Lubricheck gizzmo

[Corkster52]

I struggle a bit with how often I need to change the oil on my girls. I have, in the past, gone strictly by mileage. My brother-in-law has been using this device for a couple of months and sent me one for my birthday. He swears that it is pretty much right on for predicting his oil life on his vehicles as he checked recommended changes by operating hours (farm equipment). He did say on his Honda car that has about 5000 since his last change was still in the good range. I checked 4 of my 5 vehicles a few minutes ago and it looks like I have a few more miles to go on the 99 Aspy before I need to change it.

[bozodriver]

I struggle a bit with how often I need to change the oil on my girls. I have, in the past, gone strictly by mileage. My brother-in-law has been using this device for a couple of months and sent me one for my birthday. He swears that it is pretty much right on for predicting his oil life on his vehicles as he checked recommended changes by operating hours (farm equipment). He did say on his Honda car that has about 5000 since his last change was still in the good range. I checked 4 of my 5 vehicles a few minutes ago and it looks like I have a few more miles to go on the 99 Aspy before I need to change it.

it's a simple dilemma .. Amsoil synthetic M/C oil every 5,000 miles .. or once a year (if you don't ride that much), at the end of the year.
See Bulldog or Meech at Shinhopples dot com for fast, great service with the customer in mind.

[jmohme]

I wouldn't put a lot of faith in that gadget.
If you really want to know the condition of your oil, send a sample off for analysis. You can do this at almost any truck or equipment dealer. It is fairly inexpensive and will give you real data on your oil and if done regularly to establish an accurate base line, will also give you a look at the condition of your engine and transmission.

Bottom line is that no one device is going to give you the whole story because there are entirely too many things that effect oil quality and I would not trust what a $50 pocket tester tells me to determine how often I am going to shane my oil.

[Corkster52]

Okay. Points well taken. Interesting to toy with though. Have a Subaru hat I just changed the oil in that was in the 8-9 (out of a total of 10) range and had a yellow light. It is now down to a 1 and green light.

[Yellowbird]

Same here i wouldn't trust a gadget like that either The oils we have today are very good great additives and much longer lasting. I look for the cleanliness in my oil, i change it when it gets dirty and i go to around 5000 or 6000 miles on all my vehicles. The 3000 mile change is designed to get you to your dealers so they can rip the crap out of you. Most oils today get dirty before they breaks down a good filter and oil is the key. Plus the only way to get a good base line is with a lab test.

[Pizza Man]

All my toys get their oil/filter change at 4,000 miles. To me that is cheap maintenance.

[Corkster52]

It was a gift from brother-on-law that has been turning wrenches for almost 50 years now, so, the price was right and thought I should give it a try. Didn't mean to offend anyone by sharing something I discovered........

[jmohme]

I doubt that anyone is offended. I know I'm not, and if someone gave one to me, I would play with it too. I just wouldn't rely on it as a gauge to extend oil change intervals.

[kwthom]

Old posts keep getting cycled, due to the Related Topics feature... ::sigh::

So, how is this device any different than the build-in oil life sensors that are finding their way onto many motor vehicles these days?

Now, some are done with sensors (probably similar to this device), others are done using the engine computer and an algorithm that computes end-of-life for engine oil.

I won't necessarily pay for a oil analysis with every oil change - maybe every other - but, if a device like this gives an approximation and that approximation is reasonably close to an oil analysis...maybe the OP got a killer gift from his B-I-L.

[Gizmo]

Oh no, not another "gizzmo"!