How often do you change your oil?

[Ricco1]

I know that engine manufacturers state a number of engine hours after which the oil and filter should be changed. I guess that some follow this guideline, others do their own thing.

 

To those that do their own thing, how often/ after how many engine hours do you change your oil and filter? And do you always change both?

 

I'm fairly new to boats but I change the oil in my motorbike more often than is recommended, but only replace the oil filter every other time. Why? because the filter seems fine after a thousand miles.

[Guest]

Always change both at the same time.

 

We do ours annually in the autumn. (Due now as it happens)

 

Some may shudder at not doing it strictly on a 'change based on hours' basis but we don't put a huge number of ours on each year so it works for us.

[Guest]

I change the oil and filter before winter lay up, regardless of hours from last oil change (the most important oil change for my money.) I then change it before our long summer cruise. It is then changed at between 100 and 150 hrs intervals during the cruise. I always change the filter when changing oil; they are just consumables.

All fuel filters changed every year at beginning of season.

[JDR]

I'd go by the manufacturer's recommendation for a boat and do the filter every change. The oil in my engine is normally still clear after 250hrs if I noticed it going black much earlier I'd reduce the time between changes. Your engine may be different. I'd also change the fuel filter at the same time as that is the biggest showstopper on diesel boat engines.

 

On a motorbike engine there are more variables, if I had a bike with camshaft running directly in the head or did a lot of town work 1k changes would be the order of the day. If I had a bike with seperate g/box 5k and if it was a despatch bike then when it gets so bad you can't change gear.

[Grace and Favour]

Our engine manufacturers recommend changing oil every 250 running hours

 

I always change oil and filter every 200 hours - - in both engine and gearbox - (I would always recommend changing oil and filter at the same time)

[mrsmelly]

Oil and filter every 100 hours. Costs peanuts and a doddle to get at on this boat.

 

Tim

[bigste]

In this day and age if you use synthetic oil it will last a very long time. What won't last is the filter. A filter will get clogged up in time no matter how good it is. In my previous life I have had oils and filters laboratory tested and was amazed by some of the results. Synthetic oils can last for many more times than mineral oils and most engine specs are for mineral. Filters can soon become less efficient although they are unlikely to block up they will reduce the flow. In my car engine I never change the oil and it's done 140,000, I do change the filter about every 10, 000 and top up the oil. It uses fully synthetic oil and uses none between filter changes. Ask yourself why top pros use synthetic rather than mineral. It's not because of better lubrication, it's because it doesn't break down under hard use.

[Tony Brooks]

In this day and age if you use synthetic oil it will last a very long time. What won't last is the filter. A filter will get clogged up in time no matter how good it is. In my previous life I have had oils and filters laboratory tested and was amazed by some of the results. Synthetic oils can last for many more times than mineral oils and most engine specs are for mineral. Filters can soon become less efficient although they are unlikely to block up they will reduce the flow. In my car engine I never change the oil and it's done 140,000, I do change the filter about every 10, 000 and top up the oil. It uses fully synthetic oil and uses none between filter changes. Ask yourself why top pros use synthetic rather than mineral. It's not because of better lubrication, it's because it doesn't break down under hard use.

 

I am not going into the synthetic oil debate except to point out that some engine marinisers have warned against using them, but it may be fine once the engine is very well run in.

 

I would dispute that a clogged filter would reduce the oil flow. As long as you use a reputable make and not an "Indian" fake then it will have a pressure differential valve in it that opens to allow unfiltered oil to flow through and lubricate the engine. Not good, but there is no reason the believe this will reduce the flow,.

[bizzard]

 

I am not going into the synthetic oil debate except to point out that some engine marinisers have warned against using them, but it may be fine once the engine is very well run in.

 

I would dispute that a clogged filter would reduce the oil flow. As long as you use a reputable make and not an "Indian" fake then it will have a pressure differential valve in it that opens to allow unfiltered oil to flow through and lubricate the engine. Not good, but there is no reason the believe this will reduce the flow,.

Oil agree with that.

[steelaway]

Oil agree with that.

 

Whale oil beef hooked!

 

Alex

[junior]

I don't even have an oil filter on my engine, so I don't need to tell you how often it gets changed!

[dmr]

Frequent oil changes are one of the kindest things you can do for an engine.

Ours has a 250 hour interval but I aim for 200 hours so that if the change comes round at an inconvenient time I can delay a week or so without feeling bad. Filters are quick to change so I would change the filter every time.

However if you decide to go for very frequent changes, such as half the recommended interval, then a filter change every other interval would be fine.

Relying on the filter bypass valve to compensate for infrequent filter changes is just daft.

I use good oil but can still hear the engine sounding better after an oil change (I think)

 

Note that although modern automotive engines are designed for long service intervals this is for the benefit of the customer and marketing department, NOT for the benefit of the engine.

 

...........Dave

[Tony Brooks]

Just to point out that I never advocated relying upon the bypass valve. i was simply correcting what I believe to be incorrect information, be it passed on in good faith.

[Captain Fizz]

Oil and filter at 150hrs engine and gearbox.

[Boat&Bikes]

I know that engine manufacturers state a number of engine hours after which the oil and filter should be changed. I guess that some follow this guideline, others do their own thing.

 

To those that do their own thing, how often/ after how many engine hours do you change your oil and filter? And do you always change both?

 

I'm fairly new to boats but I change the oil in my motorbike more often than is recommended, but only replace the oil filter every other time. Why? because the filter seems fine after a thousand miles.

Out of interest what bike are you changing the oil on so often? Seems a little keen to me.

[JDR]

If it is a 100-200cc engine based on Honda CG/XL that would be about right if you wanted the engine to last. Most of the Korean/Spanish/Chinese engines are exact copies of either 70s Hondas or Suzuki GS/DR engines.Have a look at a Derbi Cross City on google, it's an early seventies Honda engine.

[Guest]

If it is a 100-200cc engine based on Honda CG/XL that would be about right if you wanted the engine to last. Most of the Korean/Spanish/Chinese engines are exact copies of either 70s Hondas or Suzuki GS/DR engines.Have a look at a Derbi Cross City on google, it's an early seventies Honda engine.

I used to change the oil at 1,000 miles on '70's Hondas. I know my CB400F camshaft ran directly in the head casting (no shells etc.) and if you wanted that engine to go around the clock (which they could) then frequent oil and filters were the key. The oil also lubed the gearbox; another reason for regular changes. I raced the 400 in production class, eventually putting a Yoshi cam and 460 conversion in it, and it was bulletproof. I put that down to the regular oil changes.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Guest

[Flyboy]

I used to change the oil at 1,000 miles on '70's Hondas. I know my CB400F camshaft ran directly in the head casting (no shells etc.) and if you wanted that engine to go around the clock (which they could) then frequent oil and filters were the key. The oil also lubed the gearbox; another reason for regular changes. I raced the 400 in production class, eventually putting a Yoshi cam and 460 conversion in it, and it was bulletproof. I put that down to the regular oil changes.

I don't understand why these bikes require an oil change in such a low mileage. Is it because they have a small sump? Most modern cars run camshafts direct in alloy heads and they will run for 150k miles + with 12k miles oil changes using supermarket oil.

[Guest]

I don't understand why these bikes require an oil change in such a low mileage. Is it because they have a small sump? Most modern cars run camshafts direct in alloy heads and they will run for 150k miles + with 12k miles oil changes using supermarket oil.

Better oil these days (synthetic etc.), cars hold far more oil than a bike of that era, cars have larger filter area, those bikes shared oil with the engine and gearbox, plus being air cooled, the oil worked a lot harder. Also I used to thrash my bikes. All in all a bottle of oil and a filter made sense at 1,000mls. (such a quick and easy job.) I used to save the oil and put it in my Viva, so it got two lives (the Viva had a total loss system as it used to burn it off.)

 

As an aside my car has a 12,000 interval, that is until you read carefully. You must halve it if; you tow a caravan, do short runs, do long runs, shop at Asda, don't shop at Asda, are going bald etc. The 12,000 isn't quite what it seems (in the case of my car.) That said I only change mine yearly; it's only a car.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Guest

[JDR]

Plain bearings are OK where you can guarantee oil pressure and quality. Small bikes, especially learner bikes have two throttle settings, closed and wide open. It was a known issue on lots of small Jap bikes. As long as you accepted it and did regular oil changes it wasn't an issue. Larger bikes of the same period (GS/Z) were built to last and would regularly do 100k miles at a time when Triumph were still trying to flog a piss poor 1930s engine to an increasingly underwhelmed public.

[Guest]

Plain bearings are OK where you can guarantee oil pressure and quality. Small bikes, especially learner bikes have two throttle settings, closed and wide open. It was a known issue on lots of small Jap bikes. As long as you accepted it and did regular oil changes it wasn't an issue. Larger bikes of the same period (GS/Z) were built to last and would regularly do 100k miles at a time when Triumph were still trying to flog a piss poor 1930s engine to an increasingly underwhelmed public.

I used to ride a Bonny T140V a lot which belonged to a friend. I can't say I didn't like it, because there was something about it, but it used to leave a calling card of oil on the ground wherever it was parked. The electrics were decidedly part time, too. Nice handling bike with raw power, but the gearchage was on the wrong side of the bike. Overall I preferred my '70's Honda to the '70's Triumph.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Guest

[ditchcrawler]

mucked it up

Why? because the filter seems fine after a thousand miles.

How do you know?

Edited October 27, 2013 by ditchcrawler

[blackrose]

I just follow the engine manufacturer's recommendations. I'm not really sure why anyone would do otherwise?

I'm fairly new to boats but I change the oil in my motorbike more often than is recommended, but only replace the oil filter every other time. Why? because the filter seems fine after a thousand miles.

 

Like Ditchcrawler I'm curious to know how one can possibly ascertain the condition of an oil filter while it's screwed onto the engine? I think you'd have to destroy a filter to be able to see what's been trapped by the element.

[mrsmelly]

I used to ride a Bonny T140V a lot which belonged to a friend. I can't say I didn't like it, because there was something about it, but it used to leave a calling card of oil on the ground wherever it was parked. The electrics were decidedly part time, too. Nice handling bike with raw power, but the gearchage was on the wrong side of the bike. Overall I preferred my '70's Honda to the '70's Triumph.

Hi Mate

 

Loved bonnies, I even owned a new type for a while. Now lets get this right the gear change was on the correct side on the T140 and as for the electrics they were mainly if I recall by " Lucas " the Prince of darkness !!

I remember going from a bantam to a GT 250 in april 75 and ye gods the noise I made the gearbox make using it as a brake

 

Tim

[furnessvale]

Hi Mate

 

Loved bonnies, I even owned a new type for a while. Now lets get this right the gear change was on the correct side on the T140 and as for the electrics they were mainly if I recall by " Lucas " the Prince of darkness !!

I remember going from a bantam to a GT 250 in april 75 and ye gods the noise I made the gearbox make using it as a brake

 

Tim

Good old Bonnies! I vividly remember a line of brand new Jap bikes in a local showroom many years ago, among them was a solitary brand new Bonnie.

 

No prizes for guessing which one had the drip tray under it. I was always a Goldie or Dommie man myself but I would still have taken that Bonnie rather than any of the others in that line.

 

George ex nb Alton retired