How often should I change oil?

[scattermaster]

My owners manual says 7500 mi between oil changes I think. That seems way too long. If I change at 3000, am I just wasting oil? Also, are the new synthetics really better?

 

[BeauJ]

Due to work/school, lately I've been taking mine to a trusted oil change shop to do it. I usually do it myself, but I'm just too busy lately. I usually go 5-6k on regular. They say 3k, but that's really not alot. Sythetic they say 6k, but I really don't know how far you can go because I don't run it.

 

[X~FACTOR]

No.
At $1 per quart it's a cheap insurance.

Yes.
So I've heard. Personally, I am not convinced that is worth the money though.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Every 3 months or 3,000 miles, religiously. I am a firm believer that doing this and using a good brand of normal oil like Castrol and a good, inexpensive oil filter like Motorcraft is the single best piece of maintenance you can do for your car. Personally, all the synthetics/blends/high mileage oils are wastes of money in an engine designed for regular oil. If I was driving a BMW designed to run on synthetic, I'd feel differently but with these trucks it seems useless to me.

 

[mrboyle]

Modern oil's can easily go 5000 miles between oil changes with out any problems. Oil never loses its ability to lubercate (unless it becomes a soild), it only gets dirty and the stailiers/ additives will break down over time.Thats why you need to change it. IMHO on a daily driver synthetic oil has no added benifits. There are others that don't share this opinnion and I'm sure they'll tell you, but I have seen engines last just as long on dino oil as they do on synthetic.

 

[VOATMJ1]

I use synthetic oil, and it has quieted by engine down 10 fold, one advantage of synthetic. Another is in cold climate states, synthetic oil does not thicken up like regular oil, whichs equals to faster lube time for the engine, and easier starting in sub zero temps.

If you live in a warm climate state, then regular oil will probably suffice for you, as you don't have to deal with sub zero temps in winter and summer temps should not be a factor.

 

[Eneurb]

I use synthetic oil and a Motorcraft filter, and still change my oil every 5000 km (3000 miles). Since switching to synthetic oil, I have found an increase in fuel economy of nearly 2 mpg. My main reason for switching to synthetic was the cold winters in Canada, but I've certainly found other reasons to use it.

 

[MONMIX]

Mobile One full synth every 5,000

 

[ExplorerSportNu]

Mobile One full synth every 5,000

Amen, I change every 3000 on mine though, but Mobile one all the way

 

[MONMIX]

it is easier math with the 5

 

[Interstate]

I gotta ask this:

I live in New Mexico where the summers regularly get to the 90's, and since it's the desert, gets down to the 40's at night (in the summer) This winter is unusually cold getting into the 30's, but will climb back to the 50s later in the week. Since I'm in college, I usually let my X sit for at least 2 weeks time, as I don't usually have anywhere to drive. I run 86 octane, on a bone stock engine. (hopefully a K&N replacement soon, if I ever get around to it) I change the oil about every 3000 miles; sometimes other things use up my time. Would I benefit at all from synthetic? Would a blend work better? Or should I just stick to regular?

 

[MONMIX]

I am of the thought full synth will always be of benefit.

 

[00XLS]

I go about 4K with mobil one syth. maybe 5K if I'm at school for a while.

 

[huskyfan23]

I change every 3 months and replace with synthetic each time. Synthetic isn't much more expensive and I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

 

[JGAMBLE]

I run mobil1 and a good oil filter(mobil1 or k&n), and I change my oil every 8-10k. At 128k she still runs like new. If you run syn and change it every 3k you're wasting your money. Syn doesn't start breaking down until much higher in the mileage.

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

I change every 3 months and replace with synthetic each time. Synthetic isn't much more expensive and I think it'll be worth it in the long run.

Not that much more expensive?? I get Motorcraft oil for $1.65 a quart, Mobil One goes for $4.99 a quart. That's a $35 oil change with Mobil one versus around $12 for Motorcraft oil/filter.

 

[aldive]

A question for those of you who dump their oil at 3k intervals - have you had an oil analysis performed on this oil to determine if it needs to be replaced at that interval? If not, do you realize that you might be disposing perfectly good oil.

Extended OCI ( oil change interval ) has been proven often. I have gone up to 20k miles on synthetic oil with excellent oil analysis reports.

 

[Jason94sport]

I change the oil & filter every 3K miles with regular 10W40.
On my new Acura I change every 5k miles with syn 5W30.

 

[VOATMJ1]

Speaking of synthetic oil, my oil change place when I asked for synthetic oil, early in the X's life, they installed Castrol Syntec. I see a lot of folks here talk about Mobil 1. Is there a REAL difference between the two? If so, do I need to switch to Mobil 1? I have received very good results with the Catrol Syntec and have run it exclusively in the vehicle since new....well when I got to 15,000 miles I switched to synthetic, and now have 50,000 miles on the clock. If there is a benefit using the Mobil, I will switch. Thanks.

 

[huskyfan23]

I never got it tested, but the oil is always dirty and stinks so that's reason enough for me to change it.