How often should I change my engine oil? - Auto-Trend Repairs and Service Information Forums

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

How often should I change my engine oil?

Date: 05:24 AM May 2, 2007

I like Mobil 1

I go about 5000 miles in between oil changes and everything has been alright so far. At the cost of Mobil 1 I have to feel like I am geting a little extra out of it. What do you think? Is 5000 miles too much or do you think its ok?

Zedd · Newbie

4,000 on synthetic is a complete waste. 3K for non-syn, 8K for syn.

Stellar007 · Member

8,000 is taking it a little far in my book, but some of these newer cars are getting more miles on an oil change. And I am talking upwards of 10,000 miles! But these are VERY new vehicles I am talking about.

Most of the times its just a good idea on older cars to keep the oil changed at 3000. Synthetics can keep their viscostity longer but that dont have anything to do with the amount of contaminates that will be present over 8000 miles. Keeping it changed regularly is the key.

Zedd · Newbie

Your method is outdated. This isn't a 30W non-detergent oil of the 50's.

3-4000 is an extreme waste of good oil.

Stellar007 · Member

I dont know about all that. Oil gets nasty quick and I like my oil so clean you can barely tell how much is on the dip-stick. Some may feel otherwise, but I think you Diesel guys are just cheep by default. LOL... Just kidding... Wait... No Im not... LOL

cheapold280ce · Newbie

Does it matter what oil you put in. If the manufacture recomended interval is 3000 miles then it's 3000 miles. The syntec oil does not make the car run any cleaner the same comubstion byproducts are going to be made. Sure the syn oil will not break down at 3k but it's not going to purge the combustion by products either. If you want to kept build up out of your engine then shorter intervals are best. If you have to run 6K- 10K in order to feel like your saving the planet then change the oil filter at 3K and keep the syntec oil in it til 6K.

Stellar007 · Member

I agree and to be honest some times I slip past the 3000 mile mark. Its not because I am cheap, its because by the time I am finished fixing everyone elses cars I dont even want to look at mine. Still I find the time to keep it within 3000-4000 miles and I only use Castrol GTX 10W30 in the winter and 10W40 in the summer.

I am about 200 over due at this very moment. I best get on it! lol

stoma · Member

I wouldn't trust your sorry asses to change any cars oil. You got proof you can do a good job doing it?????

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

First you need to get a car looser.

stoma · Member

"Looser"? First, I think you need to go back to school and get your GED, "Looser"!!!! AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Shit home-boy, GED's are for people like yourself who didnt make it thru the first time around.

stoma · Member

work on your come-backs, bitch!

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Sure and while I do that you can work on that GED!

Looser

stoma · Member

You're such an idiot.......... I said YOU are the one that needs to work on a GED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously......... what do you expect from a retard in Canton!

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Hey idiot.... I dont need a GED because I got my diploma.... The first time around... You know.... Well maybe you dont.... LOL

stoma · Member

No, seriously now...... does your ignorant ass have anything more than a GED? Its shocking to hear you even got a GED........ but more shocking if you actually were in.....*GULP*... College?????????? AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAH

eastend · Veteran Guest

How do you spell GED??

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Is that a trick question?

Allow me to answer your question with another question,

"How often do you change your oil"?

Putting oil on your bike chain dont count. LOL

Big Angry Hillbilly · User

LOF 3k miles. Fuel filters every 6k miles. Or 200 hours whichever comes first.

stoma · Member

Rex reuses oil from his previous oil change!!!!!!!!!!!!

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

That was pretty lame Stoma... I was going to delete your post but I figured that anyone who reads it will figure out your an idiot.

stoma · Member

SELLC wrote:

That was pretty lame Stoma... I was going to delete your post but I figured that anyone who reads it will figure out your an idiot.

The only idiot here is you!!!!!!! Banned from countless forums and outcast of society!!!!!! Your only way out is by making this shit forum where its just you and me!!!!!!!!! GET A LIFE!!!! GET A JOB!!!! FUCKING LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

I caught up with Stoma in the BMW forums.

Apparently his broke ass went 60,000 miles without an oil change trying to save a buck. Guess thats what a GED will get you.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1281659

It has to be the biggest FAIL in terms of doing regular oil changes that I have ever seen. I would think just about everyone has seen it by now, but this clown is famous for being so stupid.

P.S. That really is Stoma and his idiot buddy, for all we know... LOL

-- Edited by SELLC on Thursday 3rd of December 2009 05:25:12 AM

johngrimmet · Rookie

From my experience I would say that 5000 miles would be okay... I mean, if you really change oil for every 3000 miles, that would be a waste of oil plus it would be too often. some auto parts could tend to counter react on that. You can use the engine oil to the fullest man..

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

I change my oil every 3000 miles period. Then again I drive an older model V8 that I intend to drive forever. After 3000 miles I actually can feel and see the oil breaking down.

If you do primarily city driving it is imperative you change your engine oil every 3000 miles!

Newer cars, or should I say "Disposable cars" you might get a few more miles out of your oil changes due to technology advancements but in reality most people buy vehicles knowing they do not plan to own them for more than 4-5 years before they trade them or sell them off.

So if you love your vehicle and plan on keeping it I'd suggest changing your engine oil every 3000 miles, esp. if you use regular (dino) oil. Standard engine oil is just as good as synthetic if you actually change it out every 3000 miles and regular (dino) oil is actually better than synthetic when changed at intervals of 3000 miles as opposed to expensive synthetics that people try to squeeze 5000-8000 miles out of.

Since old engine oil is recycled it's not really wasting oil changing every 3000 miles. Actually changing your oil every 3000 miles with regular SAE engine oil cost about the same money to change it every 5000-6000 with synthetic brands. The only diffrence is that by changing every 3000 miles with a new filter your engine stays cleaner.

People can do as they wish, but for me changing my engine oil every 3000 miles is important.

PogoPossum · RIP - Veteran User

Mr. Zedd... can you be serious? A 30W motor oil? You do know what the W stands for, right? I can't see using a single grade 30 weight engine oil in ANY kind of cold weather. BTW, for the W to actually mean much, it really needs something to be compared to as in 20W - 20.

In the late '50s, there were three classifications of gasoline engine oils. ML, MM and MS - Motor Light, Motor Medium and Motor Severe. The recommended oil change interval at that time was 1000 miles for all three classifications.

Currently, several manufacturers new models feature some form of "Intelligent Oil Life" monitor. (I have to state that this is the trademarked name that Ford has given their system). Some 2011 Ford models can compute oil life to as long as 16,000 miles (caution - memory thing) or one year depending on driving circumstances.

Neither of my vehicles gets 10,000 kms a year ( we do not drive our car in the winter ) - so I change oil more by elapsed time.... aiming for a slightly longer than recommended 3 changes per year.

celina29 · Rookie

For maximum protection, most oil companies say to change the oil every 3,000 miles or three to six months regardless of what type of driving you do.

Rastus · UNSTOPPABLE!

Yo people,

It all really depends on the type of driving you do...For example, you might spend an hour driving in your car to get to work, but you've only traveled 2-miles down the road, so by the time your 3,000miles has been clocked up, your engine has actually been running for a significantly longer priod, and in a much harsher environment, eg, sitting at the lights doing nothing but idling away...In any other form of industry that uses machinery that has oil as its lubricant, it's the NUMBER of HOURS of OPERATION that determines the service and oil change intervals !!!

The best way to go about all of this is to do whatever the manufacture recommends, and 1/2 the interval, which is probably what SELLC is recommending. Alternatively, if your like me, I just pretty much monitor the colour of the oil over time. When it starts going from a clear colour to brown on the dipstick, I change it. Irrespective of the milge, this will take approx 8-weeks or so to start happening. I also make sure that I do lots of highway miles to ensure that the "deposits" in my oil burn away, as traveling a minimum of 15 miles a day at highway speeds is the only way to get your oil fully up to temperature.

The brand of oil you use is not so important, as long as you stick with that brand through your ownership time. Every oil will have a temperature where it will ignite and burn away out your exhaust pipe. Your piston and rings etc etc "wear - in" to this temperature. Stick with the brand of your choice and change the oil often. The Oil filter condition is more important to maintain than your oil. Change it aswell !!!

So what oil offers you the best protection ??? Get yourself an old frying pan and heat it up good and proper...Then get yourself some new oil samples, and deposit them on the frying pan, noting which is which. The oil that's still smoking there the longest is the the one that will offer your engines internal components the most staying power !

Cheers,

Rastus.

PS. Shell oils are pretty damned good.

SamuelJ · Rookie

You may be changing your oil more frequently than you have to check your owner's manual to see how you can save on car maintenance.Performing regular maintenance is one key to getting the longest life out of a car and its engine; knowing when to get the oil changed and changing the oil are vital for that process.There are three things car owners can do to determine when it's time to drain that old oil and add new these are Check Mileage and Time Since Last Oil Change,Look at the Color of the Oil and Feel the Texture of the Oil.

-- Edited by SamuelJ on Saturday 8th of February 2014 04:26:30 AM

redthom · Newbie

I do it every 5k miles or 6 months whichever comes first.

Hammerin frijoles · Guru Guest

On my XD they are saying 10,000 miles.
Seems crazy to me.

PowerStroker · UNSTOPPABLE!

Manufacturers say a lot of funny things in order to appeal to possible fleet accounts, I go 4k on mine.

Hammerin frijoles · Guru Guest

So I should pay the extra and go five thousand instead of ten thousand?

I have free oil changes up to 100,000

But only at 10,000

-- Edited by Hammerin frijoles on Tuesday 12th of June 2018 07:30:26 PM

-- Edited by Hammerin frijoles on Tuesday 12th of June 2018 07:31:00 PM

PowerStroker · UNSTOPPABLE!

depends on how long you want to keep the car. If you're like me and drive something for 10 years or more, you'll definitely want to do it more frequently than every 10k. If you replace your vehicle every few years it won't matter to you because it's not likely to present noticeable issues that soon.

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

A long-long time ago I was dating this chick that leased a Mercury Sable with the 3.0 Vulcan engine...

She drove it the full two years of the lease, put I think over 30k miles on it and NEVER changed the oil! LOL!

You got to love them Vulcan engines...

In my Corvette I change Mobil 1 full synthetic every 3k miles... I did go over by 2000 miles on my last change however because I was out West and I wan't going to let anyone put their filthy paws on my flipping oil drain plug! LOL, still it didn't burn a DROP of oil!

I think some of these newer cars could pull off 10k on the oil changes easily but by the time they reach 60k and up they aren't going to be able to... as the engine wears it dirties the oil quicker.

If I were buying a new car I'd change that oil every 3-5k depending on how your schedule looks. It's good to use a quality synthetic so you can have that buffer to go over if needed but I still contend that regular dino oil changed at 3,000 mile intervals

is still better than Synthetic changed out every 8-10k. This theory does not apply to high performance or modified cars however, as that oil in that type of vehicle could require changing much sooner than 3,000 depending on how hard you're running it.

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

stoma wrote:
You're such an idiot.......... I said YOU are the one that needs to work on a GED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously......... what do you expect from a retard in Canton!

Sometimes I wonder why this idiot ever tried playing with me.

LOOSER!

stoma · Member

SELLC wrote:
stoma wrote:
You're such an idiot.......... I said YOU are the one that needs to work on a GED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously......... what do you expect from a retard in Canton!

Sometimes I wonder why this idiot ever tried playing with me.
LOOSER!

YO WIFE IS WHOS LOOSE............ BUT YOU ARE THE LOSER!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahaha!!!!!!

SELLC · CERTIFIED POST WHORE

Yeah I bang the shit out of my wife, just like I do with your mom... so I'd imagine they would be "loose" to you... seeing's how your mom is the only one who would have anything to do with ya.

Tell her I said hello!

Jappy · Newbie

Change it every 2500 miles. And if you are looking for quality wheels and tires, better check 4wheelonline because they have a wide variety where you can choose from. :)

-- Edited by Jappy on Sunday 2nd of May 2021 03:46:28 AM