Alternate Oil Change - Filter only?

Do further research at Bob The Oil Guy's website.

At the first filter-only change, take an oil sample & have it analyzed. The results will tell you if it's safe to postpone a full oil change.

 

Purolator puts out a filter, PL10241 that works just swell as a 1x oversize filter for the 2nd generation Priuses (Prii?)

The PL20195 works just swell as a 2x oversized filter.

I use the PL20195 and Mobil 1 EP, and change both at 10k intervals.

I could probably go as long as 15k on both the oil and the filter, but I get a little nervous.

 

This is actually the reason that the oil analysis companies like Blackstone et. al. exist. Oil can be a big expense in industrial equipment or heavy duty truck fleets, so instead of changing on a time or mileage interval, you have samples tested to see how the oil is doing and you try to extend the life of the oil as much as practical.

It makes a lot of sense when you are using a lot of oil (a big truck fleet), economically it may not make as much sense with a small amount oil like the Prius uses because of the cost of testing, but it does conserve some resources.

 

Since the prius in europe has a ~10k mile oil change interval, i'd say its pretty safe as long as you use synthetic oil.

 

AMSOIL sells a oil that is good for 25K, you should still change the filter at 5K

 

According to my father -- in the "olden days" they always alternated during changes. But they would change the oil, but not the filter. He still does it this way and his vehicles of his vehicles go way past 200,000 miles.

He gave me some explaination, but not sure if it is true or not that the oil in the old days was "not as good" and didn't last as long. Plus, the oil was very cheap to buy. Filters, on the other hand were expensive. I know it doesn't answer this question, but I thought it was interesting, anyway.

 

Miles. The normal oil change interval (Oil and filter) for a Prius in the EU, running ACEA spec motor oil, is no more than every 12 months or 10,000 miles

Better rated oils used in German cars can extend this to 24 months or 30,000 miles

If you have a choice of skipping oil changes but change the filter, or skipping an oil filter change, just skip the oil change itself. You gain NOTHING by leaving an old, possibly clogged, oil filter

That was the wrong way to do it. It wasn't uncommon for filters to plug, so unfiltered oil was sent to the motor. Back then, tolerances were much looser so perhaps it didn't matter

My dad would just change the oil filter and not the oil itself, but he always used Heavy Duty oil - like the kind you would use in a semi truck - in all his cars. No problem with getting 200,000 miles out of an early 1970's car

 

Used oil analysis testing is your friend. At least to gain an understanding of how your oil and filter performs, then you can decide how to proceed. My recent results showed that the Amsoil 0W-30 will easily be OK up to, if not past, 10K miles. I'm also using the Amsoil filter and it should be good up to 20K miles. With maybe one more test at 10K miles on this current oil I'll know for sure.

- D

 

Correct, only a used oil analysis can tell you how the oil and filter are performing