First Oil Change

FenderBender

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A salesman where I bought my Regal says I should get my first oil change at 3k miles, then follow the oil life system alerts thereafter. That isn't what my manual says and I haven't been able to verify that this is correct advice anywhere online.

Did your dealer or service tech tell you to do your first oil change at 3k miles? Or have you just followed the oil life system?
 
My dealer put one of those window sticker reminders when I bought the car. It said to change at 3000 miles too. I took my car in at 7500 miles to get the tire rotation and had them change the oil then. I think I may change every 7500 just to be safe.
 
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follow life system...
Exactly. The 3,000 mile oil change interval is just a money generator for the dealership.

Here is more information on GM's Oil Life Monitor...

LS1GTO.com said:
One thing I can touch on and clear up.....the GM oil life monitor operation and my statement that ZDP (or ZDDP as you tend to call it here...most of the API literature just sticks to ZDP so I tend to use that) depletion is the basis for oil deterioration.My spelling is poor but ZDP stands for zinc dialkyldithiophosphate which , as it sounds, is an anti-wear compound comprised of zinc and phosphorus.
ZDP is dispersed in the oil so as to be at a potential wear site if a surface asperity happens to break thru the oil film thickness causing the dreaded metal-to-metal contact. A molecule of ZDP must be present at that moment to prevent microwelding at the contact site which will cause material transfer, scuffing, scoring, wear and catostrophic failure. The concentration of ZDP in the oil will determine if there is ZDP present to work it's magic. The greater the concentration...the more likely a molecule of ZDP will be there...and vice versa.
By nature, ZDP is sacrifical. As ZDP is "used up" at a wear site to prevent micorwelding the concentration of ZDP decreases.... So...if you measure the ZDP concentration in engine oil in a running engine it will decrease at linear rate based on engine revolutions. Any given engine has a certain number of high potential wear areas where metal-to-metal contact could occur due to reduced film thickness and/or surface asperities....areas such as rubbing element cam followers, distributor gears, rocker arm pivots, push rod tips, etc...... The more of these areas the more ZDP depletion. The more often these features come in contact the greater the ZDP depletion. That is why, generally speaking, ZDP concentration in the oil, for any given engine, will decrease at a fairly linear rate when plotted versus cummulative engine revolutions. The more times it turns the more contact the more chance for wear the greater the depletion. This is as much of a fact as I could quote ever and is really not speculation or anything. It is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in many studies. That is why it is ONE of the basis for determining oil life remaining and why it is THE basic premis of the GM oil life algorithm. It is only ONE of the things that determines oil life...but it is the one thing that can be tied to engine operation in a linear fashion and estimated very accurately by accumulating engine revolutions via a counter.
The GM engine oil life monitor counts engine revolutions and accumulates the number for the basis of the oil life calculation. It then adds deterioration factors for operating temperature, start up temperature, soak times, ambient, coolant temperature, etc... There are a LOT of factors that "adjust" or affect the slope of the deterioration but the fundamental deterioration is traced back to the ZDP depletion that is inescapable with engine revolutions. The specific rate of ZDP depletion is readily measurable for any given engine so that is the fundamental item that is first calibrated for the oil life algorithm to tailor it specifically to that engine.
You would obviously like to get the oil out of the engine before the ZDP concentration gets so low that it is ineffective at being at the right place at the right time and preventing engine wear so that becomes the long term limit on oil life for that application.
The other things that determine oil life such a acid build up, oxidation, petane insuluables such as silicon from dust/dirt, carbon or soot build up from the EGR in blowby, water contamination, fuel contamination, etc.... are all modeled by the multipliers or deterioration factors that "adjust" the immediate slope of the line defined by the engine revolution counter as those items can be modeled in other ways and accounted for in the immediate slope of the ZDP depletion line.
The algorithm was developed over the course of many years by several lubrication experts at GM Fuels and Lubes, spearheaded by Doctor Shirley Schwartz who holds the patents (with GM) for the algorithm and the oil life montitor. I had the luck of working directly with Dr. Schwartz when the idea of the oil life monitor first progressed from the theoretical/lab stage to real world testing/development/validation. There were fleets of cars operated under all conditions that deteriorate the oil life for any and every reason and , thru oil sampling and detailed analysis of the oil condition, the algorithm was developed, fine tuned and validated to be the most accurate way invented yet to recommend an oil change interval by. As just one example, I have seen cars driven side-by-side on trips, one towing a trailer and one not, for instance, to prove the effectiveness of the oil life monitor in deteriorating the oil at a faster rate just because of the higher load, higher average RPM, higher temps, etc...and it works flawlessly.
The oil life monitor is so effective because: it is customized for that specific vehicle/engine, it takes everything into account that deteriorates the oil, it is ALWAYS working so as to take into account THAT INDIVIDUALS driving schedule, and it tailors the oil change to that schedule and predicts, on an ongoing basis, the oil life remaining so that that specific individual can plan an oil change accordingly. No other system can do this that effectively.
One thing is that I know personally from years of testing and thousands of oil analysis that the oil life algorithm works. There is simply no argument to the contrary. If you don't believe me, fine, but, trust me, it works. It is accurate because it has been calibrated for each specific engine it is installed on and there is considerable testing and validation of the oil life monitor on that specific application. NOt something that oil companies or Amsoil do. They generalize....the oil life monitor is very specific for that application.
Oil condition sensors in some BMW and Mercedes products are useful, also. They have their limitations, though, as they can be blind to some contaminates and can, themselves, be contaminated by certain markers or constituents of certain engine oils. Oil condition sensors can only react to the specific oil at that moment and they add complexity, cost and another potential item to fail. One other beauty of the GM oil life monitor is that it is all software and does not add any mechanical complexity, mass, wiring or potential failure mechanism.
There is considerable safety factor in the GM oil life monitor. Typically, I would say, there is a 2:1 safety factor in the slope of the ZDP depletion curve....in other words, zero percent oil life per the ZDP depletion is not zero ZDP but twice the concentration of ZDP considered critical for THAT engine to operate under all conditions reliably with no wear. This is always a subject of discussion as to just how low do you want the ZDP to get before the oil is "worn out" if this is the deciding factor for oil life. We would tend to be on the conservative side. If the oil life is counting down on a slope that would recommend a 10K change interval then there is probably 20K oil life before the ZDP is catostrophically depleted....not that you would want to go there...but reason why many people are successful in running those change intervals.
Please...NOT ALL ENGINES ARE THE SAME. The example above is an excellent practical justification of why you would want to add EOS and change the 15W40 Delvac in the muscle car at 3000 miles max and yet can run the Northstar to 12500 easily on conventional oil. You must treat each engine and situation differently and what applies to one does not retroactively apply to others. This is where Amsoil falls short in my book by proposing long change intervals in most everything if you use their oil. It just doesn't work that way. You can run the Amsoil to 12500 with no concerns whatsoever in the late model Northstar because even the oil life monitor tells you that for conventional oil off the shelf. Would I do that to the 502 in my 66 Chevelle...NO WAY. Amsoil says I can though. Wrong.
There are entire SAE papers written on the GM oil life monitor and one could write a book on it so it is hard to touch on all aspects of it in a single post. Hopefully we hit the high spots. Realize that a GREAT deal of time, work and energy went into developing the oil life monitor and it has received acclaim from engineering organizations, petroleum organizations, environmental groups all across the board. It is not some widget invented in a week and tacked onto the car.
The oil life monitor is not under the control of a summer intern at GM Powertrain per an earlier post....LOL Not that a summer intern wasn't compiling calibrations or doing a project on it but is under control of the lube group with a variety of engineers directly responsible that have immediate responsibility for the different engine families and engine groups. The idea that a summer intern was responsible for or handling the oil life monitor is ludicrous.....LOL LOL LOL "
per a GM engineer.
 
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Thank you for the information, GottWhat; lot of good info there. However, my question was not necessarily the oil change interval, but the first oil change and whether it should be done at 3,000 miles.

My odometer is at 3,022 as of this morning and the oil life system shows 76% remaining. Oil change or no?
 
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Thank you for the information, GottWhat; lot of good info there. However, my question was not necessarily the oil change interval, but the first oil change and whether it should be done at 3,000 miles.

My odometer is at 3,022 as of this morning and the oil life system shows 76% remaining. Oil change or no?
Personally, I would follow the oil life system. But do what you feel most comfortable with. If you are really concerned, do an oil analysis.

Also, I have heard of some manufactures running a different formulated oil that promotes proper break-in. Is this true and/or does this include our engines? I do not know...
 
The turbo cars run full synthetic oil from factory from my understanding with a special DEXOS rating. Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30 is now DEXOS certified and you can run this oil if its on the container. (Wal-mart sells the 5QT jug for $25) There's nothing wrong with changing the oil first at 3,000 miles, then following the oil life interval. That's very logical since synthetic oil can go 7,500 miles with no problems.

Remember: Changing the oil early is ok and wont hurt a thing.

My 1st oil change was at 1500 miles to get the metal shavings out. My next one will be at 4500, then i will follow the oil life intervals. Call me super precautious 🙂

Just curious, what are the dealerships charging for your oil changes in these cars?
 
The turbo cars run full synthetic oil from factory from my understanding with a special DEXOS rating. Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30 is now DEXOS certified and you can run this oil if its on the container. (Wal-mart sells the 5QT jug for $25) There's nothing wrong with changing the oil first at 3,000 miles, then following the oil life interval. That's very logical since synthetic oil can go 7,500 miles with no problems.

Remember: Changing the oil early is ok and wont hurt a thing.

My 1st oil change was at 1500 miles to get the metal shavings out. My next one will be at 4500, then i will follow the oil life intervals. Call me super precautious 🙂

Just curious, what are the dealerships charging for your oil changes in these cars?

Mine was $50 but that included the tire rotation. I can find my receipt if you want an exact amount.
 
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You will never hurt any engine by changing the oil too often. That being said, I specifically asked the dealer this question when I picked my Regal up and he said that there is no need to do the first oil change earlier than the oil life monitor says to.

I know people that change their oil every 3K no matter what the oil life monitor says. Doesn't hurt anything but their wallet.

This is at least my 4th vehicle with an oil life monitor and I have always followed it and never had an engine issue. The only thing I ever changed is that I have always used Mobil 1 synthetic whether the manufacturer called for it or not. And stick to the same SAE and weight that the manufacturer says to use no matter what anyone, other than perhaps the dealer, tells you. I don't care if you know a guy that's been a mechanic for 150 years, do what the manufacturer says to do. With all maintenance on your vehicle, follow the manufacturer's recommendations and you will get a long life out of it.

And if you always follow the manufacturer's instructions and haven't modded anything they will have a VERY hard time blaming you for a warranty issue.
 
For my old 2005 Allure/LaCrosse CX 3.8L I changed the oil up to 25% on OLM readout or up to 5000-6000 miles and the car ran fine 70,000 mi with 1/2 quart of oil added between the changes.

Check oil level once a month and its appearance and follow OLM with no worries.🙂
 
In our T02, I changed oil and filter at 800 miles to get rid of any break-in particles. I used Mobil 1 5W-30 Dexos and a PF457G filter. My plan is to run this oil to 50% oil life on the OLM, change again, and then make all future intervals at 20-30% oil life, or 7000 miles - whichever comes first.

Excessive? Maybe. However, Oil changes on this car are easy, and for the cost, I feel better knowing I am not running the oil until it is dead. DI engines and turbo engines are hard on oil. Our Turbo Regals have both.
 
The 458 includes the cap and cap seal...whatever that means. The 457 will work just fine. That is what I have used with no problems on my turbo.
 
The 458 includes the cap and cap seal...whatever that means. The 457 will work just fine. That is what I have used with no problems on my turbo.


That is exactly correct. Rockauto.com has the PF458G for a good price (with cap), but the PF457G is exactly the same element. You can snap it into your existing cap. I used a Hengst-manufactured AC Delco PF457G from Advance Auto Parts. The "cap seal" is the o-ring on the cap, and the "cap" is the part you unscrew from the block to change filters. The Rockauto site shows a good picture of what is included with the PF458G.

Hengst supplied the OEM filter, and many AC Delco PF457G replacement filters are made in the USA by Hengst (clearly marked on the filter element). Be careful! AC Delco has several sources. The AC Delco PF457G filters I examined at Wal-Mart were NOT Hengst filters, and they were made in Bulgaria.

The Bulgaria AC Delco filters may be just fine, and they will certainly meet warrantly requirements, but I felt better about using the Advance Auto made-in-USA filter that matched the factory installed filter I removed.

Hope this helps!
 
+1 for rockauto.com. That's where I bought the oil filters. Best price I could find.
 
I use Mobile 1 pure one oil filters and Mobile 1 full synthetic oil 5W-30.

On our turbo engines I change the oil at 5k mile intervals because turbo powered engines produce more blow by then naturally aspirated engines.

I would also highly suggest Seafoaming DI engines at 10k mile intervals (I do mine at 5k intervals and right before I change the oil) due to massive carbon build up on the valves from lack of fuel hitting them to keep them clean.
 
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