Davew77

Which is why the manufacturer has shorter oil change intervals for vehicles which fall under special circumstances, such as excessive idle times. This will compensate for the shorter oil life.

I will concede that excessive idling (30%+ of the engine running time) could be detrimental to an engine in the long term (over 150k miles) if the oil is not changed at the correct interval for the engine usage. But using a remote start every day and letting the car idle for 10 minutes during warm up is not going to have a big effect on the average car within the first 200k miles. Not enough for the average person to be worried about it. If they are worried about it then they should change their oil sooner.

danielTRLK

Maybe I didn't explain well. When you idle, you don't get oil up top. If you don't get oil pressure up top, you get wear from lack of lubrication and then you get wear in the lower end because your oil is diluted. The wear uptop has nothing to do with changing the oil. 10 minutes is nuts, too long, the Lexus blows heat in a few minutes or A/C at worst. Again you can probably run to 200K but you're not going to preserve that power, you end up getting soot everywhere as well and a bunch of nasty bad stuff. It's about performance for me. what is your definition of big effect? for everyone is different, a loss of 70 horsepower for some would be big, for some it wouldn't big. All depends on what you want

Davew77

I think you are exaggerating the problem. I had a 350z that had an aftermarket turbo that was still doing 1/4 mile runs at 100k miles. My times did not decrease over time and it idled a LOT! It would be idling for 30 minutes sometimes while waiting to get my run in. A 70 hp decrease would have been a noticeable effect on my 1/4 mile times. It had a lot more than 467 hp... at the wheels even.

danielTRLK

70 HP is not that much on a 467HP engine after 200,000 miles. That's a 15% power loss.

Davew77

Well, all I can say is... if it was a real problem, then why after all of these years of automobiles being driven have they not implemented a better oil pump that can pump adequate oil to the engine at idle? How do you know for certain that they haven't already?

It's a real simple solution to what you consider to be a major problem.

mjeds

I don't think anyone considers it a major problem, like many things it is subjective. To each there own, there are schools of though on both sides of the coin and it is up to the individual to decide for themselves.

Davew77

Well, I would consider a 15% power loss to be a major problem. If you are pushing 700 hp at the wheels that would be over 100 hp loss at the wheels. That's 1 second off of a 1/4 mile time, or 10 car lengths. At the very least, my 350z should have suffered a 8% loss in power at 100k miles using this logic, and it idled a lot more than 10 minutes at a time. I did not notice any loss. Even a 10 hp loss would have been noticeable in my times, but just barely... 8% would have been like 50 hp... So I guess this 15% loss only happens all at once at 200k miles?

My uncle was servicing fleet vehicles. Some of those fleet vehicles had over 400k miles on them. He said there was no noticeable wear on any of the engine components between the vehicles which idled a lot and those that didn't. Some handled local deliveries while others travelled long distances. The local delivery vehicles idled a lot.

The only differences were with the vehicles that did short trips and didn't run at operating temperature long enough to burn away the impurities in the oil.

I don't know about most members here, but I will not likely have my RC F over 200k miles. I've said about all I can about this. I feel like I'm repeating myself already. Some of what I read on the internet never matches up with my real world experiences. Maybe I'm just lucky...

GetKinetic

cop cars would be dying left and right if idling was bad

danielTRLK

Because if manufacturers really wanted Dave, they could easily implement oil filters, not even pumps, that would allow your engine oil to last 25,000 miles, EASY. They don't. There's money that needs to be made on the service side, it's why they don't build indestructible things, otherwise where would the entire automotive industry go? I've been working with an industrial manufacturer who's filtration system has tripled the typical OCI. I asked the owner why he hasn't approached any big OEM's, he said they are all uninterested because it would reduce visits to the service department. Plus your uncle would have been or be out of work.

100,000 is not 200,000 miles. There is an exponential difference between the two. You can idle all day long and not have issues and do 100,000 all day. Power losses do occur on vehicles, the longer you go, the bigger the loss. Bench cell testing reveals this to be true.

I am routinely ONSITE at FD, PDs, Public works, airports and service departments on dime by big oil companies. Cop cars and ambulances die left and right after 100,000 miles. It's why many departments with decent budgets get rid of their rides at 100,000.

I'm sure you uncle has his experience. But he also likely didn't have a dyno to either confirm or deny power losses. You can not see wear in an engine, the same way you can under lab equipment. Also, I'm assuming they were diesel vehicles, which are a different ball game. Even today we're starting to see issues with idling diesels. Why? because of the EPA mandate on ultra low sulfer(max 15ppm), the fuel is no longer as lubricating. and diesel guys love idling.

lexusnutt

Poor man's Seafoam!

lexusrus

So true. Plus all the ambulances idling for long periods too. I know, I know.......Most ambulances are diesel whereas cop cars are gas.

Also true that the oil in the vehicles in the above examples got changed more often than "normal" operating conditions.

Buddiiee

10 minutes of idle? Call Blackstone labs and ask them what that does to your oil...

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

For all those who would believe automotive malware is not an issue:

Chrisris

The car kills its self for potential theft or dumb people that think they could.

the car cuts out when the door opens. Many do it with the brake pedal.

Chrisris

Air conditioning for super hot days is a nice thing, why get into an oven waiting for the ac to kick in?