[shipo]

A few comments:

Originally Posted by ryker

The MM should use numerous computations and they are much more accurate than the ignorant 3k changes.

I'm not sure about the first bit, but completely agree with the latter. I was working at Mercedes-Benz when they were developing their OLM system for synthetic oil, in the end the engineers determined that there was just a single metric that needed to be measured to determine when the oil should be changed. The metric? The number of liters of fuel used since the last reset. FWIW, BMW determined the same thing and that is the only metric they use as well.

Originally Posted by ryker

The maintenance minder in my wifes Benz goes beyond 10k. Many german cars go 20-30k on one oil change.

Twenty to thirty thousand miles? Really? Which ones? My last BMW recommended the first oil change at about 13,000 miles, although that isn't too surprising as I picked it up in Germany and drove much of the first 1,200 miles at speeds north of 90 mph and speeds of north of 120 for the remainder of the trip. For the second oil change the car recommended it at 19,000 miles which wasn't a surprise either. Why? Because I spent most of that period driving back and forth between southern New Hampshire and Long Island.

Originally Posted by ryker

Then that would be "special"! Can you buy the break in oil at a parts store, NO. I don't think you can even order the breakin in oil.

True, you cannot buy break-in oil per-se; however, you can buy break-in additives (I've been using this stuff for decades).

http://www.iskycams.com/iskycategory...ategory_id=169

Originally Posted by Yodums

Again, not many people on these boards are using the recommended oil.

I've gotta disagree here. From my readings of the posts on this board, a significant majority of folks on this board go to their dealership for oil changes. I have to assume that most dealerships use the recommended oil.

Originally Posted by Yodums

Why would I follow the maintenance minder if I'm using an oil such as Amsoil XLF?

Agreed, same story if you use Mobil 1 or German Castrol. That said, for the duration of the warranty period I would absolutely adhere to the MM, regardless of how robust the oil is.

Originally Posted by Yodums

Conversely, what about the people who are running a forced induction setup?

Good question. Given how robust the Honda approved oils are proving to be (via UOAs posted on BITOG), it would be interesting to see if forced induction does actually shorten oil life. I do know that when BMW upgraded their flagship I6 engine from a normally aspirated 3.0 liter mill to a dual turbocharged 3.0 liter I6, they didn't change the oil spec, the oil capacity or anything else for that matter, and yet the OLM on the 335i and 535i still target a 15,000 mile OCI.