Well, I guess if you consider it eccentric to want to know what is happening inside your car, and make sure you are doing what you can to make it last longer (provided you plan to keep it for a while), then call me eccentric.

IMO, $18 is a small cost next to an engine rebuild. And it is a lot cheaper and easier than tearing the engine apart to see how everything is wearing - and it can tell you the same things, by measuring levels of particualer metals in your oil. High lead means premature bearing wear. Chromium = rings, etc.

Of course, I won't do this every oil change - just until I find something that works well.