When to change synthetic oil?

[Black_Out]

I've heard many different answers from many different people, but what do you think? How many miles should you go on synthetic oil? I'm running Royal Purple.

[musclemerc]

Most say 10,000mi, I go 7,000mi between changes

[LeoVampire]

Depends on your driving habbits like any type of lubrication.

Stop and go city all of the time change it more often.

Mostly highway driving you can go longer between changes.

Always working the car hard or towing change it more often.

I change mine 2 times a year even though I do not hit the milage sugested on just one of them usualy.

[ImpalaSlayer]

i go every 5k because i DRIVE it not putts around in it

[Kennyrauder]

I'm twice a year... I have only put 6,000k miles in 2 years. I realize time is something we have to factor in. Keep her clean cuz' she is my machine!!!!

[chader]

I do it once a year which is about 3000 mi. Just did a oil change yesterday and the old oil was still purple in the drain bucket!

[SC Cheesehead]

Best bet is to go with an oil analysis, that'll give you objective data on the condition of your oil.

Other than that lots of guys are going with 5,000 mile intervals.

[Ktorres1]

Royal purple oil and filter 5k

[fastblackmerc]

Best bet is to go with an oil analysis, that'll give you objective data on the condition of your oil.

Other than that lots of guys are going with 5,000 mile intervals.


Royal purple oil and filter 5k

What they said.

The best is to get your oil analyzed. I use Blackstone Labs. Look them up on the internet. The collection kits are free.

I get my oil analyzed once a year. They recommend 6k between oil & filter changes. I do 5k cause it's easier to remember.

[DOOM]

Damn I change my oil every 3K miles!
Royal purple full synthetic.

[blazen71]

I change mine every 3000mi. It's the cheapest insurance for your engine.

[fastblackmerc]

I change mine every 3000mi. It's the cheapest insurance for your engine.

And a big waste of $$$$$.

[SC Cheesehead]

I change mine every 3000mi. It's the cheapest insurance for your engine.

Not so! If the oil is not contaminated, and still effectively provides lubrication, changing it more often doesn't provide you any "insurance," it just ends up costing you more money.

Oil analysis is really the only definitive way to determine when/if your oil's worn out.




And a big waste of $$$$$.

^^^^^^ What he said ^^^^^

[boatmangc]

I have used Amsoil since the late 70s early 80s. I change the oil in my normal cars once a year every 25000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first with a filter change midway.
I bought a 3/4 Ton Dodge Sprinter van in 06 that has a maintenance monitor in in. It has not called for an oil change for less than 13000 miles yet it is at 47000 miles now.
The van is driven in dusty, nasty environments with what I am sure is 95% of full payload on board.
I have run several vehicles over 200000 miles using the 25000 mile intervals with no motor issues, not even leaks to speak of.

Synthetic oil gets dirty just like regular oil but it takes way longer to break down (lubricity) keep it clean and it can last without issue.

[rayjay]

My car is now a toy and stored for 6-7 months a year. I change it once a season regardless of miles. I had mostly used RP, but I am now using Pennzoil Platinum. Its one of the three remaining full synthetics.

[ctrlraven]

When my MM was the DD I changed it every 5k miles cause I was doing about 22-23k miles a year and I wasn't ginger on it. Now that it's a weekend or once a month car I'll change it every 6 months.

My DD is an 08 Taurus which its oil change intervals are every 7500 miles or whenever the oil life gauge reads down to 20%. Runs 5W-20 so it's nice that I can buy larger amounts of the same oil instead of 2 different grades like I had to do with my last DD.

[RF Overlord]

The current "rule of thumb" is:

Synthetic: 10,000 miles
Synth Blend: 7500
Conventional: 5000

This is just a guideline; oil should be changed at an interval appropriate for the use the vehicle gets. The only way to determine this with any accuracy is through used oil analysis.

Blindly changing your oil at 3,000 miles because you think it's "cheap insurance" against some future catastrophic failure is false economy. Today's oils are SO much better than they were 30-40 years ago (when that interval may have been valid), and today's motors run so much cleaner, that changing ANY flavour of oil at less than 5,000 miles is a huge waste of our precious natural resource and of your hard-earned money.

[Black_Kannin]

Damn I change my oil every 3K miles!
Royal purple full synthetic.




^^I'm a 3k to 4k oil changer...it's by habit. When I go pass 3k I start to itch. I'm at 4.3k now so I'm applying the calamine lotion.

Ima try the Royal Purple though, I got the Mortor Craft in the Black Kannin now.

[boatmangc]

I have a friend that has a '79 F350 with a 460 that uses a bypass filter, he changes his motor's filter and his bypass filter every 25000 miles, he has his oil analyzed once a year.
Last time I asked him he had over 400,000 miles on his oil!
http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/sso.aspx

[ReefBlueCoupe]

I am changing mine at 6500 miles with Mobil 1 5w20. Here was the last oil report from Blackstone Labs with a 5k change. Based on their info, I increased the interval. I believe I was at 139,000 miles with this oil change.

http://lxcoupe.com/images/marauderoilreport.jpg

[djv5150]

I use Mobil 1 (5w20) and change between 4500 and 5000k miles, but I have found that to get the most of your oil you have to use a good filter, I have found the Mobil 1 filter and oil combo keeps my motor sounding smooth at startup even after sitting for a week or so.

[whitey]

ive read in a magazine that mobil 1 is garbage, they've done testing on probably 5-7 different synthetic oils, and mobil 1 ranked pretty low. who won? Motul 300V....i think 2 liters costs about $25, and the stuff smells like bubble gum/ coconuts to me. i used it in my turboed civic twice, however....i didn't notice a damn difference from a normal $35-45 synthetic oil change to a whopping $80+ oil change. keep in mind, im no mechanic....so im just reitterating what i read.--whitey

[ReefBlueCoupe]

There's nothing wrong with Mobil 1 or any other name brand synthetic oil. When you get into oil discussions, it's amazing how much opinion plays into change intervals/brands used compared to facts. Part of that is because there's really no way to prove what a specific oil can or can't do, because an engine might fail in 5k miles out of the box, or be run into the ground and go 200k+ with poor maintainence. When an engine fails due to parts contacting each other, who can say for sure that oil played a part in its failure?

Still, its best to just follow some good rules of thumb by sticking with name brand oils, factory spec'd weights, and name brand filters. I prefer OEM filters and Mobil 1, but that's just me :)

[boatmangc]

http://www.amsoil.com/performancetests/images/APIComparativeOilTest/4Ball_640.jpg
Here is Amsoil's wear test on many of the oils mentioned in the previous posts.
Unfortunately there is no RP on the test.
and NO I don't sell the stuff. I just find it works for me for many years.
I did just switch to their 10W30 Racing oil for the Aluminator.
I ran their 0W20 in most of my motors for the last 15 years or so. I just figured this motor gets beat on as much as the others but with boost so it couldn't hurt.
There have been several responses about dirt. Synthetic oil doesn't break down nearly as fast as dinosaur oil, it does get dirty just like dino oil, so change your filters with a HIGH QUALITY filter each recommended interval and change the oil every other time in a N/A motor anyway.
IMHO

[69marquis conv]

I have used Amsoil in the past but I switched to Castrol Edge last year and so far I've ran it for 15k miles twice in my 2004 Grand Marquis. Both times I sent a sample to the lab and both times the results have been excellent, Blackstone even said they were impressed!

[LANDY]

http://www.amsoil.com/performancetests/images/APIComparativeOilTest/4Ball_640.jpg
Here is Amsoil's wear test on many of the oils mentioned in the previous posts.
Unfortunately there is no RP on the test.
and NO I don't sell the stuff. I just find it works for me for many years.
I did just switch to their 10W30 Racing oil for the Aluminator.
I ran their 0W20 in most of my motors for the last 15 years or so. I just figured this motor gets beat on as much as the others but with boost so it couldn't hurt.
There have been several responses about dirt. Synthetic oil doesn't break down nearly as fast as dinosaur oil, it does get dirty just like dino oil, so change your filters with a HIGH QUALITY filter each recommended interval and change the oil every other time in a N/A motor anyway.
IMHO

i also use Amsoil, i change it anytme i get bored between 3k-5k miles. i also use their filter.
Gary do you use their filter also?

[boatmangc]

Nothing but,
as a matter of fact I just received my new order of 5W20 Racing Oil, HDD for my diesel, and 10W 30 Premium for my 215K mile 96 F150. This truck has never tasted dinosaur oil except straight from the dealership floor.
I use their EA oil filters. I use WIX in my van because Amsoil doesn't make one for it. It is a drop in element.
I run the HDD in my 06 Sprinter which has a maintenance monitor, every time I do an oil change (two times so far in 50000 miles) and reset the monitor it tells me how many miles before it needs it again, it starts at 18000 miles and it adds from there. Right now at 50000 it says 4000 miles to go before next service.
I will be changing the oil in the MM today, I only had 0W20 here when it needed it's change on the new motor so now with 4000 ish miles on it I will put the Racing Oil in it because I think it could use the extra protection.