Same here. Hoping to get 100,000 miles from the engine

 

I will be removing the break-in oil at 3500 miles and because we all are using spec oil, which is a high quality synthetic, I feel comfortable with 7,500 miles between future changes, but no more.

I, like the post above, own mine and desire to go the distance. If it was a lease, I would use mfg recommendations.

 

I was coming back from UK on a British Airways flight and got upgraded to first class. Ended up sitting with the chief lubrication engineer from Shell. Oil is the subject of near religious type debates in aviation. He was able to break down the salient points and misconceptions about oil. Almost all modern oils will last for 10's of thousands of miles in their role as lubricants. Where they fail is in their roles as dispersants. All the crap that gets blown by the rings. This was an easy problem with leaded fuels, the dispersants kept most of it suspended awaiting an oil change. Modern fuels do not use lead as the ignition retarder in fuels (and a minor role in lubricating valve guides). They have developed a whole cocktail of chemical additives to retard the ignition speed and raise the octane level. These are the culprits in making your oil not so attractive after certain periods of time. The pH of your oil changes, making it slightly corrosive. Oil filters, another subject of myth and controversy. old oil systems were pretty much open to the atmosphere. so crap got in your oil. Modern systems are closed up tighter than an English border crossing. There is no crap getting into your oil. If you have crap in your oil you have much bigger problems, like your engine is disintegrating. No amount of filtering is going to solve that. Even Toyota recommends changing it every other time you change oil and has for quite some time.

So what is up with the 21K oil in the Defenders? I have a sneaky feeling the magic spec is adding buffers to the oil and improving the dispersion qualities. The buffers keep your engine pH in spec and the dispersants keep anything else in suspension, out of harm's way. The oil is certainly doing the lubrication thing, it is apparently much better at handling the blow-by component. Heck in my $290K turbine PT-6 engine, the oil lasts for 1000's of hours doing the lube thing (there is no blow by component) and it is based on castor oil, you know, the bean! It isn't even synthetic and the engine turns 36,000 RPM. Personally I change oil seasonally. Once a year. I don't drive 21K a year, so I do a calendar change. Which I do to the aircraft as well, regardless of hours.

 

Very interesting - I can't imagine any manufacturer would recommend a longer than necessary time between oil changes since more oil changes results in more recurring revenue to the dealer. No manufacturer wants their engines to fail prematurely...some people may feel otherwise about a company wanting its product to fail after the warranty but that really wouldn't be a good business practice. Costs the company nothing to have more frequent oil changes so the JLLR recommendation seems to coincide with enhanced engine and also oil technology?

 

You forget, oil usage is a big deal in the EU ratings for how green is your vehicle. Besides, oil changes are not really a big line item for most dealers as many do it themselves or go to one of the myriad of specialists doing just changes. Disposal of oil and dirty filters is a big business. We had to pay massive amounts of money to get rid of the stuff. The mineral oil we use in most aircraft, we could burn in oil furnaces, but the synthetic, not so much so.

Anyhow it is an endless debate frequently featuring chubby ex-race drivers trying to hold on to an oily screwdriver, or testimonials from people I've never heard of. Rarely do you see actual data, like from engines run to life span on test stands. Why is that? Well one thing is it costs a huge amount of money. We had to test one overhaul cycle on a twin pack we were developing at Soloy Engineering. It consumed over 60,000 gallons of fuel. So getting some clowns and entertainers in to pose as experts is far cheaper. That and running the setup for 3,600 hours with lots of start cycles thrown in takes a long time.

 

Dogpilot: Thank you for one of the most concise and FACTUAL responses to the age-old question of when to change the oil. I have been amused at reading the multitude of views and opinions from some of the posters, who acquire their knowledge from who knows where. And despite the manufacturer’s recommendations and those with innate knowledge of automotive systems, there are those that still proclaim, ‘I don’t care what the manufacturer or experts say, I’m going to throw my money down the drain and change it at 3,500, 5,000, 7,500’, or whatever number makes them feel good. And yes, the engines of today are built so much better, with improved tolerances and materials, and the lubricants are so much more advanced than those of ten, twenty years ago, when we changed the oil and filter every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whether it needed it or not. I will stick with the facts and the science from those who do this for a living and not trust the word of ‘hey, my buddy I play golf with has a neighbor whose cousin works at Jiffy Lube and HE says to not trust the manufacturer, just keep doing what you did for the last 20 years’. 🤣

 

Fortunately changing the oil more regularly than necessary won't do any harm, so long as the correct oil is used.

So if it makes you feel better, change it more often than the 21,000 mile intervals recommended by Land Rover.

Personally l will change the oil annually which is around every 10,000 miles.

l have no perceived scientific basis for this, but it does make me feel better.

 

Totally agree, more frequent changes will never hurt except in the wallet. I’d rather spend the money on a nice cold beer and dinner. I do mine annually also, since the miles don’t call for it by then. Last change the oil looked like honey.

 

The problem is, with a diesel the oil is black almost as soon as it goes in. I know this doesn't mean anything but when you check the oil it's still a bit disconcerting to see a coal black liquid clinging to the bottom of the dipstick.

l have to re train myself into thinking "there's nothing wrong with the oil and it doesn't need changing"

 

In our 21 P300 had the dealer change the oil every 5k miles when they did the 5 wheel tire rotation. Drove it 48k miles in about 2.5 years, never had a mechanical problem with the car, changed all 5 tires once, and never had to change the brakes. Picked up our 23.5 in August and it already has 2,800 miles on it, will follow the same program and hope for the same results. Probably keep this one until it dies.

During the summer we drive to Orange Beach or Pensacola Beach pretty much every weekend (3 hours each way) and made several road trips to Chicago/Green Bay to visit family; Big Bend, Austin Hill Country (for over-landing and camping) and even drove out to Santa Monica, CA, with stops to Joshua Tree, Vegas and the Grand Canyon on the way back. I know conventional wisdom says, short trips, in stop and go traffic, and/or dusty conditions = more frequent oil changes. But I drive the car hard and fast for long stretches, so I like bringing it to the dealership and having them perform the quick check-list inspection that's part of all service visits. It gives me peace of mind.