Re: 2800+ Hours..
More Random Oil Notes:
The real question is not how dirty the oil looks but how much wear the engine is suffering. As a confessed gear head, I followed oil testing and formulations mostly within our company ( the one that posts record profits) . As the newer formulations were being developed, the labs in Sarnia, Ontario did a lot of endurance testing and comparison testing against the competitors. The test that impressed me was the 100,000 mile test that was done on trucks. The engines were never stopped during the test and teh oil was not changed. That oil was really black at the end of the test.. Black is not as bad as it seems because the soot particles that blow by the rings on a diesel are very much smaller than the clearances in the running engine. This includes the protective film layers on the running parts. Engine disassembly and measurements showed the truck engines to be essentially wear free except for the camshafts, the highest wear points in most engines. The cams were still well within tolerance but the wear could be measured. I am not trying to change anyone’s opinion here because the service on boats is much more severe (no cooling from air over the pan and crankcase, high humidity) than in trucks, but with today’s premium oils, there is very little risk of damaging an engine if changing oil and filter every season; I think the book says about 100 hours. The premium oils of today are very much better than oil was 10 years ago. That being said, it is cheap and if ya change it often, there is no need to go to the more expensive synthetics.. I'll stop now, but I can talk from this soapbox until eyes glaze over.. and may have just done that ..
