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Do they know best? Some of them certainly do. Each MFG has groups of engineers who do nothing but study and test oils gasoline, etc. However that really has little to do with what goes into the manual.
They may know that the oil made at the *** refinery in ***illinois from June to October 2014 using crude from *** has certain highly desirable properties.
however they are not going to say in the manual you should hunt down that oil and only use that. For the manual they are just looking for something readily available that will work well. Sometimes for some cars they do psychological studies and recommend oils that will make their customers more impressed with their choice of vehicle. (in some segments, customers are impressed if their car needs specific unusual oil - that meas their car is special. It is no ordinary car that runs on ordinary oil.
The reality is, unless you are running in really extreme conditions (Death Valley,Yuma, Alaska, etc). Any name brand oil will be fine (and most off brands - although using recycled oil can be risky).
Well manufacturers may have good contracts with oil suppliers and get a discount on their factory-inserted oil if they print something like "you have to buy this brand every 5k miles". With some good longlife oil, it can last 20k miles or more. Engineers may know best, but the beancounter are writing the manuals.
Petroleum research, with respect to automotive oil utility, shows a remarkable aptitude when determining the best maintenance schedule. The OEM manufacturing engineers are all to often influenced by the corporation's tendency toward brand specific PR, the Volkswagen folks come to mind in their desire to have a superior fuel mileage rating on their diesels. Today's cars are a vast improvement with regard to efficient fuel burn and engine timing electronics, keeping unburnt fuel out of the engine's oil is the biggest reason for longer intervals on oil changes.
You can look at what the oil companies themselves have to say about oil change intervals paired to your specific make and model. Many high end vehicles are not driven as much as the typical commuter cars and for that reason some have reported a sludge problem that typically results from not running the engine hot enough for a long enough time. Condensation in the oil is also a real problem with the seldom driven cars.
The auto engineers tend to be pretty good, but they have a lot of restraints to what they can do to (be it physical, technological, financial, corporate, etc).
I bet there would be differences if the engineers had to actually get in here and repair or change parts.
Jeez no kidding. One of the new ford trucks you have to REMOVE THE CAB to change a cab sensor it's a 20+ hour job by the book. Other cars have you remove the brake master cylinder or steering collum to change a spark plug, remove a motor mount to change a belt, etc. Mechanics hate the engineers!
2004 and newer F150's require the cab to come off to change some of the sensors/parts. The cab is designed to come off and is about a 20 minute job. The engines in these trucks are literally buried under the dash and removing the cab is much easier than trying to work on it at arms length. But the engineers designed the cab to come off and once off, there's nothing you can't put your hand on and makes for easy work. While it sounds major, it makes the job MUCH easier.
Some of the newer cars these days (specifically vw's) have longer oil change intervals (10,000 miles as opposed to 3,000). I've heard multiple arguments everything from, "do exactly as the dealer and/or manual says", to, "that's complete rubbish, that's a marketing thing which will ultimately cause your car to have more issues and end up in the dealership more often so they make more money off of you".... all in all, I'm not sure what to think on that one.
2004 and newer F150's require the cab to come off to change some of the sensors/parts. The cab is designed to come off and is about a 20 minute job. The engines in these trucks are literally buried under the dash and removing the cab is much easier than trying to work on it at arms length. But the engineers designed the cab to come off and once off, there's nothing you can't put your hand on and makes for easy work. While it sounds major, it makes the job MUCH easier.
Of course if you don't have a lift, getting the cab off must be a PITA.
An unintended benefit, though, I guess is if you bend up the tin on one of these, just get a straight cab from a junkyard (find a truck that was rear-ended) - I guess.
I bet there would be differences if the engineers had to actually get in here and repair or change parts.
Engineers designing cars work together with the manufacturing engineers to design cars for ease of assembly and cost savings, not repair. Fixing cars is of no concern to them.
Engineers designing cars work together with the manufacturing engineers to design cars for ease of assembly and cost savings, not repair. Fixing cars is of no concern to them.
When I used to work on them that was very evident.
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