Oil/filter change interval using a Fram ultra 3416

cruzenmike

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Just to point out that you can use the best oil and the best filter and still destroy your engine...it doesn't make it immune to abuse. Constantly trying to jam your mower through tall lush growth traveling too fast and failure to keep the engine free of external debris will likely do more damage than letting your oil change interval slip a bit or using cheap oil and filters.

So true. Most often, the manual will state to check your oil level before every use. If you notice any drastic change in discoloration or anything out of the "ordinary" then you may in fact be due for an oil change. This can happen after 20 hours, or after 100. All depends on how much of a load the engine is under, how well the air filter is working, how many starts were cold and so on...
 

bertsmobile1

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Well my Kawasaki owners manual says change oil @ 200 hours, & filter @ 300 hours.

I average 25 hours a year, so I do my services at end of each year of mowing. Oil doesn't wear out but the additives do.

Quite right.
Additives oxadize over time, even if the engine is never run for a single second.
While this does not happen overnight, it does happen.
 

bertsmobile1

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Just to point out that you can use the best oil and the best filter and still destroy your engine...it doesn't make it immune to abuse. Constantly trying to jam your mower through tall lush growth traveling too fast and failure to keep the engine free of external debris will likely do more damage than letting your oil change interval slip a bit or using cheap oil and filters.

If you read the fine print in all of these "Tests" and recommended oil change intervals, some where and usually only once will be the word "continious" running.
Also usually there will be both a running hours and a lapsed time, whichever comes first.
Intermittant use items like lawn mowers really should have the oil replaced each & every season, at the end of the season and by prefference just after the final mow of the season, the instant it comes off the lawn.
Weather you change the filter with every oil change is another moot point.
While it might not be "full" to its capacity of particulates, it will still have a quantity of spent oil in it which will contaminate the fresh oil you put in.
Since replacing the oil & filter on most mower engines run sub $ 20 it is sort of a no brainer.

Not that racing is directly compariabe to mowing, most racers I know replace their oil each meet and the really competative ones after each race.

Oil companies & filter companies are always trying to convince customers that their new flash high tech product is substantially better than their previous flash high tech product and the usual way is by claiming that it will run for longer in their engines thus cost you less which charging you more .
 

Boobala

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Fresh Oil & a new Filter ....... ALWAYS ... comes out cheaper than a replacement engine, ..... ANY DAY !!!
 

7394

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Fresh Oil & a new Filter ....... ALWAYS ... comes out cheaper than a replacement engine, ..... ANY DAY !!!

Ditto................:thumbsup:
 

Patrick0525

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Visually comparing the filter color condition between the above posted links 14.5K mi vs Kohler 114hrs, the Kohler retains most of its original pink media filtration color. Very similar to my Toyota V6 Fram ultra XG9912 when it is brand new and before an oil change. ( will post pic later)

Yes, I also have an inner urge to change the oil & filter every mowing season. It is cheap $20 insurance, you don’t have to keep detailed maintenance logs and a obvious no-brainer. It gives me something to look forward to every spring and a wonderful feel good that I complied with mainstream scheduled maintenance.

Unfortunately, non-OPE automotive oil/filter data indicate otherwise and is supported with personal Blackstone Labs oil analysis@70K mi with particle count micron data.

Therefore, I have chosen to be more progressive in my maintenance schedule. It is not about the annual $20 but how the current data supports my decision versus past historical experience.
 
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Boobala

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Well after reading THAT.......... I'm gonna sleep much better from now on !!
 

Patrick0525

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