Question about oil

[UfoTofU]

How often do you change your oil? I get mine changed every three thousand miles since that's what the shop suggests. They even gimme a sticker to remind me. However, an article on Yahoo! suggests 5,000 to 7,500 miles

[Daox]

I change my Matrix oil every ~10,000 miles. When I do change it, I send the oil in for an analysis to make sure the engine is in top health.

[Frank Lee]

Why not consult THE OWNER'S MANUAL?!?

[UfoTofU]

I was wondering what you do

[Frank Lee]

I don't know of any entity that has more experience and has done more research and empirical testing than the OEMs. It is in their best interests to recommend change intervals that maximize engine life yet also maximize oil life. If anything their recs are conservative as they have to account for worst case scenarios. Thus, I generally go by what they recommend.

Shops service cars to make money. Do the math.

Guys often like to think they are smarter than OEMs or anyone else. Many of them actually brag about changing out honey-colored oil ahead of it's time.

Or maybe they learned from Dad, Grandad, or Great-Grandad to change every 3k cuz that's what everybody did back in the day.

Then on the other hand I've heard several instances of people that seldom or even NEVER get the oil changed, and they rack up many thousands of miles with no incident! Well I'm not willing to go that far but it is safe to say there is a lot of premature oil changing going on.

[SVOboy]

Well, like many people on here, I am using a full synthetic that wasnt around when the owners manual was written and lists a different suggested change interval for itself than the owners manual does for the car.

So it is not always clear who to listen to. Maybe the owners manual is conservative since people forget and put things off? They also list my tire pressure at 32 and 29 but none of us follow that.

Anyway, 7.500 miles for me.

[dremd]

I send in a sample every 10k to blackstone.
I Haven't drained in 35k, Just over 1 cup make up oil so far.
I do have a bypass filter though . . .

The key question are
1) what vehicle?
2) What oil?
3) What driver/ where?

Bob is the oil guy is THE reference for oil questions online.

[bgd73]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Why not consult THE OWNER'S MANUAL?!?

Anything old that respnds to modern synthetic leaves the ecomodder in thier own schedule (my own example is an 87 that loves to lube up to castrol syntec..-22F january, changed il last fall, it is now june, and it is clear as water , with a tint of what it is of course).

put an extreme lube in a legendary drivetrain and that whats I got...
The normal routine would be oil filter, this '87 has taught me that outside sources do indeed get into the base of an engine, fuel by the rings, air in the pcv, and other chemistries that intakes suck in don't just leave sometimes...
if anything stay synthetic and feel things out, but do change the filter more than even an owners manual might say.

[Frank Lee]

in 35 years i've never encountered a filter that was even remotely plugged.

[Christ]

I change it when it doesn't feel like lube anymore. Hard to tell exactly how many miles that is, but that's when I do it.

Filters actually get better with age. That is to say that the older they get, the smaller the pores in the filter media get, and the smaller particulate can be filtered by it. Extrapolating from that, you can probably come to the thought that premature oil/filter changes are WORSE for your engine than waiting for 10-15k...

The bypass valve in an oil filter doesn't work based on your oil pressure... it works based on pressure differential. That is to say: When input pressure and output pressure are different by X (spring rate, in lbs), the bypass valve opens. It has nothing to do with the filter being plugged, etc... it usually happens when your oil is very cold or extremely thick.

Given the additive packages present even in dino oils these days, it's NEVER prudent to change your oil at 3k... most of the additives haven't even activated yet, let alone worn out.

Color is not an indicator of when to change your oil. Black doesn't mean it's dirty, or burnt.

You can gauge your oil pretty well with your fingers... rub it between them. If it doesn't feel like it's lubricating, there's a good chance that it's not. If it feels nice and slick, with no grit in it, then it's most likely fine.

That's my $0.02, take it or leave it.