The other time I asked my mechanic, are my tires about needing to be changed?
He said, naw, another 8000 miles. After driving 7000 miles, I asked another mechanic who again said, long way to go.
Does hyper-miling reduce the stress on the treads of my tires and ultimately the question - does hypermiling reduce the stress on engine oil?
I included the description of my tires to illustrate the possible effects of hypermiling. I have a manual stick-shift. I don't hypermile compulsively like hybrid car drivers. I hypermile by giving adequate distance between myself and the truck/car in front of me to allow me to slow down. I accelerate gradually. I cruise to red traffic lights. And I do drive a lot across states to get 40 - 45 mpg out of a stick-shift Honda Civic.
So, after 7000 miles, my engine oil is still viscous and golden in colour but a little dirtier. Could I say that the molecular integrity of my engine oil can be correlated to its viscosity and goldenness? Should I change the engine oil as the mechanic recommends (so he could earn the $40 minus the oil) or should I wait till the oil has lost most of its golden-ness and viscosity.
I mean, I used to have an automatic Ford Escort whose oil would turn completely dark and watery after 5000 miles.
What is the science behind the degradation of engine oil that refutes or supports my correlating viscosity/colour to its lubrication integrity? Do you think hypermiling reduces stress on my engine and engine oil?
I need to add that I am using normal non-synthetic oil. And my car doesn't have air-cond.