My car runs on Castrol Syntec and the oil life monitor asks for an oil change after 2 years or 28000 km (17500 miles). The car now has 100000km on it and only had to add a 1/2 litre one time during break in. This is phenomenal. This is a twin turbo inline 6 engine so nothing low tech here. I admit that I do a "mid-cycle" oil change since I still am addicted to the old 5000km rule. I have been extending my oil changes in all my vehicles the last few years especially when I use a synthetic. The oil life monitoring is an accurate method of oil life, I wish all cars had it. My old 98 GTP owned by my son now has 250000 km on it with oil changes at the 50% oil life for the whole time it has been in our family. Engine is still strong and uses no oil. I'm sure the engine would've been fine with the suggested intervals but old habits are hard to break. I hope the oil is better than it used to be as mentioned in the article, it is 3 times as expensive for the standard stuff. I will probably rest easy now leaving my oils in longer especially since they were doing tests on 'spent' oil and it was still coming back good. I'd rather believe them than some guy who owns a lube shop.
The best thing you can do is to check your oil every month to, one, see if it's overly dirty or black, and two, to make sure your oil isn't low, especially if you have an oil leak.
If it's clean and full then you should be fine, I have a Yaris and I generally go between 5000-7500 miles before I do an oil change. It's more of a comfort level for me to change at that time. No science behind it. But on newer cars, changing oil every 3k miles is a waste of oil and money. Even I knew that while an Asst Mgr at Jiffy Lube years back.
This is so true and now there is proof. All my changes will be extended. Don't listen to the naysayers. Since oil has tripled in price I hope it is better than the old days.
The manufacturer guidelines are what you should follow, not Shell Oil Co. whose mission is TO SELL OIL. Also, the article and many of the yahoos posting support for 3k oil changes neglect to mention 2 very important things. First, synthetic oil is 2-3 times more expensive than regular oil but it is warrantied / recommended to be used for 3X as long.
Secondly, people still driving around cars from the 70s and 80s, if they followed the popular guidelines from when their car was new, change their oil every 7,000 miles or more. Growing up in the 70s that was always the recommended interval. So, suddenly modern cars need more frequent changes? Uh, no. 6-7k is plenty frequently unless you are maybe talking very hot summertime driving. Even then, with synthetic, you are fine.
One other thing: If you have a turbo then you are going to want to change it much more frequently. Even very tiny particles of dirt are going to shorten the life of your turbo because it turns at 15-20k RPM. Still, if a new turbo costs $700 and you get another 10k miles out of it by changing the oil twice as often...maybe the extra oil cost still isn't worth it. $30-40 regular / $75-125 synthetic changes add up fast.
I've got a 2002 Toyota Corolla - I have never changed the oil in 3,000 miles - maybe around 5k to 7k - and it has never had a problem and it has 146,000 miles on it - still going strong. The only things I've replaced on it have been timing belt (twice), front brakes, 1 battery, 1 set of tires and a coolant pump.
I changed the oil in my 96 original Cherokee every 5,000 miles or so and it only lasted 300,000 miles.
Why is it that the "recommended oil change interval" on my 1959 Studebaker Lark is the same as it is on my 2010 Focus? The Lark used leaded gas, had a road draft tube to ventilate the engine and a bypass oil filter. The Focus burns FAR cleaner, has MUCH better filtration and oil than anything imagined in 1959 (the stuff that passes for gas these days is another story).
I'm using Mobil 1 in the Focus and changing it every 7500 miles, which is probably on the conservative side but engines ARE expensive... and I do my own oil changes.
NEVER -ZERO-EVER had a single major internal malfunction. From experience, this article is dead on. I've been using only Synthetic for over 12 years in the following: Navigator -220,000 miles, Expedition - 160,000 miles, Ski-Doo 700 - 6000 raced miles, Avalanche - 80,000, 91 Harley Fat boy - 43,000, 91 F350 Diesel - 209,000, Jaguar 4.0 - 20,000, 1998 LS1 in my race boat for hundreds of hours. Change the synthetic oil every 7-10,000 miles, sometimes 15,000. Don't plan on buying an S10 ever.
As always, it's "Yes, but..." Oil gets contaminated over time. Water gets in; hydrocarbon byproducts build up and promote their own chemical reactions, at different rates and for different time spans. The mileage is only one criterion for when a change is due; time is another big one. Climate, storage, startup routine, typical mission length -- all these figure into the life of the oil. Even if the base stock is like-new, it won't lubricate the engine if there's water in it.
We don't drive a lot of miles, so I follow 1 year or 7500 miles which follows the manual. The manual comes with the care for a reason... read it. Lots of useful information.
My owner's manual says every 6,500 miles or 6 months; whichever comes first. I drive less than 10,000 miles/year so I hit 6 months before 6,500 miles. I used to change my own oil but my current car is a bear to change without a lift so I let my corner garage do it. They have suggested that with a good synthetic pushing it to a year shouldn't be a problem; they like Royal Purple best. Pretty reliable sources have told me that the synthetic oil sold in the states is different from that sold in Europe. European Mobile 1 is far superior to US Mobile 1 and this is probably true of all brands of synthetics. I wonder if Porche's 20,000 oil change interval is based on the European synthetic oils.
Who you going to believe? The car makers who say "nah, don't change it..." ... or the guy with 300,000 miles on his pickup who changes his oil every month?
I owned a VW New Beetle TDI (diesel) and changed the oil every 10,000 miles as the manual recommended. Diesels fill the oil with soot, and it was always black as pitch. I put 180,000 miles on the car, then sold it to a friend. There are now over 300,000 miles on the clock with 10K mile oil changes. Original engine. Oil consumption is under 1 quart in 10K. (Always synthetic oil.)
My 2007 Honda Accord has 135,000 miles on it, burns NO oil worth speaking of, the camshaft still has the machining marks visible on the lobes, and I changed the oil ONCE.....at 1500 miles, to install synthetic and a bypass oil filter system. Every 12,000 miles it gets new filters, with about a quart of new oil in them. I've NEVER drained the pan since the car was a month old. (Again....synthetic oil.)
Your oil does not "break down" in normal use. Think about where petroleum comes from. It's spent a BILLION YEARS, literally, deep underground being subject to temperatures, pressures and friction far beyond anything your puny engine can produce. It is possible for your engine to "break down" cheap petro oil, but only in extreme circumstances. In normal use: NO WAY. It doesn't happen.
The only reason to change your oil is if it's contaminated with chemical or solid contaminants. Dirt, in other words, or the acidic combination of combustion byproducts and water condensation. And if your car is running right, and regularly gets warmed up to full temperature, and you're not driving on dusty dirt roads all the time, neither of those will be an issue in 3000 miles.....or even 10,000 miles.
Totally agree. My 2000 Olds Bravada just passed 280,000 miles and I change the oil (synthetic) every 10-12k. Runs as good today as it did when it was new. I put about 100k on with a sales job that was lots of interstate driving but the rest is daily driving back and forth to work in traffic.
It's not liberal propaganda, it's common sense. You really think the oil companies are run by liberals? If you won't believe your car manufacturer (read your manual) and won't believe the oil companies (read the bottle) and you won't believe this article then who do you trust. The guy at Jiffy Lube!!! Good lord. If that's your source for mechanical advice you deserve to be lied to.
Yeah, Yeah, we've all worked on cars or trucks that blew up early. I guarantee you there was another cause other then that they didn't change the oil right at 3k miles. Usually the problem is a vehicle that was low on oil, as in they ran it 20k miles or more without checking let alone changing the oil. Unless you have a porsche and use synthetic, that's too far. But for your average american made car. 6-8k easy. With synthetic 10-12K.
Yes, the auto sensors aren't totally accurate. But they are set to err on the conservative side. That's why the article pointed out that the cars could have always gone even farther then it recommended (which was already much farther then 3000k)
Again, read your manual, or if your driving something from the 80's or 90's, yeah you probably have so many other problems with your car that you'll want to change oil more often just because you are probably burning off so much oil that you need to check it every 3k miles just because you are probably low, but if your car's newer. Check your manual. You might be surprised.
As someone who has fixed cars for 30 years and has talked with many others in the field. We all know that this 3000 mile oil change is something from the 70's. No, it's not a myth. That was not the right word to use in the article. It used to be true. It's just not anymore. Times change. Belts last much longer (people used to break fan belts all the time, now almost never), spark plugs last longer, brake pads last longer (if you get the right ones,) car paint last longer (used to fade after a few years,) hoses last longer, etc.
SOOOOO first off, all of you naysayers, 2001 honda civic, 200k plus still runs like new. If you keep up with the OTHER maintenance the car needs you can go farther on your oil. i go 15k between changes with high end synthetics. follow the directions and maintain the other parts of the car then proceed to keep calm and chive on.
(and zero engine repairs in the 7 year and 150k miles ive put on it. TRUTH!)
I have a 2003 VW Jetta. 312,000 miles. I have NEVER changed the oil at less than 10,000 miles. I use Shell Rotella synthetic. Engine runs like a top and I just got 43mpg+ out of my last tank.
My story may be unique BUT.... I had a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix when I sold it - it had 443,000 miles the next owner drove it over a year before I didn't see it anymore. I had a 1994 Dodge Crand Caravan that when I sold it had 278,000 miles. I currently own a very strong running 2003 Silverado with 302,843 miles. I am horrible about maintainence. I NEVER changed the oil in either the Pontiac or Dodge and at 193,000 my buddy changed the oil in the Silverado! I don't preach NOT to change your oil, but it isn't as necessary as they say! ATLEAST in my experience!
I changed my oil in a Dodge Ram every 3,000 miles and it still dropped oil pressure to zero and shut down on the highway. Taking it to the shop did not cure it, Trading it off did tho. My Chevy with oil monitor system usually gets me almost to 7000 miles before it starts barking about being taking care of.
over time driving and stopping, shuting off, starting back up, parking ect. and the different tempertures range anywhere from 10 to 190 degree farenhight, condensation and contaminents are the enemy of af combustion engine. high milage driver can expect to need a oil change between 3 & 5 k. while a low milage driver can go perhaps 6 to 8 months and not regard the milage. that's why industrial motors are clocked on a hour meter and a electrical device in your car or truck is a mile counter. if i drive my truck across country especially thur the desert I'll chane when I get to my destination, example san antonio tx to northern ca is around 2000 miles basicly I-10 thru the mohave deserd when I make that trip I'll change the oil going and comimng.
@yesugi - if you drive it at least 10 miles or more one way, it should get the oil hot enough to boil the condensation out (condensation is the main cause of sludge).
If you drive less than 10 miles to work, you should own e.g. a Chevy Volt... the cost t
Utter nonsense. I manage an auto repair shop and do the Facebook page. Here are two posts I've done recently:
"So this is good for a laugh. At least I laughed.
We are always battling the myth pushed by the manufacturers that cars need less and less maintenance. They seriously want to make consumers believe they rarely need to change the motor oil, and no service is needed until 100K+ miles.
Honda has gotten real clever- they developed their 'Maintenance Minder' system; a logic-driven maintenance schedu le where the computer looks at driving patterns and tells the driver when to do what services. We find it very impractical for a number of reasons, but our real peeve is the net effect is Honda wants to make independent shops appear incompetent to properly service their vehicles. I could go on and on about specifics, but I won't.
So, on to the funny- we had a 2006 Civic come in today for an oil change (based on mileage per our recommendation), and prior to draining the oil we checked the level, as we always do. Well, the oil did not register on the dipstick, and when drained only about one quart came out. The engine was almost out of out of oil, yet the Maintenance Minder indicated the oil had 15% life to go. If the driver had waited until the oil change was flagged on the dash, the engine would have run out of oil!
In Honda's defense, somewhere in the fine print in the Owner's Manual it says something about oil consumption being normal and checking it between changes, but I assure you no-one at Honda is reinforcing the message verbally."
And the other:
"OIL LIGHT ON UPON ARRIVAL, ENGINE OIL NEARLY EMPTY. NO OBVIOUS IMMEDIATE DAMAGE OBSERVED. IT IS CRITICAL YOU MONITOR AND TOP THE OIL AS NEEDED, CHANGE EVERY 3K MILES. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL LEAD TO PREMATURE ENGINE FAILURE"
I wrote this on a customer's repair order today. Actually, this was the second time I wrote this on a repair order today, for two different customers. The sad thing about this one is it's a 2007 Rav4 with only 86k miles on it.
To this day we still get people asking us why we recommend 3k miles intervals, when the manufacturers are recommending 7-10k intervals. All I can do is shake my head sadly and tell stories like this one...
Even if you don't change it, do yourself a favor and at least check it!"
Check out Art's Automotive in Berkeley on the web- our website has a library of useful information. And check us out on Facebook, too. If you want the honest insight of industry professionals who expect to have a cradle-to-grave relationship with their customers' cars, you won't find better information.
I drive a 2012 Ford Focus, it monitors the level and life of the oil and warns me accordingly. The issue is not just the oil, it's also the crap that gets filtered out by the oil filter.
I doubt that Ford is just trying to make me change the oil every 5000~ miles just to make money because my oil and filter changes are complimentary.
To some extent I agree with an extended oil change. I am a professional mechanic as well. The tolerances are closer then they used to be in the cylinder due to the newer hypereutectic pistons that dealers are switching too. One thing it didn't mention is that while the engines are getting smaller, the oil pans have relatively stayed the same size. More oil on less area of mass is also a contributor to extended oil changes. But 20,000 miles or even 12,000 makes me cringe! Synthetic oil is of course the best for extended oil changes to 6-8000 miles but oil will eventually break down from combustion.
Seriously, who comes up with this crap ? This article literally applies to 2010+ year vehicles from select manufacturers in a very narrow narrow set of Naturally Aspirated engine applications. Why dont the so called experts at Edmunds pop in to the Jiffy lube and ask to see a few of the real customer's old oil or better yet go to any mechanic shop and take a look under the valve covers. My Audi got changed every 3k on the dot, with twin-turbos heating that oil way beyond 400F EVERY TIME the car was running. Had I waited till 7500 recommended by this article I would be watching it getting towed to a scrap yard for parts.
The reality of the advice you are getting here is this: you will be causing a greater damage to the environment by destroying your cars internals early in their life and having to have more vehicles produced to replace those prematurely failed. You may be able to afford a new car every 3-5 years and will never feel the sting of being the next owner faced with the aftermath of an engine ran mostly on water, soot and sludge. This advice will keep the car manufacturers firmly in business more so than more frequent oil changes will the service industry.
Agree 1000%...just brought my car in for an inspection and oil change. Car has an oil life monitor and it was at 35%, but I figured, what the heck, it's here...lets get it changed while it is here. Ford dealership dutifully reset the monitor but still put a reminder sticker on the window with a 3,000 mile interval as the next time it needs to come back....3,000?? Oil life monitor will be at 70%....I don't think so....sticker was removed and tossed in the trash.
Actually, I found this article to be spot on. The only thing the author neglects to mention is the harm of running your engine with an inadequate amount of oil -- which frequently results from thinking that your oil level is fine "until the next oil change". Waiting until your oil pressure light to come on is way too late.
Three things mandate oil changes. First, oil gets dirty. This doesn't per se wear out the oil, but even fine particles mixed with oil are going to be abrasive where metal parts come into contact with each other. Modern engines have much better/tighter tolerances such that getting dust into the oil is very unlikely, even in dusty conditions. If you drive where there's dust make sure to change your air filter regularly. And, no matter what, there is going to be some tiny amount of abrasion within the engine itself. These tiny particles of engine wear in a modern engine generally aren't going to be the limiting factor of oil, however. That is, the oil will wear out before it gets contaminated to a detrimental state. The second thing that wears out oil is time. In reality, oil doesn't last by miles. It lasts by time and especially heat. That's why for commercial engines like long haul trucks, locomotives, or aircraft engines the time the engine is running is used to measure when it's time to change the oil. But, most people can't do that, so miles are a reasonable alternative. Not only are today's engines built much better so are today's gasolines/diesels. Years ago, a tiny amount of fuel would infiltrate the oil by slipping by the piston rings for example. So would contaminants created by the burning of the fuel in the cylinders. This introduced a bad set of chemicals into the oil. But, todays fuels burn much cleaner and because tolerances are much tighter the amount of contaminants entering the oil is much less; hence, it takes many, many more miles to "pollute" your oil. Finally, there is heat. Engines develop a lot of heat. In combination with the shearing effects of metal parts rubbing against each other, the molecular structure of oils will wear down over time. But, here is where the vast improvements in engine oils over even the last twenty years come into play. Modern oils, and especially synthetics, last a lot longer than motor oils in the past. The bottom line: follow your car manufacturer's recommended oil change schedule. It is based on very conservative assumptions. That is, even the new, much longer intervals are based on some pretty harsh possibilities; much harsher than any driver will ever experience. Put another way, if your manufacturer says change the oil every 7,500 miles it's because they know with virtually 100% certainty no damage will occur to your engine if you change it that often. Finally, test after test shows that modern engines, modern fuels, and modern oils mean oil changes don't need to be anywhere near as frequent as in the past. That doesn't mean if the manufacturer says 7,500 miles it's ok to go to 10,000 miles. Those extra miles will most likely not be a problem; but, the manufacturers are recommending an interval where they know there will be no problems at all. Simply don't believe anything someone else tells you about needing to change oil too early. They either don't know what they're talking about or they want to sell you something you just don't need. Happy motoring and always recycle your oil.
Shepperd is wrong! I've spent almost 40 years doing equipment maintenance, primarily in a large state agency maintaining an enormous array and amount of motor vehicles and equipment. As an example, we had numerous vehicles such as police cars and pickup trucks that get the hell beaten out of them. Pickups would be driven hard by over 30 different people (because they mostly don't care) for well over 200,000 miles. Most engines we never had to touch for anything, not even spark plug changes. The antiquated oil change intervals for them was 4500 miles (that's already 50% longer than the 3,000 we're talking about in this article) and we only used classic old dino-oil (no synthetic). If they can hold up fine with that kind of abuse, your vehicle, driven like a human (like you care about it!) using synthetic you'll have no issues. This article makes perfect sense to me. My own vehicle I use synthetic and use the oil monitor and I drive it sensibly. The intervals it calls for is around 7,500+ miles, I change it when it gets down around 20%, around 6,000-6,500. It's got 115,000 on it now and this truck is still like new. If you're changing oil at 3,000 miles you're throwing your money away! To keep it simple, at least go 5,000, then it's easy to remember when you're due (30K, 35K, 40K, etc.). And don't bother with synthetic "blends". The word is they are not 50-50, it's more of a marketing ploy IMO, you spend 50% more for 20% better oil. Use a full synthetic, use your oil minder or just stick with 5,000 mile intervals and you'll have no problems. I also have 3 motorcycles (one with a 11,500 rpm red line). Using 5K intervals I have zero problems even after putting 55,000+ on each one.
I agree with sheppard, I think this is a really bad idea. I'm not a mechanic but I've taken seven of eight of the ASE classes at a local junior college for personal interest and to defray the cost of some repairs. In one of those classes we discussed this exact issue. There were studies done with vehicles up to 20,000 and 30,000 miles. The lubrication component in the oil does not break down but that's not the big issue...it's the dirt in the oil. Gasoline engines produce more carbon when burned and this is deposited in the oil as well as dirt and other contaminants that result from normal wear and tear. The dirt breaks down the cylinders and piston rings and you'll lose compression...this is why oil should be changed somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 miles if you want to keep it for a long time.
I can't count how many cars my various friends owning their own service centers see come in with filthy oil and eventual sludge build-up because they push the oil changes further as these people say is okay. Taking the time and expense to send in oil for analysis before you change it is crazy. In the case of a standard set-up (which I no longer have) I could change my oil with synthetic and put on a new filter for the cost of one good oil analysis. You get what you pay for with those.
I have installed remote dual filter systems on my cars (started doing it decades ago) and I buy my oil and filters in bulk. Each filter I use holds a quart of oil. To do an oil change I change both filters and just fill each new filter with a fresh quart of oil. At each regular change then I'm only using two quarts of synthetic. I do a change like that every 7500 miles. The cars I have now, with the dual filters, have an oil capacity of a little over 7 quarts. I get more life out of the oil due to the added capacity, the increased filtering and the remote filters provide some oil cooling. My oldest car I have now just turned over 180,000 miles and the engine inside is spotless. Every 60,000 miles I do a total oil change.
Some friends say I'm anal about it, but I'm the only who can pull a valve cover off the engine, no matter if it is well over 100,000 and not have a film of anything but nice clean oil. I do recycle the oil, it goes to a friend who reconditions it.
The oil life monitors in the cars of today are the most reliable way of determining when to change your oil. ignore those window stickers and recommended service intervals on when to change. the cars computer monitors many more parameters than just time or mileage - thus it is more reliable to follow. hat being said a lot of high power car engines burn up to a quartof oil every 1000 miles. so if you have a car with a 6 quart capacityand you wait 5000 miles to change your oil you only have 1 quart of oil left. and that can cause major damage. CHECK YOUR OIL LEVEL REGULARLY AND ADD SOME IF NEEED - as long as the level is good these longer intervals are absolutly fine.
Typical: 3000 miles for standard oil and 6000 (double) for synthetic. Any mechanic student should be able to tell you that. The author failed to do his homework.
Due to people believing this stuff, I was able to buy a two year old Dakota with a V6 that rattled like a Model T. It only had 50K on it so I offered them half of what they were asking on the lot. The only thing I had to do was change the oil and put in 20/50 instead of the CAFE helping 5/30 it asked for. I have had the truck for seven years and change the oil at least every 5000; most of the time 3500. I have 150000 on it and it runs as smooth and quiet as the day I first put in the 20/50. I will not try to guess the agenda for the writer, but I would question how many engines he/she actually has seen that were not taken care of. I worked Drive-ability for 30 years. I have had my share of cuts and bruises. Change the oil in you engine.
Agree with Shepperd, RRoeber and jimmyjets33! This is obviously an environmentalist writing this garbage. Oil monitoring systems are a joke and aren't that sophisticated. They judge the condition of oil by how many times the ignition turns! The sludge buildup will kill the engine around 100,000 miles. New engines have tighter tolerances (Wow, right about 1 thing) which means oil is thinner. Thinner oil usually can't protect that well unless it's synthetic. New engines run hotter and break down the oil. I wouldn't take my chances on a new engine. To spend $370 (as demonstrated) over 60K is way cheaper than $2,500 for a new engine! Critical thinking skills people...
Engine oil monitoring systems use data on how the car was driven and mileage. If you do nothing but drive the same one mile trip every day and you do it for several thousand miles your monitoring system will tell u to change the oil sooner (in terms of miles) than if you have a 50 mile commute because the engine would be burning rich a much higher percentage of the time and miles.
S10 engines are junk from the get go and there's been a long standing argument about Dexcool and the 100K intervals for that product. Oh, and if you're saying that the engine went bad because of oil change intervals than you're just speculating because there's no way to prove that.
I've personally sent my 10K oil into Blackstone 3 times now after 8, 9 and 10K intervals and all three times was told to keep extending the intervals. The car has 125K and is running just fine.
According to a settlement agreement on the recall of my 2002 Toyota Sienna, I MUST change my oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months or I void my ability to recoup damages under the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RECALL on Toyota's faulty engine that turns oil into sludge and then seizes. So Thank You Edmunds for mis-informing people about changing their engine oil. Another disservice by media.
As a former service writer for Chrysler and Ford, I can tell you that this is true, and has been since the 80's when most american manufacturers set the interval at 7500 miles. This is not new with new technology. And I was required to ask the customer if they would like the cheap insurance of a more frequent oil change. Even then many knew it was insurance they would never use. And I can tell you that nobody knows better than a manufacturer who can end up with a $5000 dollar, or more, warranty replacement of an engine on their hands. Setting the interval artificially low would be an easy way to invalidate warranties and get their dealer network some extra work. They all want to have that quarter million or million mile car to claim, and they won't let you get away with one extra mile of no maintenance unless it's viable. No manufacturer will say you can go 100K miles between any maintenance and likening that to following the owners manual is a misunderstanding. If you want to spend the extra money on cheap insurance it's a personal thing but I have had multi-hundred thousand mile cars, only to die because they outlasted today's transmissions that won't go 200K miles, and I rarely change oil between yearly inspections and have never changed oil at anything less than manufacturers recommended intervals.
Gentlemen I'm astounded at the complete lack of intellegence exibited heree. I'm probably twice your age but will not go any further with this. I never chang cars in less than 350,000 miles. Complete waste of money. I don't give a $#!+ what it looks like as long as it runs good. A little history. I will only discuss two cars, "I still own both." First. I own a 1992 Ford Ranger. It is a the large cab with a 3.0 Ltr V-6 engine bolted to a five speed manual transmission. I usually put a new clutch in the car about every other year. About 35% of the time it is pulling a sixteen ft tilt trailer with a 4,200 lb tractor. Over the last two years it has made anywhere from two to six trips from Cleveland, TX to Pearland, TX "communist country" and back. This is the reason for the clutch changes. I have only changed the oil twice in the entire life of the engine. About four times a year I run the car until it is at least one quart or a little more low, change the oil and filter. This takes about 2.5 months of hard driving. I always open the filter and very carefully check the element and the remaininig oil for metals. About every other change I have it analysied by a prefessional aircraft engine shop for contaminats. Never have had a problem. There are no leaks and no smoke, as you might guess at the low consumption and high loads. Here's the kicker. About one month ago I decided to replace the clutch, again. No!, No!, No! I will not consider an automatic. I have done all the maintance my self. It has never been in a shop except for a transmission overhaul. This was caused by two things, ME and Design. The Design problem has been repaired. Without that the issue that my letting this happen will never happen again. The car at the time of deciding due to slipping the clutch needs replacing the engine is/was making some light low end knocking that was traced to the No. 3 rod bearing. So decided to remove the engine and transmission as a unit for clutch replacement. I did this so as to open up the bottom of the engine and assess the rod journal damage. It turns out that only the bearing was slightly worn. Just enough to make the bumping when starting and just before the pressure is up. By the way the operating oil pressure is normal and has always been. After carefully measuring all the journal I determined standard bearings were the way to go. The compression is excellent on all cylinders. This includes the standard old cheap pressure testing by cranking the engine. It also was done with blow by testing. Passed with excellent results on all tests.
The engine and transmission with new clutch will be going back in the car within the next few days. Log book will show bearing replacement at 347,287.6 miles.
I also drive a 1993 Ford Explorer with exactly the same power train except it is a 4.0 Ltr displacement. It has a slow leak that appearss to be the rear main seal. There fore the add oil and change filter comes about five weeks. It is running very well, getting better mileage than factory. I put a home built computer in it which is carefully tuned to this engine and configuration. Beats all hell out of the crude mfg. computer. The point of this car is that it's now indicating over 244,000 miles I will not promote any oil or company but will state that I will never ever use any multi viscosity oil in my engines as long as I can get straight 40 weight. Sometimes in the heat of summer I add 50 weight air craft oil. Sometimes I add a heavy viscosity enhancer. Again no name. That is just two cars. I have done this with all cars I have owned. I also fly an aircraft that is run much higher power settings at much slower air speeds than reccommended using straight 50 weight oil. Changing the oil and filter every 100 hours. They would run well beyond the factory reccomended overhaul but by legal mandates we can't do that. Another case of Government being smarter than you and I. By the way most FAA inspectors are idiots that can't make itin the real world. Save yourself some money and quit throwing away good oil. Or send it to me. I have a good use for it that is completely legal and enviornmentaly clean and it's just gone when I use. it.
FIRST Excellent article; true and realistic. Don't agree with the don't smell/taste...My smeller and taste have always been 100% accurate; nothing like a little grit on the tounge to register on the taste meter( or that burnt toast smell). SECOND: To By shepperd, on 07/11/12, 11:27 AM PST ...who said "…only 74000k on it and the engine was SIEZED!….." I say NUTS...it wasn't the oil or coolant that causes a "siezed" engine. It's a failure of a coolant or oil system component. If you don't stop the engine when you "smell or feel or hear" something wrong, then it may "sieze". Lets call it operator malfunction.
Plain and smple. READ your owners manual. Failed engines are mostly due to neglect such as NO OIL in engine or NO COOLANT n radiator. I know of at least 5 people who told me how they drove miles wth the gage on H until the engine stopped or ignored oil light until engine stopped. The hired help at Quick Lube places can't even put the right air pressure in tires. I don't how many times they failed to check THE FLUIDS. Plain and simple!
When considering whether to change oil or not, think about how you use your car's engine. Do you idle for long periods, do you drive short distances, do you drive in high or below freezing temperatures?
Also, is your engine in good condition or do you neglect servicing the engine?
Engine oil performs three critical tasks in your engine;
1- Engine oil cleans the engine of sludge, varnish and other unwanted stuff. 2- Engine oil helps to carry away excess engine heat from critical areas of the engine like exhaust valves and piston rings. 3- Engine oil keeps friction surfaces from contacting each other, or, in other words, the oil lubricates the engine friction surfaces to reduce wear.
There are some additional tasks the oil provides like reducing corrosion and acid formation.
So, what oil is best for your engine?
Here's my opinion;
1- Determine how you use your engine and choose engine oil accordingly following the manufacturer's recommendation as to API grade and viscosity.
2- What oil should I choose? If you plan to keep your car for only two years and don't care about its condition when you trade it in, select cheap oil and change it at 5000-7000 mile intervals. Your engine will likely tolerate this practice without engine repairs for say 50,000 miles.
3- If you plan to keep your engine for a long time, choose a quality synthetic and change oil annually or say, at 10,000-12,000 mile intervals.
Oils don't really wear out. Many diesel truck fleet operators retain the diesel engine oil for 75,000 miles between changes. What happens is the oil's additive package gets used up. Corrosion inhibitors, viscosity index improvers, acid neutralizers, detergents and friction modifiers are consumed and diminish to levels that renders the oil unfit for further use. Also, oil is sheared inside the engine resulting in the viscosity changing our of the range specified by the manufacturer. When this happens, drain it and use in as bar oil for your chain saw.
But, how does one know when the oil should be changed?
Once the TBN (total base number) goes below 2, its time to change. What the heck is TBN? Think of TBS as the strength of the additive package...the higher the number the better. How do I know the TBN of my engine oil? You don't and there is really no way to determine it unless you have it analyzed.
That's where the synthetics oils come in....typically, synthetics have premium additive packages that will last much longer than conventional oils, sometimes twice as long. Also, synthetics resist shear much better than non-synthetics and so stay in grade longer. Synthetics resist heat much better than non-synthetics plus, in cold temperatures, the synthetics have a much lower pour point allowing the cold oil to flow immediately thereby eliminating oil starvation at cold start.
As for synthetic blends, I don't use them because, the good synthetic part is no better than the weak non-synthetic part and so I deem them a waste of money.
So, cheap, non-synthetic oil for your 2-year trade car, quality synthetic for your keeper and then extended oil change intervals when using synthetics to reap all the benefits of synthetic engine oils.
3,000 miles change interval is not a myth. The amount of water formed when burning hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel, etc. hasn't changed. Driving long trips and having no idling of the engine is ideal and allows for longer oil drain intervals. Shorter trips (8 miles or less) lead to more water condensation and more sludge. The 3,000 mile interval is a good interval for those who want to maximize the life of their engine. Notice that oil companies that offer 300,000 to lifetime warranties on engines have few requirements other than to change the oil at least every 4,000 miles or 4 months. You simply do not have lubrication issues when changing regularly! Guaranteed Shepperd's referenced engine failure was not covered under the vehicle manufacturer's warranty... but they saved a couple hundred bucks on oil changes! Sludged up engine now sitting in a landfill.
I run a dealership service department, two of my vehicles have 150,000 miles plus and I have never changed the oil sooner than 5000 mile intervals. No consuption issues, no check engine lights, no problems, all other services performed at or before the recomended interval, one Jeep and one GM.
This is what I have been preaching to my 3000 mile friends for 20 years. It is close to a criminal act for Oil Change shops to tell customers to change oil every 3000 miles. In my last 5 vehicles (I keep vehicles 3 years and put on 80,000 miles) I only changed oil ever 20,000 miles and never had a hint of a problem. Purchasing a used vehicle is dangerous (unless you like to gamble) because you have no way of knowing how it was treated, or if the oil was EVER changed (except to sell the vehicle).
Not ONCE in all of this editorializing did I read ANYTHING about how much CRUD your oil filter can contain before the bypass valve allows EVERYTHING to 'pass-thur' to the engine again...i.e.: NO filtration. If the filter isn't changed often enough, the dirt just accumulates. if you do change ONLY the filter, you are leaving behind several QUARTS of dirty oil. Your driving style, driving habits, speeds , acceleration rates, and sustained driving distances( heat cyles ), local road conditions ( paved vs. dirt ), air filter integrity, PCV operation, gasket integrity, ALL influence how much contamination gets into your motor oil. PLEASE stop pontificating about the oil only. It's not that the oil loses lubricity, it's that it accumlates dirt that will score the surfaces of the engine components.....THAT"S when you'll have a problem.....and I'll bet it will cost WAY more to 'fix' that problem than it would have cost to change oil AND FILTER every 3K miles. You have left out much of the equation and you're suppossed to 'know about cars'.........really?
You can do no oil changes as far as I'm concerned and neglect other car mantainence if you want, but experience has taught me that it is better to be safe than sorry, and an oil change is cheap insurance to keep your engine in good condition. Used oil is also recycled so there is little to no impact on the environment, so don't give that liberal nonsense.
Shepperd is right. This is bovine fecal matter. OK, let us assume that the lubricant chemistry is now so advanced that the viscosity of the oil is retained 10X longer than before. I don't even believe that, based on observation of how thin waste oil appears after 3K miles, but let's say I'm wrong and the viscosity really is miraculous. That doesn't account for the inevitable dirt, crud and other non-oil components which have obviously gotten into the oil and past the filter at 3K. Are we to believe that all that gunk in the oil has no abraisive effect on rings, valves and bearings etc? You can believe it if you like to replace engines, but as for myself, I still believe that $20 worth of prevention is cheaper than $5,000 worth of cure from the Jasper engine replacement folks. Be sure to read next week's article explainng how the new toothpastes make it only necessary to brush your teeth every six months....and other dating tips!
BTW the temperature of this planet has not risen in 14 years, but the original research, stirring all of this warming hysteria, was based on the prior 14 years data. The ice caps are also shrinking on Mars. Is that because they over-maintain the Mars rovers? (It's solar activity) Wake up people. The environmental lobby is using this non-issue to take away freedoms. 40 years ago, these same "experts" told us that the earth would be frozen by now, with New York being in a year-round arctic state. Their answer then was the same as today; Criminalize industrial progress and other job-creating, standard-of-living improving activity. Just because Chris Matthews and Hillary agree that "all scientist agree" does not mean that scientists agree. In fact, they do not. Don't ask if dissenting researchers are being paid by the oil companies. Ask instead how many get their federal research funds cut if they disagree with the party line. Sorry, we were just talking about vehicle maintenance, but I couldn't help myself.
Comments
If it's clean and full then you should be fine, I have a Yaris and I generally go between 5000-7500 miles before I do an oil change. It's more of a comfort level for me to change at that time. No science behind it. But on newer cars, changing oil every 3k miles is a waste of oil and money. Even I knew that while an Asst Mgr at Jiffy Lube years back.
Secondly, people still driving around cars from the 70s and 80s, if they followed the popular guidelines from when their car was new, change their oil every 7,000 miles or more. Growing up in the 70s that was always the recommended interval. So, suddenly modern cars need more frequent changes? Uh, no. 6-7k is plenty frequently unless you are maybe talking very hot summertime driving. Even then, with synthetic, you are fine.
Why is it that the "recommended oil change interval" on my 1959 Studebaker Lark is the same as it is on my 2010 Focus? The Lark used leaded gas, had a road draft tube to ventilate the engine and a bypass oil filter. The Focus burns FAR cleaner, has MUCH better filtration and oil than anything imagined in 1959 (the stuff that passes for gas these days is another story).
I'm using Mobil 1 in the Focus and changing it every 7500 miles, which is probably on the conservative side but engines ARE expensive... and I do my own oil changes.
Oil gets contaminated over time. Water gets in; hydrocarbon byproducts build up and promote their own chemical reactions, at different rates and for different time spans.
The mileage is only one criterion for when a change is due; time is another big one. Climate, storage, startup routine, typical mission length -- all these figure into the life of the oil. Even if the base stock is like-new, it won't lubricate the engine if there's water in it.
I'm going with the guy with the pickup.
My 2007 Honda Accord has 135,000 miles on it, burns NO oil worth speaking of, the camshaft still has the machining marks visible on the lobes, and I changed the oil ONCE.....at 1500 miles, to install synthetic and a bypass oil filter system. Every 12,000 miles it gets new filters, with about a quart of new oil in them. I've NEVER drained the pan since the car was a month old. (Again....synthetic oil.)
3/3000 is a scam.
The only reason to change your oil is if it's contaminated with chemical or solid contaminants. Dirt, in other words, or the acidic combination of combustion byproducts and water condensation. And if your car is running right, and regularly gets warmed up to full temperature, and you're not driving on dusty dirt roads all the time, neither of those will be an issue in 3000 miles.....or even 10,000 miles.
It's not liberal propaganda, it's common sense. You really think the oil companies are run by liberals? If you won't believe your car manufacturer (read your manual) and won't believe the oil companies (read the bottle) and you won't believe this article then who do you trust. The guy at Jiffy Lube!!! Good lord. If that's your source for mechanical advice you deserve to be lied to.
Yeah, Yeah, we've all worked on cars or trucks that blew up early. I guarantee you there was another cause other then that they didn't change the oil right at 3k miles. Usually the problem is a vehicle that was low on oil, as in they ran it 20k miles or more without checking let alone changing the oil. Unless you have a porsche and use synthetic, that's too far. But for your average american made car. 6-8k easy. With synthetic 10-12K.
Yes, the auto sensors aren't totally accurate. But they are set to err on the conservative side. That's why the article pointed out that the cars could have always gone even farther then it recommended (which was already much farther then 3000k)
Again, read your manual, or if your driving something from the 80's or 90's, yeah you probably have so many other problems with your car that you'll want to change oil more often just because you are probably burning off so much oil that you need to check it every 3k miles just because you are probably low, but if your car's newer. Check your manual. You might be surprised.
As someone who has fixed cars for 30 years and has talked with many others in the field. We all know that this 3000 mile oil change is something from the 70's. No, it's not a myth. That was not the right word to use in the article. It used to be true. It's just not anymore. Times change. Belts last much longer (people used to break fan belts all the time, now almost never), spark plugs last longer, brake pads last longer (if you get the right ones,) car paint last longer (used to fade after a few years,) hoses last longer, etc.
Welcome to the 21st century!
(and zero engine repairs in the 7 year and 150k miles ive put on it. TRUTH!)
If you drive less than 10 miles to work, you should own e.g. a Chevy Volt... the cost t
"So this is good for a laugh. At least I laughed.
We are always battling the myth pushed by the manufacturers that cars need less and less maintenance. They seriously want to make consumers believe they rarely need to change the motor oil, and no service is needed until 100K+ miles.
Honda has gotten real clever- they developed their 'Maintenance Minder' system; a logic-driven maintenance schedu
le where the computer looks at driving patterns and tells the driver when to do what services. We find it very impractical for a number of reasons, but our real peeve is the net effect is Honda wants to make independent shops appear incompetent to properly service their vehicles. I could go on and on about specifics, but I won't.
So, on to the funny- we had a 2006 Civic come in today for an oil change (based on mileage per our recommendation), and prior to draining the oil we checked the level, as we always do. Well, the oil did not register on the dipstick, and when drained only about one quart came out. The engine was almost out of out of oil, yet the Maintenance Minder indicated the oil had 15% life to go. If the driver had waited until the oil change was flagged on the dash, the engine would have run out of oil!
In Honda's defense, somewhere in the fine print in the Owner's Manual it says something about oil consumption being normal and checking it between changes, but I assure you no-one at Honda is reinforcing the message verbally."
And the other:
"OIL LIGHT ON UPON ARRIVAL, ENGINE OIL NEARLY EMPTY. NO OBVIOUS IMMEDIATE DAMAGE OBSERVED. IT IS CRITICAL YOU MONITOR AND TOP THE OIL AS NEEDED, CHANGE EVERY 3K MILES. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL LEAD TO PREMATURE ENGINE FAILURE"
I wrote this on a customer's repair order today. Actually, this was the second time I wrote this on a repair order today, for two different customers. The sad thing about
this one is it's a 2007 Rav4 with only 86k miles on it.
To this day we still get people asking us why we recommend 3k miles intervals, when the manufacturers are recommending 7-10k intervals. All I can do is shake my head sadly and tell stories like this one...
Even if you don't change it, do yourself a favor and at least check it!"
Check out Art's Automotive in Berkeley on the web- our website has a library of useful information. And check us out on Facebook, too. If you want the honest insight of industry professionals who expect to have a cradle-to-grave relationship with their customers' cars, you won't find better information.
I doubt that Ford is just trying to make me change the oil every 5000~ miles just to make money because my oil and filter changes are complimentary.
One thing it didn't mention is that while the engines are getting smaller, the oil pans have relatively stayed the same size. More oil on less area of mass is also a contributor to extended oil changes. But 20,000 miles or even 12,000 makes me cringe!
Synthetic oil is of course the best for extended oil changes to 6-8000 miles but oil will eventually break down from combustion.
Why dont the so called experts at Edmunds pop in to the Jiffy lube and ask to see a few of the real customer's old oil or better yet go to any mechanic shop and take a look under the valve covers.
My Audi got changed every 3k on the dot, with twin-turbos heating that oil way beyond 400F EVERY TIME the car was running. Had I waited till 7500 recommended by this article I would be watching it getting towed to a scrap yard for parts.
The reality of the advice you are getting here is this: you will be causing a greater damage to the environment by destroying your cars internals early in their life and having to have more vehicles produced to replace those prematurely failed. You may be able to afford a new car every 3-5 years and will never feel the sting of being the next owner faced with the aftermath of an engine ran mostly on water, soot and sludge.
This advice will keep the car manufacturers firmly in business more so than more frequent oil changes will the service industry.
Waiting until your oil pressure light to come on is way too late.
I have installed remote dual filter systems on my cars (started doing it decades ago) and I buy my oil and filters in bulk. Each filter I use holds a quart of oil. To do an oil change I change both filters and just fill each new filter with a fresh quart of oil. At each regular change then I'm only using two quarts of synthetic. I do a change like that every 7500 miles. The cars I have now, with the dual filters, have an oil capacity of a little over 7 quarts. I get more life out of the oil due to the added capacity, the increased filtering and the remote filters provide some oil cooling. My oldest car I have now just turned over 180,000 miles and the engine inside is spotless. Every 60,000 miles I do a total oil change.
Some friends say I'm anal about it, but I'm the only who can pull a valve cover off the engine, no matter if it is well over 100,000 and not have a film of anything but nice clean oil. I do recycle the oil, it goes to a friend who reconditions it.
I'm on my third vehicle that has run well over 175,000 miles each with regular 10,000 mile oil changes with synthetic oils.
3,000 mile oil changes are a waste of time, money and resources.
Sure, neglect will kill a car, but as long as you keep proper levels of oil in it, 10k between oil changes is a breeze.
Any mechanic student should be able to tell you that. The author failed to do his homework.
I have had the truck for seven years and change the oil at least every 5000; most of the time 3500. I have 150000 on it and it runs as smooth and quiet as the day I first put in the 20/50.
I will not try to guess the agenda for the writer, but I would question how many engines he/she actually has seen that were not taken care of. I worked Drive-ability for 30 years. I have had my share of cuts and bruises. Change the oil in you engine.
S10 engines are junk from the get go and there's been a long standing argument about Dexcool and the 100K intervals for that product. Oh, and if you're saying that the engine went bad because of oil change intervals than you're just speculating because there's no way to prove that.
I've personally sent my 10K oil into Blackstone 3 times now after 8, 9 and 10K intervals and all three times was told to keep extending the intervals. The car has 125K and is running just fine.
I'm probably twice your age but will not go any further with this.
I never chang cars in less than 350,000 miles. Complete waste of money.
I don't give a $#!+ what it looks like as long as it runs good.
A little history.
I will only discuss two cars, "I still own both."
First. I own a 1992 Ford Ranger.
It is a the large cab with a 3.0 Ltr V-6 engine bolted to a five speed manual transmission.
I usually put a new clutch in the car about every other year.
About 35% of the time it is pulling a sixteen ft tilt trailer with a 4,200 lb tractor.
Over the last two years it has made anywhere from two to six trips from Cleveland, TX to Pearland, TX "communist country" and back. This is the reason for the clutch changes.
I have only changed the oil twice in the entire life of the engine.
About four times a year I run the car until it is at least one quart or a little more low, change the oil and filter. This takes about 2.5 months of hard driving. I always open the filter and very carefully check the element and the remaininig oil for metals.
About every other change I have it analysied by a prefessional aircraft engine shop for contaminats. Never have had a problem.
There are no leaks and no smoke, as you might guess at the low consumption and high loads.
Here's the kicker. About one month ago I decided to replace the clutch, again. No!, No!, No! I will not consider an automatic.
I have done all the maintance my self. It has never been in a shop except for a transmission overhaul. This was caused by two things, ME and Design.
The Design problem has been repaired. Without that the issue that my letting this happen will never happen again.
The car at the time of deciding due to slipping the clutch needs replacing the engine is/was making some light low end knocking that was traced to the No. 3 rod bearing.
So decided to remove the engine and transmission as a unit for clutch replacement.
I did this so as to open up the bottom of the engine and assess the rod journal damage.
It turns out that only the bearing was slightly worn. Just enough to make the bumping when starting and just before the pressure is up. By the way the operating oil pressure is normal and has always been.
After carefully measuring all the journal I determined standard bearings were the way to go.
The compression is excellent on all cylinders. This includes the standard old cheap pressure testing by cranking the engine.
It also was done with blow by testing.
Passed with excellent results on all tests.
The engine and transmission with new clutch will be going back in the car within the next few days.
Log book will show bearing replacement at 347,287.6 miles.
I also drive a 1993 Ford Explorer with exactly the same power train except it is a 4.0 Ltr displacement.
It has a slow leak that appearss to be the rear main seal.
There fore the add oil and change filter comes about five weeks.
It is running very well, getting better mileage than factory.
I put a home built computer in it which is carefully tuned to this engine and configuration. Beats all hell out of the crude mfg. computer.
The point of this car is that it's now indicating over 244,000 miles
I will not promote any oil or company but will state that I will never ever use any multi viscosity oil in my engines as long as I can get straight 40 weight. Sometimes in the heat of summer I add 50 weight air craft oil.
Sometimes I add a heavy viscosity enhancer. Again no name.
That is just two cars.
I have done this with all cars I have owned.
I also fly an aircraft that is run much higher power settings at much slower air speeds than reccommended using straight 50 weight oil. Changing the oil and filter every 100 hours.
They would run well beyond the factory reccomended overhaul but by legal mandates we can't do that.
Another case of Government being smarter than you and I.
By the way most FAA inspectors are idiots that can't make itin the real world.
Save yourself some money and quit throwing away good oil.
Or send it to me. I have a good use for it that is completely legal and enviornmentaly clean and it's just gone when I use. it.
Excellent article; true and realistic.
Don't agree with the don't smell/taste...My smeller and taste have always been 100% accurate; nothing like a little grit on the tounge to register on the taste meter( or that burnt toast smell).
SECOND: To By shepperd, on 07/11/12, 11:27 AM PST
...who said "…only 74000k on it and the engine was SIEZED!….."
I say NUTS...it wasn't the oil or coolant that causes a "siezed" engine. It's a failure of a coolant or oil system component. If you don't stop the engine when you "smell or feel or hear" something wrong, then it may "sieze". Lets call it operator malfunction.
READ your owners manual.
Failed engines are mostly due to neglect such as NO OIL in engine or NO COOLANT n radiator. I know of at least 5 people who told me how they drove miles wth the gage on H until the engine stopped or ignored oil light until engine stopped.
The hired help at Quick Lube places can't even put the right air pressure in tires. I don't how many times they failed to check THE FLUIDS.
Plain and simple!
Also, is your engine in good condition or do you neglect servicing the engine?
Engine oil performs three critical tasks in your engine;
1- Engine oil cleans the engine of sludge, varnish and other unwanted stuff.
2- Engine oil helps to carry away excess engine heat from critical areas of the engine like exhaust valves and piston rings.
3- Engine oil keeps friction surfaces from contacting each other, or, in other words, the oil lubricates the engine friction surfaces to reduce wear.
There are some additional tasks the oil provides like reducing corrosion and acid formation.
So, what oil is best for your engine?
Here's my opinion;
1- Determine how you use your engine and choose engine oil accordingly following the manufacturer's recommendation as to API grade and viscosity.
2- What oil should I choose? If you plan to keep your car for only two years and don't care about its condition when you trade it in, select cheap oil and change it at 5000-7000 mile intervals. Your engine will likely tolerate this practice without engine repairs for say 50,000 miles.
3- If you plan to keep your engine for a long time, choose a quality synthetic and change oil annually or say, at 10,000-12,000 mile intervals.
Oils don't really wear out. Many diesel truck fleet operators retain the diesel engine oil for 75,000 miles between changes. What happens is the oil's additive package gets used up. Corrosion inhibitors, viscosity index improvers, acid neutralizers, detergents and friction modifiers are consumed and diminish to levels that renders the oil unfit for further use. Also, oil is sheared inside the engine resulting in the viscosity changing our of the range specified by the manufacturer. When this happens, drain it and use in as bar oil for your chain saw.
But, how does one know when the oil should be changed?
Once the TBN (total base number) goes below 2, its time to change. What the heck is TBN? Think of TBS as the strength of the additive package...the higher the number the better. How do I know the TBN of my engine oil? You don't and there is really no way to determine it unless you have it analyzed.
That's where the synthetics oils come in....typically, synthetics have premium additive packages that will last much longer than conventional oils, sometimes twice as long. Also, synthetics resist shear much better than non-synthetics and so stay in grade longer. Synthetics resist heat much better than non-synthetics plus, in cold temperatures, the synthetics have a much lower pour point allowing the cold oil to flow immediately thereby eliminating oil starvation at cold start.
As for synthetic blends, I don't use them because, the good synthetic part is no better than the weak non-synthetic part and so I deem them a waste of money.
So, cheap, non-synthetic oil for your 2-year trade car, quality synthetic for your keeper and then extended oil change intervals when using synthetics to reap all the benefits of synthetic engine oils.
BTW the temperature of this planet has not risen in 14 years, but the original research, stirring all of this warming hysteria, was based on the prior 14 years data. The ice caps are also shrinking on Mars. Is that because they over-maintain the Mars rovers? (It's solar activity) Wake up people. The environmental lobby is using this non-issue to take away freedoms. 40 years ago, these same "experts" told us that the earth would be frozen by now, with New York being in a year-round arctic state. Their answer then was the same as today; Criminalize industrial progress and other job-creating, standard-of-living improving activity. Just because Chris Matthews and Hillary agree that "all scientist agree" does not mean that scientists agree. In fact, they do not. Don't ask if dissenting researchers are being paid by the oil companies. Ask instead how many get their federal research funds cut if they disagree with the party line. Sorry, we were just talking about vehicle maintenance, but I couldn't help myself.