Anybody brave enough to try this?

[cam76034]

Engine wear actually decreases as oil ages. This has also been substantiated in testing conducted by Ford Motor Co. and ConocoPhillips, and reported in SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-3119. What this means is that compulsive oil changers are actually causing more engine wear than the people who let their engine's oil get some age on it.


This weekend I did a little maintenance to my daughter's Mustang and discovered that somehow I had neglected to change the oil for a year and over 10K miles! I had a jug of Motorcraft 5W20 SynBlend sitting around collecting dust since I purchased it for my other girl's Escape, which she managed to total in a meeting with a 10 point buck, but had my doubts about using it in a 12 year old Mustang that calls for 5W30. As it turns out, Ford put out a TSB back in 2002 recommending 5W20 for that and older Fords so that was one thing I learned. In the process, I stumbled across this study,

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

in which Mobil 1 was run for 18,000 miles with some interesting results. Don't know if I will start going that long between oil changes, but at least I feel a bit better about the 10K interval now.

[Nexus Flux]

I know the oil change interval on my '06 RSX is 10K miles and even my '90 Integra was recommending 7500 miles.

As far as the Mobil 1 thing goes, I've been running it in the last few cars that my dad and I have owned with no problems. Heck, the Integra was still getting factory gas milage (approx 24 mpg) when it had 170K+ on the clock.

The RSX has been on a steady diet of M1 Extended Performance ever since its first oil change and manages to get a few (2-3) more MPG than factory, even with a few bolt-on's.

[SirHustlerEsq]

BITOG
/thread

[motorollow]

I see they recommend a filter change every 5,000 miles if you plan on going over 10,000 miles on the M1 oil. You might as well just change oil and filter at 7,500 miles.

[Titus]

IIRC, my MINI Cooper recommended the first oil change at 10k miles and then called for 15k mile intervals after that.

[SirHustlerEsq]

IIRC, my MINI Cooper recommended the first oil change at 10k miles and then called for 15k mile intervals after that.

Is this part of the "no cost maintenance" BMW service stuff? A guy I work with had serious sludge problems in his BMW at 15k miles so bad that it killed the Vanos according to internet-lore.

[trickyrix]

Is this part of the "no cost maintenance" BMW service stuff?

Yep.

[Titus]

Is this part of the "no cost maintenance" BMW service stuff? A guy I work with had serious sludge problems in his BMW at 15k miles so bad that it killed the Vanos according to internet-lore.

Yep... 3 years/36k mile no maintenance = 2 free oil changes.

[cam76034]

Speaking of oil, TCB deal @ AZ right now on Peak oil and STP filters. 5 qts & a filter for $14.99 and if you manage to mail in the $5 rebate on top of that, your total is $9.99 for oil and filter.

[cam76034]

"Peak Oil" why does that sound so familiar?

[SirHustlerEsq]

Yep.

This should be a crime. I wager that every single BMW within warranty coverage has chocolate fudge gunk.

[NissanFairladyZ32]

I'm pretty sure changing the oil every 3k miles the car will last longer, then changing every 10k

Every car burns some oil and by 10,000 miles some cars could have burned threw half the oil in the pan.

[johnwag]

I'm pretty sure changing the oil every 3k miles the car will last longer, then changing every 10k

Every car burns some oil and by 10,000 miles some cars could have burned threw half the oil in the pan.

So that you can spend 3x times the money when it's not necessary? No thanks.

Or they could have burned through no oil at all. The new standard in oil changes is 10K.

Ever ran an oil analysis? It's very informative and affordable. mr brg runs one on every oil change in his track car. I run one on every oil change in my TDI.

Want to know how long to go between oil changes? Run a Total Base Number test with the oil analysis. Guys on TDIclub go 20,000 miles on oil changes with Amsoil and have a more than safe amount of viscosity.

[strathound]

So that you can spend 3x times the money when it's not necessary? No thanks.

Or they could have burned through no oil at all. The new standard in oil changes is 10K.

Ever ran an oil analysis? It's very informative and affordable. mr brg runs one on every oil change in his track car. I run one on every oil change in my TDI.

Want to know how long to go between oil changes? Run a Total Base Number test with the oil analysis. Guys on TDIclub go 20,000 miles on oil changes with Amsoil and have a more than safe amount of viscosity.

The only thing I would add to this is be sure to check your oil levels frequently if you're not changing every 3-5K miles. If you're burning a little bit of oil and it gets low, you may not like what happens next. I blew the lower unit on my S2000 after letting it go about 6K miles without an oil change. It was dumb. I was hitting redline, and my oil level was down. Stupid stupid stupid. So check that oil level fellas. Seems obvious. But ... worth stating anyways. Nothing is worse than starting your baby and hearing that womp womp womp noise. Yikes.

Strat

[icepenguin66]

I'm pretty sure changing the oil every 3k miles the car will last longer, then changing every 10k

Every car burns some oil and by 10,000 miles some cars could have burned threw half the oil in the pan.

Yes and if you read most owner's manuals, many will tell you that it will burn some oil so you have to check the level and add accordingly. Doesn't mean you have to change the oil. My friends 1st gen Viper tells you in the owners manual that it can burn up to a quart of oil every 1000 miles! I believe Wag has hit the nail on the head on this topic!

[NissanFairladyZ32]

Yes and if you read most owner's manuals, many will tell you that it will burn some oil so you have to check the level and add accordingly. Doesn't mean you have to change the oil. My friends 1st gen Viper tells you in the owners manual that it can burn up to a quart of oil every 1000 miles! I believe Wag has hit the nail on the head on this topic!

Yes i understand that you may have to add oil, for 10,000 mile changes and even for 3,000 mile changes if you car is an oil burner

i don't drive much and have two cars, so i maybe do 3 or 4 oil changes a year @ 3,000 miles. Since i buy my own oil and do everything my self, that's roughly $60-$80 in oil and filters a year.

Excessive ? perhaps, But i find less then $100 a year on Four oil changes for Two cars not bad. it just makes me feel better about my cars changing it sooner. espically on my Twin Turbo that basically cooks oil, that engine gets hot! and i drive the crap out of it.

I can see the Miata going 10,000 miles topping off a few quarts here and there, i just find it safer to due it @ every 3,000 less particles in your system & Filter, cleaner engine overall, i don't mind spending $20 twice a year for the peace of mind.

[gabkwong]

My 07 CRV has the built-in maintenance reminder. I usually get about 8K miles between each change. The used oil still looks golden brown, relatively clean. On the hand, I change my 99 Miata every 5K and the the used oil is definitely darker, dirtier and thicker, even taking consideration of difference in the weights of oil used. I use M1 on both. From my empirical observation, the oil change interval for the newer cars is much longer than those of the old tech engines! I dare not change my 99 at 8 or 10K miles interval.

[MoonieGT]

Porsche says the 911 is good for 18k mile intervals.

[Titus]

Porsche says the 911 is good for 18k mile intervals.

But doesn't it use something like 9 qts of synthetic?

[tailchaser]

7 quarts of Castrol extended life. Euro formula in my 5 door miata... Service computer gave about 13500 for this change interval. Only oil lost was from the valvetronic gasket.