Quote:
Originally Posted by roy'sz
Really bro...really? It actually does. If you are waiting for 10 other people to drive through a stop sign your car is getting......HEAT SOAK. Same applies with driving in city with lots of stop lights. Accelerating and stopping creates a lot of heat under the hood VICE driving down the freeway at a nonstop or avg speed where there is constant air flow to the engine, oil cooler, etc. So in theory it has everything to do with it because its a "driving style" compared to someone like me where I worked 2nd shift and I could make a 50 mile trip to work in 55 min without getting below 40mph for 95% of the trip.Only 2 miles on city roads means the car stayed cooler and consistent driving temps made for oil longevity vice sitting in bumper to bumper traffic heat soaking the hell out of the car. Hope this explanation helps. Thanks for the correction on the 7000, I truly meant 7500.  |
I understand that heat can shorten the life of the oil. I guess my point is that normal city driving (a daily commute with stop signs, stop lights, and a good bit of traffic) doesn't necessitate following the severe maintenance schedule. These cars are built to tolerate those conditions. If you sit in hardcore traffic for 3 hours per day in a hot climate, then sure, you should probably follow the severe schedule.
Maybe I don't understand how heatsoak when my oil temps are 200F and I'm stopped at a stoplight is shortening the life of the engine oil more than 240F oil temps while driving 85 mph on the local toll road in 100F+ air temps.
All that being said, there is nothing wrong with changing your oil sooner rather than later. That is probably for the best. I just think there are very few people out there that need to worry about following the severe maintenance schedule as lined out in the manual, and if you do, there is a lot more than just the oil change that you should pay attention to. All of the fluids are recommended to be changed at half the interval as the normal schedule.