I'm lucky if I put 3K miles per year.

I just change oil once a year.

My repair person said regular oil starts breaking down after 6 months so I should use synthetic, but I'm not sure if this is a marketing ploy.

We run Mobil Synthetic in the Jeep Libby. It gets changed every 5000 km (about once every 10 months) because this vehicle isn't a daily driver. Bryan's work van is a Ford Transit and he runs non-synth oil in that and gets it changed every 5000 km as well. Considering there are times he drives 800 km a week for work (if not more) it gets changed a lot.

I did an oil analysis on some Mobil 1 that I ran in my Chevy Silverado back around '01-'02. I used Blackstone Labs and it was $20-$25 back in the day. It was a really neat report and well worth the money IMO. I don't have the report anymore, but it did tell the amount & type of metal particles in the oil, how much estimated life it had left, etc. Knowing the amount/type of metal particles was interesting because it could tell you if the piston rings or certain bearings in the engine were wearing abnormally fast because they are different metals.

I changed my Mobil 1 at 6k miles back then. The report estimated I had 4-5k miles left at similar driving habits as the first 6k miles. Take it for what it's worth.

I did a lot of research back then and reviewed a lot of oil reports. The best oils for life and wear 10 years ago were Amsoil, Royal Purple, and German produced Castrol Syntec. The worst was Quaker State.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/


Ryan

Edited by ViolentGreen on 04/04/2012 11:59:29 MDT.

I drive a 1999.5 f-350 4-door, longbed, lifted, 7.3l diesel truck. 276,000 miles and ticking away.

-I change mine around every 7,500 miles give or take. At the same time I clean my K&N air filter, rotate my tires, and change the primary fuel filter. Generally costs me around $120-$130 to do all this myself. My truck takes 15 quarts of oil and I generally buy an extra 5quart container just to have. I use Ford Motorcraft for my truck.

-Same procedure for my dads f-350, I even do it for him.

-My 1968 Nova, 8.2 liter Big Block gets changed every 1500 miles :). However, it isn't exactly your daily driver.

-My dads 1968 Camaro gets its oil change every 500 miles with valvoline VR1 Racing oil.

Edited by Homewardbound on 04/05/2012 16:26:55 MDT.

arrr, arrr, arrr! More power!

So why aren't you driving a Prius?

:)

I remember a test in Consumer Reports a few years back. They tore down and measured the wear internals on the engines in a new set of taxicabs. For 100,000 miles (I think), they changed the oil in half at 3,000, and the other half at 6,000. When they tore all the engines down at the end, there was no difference in wear between the two groups. So I also blame Jiffy Lube.

"So I also blame Jiffy Lube."

There was a time when the car manufacturer's recommended 3,000 miles. So that is ingrained into many older people. Now with improved engines and lubricants, old habits are hard to break for some people. Many non-dealerships and some dealerships still recommend 3,000 miles. Maybe that is a good thing, since most people never check anything; haven't read the Owner's Manual or Maintenance Schedule; and have no clue of what should be checked weekly and monthly. At least someone will be looking their vehicle over more often, since the typical owner doesn't.

"So I also blame Jiffy Lube."

Do you mean the same Jiffy Lube that can't figure out the correct torque setting for the lug nuts on my car?

Or do you mean the Jiffy Lube that keeps trying to sell me cabin air filter replacements for which they can't do?

In the defense of Jiffy Lube, at least they remember to replace the oil filter. I saw one oil change shop that neglected that. They removed the old one and neglected to tighten on the new one. It sprayed new oil all over the place. That particular oil change shop lost a lot of customers on that way day.

--B.G.--