though- especially when there is money to be made in keeping them alive. Don't forget to make your swap space double the size of your ram!