20K mile oil change ??

[graygun]

The link features Mobil 1 Annual Protection oil but has info on the the oil groups (1-5) and other useful and informative material.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IqLRhxdoGg

 

[Captain America]

You don't change your oil because it's broken down, you change it because you need to remove the contaminants in the old oil. Most of our new cars use 0w/20 synthetic oil and have cartridge style filters with 5000 mile recommended changes. A lot of older customers still like to do 3000-4000 mile changes, the oil filter is spotless in those cars. At 5K the filters look a little dark depending on the type of driving the customer is doing. We do a fair amount of once a year oil changes at State Inspection time and some of those cars have 8000-10000 miles on them and the filters are black, not clogged or full of debris, but they look ugly but the Oil Life Monitor still hasn't gone to zero. When I'm asked about oil change intervals by customers I always ask how long they're keeping the car, if they're keeping it then I tell them to stick to 3K with conventional oil and 5K with synthetic.

 

[CGDustDevil]

As Captain America suggests, modern oils (synthetics) don't break down like blends or petroleum based oils will. Contamination, you betcha! But not like it was during the days of ignition points and carburetors. Modern engines are pretty fuel efficient and tend to pollute the oil system less.

Having said that -

I use Synthetic and I won't go more than 5000 miles!

 

[Mobuck]

Tom's company policy on oil changes USED TO BE do so when the oil life monitor said so. After having to do far too much engine repair, the policy changed to a more practical 5-7K.
I run full synthetic 7000 miles with filter changes at 3500. This has worked well for me w/o being tedious or wasteful.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Way back in another life time I changed the oil based on its color.

Got me a used '57 Ford with 78K miles on it that had the oil changed
every two thousand miles (common for 1962). It was ready for a change
at 1700 miles. By the third change it took over 3500 miles for it to show
ready for a change.

The previous owner did mostly short trips.
I did mostly 15 to thirty mile down the road trips.

Things have changed A LOT since then. :wink:

 

[graygun]

I have a 2016 Civic and don't go past 40% on the monitor. I use M1 0W-20.

Mobil 1 used to be a group 4 but is now a group 3 syn. Amsoil is gp 4.

Full syn and 100% syn are not the same thing.

 

[Xsales]

2004 Toyota Tacoma Truck

Calls for 5k changes and I have done so since brand new
Regular oil 219,000 miles & counting

 

[blume357]

Droped by my mechanic yesterday to make sure they could do an oil change on Monday... I'm at just over 3,000 miles but do a lot of in city driving and as I understand it, it can't hurt. Asked them about changing the plugs and doing a tune up... they said the new plugs that they put on 40k ago are good for 100,000 miles.

 

[smoke-eater]

I'd have to be physically restrained from changing my oil once it's past 3,000 mi. I've just been changing it at 3,000 since I got my first car. Both of my vehicles have over 130,000 miles and neither need oil added between changes. Oil and a filter are cheap compared to engine work. Why risk it?

 

[nekvermont]

I kid you not, I once knew a young lady that thought you didn't have to change your oil until the oil light came on.

 

[prairieviper]

I change oil when the oil life monitor says so. In the Jeep Cherokee, that is usually around 6000 miles and in the Chevy Silverado, around 4000. Both vehicles have computerized oil life monitors based upon driving habits, rather than the type that just gives you a reminder based upon a certain amount of miles you have driven. Both use synthetic oil and spin on filters. The Jeep is our main vehicle while the Silverado rarely gets driven unless we need a truck for something. We put less than 5000 miles yearly on the Silverado but 3 times that on the Jeep.

It works for me.

 

[gunzo]

For the older folks among us. Remember that when the oil change intervals were at 2500-3000 mi. the cars had carburetors that were rarely adjusted properly & couldn't compensate for driving conditions or altitude changes, same for ignition timing. These two things were constantly causing carbon buildup &/or raw gas being introduced to the oil.

Now we have computer controlled fuel injection & ignition timing that constantly monitors conditions in the engine & adjust accordingly. Lubricant & engine materials have gotten better, but the ability to keep raw gas out of the oil & eliminate the things that cause carbon, IMO is the reason engines are lasting longer & oil change intervals can be extended.

 

[Mus408]

and my recent small lawn mower doesn't have a drain plug!

 

[DGW1949]

and my recent small lawn mower doesn't have a drain plug!

Mine don't either. The manual say's to turn the mower over and dump the old oil out of the filler tube at oil-change time.

DGW

 

[graygun]

Yes,a carb is a potential time bomb for an engine,as well as being inferior to injection. They look cool and are fun to play with though.

 

[graygun]

Points related to the OP are:

Would you go 20K no matter how good the oil?
Info on the oil groupings is in the clip
Differences between dino and synthetic are discussed
Results at 120,000 miles using the featured oil are shown.

 

[NikA]

I use the best full synthetic I can commonly find (used to be Mobil 1, now it's Pennzoil Platinum) and change the filter/top off every 3000 miles. I change all the oil every 30-50k. About 500 miles before a full drain, I add the appropriate amount of Seafoam Green to the crankcase to help clean out any buildup with the drained oil. You're effectively replenishing the additive package in the oil when you add new oil to top off, and the synthetic base breakdown process is very slow. I use brand name filters now, although I've also used basic Fram filters in the past.

I've done this for over 10 years at this point and never had an oil-related issue. On the other hand, I don't deal with cars built after 2005 at this point, so I don't have the issue of small, oil-pressure actuated systems like VVT and such. Oil passage dimensions and engine tolerances have been getting smaller, wouldn't guarantee that engines designed more recently would behave perfectly with this program.

 

[Number9]

I don't go by mileage.. I go by time. I change oil and filter once a year. Changed oil and filter last month, put less than 2,000 miles on it in a year.

 

[DGW1949]

It's been my observation that while the oil makers are making bigger and bigger claims as to how 'superior' today's oils are, the filters on newer engines keep getting smaller and smaller. What that tells me is that somebody is trying to pull somebody's leg with all this stuff...so I purty-much still go by the maintenance schedule shown in the 'extreme duty' section of whichever manufacturer's manual I'm looking at, same as I always have.
All else gets a 3,500-mile oil change regardless of which particular oil happens to be involved...or if it's some type of equipment instead of a vehicle, every 25-30 operating hours.

Maybe I've been wasting money by doing it that way for all these years, or maybe not. Either way though, one thing is for sure and certain...oil is a lot cheaper than engines, and always has been.

Just my .02, you can take it FWIW.

DGW

 

[cas6969]

I change oil and filter twice a year and don't pay any attention to the miles. :lol: I;m sure it's less than 5k when I do. Probably less than 3k.

People talk about it being a waste of money, but Mobile 1 and a good filter cost me about $35+, that's less than a tank of gas.


Due to head gasket issues/replacement, I to change oil 5 times in two weeks about this time last year, that got expensive.

 

[Goldstar225]

I've been doing 5,000 miles oil changes for over 30 years on my vehicles and have not had any problem with an oil related issue or oil usage during that time. I will admit that I haven't kept a truck or car past the 150,000 mile mark.

 

[tinman]

In 2004 I bought a new Jeep Liberty (V-6, auto, 4x4) and personally changed the oil (Castrol, dino) and filter every 3000 miles. Had the transmission serviced every year, transfer case and diffs done every 50,000 miles and coolant flushed/changed every 100,000 miles. Tires were rotated/balanced at every other oil change which translated into extremely long tire life. Sold that vehicle in 2013 to a guy in town with 293,000 miles on the clock......yeah, working full time with a round trip of 104 miles daily really adds up..... Bought my new Ram 1500 (small V-8 auto, 4x4) that same year. After the "break-in" period I switched it to Mobil 1 and am doing full oil changes at 5000 miles.....(which still seems really odd to me)......while still following the same regime with transmission, 4 wheel drive components, cooling system, etc. as I did with the Jeep. Because I now only work part time I just crossed 100,000 miles on the Ram.......so I expect I'll have this truck a bit longer. I still see the Jeep around town occasionally........I see preventative maintenance as cheap insurance. :idea: :mrgreen:

 

[Ethang]

My commuter is a 2008 Civic I bought new when gas was 4.25+ a gallon. Since the factory warranty expired I have used nothing but Mobil 1 and change at or shortly after the Minder light goes off. 130 miles a day round trip, mostly freeway, 5-7 days a week. I am at 297,000 miles so far and it still runs like a top. I used nothing but Mobil 1 in my last car, a 2002 Impala, used the oil minder on that one too. Went to near 300,000 miles before being totaled in my wife's accident a few years ago.

I envy you guys who do I oil change a year whether you need it or not..

 

[contender]

I grew up in the old school of carb's, distributors & points too.
I did regular oil changes back then.
In 1989,, I bought my first new truck,, a Chevy S-10. I put over 300,000 miles on it & sold it in 2004. I bought a Silverado in 2004, new,, and I still have it. It has almost 300,000 on it right now. Both of these Chevy's got oil changes at the 3000-5000 mark. Never had any issues with engine troubles. I've used Castrol synthetic since as long as I can remember.
I see no need to change,, as my system works for me.

 

[RSIno1]

I spoke with a Ford engine engineer one time about 7,500 mile oil changes they were recommending. He said it was due to customer demand for longer intervals and at 7,500 the car would easily make 100,000 miles. He said he still recommended 3,000 to make a car last. I had a 2005 Escape with 200,000 miles and sometimes didn't change that oil for nearly 20,000 miles but always used Mobil 1.

 

[graygun]

My 2016 Civic said oil was at 40% when I changed it;mileage was a little more than 8,000. I wouldn't go by what the car is saying.

 

[exavid]

Elimination of point type ignition for transistorized with much higher voltage and removal of lead in gasoline just about makes sparkplugs last the life of the vehicle. I took a look at the plugs in my '98 Grand Marquis after driving it for almost ten years and 180,000 miles and just put them back in. I saw the guy who bought it recently and he told me the original plugs are still in and he has about 260,000 miles in them now. As long as the idle is still smooth, the engine starts quickly and there's no miss when you punch the throttle the plugs are doing their job.

 

[Biggfoot44]

I could potentially get on board with looong oil change intervals , IF I were doing an oil analysis each time . If I still had a Pete , it would be worthwhile.

Otherwise still 3-5k , with usually blend .

 

[Number9]

Elimination of point type ignition for transistorized with much higher voltage and removal of lead in gasoline just about makes sparkplugs last the life of the vehicle. I took a look at the plugs in my '98 Grand Marquis after driving it for almost ten years and 180,000 miles and just put them back in. I saw the guy who bought it recently and he told me the original plugs are still in and he has about 260,000 miles in them now. As long as the idle is still smooth, the engine starts quickly and there's no miss when you punch the throttle the plugs are doing their job.

It's simple... It's called Computer Controlled.

 

[Bull Barrel]

OIL THREAD!

Using a syn blend is a waste of money.
You dont know what percentage of the base stock is synthetic.
Use dino or synthetic.
And stay away from Fram filters.