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What brand of motor oil do you use ? I mainly use the house brand oil at walmart (super tech) or quaker state or valvoline. I believe all conventional oils are pretty much the same. I have never used synthetic oil & never will. As long as you change your oil/filter at least every 3000 miles you should be ok. Yrs back my 78 mustang, 4 cylinder made it to 175k miles. I did though once have a 82 camero z28 that threw a rod at around 90k miles. My 2 old cars now have 139k (90 Tbird) & 117,300 miles (85 olds delta 88).
I drive very infrequently (6-8k a year), so I usually go with no more than 4000 miles, and synthetic oil. Usually I buy Mobil 1. I will change at 3000 if I don't have any big highway trips. Factory (OEM) filters only. I have two Volvos, one with a turbo so I like to make sure it's fed high quality oil. The other car gets a few thousand miles a year, so it gets changed every 8 months or so.
Since I consider my cars something of a hobby, I like to perform most scheduled maintenance by myself. I usually visit the dealer only for warranty work, or a new car. Although I've never had a claim arise regarding lubrication related issues (engine, transmission, or other systems), I keep a 3-ring binder with all of my parts and lube purchases, plus a log in the glove compartment of every single fuel fill, date, gallons, and mileage. I have A, B, and C services with logs, based on the manufacturer's rec plus my own additions. Yes, I'm obsessive about maintenance and records. But it's not hard to paint the picture that my car is well cared for, which is probably why I never have a problem selling them for top dollar.
Also, I've been accused of babying my cars and spending too much on oil and preventative maintenance. I don't give a crap if I spend an extra $50 or $100 a year on changing my oil "too frequently". Why spend $40k+ on a car, then cheap out on a few bucks for oil? That blows my mind, yet people do it all the time. To me, it's worth peace of mind alone. Plus it gives me an opportunity to go over the car in detail.
I drive very infrequently (6-8k a year), so I usually go with no more than 4000 miles, and synthetic oil. Usually I buy Mobil 1. I will change at 3000 if I don't have any big highway trips. Factory (OEM) filters only. I have two Volvos, one with a turbo so I like to make sure it's fed high quality oil. The other car gets a few thousand miles a year, so it gets changed every 8 months or so.
If you want to save some money you can buy Mann filters from FCPGroton.com, Volvo filters are rebranded Manns.
I run Valvoline dino oil in both my trucks and the family CRV, and I usually run Mobile 1 in the turbo Buick though I'm considering trying dino oil on it.
I stay away from oils with paraffin, such as Quaker State.
I run full synthetic castrol and STILL change it and filter every 3000. This issue comes up a million times a year, its not the breakdown of the oil that destroys the engine, its how contaminated the oil is.
Doesn't matter what type of fluid you have in there, they all get contaminated at the SAME RATE. At 3000 miles IMO the oil is contaminated to the point that it needs to be changed.
I like the idiots that run synthetic for 6, 7, 8000 miles and when drained its blackest thing you'll ever see. No thanks!
Due to severe weather, I still haven't changed my oil. it's up to 9.000 or so now, maybe more. The other day I had a look at it, it still feels smooth, though of course not like new, it's brown, not black, and there's no build-up of sludge on the cams.
My car's due for a change, and it's getting a Mahle filter and brand spec full synthetic oil (Toyota) 5w30, I think it's made by Mobil, but I'm not sure.
One thing I think a lot of people fail to consider is this: If you live in a cold climate, and drive a lot of short trips, you're going to get condensation in your oil. You'll get sticky stuff that looks like coffee with creamer on your filler cap, etc.
Not much you can do about that but take the car on some longer trips, and change the oil more often.
if you really want to know how many miles you should be changing your oil at, you need to study the oil, and sorry, but a visual inspection doesn't really tell you anything about the oil's health.
Get a scientific used oil analysis done, or its all witchcraft and superstition, like the bad advice and miseducated opinions evident in this thread...
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