www.iFourWinns.com

So I have a 2009 new F150 Crew Cab. It has the Average MPG guage built into the odometer. The day I drove it off the lot until about 2000 miles I was getting about 17.8 MPG. My commute is 4 miles at 35 MPH on a back road and 15 miles at highway speed (usually drive 73 MPH).

My mileage kept dropping every week every so slightly and my last tank was 16.9 MPG. Last week at 5000 miles I had my oil changed and now I am getting 18.3 MPG. I am using Mobil 1. Suffice it too say I'm surprised at how much of a difference clean oil has on fuel mileage.

The truck and dealer use synthetic blend so it will be interesting to see how many miles I have to drive until I notice my fuel efficiency starts dropping off.

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2003 Four Winns Horizon 220 5.0 GXi/SX

I bought my '98 F-150 new in November '97. I switched it to Mobil 1 at 4,000 miles and have changed it every 3,000 miles since.

There. That should give us a thread that'll carry us through the rest of the winter.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Yeah, I know this can be a topic of debate. I would not have believed the jump in mileage had I not witnessed it myself.
I'm a believer now.

Given the price of my truck and how long I plan to keep it, I figure the use of synthetic oil can't hurt. I buy the stuff in the 5 quart jugs from Wally World for $22 so it's really not much of an additional cost.

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2003 Four Winns Horizon 220 5.0 GXi/SX

Was that your 1st oil change at 5,000 miles? It sounds like a long initial interval to me.
Do you reset your MPG every fill up or just watch the average over the long haul?
Did the dealer air up your tires with the oil change? Your pressures may have dropped significantly with winter upon us now if you don't check it monthly. Low tire pressure can hurt your mileage a lot more than older oil.

Lots of anal questions, I know, but the oil probably isn't the only variable.

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2010 H210SS 5.0 MPI
Lake Oconee, GA

I do all my oil changes at 5000 miles using synthetic. For my truck, 5k is actually what is called for in the manual.

Right when I noticed the mileage initially started to drop I actually checked my tire pressures. Not only were they not low, they were all dead-on. And I do reset my fuel mileage gauge at every fill-up. Since it's a new vehicle I've been paying at lot of attention too it to see how to keep the mileage up through real world driving habits. Unfortunately the best way of very slow take-offs at stop lights will get you passed and given dirty looks for driving like granny.

We'll see as time goes on if it repeats.

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2003 Four Winns Horizon 220 5.0 GXi/SX

Strictly my opinion....... I do not have any scientific evidence to back this up, but I believe the 3 month 3,000 mile rule is obsolete. It was probably a good rule of thumb in the days of less sophisticated air filters and oils that were not the same quality of the oil produced today. I think it has continued to be the norm just to sell more oil and service. Many of the high end automobile folks like BMW do not recommend an oil change for 10K+ depending on driving habits.

I do a lot of highway driving and use a blend and change every 6000-7000 miles in my Yukon. I will say my mileage has dropped recently and I'm not sure why. Tire pressure is good. I think new plugs would help. 130K on the originals.

By the way this forum is helping me get through my first winter owning a boat. Not only educational, very entertaining too!

(I just put that previous sentence in my post to include a boat reference)

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-Eddie/2007 H200/5.0 Merc 220hp/2004 GMC Yukon

The new Silverado we got has that fancy oil life meter on it. I can't bring myself to listen to this thing though. If I followed it, I would be changing my oil every 14-16000 km

I'll stick with my Castrol Syntec every 7500 km thank you...

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Rob
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon

Our Honda Odyssey has that too. "Don't worry, I'll tell you when I need my oil changed." Not in this lifetime.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

sounds good lake_dawg. I also extend full synthetic oil changes to around 5,000 on my Dodge. I am just not a fan of extending the first one very long. Lots of potential for debris during assembly and early wear of rotating components setting in. I'd rather get a clean filter and fresh lube after a couple thousand early miles. Maybe I'm paranoid and too conservative, but I'm an engineer dealing with engine warranty claims every day at work so I only hear about a very small population of engines with issues.

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2010 H210SS 5.0 MPI
Lake Oconee, GA

I changed my oil 5 times in it's first 2K miles. That's paranoid and too conservative.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I beleive that those of you that have the oil life monitor on there vehicles, it looks at engine hours and RPM and does some funky calculation for changing your oil....My wife has been a service manager at Honda for 10 yrs and they have never had any problems with oil in there vehicles.

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike

Your absolutely correct. The 3 month/3000 mile change only benefits the oil and lube businesses.

I have done some scientific tests with my 7.3L turbo diesel, taken a oil sample and sent in to the lab for analysis. each time came back clean and report said to continue to next sample interval. I know I can go 10k mile and still be good, I like to change approx 7k miles.
This is how all heavy equipment decide when to change oils, take a sample and have tested. The report also will give a very good prediction to what is failing in the motor as well, by reporting what trace metal is in the oil and determine when to send in for overhaul.

For the boat, we dont put enough hours on the motor to ever worry about having tested, it is cheaper to just change and know you are good to go.

As for Fords Fuel economy/avg read out. It is a calculation and not super accurate, nothing will beat tracking it yourself and truly understanding exact fuel consumption.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

Who do you take your samples to? Cashman? Just curious.

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2010 H210SS 5.0 MPI
Lake Oconee, GA

Local cat dealer has a lab. $8 for analysis.

You have a fatter wallet than I. I choose to throw my money into fuel instead!!! LOL. Changing often is cheap insurance.

IMHO, it is very important to change more on a time basis to ensure your getting acid and moisture out of a motor prior to any length of storage/non-use vs long hours/miles. This goes for both our boats or tow vehicles.