syn. oil made easy.....

[Bunky]

I use what Ford says to use (oil and filter) and change it when they more or less say - usually hit 6 months before mileage. If you follow BITOG, oils can easily go 10K miles as demonstrated by used oil analyses.

[Swanicyouth]

A little off topic, but some dude just posted elsewhere BMW charged him like $300 for an oil change on a standard E85 Z4. Talk about getting hosed.

Who here (besides me) changes their own oil and fluids?

[Bunky]

Who here (besides me) changes their own oil and fluids?

I always change my own oil/filter and dispose of it properly.

[tropicsteve]

I always change my own oil/filter and dispose of it properly.

+1 on doing it yourself and knowing for sure what`s going in and that it`s done right. recycle my oil at auto zone & advance auto parts.

[chet31]

I don`t think engines are the weak point on cars anymore. I generally go 10K miles or one year, whichever comes first, usually use Mobil 1. Two of my four cars, both 2002s, bought new, have about 190K miles, and the engines seem strong. I don`t think engine problems are going to be the death knell for either car.

[chet31]

I also change my own oil. Bought a Mityvac (about $70) a few years ago, makes life easy. Suck out the oil, no having to deal with oil pan bolts.

[RTexasF]

Reading the posts here I see the same things I do everywhere else. There are the old timers with their 3-4K synthetic oil changes no matter what. There are those that go 10-12K because the car manufacturer says they can but their car has no oil minder system (Toyota comes to mind).

Both sides have merit. I have seen oil analysis` where @ 5K top grade synthetic oil was completely shot and no longer usable. I have also seen regular 10K intervals with both standard & synthetic oil which were perfect and could have gone even longer. Getting your oil analyzed several times in a row, called trending, is what tells the story.

As mentioned above there are literally hundreds of factors that determine oil life. It`s very difficult for an individual to determine when they should change oil without several analysis` in a row. Just changing using "gut feeling" every 3-5 K might be extremely wasteful whereas going 10K without guidance may be detrimental. Even some cars with oil life minders can be WAY off as we`ve seen with GM changing theirs to lesser intervals due to direct injection. Oil analysis can open your eyes, dispel some old myths, and even save you some money in the long run.

There`s a lot more to it than the way grandpa and dad did it back then and sometimes even the auto manufacturers are wrong. There are several inexpensive labs that can help you zero in on oil change intervals for your car and driving area/habits.

We now return to our regular scheduled program.........

[black bart]

Synthetic oil is always going to outlast & outperform regular oil. You should use the oil the manufacturer recommends - not the 55 gallon drum of oil the dealer gets for cheap.

This being said, most oil we are using in America being sold as "synthetic" isn`t actually a synthetic oil. There are a few different oil "base types": 1 through 5. 1 through 3 are "dino" bases, which means they come from fossil fuels. 95% + of the oils being sold as synthetic here (USA) fall into this category. In Europe, this "mislabeling" doesn`t fly.

Unless it was changed in the the past few years (so, yes there is a possibility I could be incorrect / old data), Mobil 1 is a REAL synthetic oil. The "German Castrol" Edge 0w30 (this weight only) is also one. I`m not 100% sure about what I call "internet oil" - Redline & Amsoil, but I believe these are real synthetics as well.

So, guess what oil I use? Mobil 1 ESP in my Pathfinder and BMW Castrol TWS 0w60 M specific oil in my BMW M. You can safely extend drain intervals with these oils IMHO. 15k is crazy IMHO, but your engine will stay quite clean changing at half that.

Mobil-1 was reformulated a couple years ago your info is outdated.

[Bunky]

Talking about dino vs synthetic is like talking about when a natural wax is almost a sealant.

Thanks to higher oil standards, any SN rated oil is good for a typical consumer car..except for the few no name brands that do not actually meet API standards.

[Dogfather]

You most certainly can get 10k. Type of driving is the factor. Very short trips, where the oil doesn`t reach temperature will cut oil life in half or less. Highway miles = extended drain intervals. 12k interval is fine for highway use. As low as 3k intervals for very short trips.

This may be true but I`d never let a filter go that long. Synthetic gets just as dirty. I know some people change their filter and top off the oil midway through an extended OCI. To me more trouble than it`s worth.
My Subaru recommends dino 7.5K or 3k severe driving.
I change synthetic and filter every 5K.

[RTexasF]

This may be true but I`d never let a filter go that long. Synthetic gets just as dirty. I know some people change their filter and top off the oil midway through an extended OCI. To me more trouble than it`s worth.
My Subaru recommends dino 7.5K or 3k severe driving.
I change synthetic and filter every 5K.

My 2004 Accord 2.4l said to change the filter every 20K and the oil every 10K. Oil analysis actually said that was correct with my driving style although I decided to change both at 8K and be done with it. Point being your statement of "I`d never let a filter go that long" holds no water. Science (analysis) proved it was just fine because I did so. I decided to do all at once simply because it was easier to remember. Point being is what you believe is not always true regardless of what you think. Learning more about how modern oils and filters work is very important. Having said that I still didn`t quite trust the outcome so I`m just as guilty.

[Swanicyouth]

I don`t think engines are the weak point on cars anymore. I generally go 10K miles or one year, whichever comes first, usually use Mobil 1. Two of my four cars, both 2002s, bought new, have about 190K miles, and the engines seem strong. I don`t think engine problems are going to be the death knell for either car.

It depends on the car I think. I know about BMWs the most, and extended drain intervals can be the death blow to the VANOS seals/O-rings, leading the non-DIYer to a multiple thousand dollar repair. Ditto on crankshaft bearings if your driving it around like a race car.

I also believe extending drain intervals too far can possibly contribute to oil leaks, as dirty oil can`t be healthy for seals and gaskets. Does it make a difference if you change an extended drain interval synthetic every 5 or 10k? Who knows? My guess it has has more to do with driving style, environment, and gallons of fuel consumed.

[WaxAddict]

Where`s the popcorn guy? You can`t have an oil thread and not have the popcorn guy.

[Swanicyouth]

Mobil-1 was reformulated a couple years ago your info is outdated.

I`m not 100% sure this is accurate. At least Mobil isn`t admitting to it. From their website:

"Have Group 3 Base Oils Been Substituted for Better PAO Base Oils?

Why does Mobil 1 refuse to specify as to the base oil used in their synthetic products. I remember the Mobil 1 oils in the past proudly proclaimed that it was a PAO based oil. We all know the newer group 3 hydrocracked base oils are much cheaper to use than PAO based oils and are less stable in high temps. It would seem to me that if Mobil 1 still uses the better PAO base oils as their primary base oil, you would want to clarify it among those who are switching to other oils because of the ongoing internet talk that says Mobil has substituted group 3 oils for the better PAO oils. Any comments that would clarify the issue?
-- Wayne Swicegood, Asheboro, NC

Answer:

As we`re sure you can understand, ExxonMobil does not discuss formulations publicly,as this information is proprietary. We would rather focus on the advanced technology and proven performance that our engine oils and other products offer to our customers. Mobil 1 is the world’s leading synthetic motor oil and the one chosen by more original equipment manufacturers around the world as factory fill. We want those facts to speak for us so our customers feel confident they are getting a high quality, high performance product that provides ultimate protection to their vehicles."

[Stokdgs]

Oh wow - Im starting to remember a big brouhaha on the Internet over Mobil-1 not really being a pure synthetic ester motor oil...
It went on for months...

I believe the way it ended, Mobil-1 was not a true synthetic oil, but was certainly a better oil than conventional motor oil...

Mobil-1 I think, got in trouble for not disclosing their oil as not a pure synthetic oil..

Ok, we will need lots of popcorn and soft seats if this keeps going...

I think that when an oil filter gets plugged up so bad it cannot filter any longer, all the oil just passes through the pressure bypass valve, and if this is the case, then you are running whatever is in the oil dirt or ??? across your moving parts inside your engine...

Understand what is being said about science, oil analysis, and all and this is good to know...

But tell me, before all these sciences appeared, why did we when we built an engine by hand, carefully oil or put camshaft lube, etc., on all the bearing surfaces, get the oil pump primed, and up to pressure as read on a oil pressure gauge, then start the engine, run it awhile, make sure its all in time, check for leaks, do not race it like they do on TV, get the water temp up to spec., shut it off, and drain the oil and refill??

Because we wanted to make sure all the crap that came from starting a new engine, and anything from shop rag lint, etc., that might be left in there, anything from cleaning, etc., that might be in there, was trapped in the filter, and then everything was changed again, so that the engine was really clean inside and could be broken it appropriately...

Again, its the junk running around in the oil, anybody`s oil of choice, that is not caught by the filter or is not being filtered because the filter if full, that will probably do the most damage to all the soft bearing surfaces, for starters..

Yes, and there certainly exceptions to this, and I totally agree that driving style, lengths of drives with engine oil, and water at optimum temps, good air filters that are also not plugged up, make a big difference..

Some engines probably by design alone, seem to last a lot longer than others even with minimum maintenance... Ive seen Honda engines approaching 200k that look brand new inside, hardly any wear at the top of the cylinder bore and not scratches of the sidewalls...

Me, Im still going to error on the side of extra/shorter/etc., oil and filter changes... Call it Old School Maintenance if you want..
Dan F