Filter change - every or every other oil change

Filter change - every or every other oil change

  • Every time

    Votes: 42 87.5%
  • Every other time

    Votes: 6 12.5%

  • Total voters
    48

EricV

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I used to change it every time. Now I am lazy and do every other oil change or once every 2 years. By just changing the oil, I do not have to take my skid plate off and it makes everything easier.
<snippage occurred>
I cut open the OEM Yami filter that was installed for 2 years and it looked great at the end of the two years.
For reference sake, how many miles did you ride in that 2 years? Oil changes are really more mileage dependent than time, though the advertising would have you believe oil goes bad just sitting there. Acids can develop, but that's another thread. I don't think your method is a problem for your needs.
 

RCinNC

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Sometimes they don't, that's true. Sometimes they don't become aware of a problem until some longevity in the field uncovers it. Sometimes the engineers are aware of a problem, but their opinion is overridden by the accountants. In the case of the old lady's odometer, that doesn't sound like an example of an engineering glitch at all; it sounds like the odometer functioned the way the designers intended; it errored out at a predetermined point. If the car lasted longer than the designers believed it would, that sounds more like it exceeded its design parameters rather than a flaw.

I'm not going to assume that the reason the designers settled on an "every other" service interval means they don't know shit, because it would be far easier just to default to the old standard of changing the filter every time you change the oil. I really doubt if they settled on the "every other" parameter in some arbitrary manner; I'm sure there was a reason for it. I don't know what the reason was, which is why I wish there was an engineer to ask. I wouldn't try to talk someone out of changing their filter every time, any more than I'd be fearful that if I didn't, and followed the manufacturer's service interval, the engine would suffer some sort of premature failure.
 

jeckyll

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Ok the engineers don know shit sometimes. They design the thing then see how it plays out. I sell Toyota’s for a living. We have a lady with 500,000 miles on her Prius.

When she hit 300,000 the odometer rolled back to 0 or gave an error message but it stoped working by design. She raised hell. Their response was we did not think these things would go that far. She reponded “NOT My Problem, FIX MY ODIITER. They must of been scared of this going viral, because they engineered a fix for her and it made the production line.

By the way she is still driving that Prius. I see her when it’s in the shop. :)

I think of Yamaha as the Toyota of Motorcycles.
Tons of bikes call for a filter change every other time.

It's more of a standard really. Never heard of people having issues with it.

People make up all kinds of things. If changing the filter every time makes you happy , go for it.

 

Cycledude

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In the past I have always changed the oil filter at every oil change.
But after reading this thread I am going to switch to changing the oil filter at every other oil change, since that meets Yamaha recommendations I just don’t see it causing any problems.
I used to be a truck driver and one of the outfits I drove for changed filters at every other oil change, they claimed the used filter did a better job of removing dirt from the oil than a brandnew filter and I do believe they knew quite a bit about that kind of stuff.
As far as the crush washer on the drain plugs it’s pretty rare fo me to change them, I’ve never changed one on a Tenere.
 
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ballisticexchris

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I change my oil very frequently. I'm just at about 4000 miles and have changed the oil and filter 4 times and diff fluid twice. The first oil change at 68 miles was black and ugly. Second one at 600 miles looked a little better. Now my oil comes out nice and clean. I do filter at every oil change. I do not follow the recommended service schedule. I maintain my vehicles more than required. When racing, the oil and brake fluid was changed after every race. I don't like dirty oil drains!! The last oil change I went just shy of 2000 miles and it came out pretty clean. When I do maintenance I expect fluids to be nice and clean when drained.

I've decided to do diff fluid at every rear tire change. I have a diff skid plate that requires axle nut to be removed to get to the plugs. Yes I'm serious about fluid changes!!

IMG-0501.JPG
 

jbrown

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Having worked as an engineer for 40 years, I'd say cost is always a major factor. The only reason I can see that would drive the "every other oil change" schedule is cost. There is always a price target - meeting a predetermined maintenance cost will drive decisions like that.
 

Don T

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I change oil filter at every oil change (10.000 km) and replace the crush gaskets every time.
In the past I've reused crush gaskets and my experience is that it works fine for a while - until it suddenly doesn't...

At 100.000 km my S10 runs better than ever and don't have any measurable oil consumption between oil changes.
 

GearheadGrrrl

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Folks might want to note that for much of the world the oil change interval is 10,000 kilometers which is 6,200 miles... 4000 mile oil changes are probably overkill. As for filters, one of the top "airhead" gurus recommends filter changes only every 2nd oil change.
 

RCinNC

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Changing your oil/filter more frequently than the manufacturer's service interval might provide peace of mind, but I'm not convinced that it'll do anything for the life of an engine, unless someone out there has actually tested that idea. I agree that if it makes someone feel better then more power to them, though you do have to take into consideration the amount of waste being generated by people the world over who change their oil more frequently than is necessary. I just don't think there's anything beyond sketchy anecdotal evidence to say that changing oil/filters more often than the designers recommend does anything to improve engine life. Saying "I change my oil every 3000 miles instead of 4000 miles and my engine lasted for 100,000 miles" isn't meaningful data, unless there are a lot of cases of blown engines out there that grenaded while being maintained to the manufacturer's specs and the failure could be directly attributed to the oil.

My Toyota dealer (when I used to go to a Toyota dealer) used to reset my oil change light for 3000 miles. I knew it was supposed to be 5000 miles because that's what the manual said. The service manager told me that they felt it was "better" to do it at 3000 miles. I found that curious; the guys who built the thing decided on 5000 miles, but the guys who were charging me like $79.00 for an oil change coincidentally also decided that changing the oil more frequently was "better". I'm sure it was better, but it was pretty obvious who it was "better" for.
 
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ballisticexchris

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There is also something to be said on how the bike shifts with fresh oil. I can always tell a difference in how smooth the bike goes into gear with fresh oil.
 

Grumpy

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If Yamaha are saying every other oil change, that's what I do. I sometimes change the oil around 4k, instead of the 6k recommended, so I guess it evens out.
I remember a time when a dealer service on a Japanese bike (to keep the warranty) would always include a new set of plugs. These days with d.i.y. service, plugs seem to last a bit longer.
 

BaldKnob

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I've been changing the filter with each oil change (every 5K miles) but will change to every other now that the new has worn off. The FD fluid was changed 3x's before 10K miles but now is changed every other oil change, unless I do stupid stuff like this...IMG_0787.JPG
 

Longdog Cymru

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Change the filter every oil change, it’s a no-brainer.

Someone on here said he sands down crush washers, come on guys, a crush washer is a throwaway part, ok, if it’s copper, then you can anneal it and reuse it but after spending some serious money on a motorcycle/car/truck/lawn mower, etc why would you skimp on something that costs so little?
 
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ballisticexchris

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Someone on here said he sands down crush washers, come on guys, a crush washer is a throwaway part, ok, if it’s copper, then you can anneal it and reuse it but after spending some serious money on a motorcycle/car/truck/lawn mower, etc why would you skimp on something that costs so little?
I hear you there!! There are always a few guys who make it a point to brag how little they maintain their bikes and reuse old crap. Reusing a .01 cent washer is senseless.
 

Sierra1

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There is also something to be said on how the bike shifts with fresh oil. I can always tell a difference in how smooth the bike goes into gear with fresh oil.
That is SO true with my FJ. At 3k miles, I'll miss a gear shift....like clock work. The Tenere doesn't feel any different at 1 mile after oil change or 4k miles later; totally different beast(s). For the longest time, I didn't even know that I was supposed to change my drain plug washer; never had a leak. But, now I know....
 
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