How often do you change your oil?

[Tim Thomas]

I just took my wife's new Honda Civic in for the first oil change. Honda recommends in the owner's manual that you change the oil every 7,500 miles. That seems high to me, but I went with the recommendation and pulled into the service station today with 7,497 miles on the car. In passing I mentioned the seemingly high number of miles between oil changes to the guy who was working on my car and he said that he still does his oil changes every 3000 miles, no matter what the manufacturer recommends. Basically he said that the various cleaners and other additives in the oil are used up long before you would get to 7,500 miles, so you should change it out more often. I didn't know what to make of his statement that "They don't make oil that will last 7,500 miles."

I'm not a car expert by any means. I don't even change my own oil. So I have no idea who to believe on this one. For reasons of pure logic I am tempted to go with what Honda says. How would it benefit them to tell me to do oil changes less frequently than I really should? I have a factory warranty on my engine and if every 7,500 miles isn't often enough to keep it in good shape then they are the ones who would have to foot the bill for premature engine damage, right? And certainly it benefits the oil change businesses to encourage you to come in more often because they get more money, so of course they would want me to come in every 3,000 miles instead of every 7,500. Honda has built their reputation on making cars that are pretty much bulletproof, so why would they tell their customers to do something that could jeopardize the longevity of the car?

Anyway, I've rambled enough, let's get to the question: If manufacturer's recommendation for changing the oil on your car is greater than every 3,000 miles do you go with that recommendation or do you stick with the tried-and-true 3,000 miles/3 months figure?


** EDIT **DOH! I just noticed that I made a typo in my poll options. In option four it should say "hear" not "heard". I are gud at anglish.

[Greg Cole]

I drive so little I change it MAYBE 2-3 times a year and thats not from mileage. I wouldn't trust a conventional oil for 7500 miles, a synthetic maybe.
I literally drive about 12 miles a day and change my own oil and use synthetic (have since day one with the Tacoma and I've had it for almost 12 years :eek:).
Now my wife who drives 2-300 miles a week, gets an oil change at 3K on the dot (well maybe not on the dot, but after some prodding :rolleyes:).
4500-5K would be as far as I'd go for a regular interval. Maybe I'm just old school "that way" but for the minimal cost of an oil change it's worth it to me if you plan on driving the vehicle for years and years.

[Sonny Edmonds]

After All, they aren't going to tell you to do something that makes them change your engine for you. :rolleyes:
Modern engines can go longer between oil changes for a lot of reasons. Most new or newer cars have stretched out oil changes.
My wife got sent home and told not to bother coming back until she had at least 5000 miles on the oil.
Our car has an oil life % display in the computer. Pretty cool!
But there are a lot of betterments in the engine designs that help longevity. And the oil formulations are way better than people are lead to believe.
Save your money, relax and enjoy the drive. ;)

[Ben Rafael]

I use synthetic and change at about 5000 miles mostly because I can see the oil starting to get dirty at that point.
If your oil is jet black at 3000 miles then you waited too long. Mileage is only one factor.

[Pat Germain]

I'm pretty much in agreement with Ben. The 3,000 mile rule comes from many years ago when motor oil was much simpler and when engines burned much dirtier. Obviously, changing the oil every 3,000 miles won't hurt your engine. But it's likely money you don't have to spend and waste you don't have to create. (Even if you recycle the oil, you have to throw away an oily filter.)

Consumer Reports did an extensive test on motor oils several years ago. They found whether the oil was changed at 3,000 miles or 7,500 miles made absolutely no difference in engine wear. They also found as long as the oil was API certified, the brand made no difference. My personal experience of working on cars since 1979 tells me Valvoline tends to run cleanest of all brands, but I don't have any scientific evidence to back it up.

Alas, I must admit I don't like to run dirty oil. If the oil in my vehicles is getting dark, I'll go ahead and change it most of the time. I run synthetic in two of my vehicles. Daughter's car gets Valvoline high mileage to keep the gaskets from leaking.

Fun question: What does the "W" mean in "5W 30" or "10W 40"? Many people think it's "weight" or something similar. It's actually "winter". The first number indicates how the oil will perform when it's cold. The second number indicates how the oil will perform when it's hot. Thus, a "5W" will provide easier starting in winter, if you live in a cold area. Unless you live in the desert or Southern Florida, or your engine is starting to wear, it's probably not necessary to run 10W 40. Your engine will just have to work harder to pump it and use more fuel.

[Curt Harms]

This coming weekend I have to get some scheduled engine work done on the plane I fly. The engine oil (full synthetic) gets changed every 800 hours. Doing some SWAG assumptions: 800 hours X 300 knots/hr. block speed X 1.15 conversion knots to statute miles = 276,000 miles between oil changes. Of course there's about half a quart added every 30 hours or so--engine seals leak on shutdown:o.

[M Toupin]

I mentioned the seemingly high number of miles between oil changes to the guy who was working on my car and he said that he still does his oil changes every 3000 miles, no matter what the manufacturer recommends. Basically he said that the various cleaners and other additives in the oil are used up long before you would get to 7,500 miles, so you should change it out more often. I didn't know what to make of his statement that "They don't make oil that will last 7,500 miles."

Oil technology has come a long way in the last few years, but there's nothing wrong with being conservative. On the other hand, make sure it's based on good science, not a WAG.

For some reason, I just have a hard time thinking the guy making min wage changing the engine oil is smarter than the engineer who designed the engine.

Personally, I'll stick with the manufactures recommendation which is determined by engineers who have every reason to be conservative and reduce manufacturer liability. Manufacturers don't make money on oil changes, they have very little to gain (or loose) by lengthening the mileage/time between oil changes.

But that's JMO, JMMV.



Mike

[Don Abele]

I have three vehicles and treat them all about the same:

2000 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel - manual says every 5,000 miles. I use AMSOIL which is rated for 25,000 miles or 1 year. Since I don't drive the truck often (about 2,000 miles a year (or less) now and has about 35,000 miles on it), it gets a change once a year.

2004 Kia Spectra - manual says every 7,500 miles. I was running a full synthetic and changing every 5,000 miles because I was commuting 175 miles a day. That's an oil change every 6 weeks. Now that I'm not doing that any more (thankfully) and the car has 110,000 miles on it :eek: I switched to a high mileage synthetic blend and will continue with the every 5,000 mile change (which will probably become a once a year thing).

1994 Dodge Grand Caravan - manual says every 3,000 miles and that's what it has gotten ever since we bought it new 14 years ago. Now that it as 150,000+ miles on it, I run a high mileage synthetic blend in it. Like my truck, the van doesn't get much mileage on it and winds up with a change about once a year.

Antifreeze gets changed in them all once a year.

Transmission fluid was a 30,000 mile thing until I switched to Dexron III a year ago - it has a 100,000 mile rating. So I won't be changing tranny fluid any time soon.

Be well,

Doc

[Chris Padilla]

Okay, so check it out. My BMW (2001 530i) has these LEDs that count down to indicate Oil Changes and "official" inspections. It goes like this:

New Car-->Oil Change-->Inspection 1-->Oil Change-->Inspection 2-->Oil Change-->Inspection 1-->Oil Change-->Inspection 2--> and so on

Now most folks think that the LEDs count down in terms of mileage but they do not! They count down in terms of liters of gas (remember, German car) consumed. There are 4 green LEDs, 1 yellow LED, and 1 red LED. The greens represent like 300-400 liters of fuel each, the yellow like 100 liters, and the red like 50 liters.

You are supposed to take your car in when the yellow LED is on and have whatever performed and then the LEDs are reset for the next countdown. All the LEDs are lit and then slowly turn off as the requisite amount of fuel is reached.

Anyway, I change my oil at every interval PLUS at the 2-3 green bars left so roughly halfway. This usually turns out to be about 7,000 miles.

I change the oil and filter and do use synthetic (Mobil 1 typically) but if I waited as long as BMW suggested, it would be around 12-15k miles between oil changes. Each "oil change" and "Inspection 1 or 2" does include an oil change.

[Jim Becker]

I change at 5000 miles which is the manufacturer's recommendation. Today's engines, unless operating conditions are beyond certain parameters, don't need to be done every 3000 miles...it's a waste of oil (appropriate word) and money. The manufacturer's oil change interval on the Tundra I used to own was actually 7500 miles. Now, I still did it at 5000 simply because it was easy to remember and coincided with the normal 5000 mile service intervals.

[Matt Meiser]

I change ours every 5000. My truck says to only change it when the Change Oil message comes on. I've never seen it. It is supposed to work off of computer parameters, not some some kind advanced oil sensor technology, but I've never seen it come back on and I've never reset it.

[Dennis Peacock]

[/B]** EDIT **DOH! I just noticed that I made a typo in my poll options. In option four it should say "hear" not "heard". I are gud at anglish.

Tim,

I fixed it for ya. ;)

[randall rosenthal]

honda civic...2500
toyota tacoma....2500

austin healey..2 times a year

bertram (2 engines) once a year

kids subaru....today.


secret to making any machine last a long time...frequent lubrication

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Synthetic every 8,000 miles.

Previous car (1981), regular oil every 3,000 miles. Still have the car with about 350,000 miles on it.

I'm less fussy these days. I don't think it is as important as 30 years ago. I do like synthetic, especially on those very cold mornings.

-Jeff :)

[Neal Clayton]

synthetic here too. diesel mercedes...once a year (works out to about 10k). gas toyota truck, about 7-8k (works out to about 9 months).

[Mike Henderson]

I've done a lot of work on engines over the years (going back maybe 50 years). In the old days, you'd take the head off an engine and there'd be a ridge around the top of the cylinder and the rings would be worn enough that the engine would be burning oil. (the bottom end - the journals on the crankshaft - quit being a problem long ago)

Oils got so good that in the past maybe 20-25 years, you'd take the head off an engine and there'd be only a very slight ridge at the top of the cylinder and the rings were doing fine.

The last thing was the valve guides. For a long time, the valve guides would wear and oil would seep around the intake valve into the combustion chamber and you'd be burning oil. You'd have to do a valve job at maybe 50,000 miles.

Today, you take an engine apart at 100,000 miles or more and there's almost no ridge at the top of the cylinder, the rings are good and the valve guides are good. And that's an engine that the owner wasn't anal about service, either.

It's a waste of money and a problem for the environment to change your oil more often than the recommended interval - and that recommended interval is conservative. I wouldn't recommend it, but I'll bet if your recommended interval is 7,500 miles (common for non-synthetic oil), you could go 10,000 miles and not see any problems as long as you're not in harsh conditions.

Mike

[Jason Roehl]

In my '93 F250, I once went about a year and ~12,000 miles without changing the oil. Not on purpose, just kind of slipped my mind or I didn't have time to mess with it when I did remember. An oil change in that truck takes 6 quarts. I got maybe 2.5 quarts when I drained it. That was a few years ago, and there are no known engine issues now (though it is parked due to some tranny issues...).

Anyway, I figure it like this. Places that want to sell you oil (oil companies and Quik-E-Lube joints) tell you 3 months/3,000 miles, so that's probably a bit more often than the truth. Places that want to sell you cars (dealerships, car manufacturers) recommend a longer interval (more like 6 months/7,500 miles), so that may be a bit longer than what is ideal, but their hands are a bit tied by having to manufacture to pretty tight tolerances due to emissions standards, so it's probably not too far from ideal. So, generally, I shoot for about 5-6,000 miles.

There's no question today's vehicles are far better. 40 years ago, you could change the oil every 3,000 miles and hope to get 50,000 semi-reliable miles out of a vehicle. Now, you can change the oil every 15,000 miles, generally abuse the vehicle, and it will go 100,000 miles and more in most cases.

[Sonny Edmonds]

The Dodge HEMI from 2006 will not function right without 5W 20, winter or summer. (My 2005 wanted 5W 20 also)
It can't use it, varible valve timing whatchamacallit with other (heavier)weight oil. Screws it up. And then guess what?
Bye-bye warrenty. :eek: :mad:

Beings as I'm getting older, I tend to run-what-I-brung and leave it at that. Kinda nice to not be under the hood every other weekend.
The skinny oil helps a lot with better mileage, too.
And nowdays, who doesn't mind that? :cool:

[Tom Godley]

Up until last year in our fleet cars we changed them after 6k but before 7k - About ten years ago it was 5k. Now we go past 7.5 K. We use regular oil in the fleet cars.

Over the years we have had countless Ford v6 motors - less of the Ford v8's. They all go way past 150k with no noticeable engine performance change or even oil use for that matter. Many go over 200k.

Since 2000 we have added some Lexus V6 and Nissan V6 motors -- same thing. I am shocked at how clean the oil is in the Lexus units after 5k. The Nissan v6 motors are also really nice.

I can not tell you the last time I had to add oil to a car between changes.


In my personal cars I normally change the oil every year -- both use 0-40 -- only available in synthetic. They hold 9 quarts and call for 20k change cycles - I never make the 20k.

I have a couple of older cars that I do the same yearly change - just to make sure that I get out the water and eliminate the acid build up. I use regular oil in them also


IMO to change synthetic oil out at 5k in moderate climates when installed in a standard performance engine is a waste.

Years ago I switched to synthetic oil in a 4 cyl Audi and a couple of 4 cyl Turbo SAAB's. They both called for rather thick oil and would crank very slowly when it was below 10 degrees if regular oil was used - The synthetic was the way to go on them.


We waste a lot of oil needlessly in the USA.

[Ross Ellis]

I change my pickup, wifes Outback, and my Jeep Wrangler all at 3000.

My BMW is 15,000. The car notifies any impending service with a dash icon. When the icon lights up, BMW service calls me to schedule an appointment. Since service is included in the price of the car, I just follow their recommendation.

[Justin Leiwig]

It's no longer an oil issue with the advances in additives and lube enhancers. All synthetic oils, not just amsoil could go for 25,000 without breaking down. It comes down to the oil filter. Same technology that was there 50 years ago is still there today. If you go too long then the filter just gets bypassed due to being clogged and your engine will just recirculate the dirty oil. Some filters are better than others.

I run synthetic in my car and change it anywhere between 7.5K and 10K depending on how it looks when I check it every other tank of gas. I followed this policy on my old truck and sold it with 178K on the odometer and it's still going strong today. Guy I sold it to drives 100 miles round trip every day to work in the truck without a single engine problem. Again, it's not the oil, it's the filter that is holding things back.

[Lee DeRaud]

This coming weekend I have to get some scheduled engine work done on the plane I fly. The engine oil (full synthetic) gets changed every 800 hours. Doing some SWAG assumptions: 800 hours X 300 knots/hr. block speed X 1.15 conversion knots to statute miles = 276,000 miles between oil changes. Of course there's about half a quart added every 30 hours or so--engine seals leak on shutdown:o.Interesting...I would have guessed the interval was shorter than that. Is there a "or X months whichever comes first" thing in there somewhere? (800 flight hours sounds like a year's worth for the typical private plane.)

800 hours on a car engine would more typically be 25K miles: most cars won't do 300 knots...come to think of it, most piston-engine planes don't either. That's still pretty high, but then again, airplane engines spend most of their time at more-or-less constant speed, which has to help a lot.

[Ed Bamba]

My 1991 Ford F150, 5.0 V8 has over 200,000 miles on it. I do an oil change when I get around to it. Heck, l have to add a quart or two every two months. At times when I forget to check oil level, it is sometimes two quarts low:o :eek:. She still runs fine and I drive her close to 50 miles to and from work, five days a week. Still has the original clutch and pressure plate and no major work on the rest of the drive train. I do feel that a complete drive train refurbishment is in the near future. Bottom line is: factory-specified oil changes won't necessarily prolong engine life. And I tend to agree with others above that replacing oil too often is wasteful.

[mark page]

I am in the business and run full synthetic oil in both vehicles. I change every 8k and all are highway miles. If I changed every 3K I'd be changing every three weeks on LOML's van. I have to admit that my personal car gets changed on a time interval as I daily drive the company vehicle. I worry more about rusting brake rotors than I do oil changes on mine. Company vehicles get changed every 5K miles due to Wheels/MAP Inc. regulations.

[Karl Brogger]

I had an S10 with a V6, I ran that oil to 10k most of the time using Amsoil.

For my Cummins pickup, every 5-10k depending on what I've been doing. Heavy towing, or winter use I change it more often. Just driving around less often. The things holds 3 gallons of oil.

For my Dakota, (no I'm not a dodge nut, I paid $500 for it), I change that every 3-4k. Its a piece of crap and I use cheap-ish oil in it.

My WR250X, motorcycle, I change that every 1000k miles. Mostly because I woop the snot out of it, and it only holds 1.5 quarts.




Oil has come along ways since the 50's. So have engines. Changing every 3k is kind of a waste in my eyes. BUT!!! I've never heard of an engine failure that was related to the oil be changed too frequently.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
All mine get an oil & filter @ ~ 5k miles.

Kind of OT - but -

I bought a 3hp gas mower many moons ago, took it home, stuck gas in it and used it for ~ 5 seasons.
One day it just froze up and died.
No biggie - after all it was only a $99.00 mower & was too small (20") for the new yard in the new house we'd just moved into.

When I went looking for a tractor, I told the sales guy how I'd "only gotten" 5 years out of my Briggs and Stratton & how unhappy I was about that.

He asked me "When you got it home, did you put any oil in it?"
Which - of course - I hadn't!:eek:

I went home & stuck some oil in it, pulled the rope a few times and it fired right up!
LOL! 'course by that time it used almost as much oil as it did gas.
~ 5 years of bone dry use = I've been sold on B&S engines ever since.

[Curt Harms]

Interesting...I would have guessed the interval was shorter than that. Is there a "or X months whichever comes first" thing in there somewhere? (800 flight hours sounds like a year's worth for the typical private plane.)

800 hours on a car engine would more typically be 25K miles: most cars won't do 300 knots...come to think of it, most piston-engine planes don't either. That's still pretty high, but then again, airplane engines spend most of their time at more-or-less constant speed, which has to help a lot.

Williams Int'l (engine manufacturer) is strictly hour based. A lot of maintenance functions are indeed X hours or Y months, engines are not one. Fleet average for privately operated turbine aircraft are about 200 hours/yr. Corporate/Charter/Shared ownership operators are 600hrs/yr or more. Modern turbine engines are a marvel of reliability. I believe air carriers don't do engine maintenance on a fixed schedule but rather on-condition based on data logging and oil analysis. Even then, a lot of engine work can be done without removing the engine from the aircraft.

[Tim Thomas]

Hey Dennis, thanks for fixing my typo. I feel less dumb already!

And thanks to everybody who posted their advice and experiences. I feel a lot better now about going with the recommendation of Honda to change the oil every 7,500 miles. I bought the Civic with the intention of keeping it "until the wheels fall off" so I want to do everything I can to help it go the distance. Hopefully there are at least 30 more oil changes in that car's future.

[Dennis Peacock]

In all my reading and experience, it's not all about oil. It's all about filtration, air and oil filtration. You need good air filtration and you need good oil filtration. The only thing is? For good to excellent filtration, you really have to do your homework and shop around. I happen to like the Amsoil filters and by-pass filters along with their lifetime air filter.

On another note, I have used 2-cycle engines a lot, weedeaters, chainsaws, blower, and such as that. I used to go through a weedeater about every other year. Then some dude told me about Amsoil's 100:1 synthetic 2-cycle oil. I bought a new weedeater and only ran the synthetic 100:1 2-cycle oil in the fuel mix. The weedeater lasted me 21 years. I bought a new weedeater 3 years ago and I'm still going strong with it today.

[Lee DeRaud]

Modern turbine engines are a marvel of reliability. I believe air carriers don't do engine maintenance on a fixed schedule but rather on-condition based on data logging and oil analysis. Even then, a lot of engine work can be done without removing the engine from the aircraft.Ok, you're talking about turbine, not piston...completely different environment, especially where the oil is concerned.

Random comment of vague relevance...
I don't recall ever seeing any analysis or even discussion of maintenance costs (except battery pack replacement) for electric cars. Seems like a lot of what we now consider "normal maintenence" will simply disappear or be greatly reduced.

[Jason Roehl]

I would think that tires, brakes and suspension would still need upkeep on electric cars... And I also wonder of the effects of road salt on electrical/electronic systems in the North and Midwest.

[Chris Padilla]

I would think that tires, brakes and suspension would still need upkeep on electric cars... And I also wonder of the effects of road salt on electrical/electronic systems in the North and Midwest.

I dunno--there are plenty of electronics in cars NOW and they appear to be okay if properly protected (rubber boots, grease, etc.).

[Dave Bender]

On my wife's Caddi we run 6mths/7500 miles on a semisynthetic. This is a very comfortable interval backed up with oil analysis. On my truck I use a full synthetic and run a change interval that is the lesser of double the DIC, 15000 miles, or one year. Owners manual says one year or when the DIC says (usually around 10000 miles). I check the status of my oil with oil analysis at the DIC reading and the TBN has always shown that the oil could go way past double the DIC (i.e. around 30-40K beetween changes). Besides checking the status of the oil, oil analysis gives lots of information on the health of your engine allowing you to take corrective action early. If you use quality filters (not Fram) and a good oil you can run a lot longer than 3000 or 5000 miles between changes (except of a few high performance vehicals). If you use a quality synthetic and decent filtration then you should be going at least 7500 between changes and can more likely go 15000 or longer. With bypass filtration and adding a quart once and awhile you can extend intervals to 100000 miles or more if you keep tabs with oil analysis. Modern oils are good with long lasting additive packages, take advantage of it.

[Jason Roehl]

I dunno--there are plenty of electronics in cars NOW and they appear to be okay if properly protected (rubber boots, grease, etc.).

This is true, but much of the undercarriage of current IC engines is mechanical. A move towards electrics may mean that electrical/electronic systems on the vehicle migrate closer to the wheels and road. To this point there hasn't been much of a long-term sample set, either. Just a possibility I though of, as I have crawled under and repaired many a vehicle here in the rust belt...ugh... All those electrical connections do eventually start to break down and cause problems.

[Lee DeRaud]

I would think that tires, brakes and suspension would still need upkeep on electric cars.Tires would obviously be unaffected, but I would expect brake wear to be reduced significantly with electric drive due to the use of regenerative braking. Suspension is already a rather low-cost/long-interval maintenance item.

[Lee DeRaud]

A move towards electrics may mean that electrical/electronic systems on the vehicle migrate closer to the wheels and road.In much more advanced systems (where the motors are at the wheels) maybe, but the first generation or two will have more traditional "centralized" power systems. And there's no real restriction on where the control electronics can go, so there's no reason not to put them somewhere well-protected.

(I'm not sure the "motor-in-wheel" concept makes sense anyway: too much unsprung weight.)

[Al Willits]

Rather than rely on the manufacture manual, I rely on mileage, weather, type of driving whether short trips or long hauls, whether its towing or not, and go from there.
Both the wife and I drive less than 4 miles to work, so the engines never really get totally heated up, so we change at 3k, oil is showing signs of moisture at that stage and it gets changed.

I all I did was highway driving and longer distances, I'd prob extend the mileage between changing.

Anybody remember when 2k was reccomended? :D
Al

[Jim Becker]

Tires would obviously be unaffected, but I would expect brake wear to be reduced significantly with electric drive due to the use of regenerative braking. Suspension is already a rather low-cost/long-interval maintenance item.

I agree with that. I'm at just under 35K miles on my 2006 Highlander Hybrid Limited purchased in December 2005 and the brakes are still just peachy. The regenerative braking not only generates power, but it really does reduce the need for incidental use of the brake pedal in my experience. I think we may have replaced the brakes on our 2002 Prius in the 85K+ miles we drove it before trading in on a new one. (Tires were a different story...the "special formulation" used on that car didn't wear well at all)

[Jason Roehl]

Brakes can be all over the place--driver and manufacturing materials have more to do with service interval on brakes than anything. I did the first set of front brakes on our minivan (a fairly heavy vehicle) at 100k. I think I've done them twice since and we are at about 175k. Methinks my wife is a little heavier on the brake pedal than my parents, who owned the van for its first 75k. I figure the stock pads were pretty good, but I definitely don't put in high-dollar, long-lasting replacements. On my work trucks (that I drive like work trucks), I typically get 50k on front brakes.

[Jim Becker]

You're right about the brakes, Jason, and I'm definitely easy on them since I generally avoid quick stops and also benefit from the regenerative braking in both of our hybrids. But of the two drivers in this household, I'm also the one who gets the best gas mileage...it's all about "how" the driving gets done!

[Jason Roehl]

Hahaha, Jim. Of the two drivers in our household, I'm also the one who tends to get better mileage out of a vehicle--on average. I also am much more likely to occasionally (rarer and rarer) um, er, uh, explore the uhh, capabilities of a vehicle. ;) At the end of the day, I think that has actually made me a better driver overall, though there have been a few "costs" along the way. :cool:

You can read all you want about how to get out of a slide, but until you've been in one (or more), you will never react properly.

[Mike Cutler]

For some reason, I just have a hard time thinking the guy making min wage changing the engine oil is smarter than the engineer who designed the engine.
Mike

Mike
A thought to consider.

That guy may not necessarily be smarter than the engineer, but his field experience on the subject bears considerable weight. I used to be that guy in a life once upon a time. Reading oil is not a terribly difficult thing to learn,and he sees a lot of it.

I did oil and brakes while I was in the Navy to make xtra $$$. Not a Jiffy Lube either. A real service station, oil drained by gravity, and put back in one qt. at a time. After a few months I got a real good feel for how long cars could go, by manufacturer, between oil and brake changes.
I remember my boss at the time saying that " Oil was the cheapest insurance you could buy for your car".

Cars today can definitely go longer between oil change intervals. Both cars and oils have changed over the years since I was a garage monkey, but as a car ages that interval should decrease just due to increased wear over time.

My history of vehicles;

New Mini Cooper S, purchased last week. Haven't changed the oil yet, it only has 1000 miles on it. Manufacturer says 10 K intervals with a synthetic oil. My experience with a turbo charged Saab says a more frequent interval would make me feel better.

2001 4WD Toyota Tacoma 175,000 miles.( Still running strong today) Oil changes 2-3 times a year.

1995 Saab 900SE. 314,000 miles.(Broke down last week due to valve failure. Pretty unreliable car actually. Blew the turbo at 80K, and a head at 130K) Oils changes at ~ 5K intervals due to the turbo burning up oil. I'll put an engine in it this spring and use it for back and forth to work.

1989 4WD Toyota Pickup. 340,000 miles. (It was running fine when sold to a local kid) Oils changes 2-3 times a year.

1986 Toyota Pickup. 135,000 miles when it was totaled on the highway. Needed a head job on a 22R engine when the rear babbet clogged up at about 80 K.( what a lousy design) Oil changes at 3-5K intervals.

1986 BMW 325ES. Changed the oil religously at 3K intervals. This was the first "Brand New Car" I ever bought. I loved this car! I Sold it 5 years later with 85K on it, and no problems. (I bought a house, I should have kept the car instead.:eek:)

1980 Toyota Corolla ~175,000 mile. ( Cracked a head during a harsh Vermont winter) Oil changes at 3-5K interval.

1970 Camaro. I changed oil a lot as a kid, but it still didn't stop those nylon gears from jumping time and trashing the engine at a little over 100K

1965 Ford Mustang. God bless the folks that like them, even as a 19 year old punk kid I hated mine, my brother had one too at the time. I think we changed oil about once a week it seemed. Wash the car, change the oil. It was a So. Cal thing.;)

Changing oil often may be considered "Gilding the Lily" these days, but then again it's your lily to gild. It's cheap and it works.

[Tom Veatch]

...300 knots/hr. block speed...

300 knot block speed! We sure ain't talking Cessna 150 here! Corporate jet?

[Brian Elfert]

My VW Gold TDI says to change the oil every 10,000 miles so that is what I do. It requires synthetic diesel oil. I use Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel 5W-40 oil.

My oil change is due in about 50 miles and I have to find a new place to do it. The previous place doubled the price from what they used to charge.

[David Freed]

One of the best examples of the quality of a product is how it works under extreme conditions. I live 20 miles from Steve Boyd and Sons tractor pulling team. Eight years ago they were having trouble with burning up (read that as destroying) bearings in their tractor engine. They have taken a 235 hp engine that runs at 2200 rpms with 15 psi of turbo boost, and turned it up to over 2000 hp running at almost 7000 rpm with over 150 psi of boost. It was putting so much pressure on the bearings, it was squeezing out the oil and frying them. They tried several mechanical changes to solve their trouble with no luck. Someone suggested they try the Lucas Oil Stabilizer. Steve was skeptical that a simple thing like that could help in such extreme conditions, but he was ready to try anything at this point. The Lucas solved the problem; no more burned bearings.
I figure if it can stop engine problems in those conditions, it should drastically extend engine life in a daily runabout vehicle.

In my opinion, adding Lucas oil stabilizer is more important than what (major) brand of oil you use or how often you change it (to a point).I use Lucas in every vehicle I own. Two of them already have over 250,000 miles on them and have not had any engine problems. I usually try to change oil every 3000 miles, but there has been occasions when it has gone as long as 5000 if I am busy. As I said before, what I put in is more important to me than how long I leave it in.
Many of you have probably seen the little clear plastic box with a hand crank in auto parts stores that has plain oil on one side and Lucas added on the other. It sticks to your engine parts much better than regular oil and greatly reduces wear at startup, which is when a lot of your normal engine wear occurs. I have also solved my own trailer and differential problems with Lucas gear oil, which is why I use it in my trans, differentials, and trailer hubs.

I probably sound like a Lucas salesman, but my only connection to them is buying their products because they work.

[Pat Germain]

While I'm fully confident the Lucas oil stabilizer helped the tractor pulling engine, that doesn't really mean it will help a street vehicle. I have nothing against Lucas stabilizer, but I'm very skiddish of oil additives in anything other than an already-trashed engine.

Adding something like STP Oil treatment, for example, to an engine that's already burning oil and blowing smoke will probably help. In an engine in good condition, it could actually cause harm by making the oil too thick.

Some manufacturer's warranties are void if you use oil treatments of any kind. I remember reading this when everyone was crazy about Slick 50.

I don't really know what Lucas Oil stabilizer does beyond the demo with little plastic gears I've seen in auto parts stores. It could indeed improve oil performance in a street vehicle. But I'm still skeptical. Modern motor oils work really well on their own.

[David Freed]

Adding something like STP Oil treatment, for example, to an engine that's already burning oil and blowing smoke will probably help. In an engine in good condition, it could actually cause harm by making the oil too thick.

I partially agree with that. Many people think if a little of something is good, a lot is better. You have to know how much of anything to use in each situation.


Some manufacturer's warranties are void if you use oil treatments of any kind. I remember reading this when everyone was crazy about Slick 50.

Slick 50 claimed it structurally changed the engine parts. I never did buy into that theory.


I don't really know what Lucas Oil stabilizer does beyond the demo with little plastic gears I've seen in auto parts stores. It could indeed improve oil performance in a street vehicle. But I'm still skeptical. Modern motor oils work really well on their own.

I agree that modern oils are very good. I just want to protect my drivetrain(s) as much as I can. I don't buy new vehicles anymore. I bought a pickup brand new once in 1978. I still have it.