I know this is likely to start a flame war but I found this interesting. Here is a quote I found on another forum that makes a lot of sense:

I found this related story on Yahoo! news:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070321/autos_oil.html?.v=2

Synopsis:

Most major automakers agree: The adage that you should change your car's oil every 3,000 miles is outdated, and even 5,000 miles may be too often.


Anyone agree/disagree? Why?

 

My experience is to use Mobil 1 or equivalent and change @ 12k or annually. Doing this for 20 years with no repercussions. BMW and Triumph motorcycle agree with me. Use high quality filter such as Pure one or Mobil 1.

Gary

 

I would have to agree, oil and filter technology are light years from were they were in the 50's.

 

I totally agree but the oil companies will battle you to the very end in disagreement. Engines from the 50's and 60's were ready for a rebuild by 60K to 70K...today, they are barely broken in at that mileage. Oil from that era ended up as sludge, caking the heads and gunking up the oil pan.

Sadly, it will probably take another generation to get the 3K oil change myth out of peoples heads. If the U.S. is to ever break the hold that the oil companies have put us in, we have to stop the useless waste. It amazes me that they want us to think the oil is many times better...but lasts many times less...and that auto manufacturers have not improved filtering technology beyond the early 1900's.

I believed the hype as well, changing my oil every 3K for years. The only thing that did was put my hard earned money in the hands of laughing oil company execs. I probably still change my oil too often in a 99' Ram with 148K...3 times a year or around 8K. Still do not have to add oil between changes and heads/pan are as clean as new.

 

i know this post is old but i was wondering if i cant get some feedback regarding this topic. i was surprised to come across this post as i was raised with the 3k change rule for conventional oil. i change my mobil 1 synthetic around 7k miles and use fiberglass filters now. is it wasteful to change this often with synthetic, and why? or am i on the mark?

 

I always go by what the owners manual says. For us, it's around 7500 miles. I'll take the word of the people who designed the car over the guys selling oil changes every time.

 

well definitely but my interest is if the 10k or 25k mile changes claimed to be done even back in the late 70's are the real deal in 2010. not so much if i should change it as frequently as 3k like valvoline would have me do

 

I got my oil changed last fall at the local Mercedes dealer. They sell Lexus and Toyota as well and will service any brand of car. They alway have Mobil one and filters in stock. The sticker they put on the windshield to remind you when your next change is due was for 10,000 miles. That is where they recomend changing Mobil one. I change my oil each fall since I live in snow bound Pa and she isn't a daily driver. I don't put 10,000 a year on the car but I think you would be safe as long as you use a good filter.

 

Even better than fixed change intervals, many cars now - including our Crossfires - have computer monitors which remind you when the oil needs to be changed. Personally, I change the oil early on a brand new engine, then close to the computer recommendation thereafter.

 

me too. Although I have two paper filters I need to use up, and then I'll switch to fleece. The paper filters are fine though as we've discussed in previous threads. I change mine when the computer says so. or once a year around the 7500 mile mark.

I had to laugh because my motorcycle manual says every 4K miles but when I asked my dealer he said no, they do all theirs once a year at the end of the season, and the next year ride all season on the new oil. Just buy a good quality oil and you're fine. So I use a syn oil in the bike, change it once a year and I'm fine with it.

 

If i changed my oil on the once a year rule it would save me from doing one, maybe two extra changes. so if anybody has firsthand experience with this that would be great as i am stil in the skeptics camp.

 

I change mine every 7k miles. This is a bmw 328ci after no oil change after 60k miles.

 

I worked at gas station as a teenager, even turned wrenches for awhile. We would see engines like this from time to time. I went to school with an engineer from Mobil. He changed his oil every 12 months or 12K miles whichever came first...Mobil 1 was just coming onto the market. There were all kinds of stories out there. You couldn't use in older engines because it was so thin it would cause leaks etc, etc, etc....well, fast forward to my days at trucking, and the police thing. We would send our oil out to have it analysed. They would always come back with very high oil change times. Unless you work the heck out of something, over heating, and such, like a farm tractor, heavy equipment, etc...most oil will never break down for 12-25K miles...but you do have to change it. I change mine every 7k, but I wouldn't think 12k is out of line. I do run mine hard from time to time, so I change a little early....oil is important, so don't skimp...and don't trust that crazy car to tell you, trust yourself...lol

 

Yea on the M1A1 tanks and almost all military equipment we send the oil to a lab and they tell us when its time to be changed, it really sucks using a lil pump that never worked right to suck a bottle of oil out of every engine once a month lol.

 

yes, but it will warn you if something is breaking down, like high copper content...etc...especially on the higher mileage cars and trucks...tell you what might being wearing out first, main bearings...seals, if small amt of H2O/anti freeze is present...etc....doesn't cost much, in fact the oil supplier for the big trucks did it for free...

 

wow those pics of that engine looks like a nightmare i had once ;P but yeah i would like to run my own tests if sending to a lab is a viable option. how much does it cost, how long does it take, and is it available to non-commercial entities like myself?

 

My son is driving my old 99 Ford Expedition with 180,000 miles to date and it's running great (Hope I don't Jinx it!). The vehicle was a company car and they only permitted changes at 5000 miles with conventional oil.
I'm changing the X-fire at the recommended intervals, but I'm a little concerned because I don't like it sitting over the winter without a change; however, is that the old mindset?
I have heard the Semis running synthetics will spin the filters off and just top up the oil. Not sure how many miles they go before a complete change, but it make sense. The contaminants should be in the filter; right!

 

I really think that even the crappy oil thats like the store brand oil can go for 5000 miles now days. If you change at 3000 miles your wastein your money.....oil has came a very long ways since the 50's 70's and even the 90's. And its not only the oil its the filters as well.....but some shitty brands might come apart, so I wouldnt go cheap on those.

 

The biggest advancement with modern oil has to do with the roller cam. Flat tappet cams need ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl-Dithio-Phosphate) which essentially fights detergents in oils. Zinc causes the oil to break down quicker and is essentially used in the motor as a lubricant in metal to metal parts like lifters. Roller cams don't need as much zinc, so higher detergent levels can be used. Synthetic molecules have less contaminants because there are no dinosaur bits in it and have higher molecular shear charicteristics than conventional oils, especially when compared over time.

 

Now here's a guy who knows his oil, as my friend from Mobil did. We change oil on the semi every 10K miles. Remember what I said, use has a lot to do with it. I have a high idle time, sitting while waiting to load, unload, or sleeping....pulling heavy loads, in and out of muddy, or slick conditions. The truck has a heavy duty job, so changes are important. Taken care of properly, there isn't any reason a truck (cummins) can't live for a million miles. Been there done that...the one I own now just turned 400K...