If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break,
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break,
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.
~ Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie

As you drive across the Midwest from Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Interstate 94, there is a place with some eye-catching rock formations in the midst of endless miles of rolling hills. Wisconsin is cheese country, so this singular deviation from trees and pastureland was memorable the first time I saw it. Due to the spectacular features of the glacially formed gorges here, a healthy tourist business emerged with resorts, indoor water parks and a wide assortment of entertainment diversions.
 
This area, including nearby Lake Delton, came to be known as the Wisconsin Dells, The Dells for short. The nearby town of Lake Delton only has about 2500 citizens, but the 20 or so resorts about the lake boast 10 times that many occupants, and the Dells region as a tourist destination brings in as many as five million tourists a year, turning a modestly remote scenic wonder into an estimated billion dollar cash machine. The lake itself was man made in 1927, the same year as the Great Mississippi Flood that spawned the blues lament “When the Levee Breaks” cited above and made famous by Led Zeppelin on their fourth album in 1971.

This past week after a very wet spring it did keep raining, 12 inches in one day, and to the shock of all 400 feet of levee did break. At 2 a.m. Lake Delton spilled out into the Wisconsin River and was no more. One Lake Delton resident said it was like watching a bathtub drain out. With the tourist season kicking into high gear, the 20 resorts on the perimeter of the lake will experience severe repercussions. A CNN story on the event stated, “When the water of Lake Delton ripped through the highway and drained into the Wisconsin River this week, so did the lifeline for much of the surrounding community.”

As I thought about this, I couldn’t help but think about events taking place in our own industry. The 3,000 mile drain interval has been something akin to that levee holding Lake Delton in place. But the heavy rains have been taking their toll on this man made, arbitrary drain interval. What will be the repercussions for quick lube operators as the 3,000 mile drain interval gives way? 

MYTH OF THE 3,000 MILE DRAIN INTERVAL
In June, General Motors partnered with the California Environmental Protection Agency and its Integrated Waste Management Board in the state’s “3,000 Mile Myth” campaign to educate drivers on reducing motor oil consumption by following their automakers’ recommended oil drain intervals. An article titled “GM, California to Bust ‘3,000 Mile Myth” by Nancy DeMarco in the June 11 edition of Lube Report stated that “73 percent of California drivers change their oil more frequently than their vehicle manufacturers recommend.”

The result of all these oil changes is millions of gallons of unnecessary oil consumption in California alone, according to GM’s Ray Strahorn. And according to the California Waste Management Board, unnecessary oil changes not only generate millions of gallons of waste oil per year, they have the potential to pollute the state’s natural resources.

The Lube Report article could be something of a “shot heard round the world” since it is a clear indication that GM is no longer going to sit on the sidelines and allow the major oil companies dictate drain interval levels. The auto manufacturer has more than 25 years of data supporting its Oil Life System and a great deal of confidence in extended drain intervals. “The traditional 3,000-mile oil change recommendation was based on engine and oil technologies of the past,” GM was quoted as saying. There are more than 31 million cars on the road today utilizing the GM’s Oil Life System, which evaluates oil life based on a computer algorithm.

The article includes a link to the Integrated Waste Management Board’s website www.3000milemyth.org, an intelligently assembled site designed to debunk.

AN INCOMPLETE METAPHOR
Unlike the sudden collapse of the levee emptying Lake Delton, the the 3,000 mile drain interval has been eroding for more than a decade. Today the average interval between oil changes in this country is approaching 5,000 miles. Despite these circumstances, many quick lubes have learned to adjust and are making more money than ever. 

Every sign seems to indicate that these trends will continue. Some accuse the automakers of putting cars at risk, that it is all part of their planned obsolescence strategy. Whether this is so or not so is utterly irrelevant. If there is any concern about the engine being amply protected for enduring vehicle performance, then we should most definitely be promoting the use of premium synthetic motor oils. Synthetic oils keep engines cleaner for optimal performance, and resist the formation of varnish and sludge caused by oxidation and breakdown.

Things are changing in our industry, and will continue to change. But it’s not the end of the world. Recommending a properly priced switch to synthetic motor oil for the new longer drain intervals is the best way to protect your customers’ vehicles and your own bottom line. It’s the right thing to do.