Not Bike related -- Cage info

[Aimhigh]

I have always changed oil in my automobile every 3,000 miles. Now with the price of oil products so high, I am wondering if it is really necessary to change the oil/filter so often. Our new car calls for oil change every 5,000 miles...is there something different about newer vehicles, or is 5,000 mile just the newly accepted standard. Appreciate any feedback...especially if you have a mechanical-based mind or mechanical experience.

[Mariner Fan]

Our car recommends oil changes every 6,000 miles.

 

I believe the 3,000 mile change routine was made up by the oil change people to get more business.

[Yammer Dan]

Like to hear opinions on this. I'm still doing it at 3500. Oil and filter. My Buick has about 200k and runs great! Don't use enough to notice between changes.

[SilvrT]

3000 miles between changes is "old school" ... oils are much more technologically advanced nowadays and so are the engines and filters, etc... 5-6000 miles is more appropriate... unless of course, you're driving an "old school" vehicle such as something 25+ years old.

 

best car I ever had was a 1965 pontiac parisienne convertible. never needed and oil change .... it went thru more oil in a month than what a full oil change would take :rotf:

 

just my 3 cents

[BuddyRich]

Waste of money. We have an 03 GMC that actually has it set to remind you to change the oil every 7500 miles. Truck has 170k on it now and runs as good as new. Did lose the water pump at 120k and the speedo at 80k but the engine is still as good as new and it passes CA smog everytime. No oil leaks or usage.

[Aimhigh]

3000 miles between changes is "old school" ... oils are much more technologically advanced nowadays and so are the engines and filters, etc... 5-6000 miles is more appropriate... unless of course, you're driving an "old school" vehicle such as something 25+ years old.

 

best car I ever had was a 1965 pontiac parisienne convertible. never needed and oil change .... it went thru more oil in a month than what a full oil change would take :rotf:

 

just my 3 cents

 

 

good feedback...appreciate it...had to smile at the pontiac reference...I can certainly identify with that...had a few of those, too.

[mraf]

Been changing oil in my PONTIACS at 7,000 mi for years no problems. Mobil 1 & good oil filter.

[nelsonrl]

My car says every 10,000 miles. Spoke to the lead mechanic at the dealership and he told me anything else was a waste of money. Use mobile 1 synthetic.

[Redneck]

It depends on your vehicle the type of driving you do and the quality of oil you use the environment it runs in is also a determining factor.How many miles do you want to get out of it? If you drive short distances and don't get the engine up to operating temperature on a regular basis you will need to change it more often. With most vehicles these days and the quality of oil and filters 5k will be no problem.

[Yammer Dan]

It depends on your vehicle the type of driving you do and the quality of oil you use the environment it runs in is also a determining factor.How many miles do you want to get out of it? If you drive short distances and don't get the engine up to operating temperature on a regular basis you will need to change it more often. With most vehicles these days and the quality of oil and filters 5k will be no problem.

 

 

 

1. VEHICLE-- 23 year old motorcycle

 

2. ENVIRONMENT it runs in -- Anywhere the meets are at!!

 

3. QUALITY of OIL-- Dino Castrol 20/50

 

4 Miles expect to get from it --200,000 ( break in period)

 

5 Distance of drives -- Wonder where this road ends??

 

6 Type of driving- Just fast enough to stay ahead of the 2nd Gens!!

 

7 Nothing to do this morning:whistling:

[AZSpyder]

My Toyota truck calls for 7500 miles normal use or 5000 miles heavy use (off road or towing). I use the 5000 mile even though it dosen't see much of the heavy use.

Wife's Scion has a 5000 mile maintenance reminder that flashes a few time when you first start the car or stays on steady with 7500 miles since reset.

I understand there is a push in Europe to go to 12000 mile/12 month.

Jerry

[Squidley]

I'm with everyone here, 3K is old school and there isn't really any cars on the road that are so old that they need to be changed with that frequency. I'm usually right at 4500 to 5000 miles depending on driving and conditions, as Redneck mentioned. Oils have come a long way and I too think it's just oil companies trying to make more of a profit. I have synthetic in the bike and this is the 1st vehicle I have owned from brand new. I'll probably be changing the oil in it about every 9K and a filter at about 4500.

[dynodon]

Things like the 3000 mile oil change, and the WRONG info that Synthetics cause leaks or leak more are all from the bad old days when oil had no detergents, and had a parafin base, and engines ran cold and got gunked up quickly.

 

Synthetics (Amsoil in Particular) were some of the first oils to get detergents that cleaned out some of that gunk and cause the old leather/live rubber seals to leak. Today ALL oils for general use have detergents and seals are much better and don't rely on piled up gunk to not leak.

 

When engines ran much colder and were open to the outside air, oil got much dirtier. PLUS early engines didn't even have oil filters! So changing often was necessary.

 

Today, with modern filtration, engines that are sealed, and better sealing of rings and better oils, most oil is still perfectly fine at 3000 miles. Manufacturers just had to wait till some of those old "mechanics" tales started to finally lose their teeth so they could extend intervals to something more realistic.

 

I am an AMsoil dealer (full disclosure) but believed in synthetics long before I became a dealer, and I buy mainly just for myself. I put in a bypass filter system in my daily driver and ran one oil change nearly 30,000 miles (just changing the original spin-on filter every 6000 or so miles, and adding the bit of extra oil) and it STILL tested perfectly fine to keep using.

 

When running a quality synthetic (Amsoil, Mobil 1 are two of the best, not ALL synthetics are high quality, and stay away from those designed for "racing"), you can usually go 5000 to 7000 miles, but be sure the oil is formulated for "extended drain intervals". Amsoil is famous for great additive packages that allow extended use beyond 10,000 miles in most of their oils. Going 25,000 or more it is highly recommended to have extra filtration in the way of a bypass oil filter.

 

Oil analysis can be found at any Amsoil dealer, or on the Amsoil site, or at most Diesel truck repair shops/service centers. IT is a good idea to do oil analysis every year at least on vehicles you plan on keeping a long time. If you trade every year, it isn't worth it.

 

Regular oils can easily go 4000 or 5000 miles, but I wouldn't take them much beyond that.

 

As for wear, there is more than enough proof that synthetics reduce wear, but the difference is small but measureable. There is also a small MPG gain. Where you can save money with Amsoil is extending that drain interval to 7000 or more, and cutting changes in 1/2 or more. Less time under the car (or in the shop) and less oil to recycle. It can save money or break even if done right, and you are getting better protection for your engine.

[Ozark]

Us older fellas remember when 5000 miles was the norm. That was before the first gas shortages. When they started coming out with a lot of 4 cylinder engines which had to rev higher, they shortened it to 3000 miles. Now with the newer blends, especially the synthetics, it's just a waste of money to do it every 3000 miles on your car. Just my opinion, but my opinion matters to me!!

[bongobobny]

3000 suggests that you own a GM product. Other manufacturers recommend longer periods. My Mopar says every 7500 miles. My GM (Chevy) dealer says that now GM admits that you realy don't need to change oil that often. I've used the "Old School" rule of every 4000 miles, and that was the days when Mobil first came out with the Mobil 1 which you strill changed at 4k but the advantage supposedly was Mobil 1 kept it's viscocity for a longer period. That was in the early 60's. Synthetics have come a long way and you can use something like Amsoil purple and be good for 10,000 miles or better.

 

In my younger days I drove a couple of cars that burnt sooo much oil that you never changed it because it was self-changing...

[Rodburner]

My honda civic says 10000 normal and 5000 heavy use 10000 it is with Mobil 1

[eazyduzzit]

I work at a Kenworth Truck dealership. Several years ago we became a Mobil dealer. They (Mobil Reps) showed us a short film clip about Consumer Report findings. I couldn't remember the exact results, but I copy and pasted the following from "Money Blue Book" who posted their findings.

They performed an experiment to test engine oil performance in 1996 using New York City taxi cabs. After examining the results, they concluded that:

Even in the severe driving conditions that a New York City taxi endures, we noted no benefit from changing the oil every 3,000 miles rather than every 6,000. If your driving falls into the “normal” service category, changing the oil every 7,500 miles (or at the automaker’s suggested intervals) should certainly provide adequate protection.

I personally change mine at 5,000 mile intervals, just because it's easier to remember every time I roll over 5, 10, 15, 20 thousand.that it's time to change the oil.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Havent verified this...but I was TOLD by some folks that should know, that the EPA is the reason that all manufactures had to recommend 5000 mile intervals instead of 3000 miles.

 

Less oil being used, better for the economy/environment/trees/owls/air/water/gutter/oceans/alleys/whatever.

 

But I've always done my bike PM's at 5000 mile intervals. Like eazy said, its just 'eazyer' that way!

 

 

 

 

[flb_78]

If I changed oil in the van, I would do it every 3000, but as of right now, I'm averaging 120 miles a month in the van.

 

I do the bike every 3000. I can feel the difference in the shifting with fresh oil, plus, it's really cheap.

 

I change the oil in the girlfriend's car every 3-5000 depending on when I when I feel like doing it.