Oil Change, How Long???
- Thread starter peter78
- Start date
greyghost4x4
New member
Apexi said:
So I take it that since you are challenging her to justify herself that you do not use synthetic oil. I personally change out my oil every 5,000 miles and I use synthetic, I also have 170,XXX miles on my motor too. Here is a quote from Mobil.
You do realize that the majority of synthetic motor oils on the market use a group III base oil, which is highly refined mineral oil. Mobil 1 is even rumored to use a large amount of group III base oil in many of their formulations. Regardless, mobil 1 is not 100% pao, or anywhere even close to that. It's most likely a mix of pao, poe, alkylated naphthalenes, and group III, also with the chance of a small dose of group II or I being present as an additive package carrier.
When it comes to motor oil, what really matters is the total package, the base oil(s) and additive package combined.
In regards to the oil change interval, a lot of people make suggestions on how often to change oil, but offer little proof. There are many used oil analyses which offer proof that 7,500mi is not too long for synthetic motor oil.
I'm not trying to start any trouble, I just like to see facts being used to form an opinion rather than marketing hype or gut feelings
When it comes to motor oil, what really matters is the total package, the base oil(s) and additive package combined.
In regards to the oil change interval, a lot of people make suggestions on how often to change oil, but offer little proof. There are many used oil analyses which offer proof that 7,500mi is not too long for synthetic motor oil.
I'm not trying to start any trouble, I just like to see facts being used to form an opinion rather than marketing hype or gut feelings
Last edited:
greyghost4x4
New member
I wasn't trying to start anything with you either, and I also don't want to make it seem like I am all about Mobil. I do know that that is what the Toyota dealorship puts in my truck. In your opinion, what is the best oil and why?
Evan
Evan
Honestly, for most people the best choice is whatever brand name conventional motor oil you can find on sale. Unless your 4runner sees extreme conditions, theres really no need for synthetic. Even if it does see extreme conditions, just shorten your oil change interval. The API testing sequences have gotten so stringent that any SL or SM service class oil will be more than good enough.
I don't have a favorite oil, or one that i think is best.
I don't have a favorite oil, or one that i think is best.
cweta37
New member
Because a synthetic oil is chemically produced, there are no contaminants in the oil. By contrast, conventional oils contain small amounts of sulfur, wax, and asphaltic material that can promote detonation as well as varnish and sludge buildup. With no wax, synthetics will flow at much lower temperatures than conventional oils. In fact, synthetic oils are now available with viscosity ratings as low as 0W-30, as in Mobil 1's new Tri-Synthetic blend or Castrol Formula SLX. These oils flow more than seven times faster than a conventional 5W-30 motor oil during initial start-up, yet at normal operating temperatures act like a regular Grade 30 oil.
this link again is promting mobil but they are some of the founders of the synthetic oil so they are talked about ofter, just like when people talk about the first cars.. you think of Ford. Mobil might not have kept up with the game but they started a great concept. and I do like synthetic because I dont want crap in my engine. I dont care if you change your oil everyday or every 7,500 miles.. thats up to you but growing up I have always heard from my father who is a mechanic, from my mother who ran my dads first shop, from my friends who i work on cars with, from my auto shop teacher, everyone prefers synthetic.. they dont push it on people but as for the facts.. everything you read is going to tell you about how much better synthetic oil is for your vehicle and that if you want to mistreat your vehicle you will go longer then 5000 miles to change your oil. no ones vehicle runs clean enough not to change the oil semi often(around5,000 miles). I truely believe that if you hit 6,000 miles you are stressing your engine! even teh cleanest oil is going to pick up grime. there are holes! there are vents! there are places for dirt to get in your engine!
also... I was talking to a friend and he brought up a very good point, said that if you know your engine eats oil, you shouldnt use synthetic because it will probably disappear even faster if you have been running conventional oil. if you have a newer/well manintained runner (I'm not talking about sports cars or semi trucks btw) that has been running an unknown kind of oil, you have the option of changing or confirming that synthetic oil is being used as it will keep all of the tight pistons tight, the engine smooth and the wear and tear will be less on your engine. conventional oil is going to create build up and therefore wear on your engine after a while. synthetic is just going to keep that from happening as soon.
Thats my opinion, fact, and "back up ...results... information"
so take it or leave it.
I REALLY prefer synthetic!
thanks for reading my rant. I just wanted to get it all out of my system.
-Cait
this link again is promting mobil but they are some of the founders of the synthetic oil so they are talked about ofter, just like when people talk about the first cars.. you think of Ford. Mobil might not have kept up with the game but they started a great concept. and I do like synthetic because I dont want crap in my engine. I dont care if you change your oil everyday or every 7,500 miles.. thats up to you but growing up I have always heard from my father who is a mechanic, from my mother who ran my dads first shop, from my friends who i work on cars with, from my auto shop teacher, everyone prefers synthetic.. they dont push it on people but as for the facts.. everything you read is going to tell you about how much better synthetic oil is for your vehicle and that if you want to mistreat your vehicle you will go longer then 5000 miles to change your oil. no ones vehicle runs clean enough not to change the oil semi often(around5,000 miles). I truely believe that if you hit 6,000 miles you are stressing your engine! even teh cleanest oil is going to pick up grime. there are holes! there are vents! there are places for dirt to get in your engine!
also... I was talking to a friend and he brought up a very good point, said that if you know your engine eats oil, you shouldnt use synthetic because it will probably disappear even faster if you have been running conventional oil. if you have a newer/well manintained runner (I'm not talking about sports cars or semi trucks btw) that has been running an unknown kind of oil, you have the option of changing or confirming that synthetic oil is being used as it will keep all of the tight pistons tight, the engine smooth and the wear and tear will be less on your engine. conventional oil is going to create build up and therefore wear on your engine after a while. synthetic is just going to keep that from happening as soon.
Thats my opinion, fact, and "back up ...results... information"
so take it or leave it.
I REALLY prefer synthetic!
thanks for reading my rant. I just wanted to get it all out of my system.
-Cait
How's this for an oil change interval - two years now, and counting on Amsoil........I just changed my full flow and bypass filter. This is on my truck, not the 4-runner, by the way. My last oil analysis says it's still good, will probably need to be changed the the 2 1/2 year mark, but I will do it this spring when I service the wife's ride. I pulled the dipstick the other day while filling up and the oil is still a dark honey color.
I was also wondering about the owners who had claims of sludge running Amsoil at extended drain intervals. I've never seen or heard of sludge running full synthetic. In fact, not getting sludge is one of the main benefits of running synthetic oil. My truck has almost 100,000 miles racked up, with only 3 oil changes in it's life, and when I had the pan and heads off (for mods mind you, not repairs), I couldn't find even a trace of sludge. And this is on a BOMBed diesel. If you know anything about diesel, There is an inheirent amount of soot that comes with the combustion process, and the oil is subjected heavily to the effects of the combustion byproducts. Good quality synthetic oil is built with addative packages designed to handle this contamination until it can rid itself of it during filtration. Same goes for what are normally sludge causing contaminants found in both diesel and gas engines. Amsoil's drain interval of 1yr./25,000 miles is based on normal service, ie., mainly highway miles. For severe service, such as stop and go city driving, they recommend a 15, 000 mile drain interval. I'm guessing if sludge was formed in an engine full of synthetic Amsoil, that it was driven past it's ability to handle contaminants any longer, and at that point, Amsoil is within it's right to deny any such warranty coverage. In my opinion, if you are going to push past the severe service interval, you should have an oil analysis done at that point to make sure you can do so without harm.
I was also wondering about the owners who had claims of sludge running Amsoil at extended drain intervals. I've never seen or heard of sludge running full synthetic. In fact, not getting sludge is one of the main benefits of running synthetic oil. My truck has almost 100,000 miles racked up, with only 3 oil changes in it's life, and when I had the pan and heads off (for mods mind you, not repairs), I couldn't find even a trace of sludge. And this is on a BOMBed diesel. If you know anything about diesel, There is an inheirent amount of soot that comes with the combustion process, and the oil is subjected heavily to the effects of the combustion byproducts. Good quality synthetic oil is built with addative packages designed to handle this contamination until it can rid itself of it during filtration. Same goes for what are normally sludge causing contaminants found in both diesel and gas engines. Amsoil's drain interval of 1yr./25,000 miles is based on normal service, ie., mainly highway miles. For severe service, such as stop and go city driving, they recommend a 15, 000 mile drain interval. I'm guessing if sludge was formed in an engine full of synthetic Amsoil, that it was driven past it's ability to handle contaminants any longer, and at that point, Amsoil is within it's right to deny any such warranty coverage. In my opinion, if you are going to push past the severe service interval, you should have an oil analysis done at that point to make sure you can do so without harm.
Thai said:
If you are getting a lot of metal in your oil you've got more problems than your oil. THe main problem with oil contamination is CHEMICAL changes that occur in the oil due to the high heat of the combustion process. Supposedly, synthetic is MUCH less prone to that happening and that is why it can stay in the crankcase for so long. We have one of the oil testing labs you can send your sample to have checked in my town and in talking to them they say almost ALL the time synthetic is still fine at 10,000 miles but most folks can't get their mind around that so most change it there.
You guys are nuts
Whoever is saying 7500 to 10000 has lost thier mind, or they always drive @ 3000 rpm with no stops at all. :nono: I dont care what grade petro Mobil is using... blah blah
You change the oil with synth. at the same interval as before and your engine will wear less and last longer.
NOT:
You change oil with synth and you have to change it less.
SYNTHETIC WASN'T MADE TO SUPPORT LAZY PEOPLE.
How come no one gets that?
Whoever is saying 7500 to 10000 has lost thier mind, or they always drive @ 3000 rpm with no stops at all. :nono: I dont care what grade petro Mobil is using... blah blah
You change the oil with synth. at the same interval as before and your engine will wear less and last longer.
NOT:
You change oil with synth and you have to change it less.
SYNTHETIC WASN'T MADE TO SUPPORT LAZY PEOPLE.
How come no one gets that?
MLB said:
Exactly, the oil analysis is the key thing here. 10,000 miles is just a start for a quality synthetic. The testing proves this over and over again. Although, I wouldn't just asume it will and forgoe the analysis. I probably would have changed mine at around 10 or 15 thousand, but the analysis showed I can keep going got it all the way to 25,000 miles infact, and it wasn't even that bad, but that minor change was enough for me to change it. I'm an amsoil dealer, so I see a lot of examples of long interval oil changes that are very successful. Infact, none of my customers have had a problem with the longer intervals. two of my customers are over 250,000 miles with an approximately 25,000 mile change interval.
RonMAIDEN
Super Moderator
Also consider the time your oil is in the engine since if I waited 15,000 miles it would be almost two years before I changed my oil and that's too long IMO,I'd never let oil get more than a year old. Right now I go between 8-9k between changes with M1 syn which works out to about 10 months before I change.
RonMAIDEN said:
Hmm, I usually change at 5k miles, but that's just because It's usually used in pretty severe conditions.
Oil usually can go on for 15-30k miles.
And no, it doesn't age, like some folks think. The only thing that happens if oil is kept very long in the vehicle and it's not fired up once in a while, and the engine might absorb some moisture in the oil...
It takes oil many many many years to start to break down, we know this fact very well from oil accidents.
Was Every 2500, Now Every 5000
For the past 25 years I have changed the oil in every vehicle at 2500 miles with dino oil and new filter. After reading some of the many comments I decided to start doing mine every 5000.
Thought about going to synthetic oil but then I ask why? As one of the replies stated that changing your oil is to "remove" that contamination. That contamination is what changes the color of oil. My wife's 2003 V6 Camry at 2500 mile looks like new. I do know there is a problem with this engine and I need to go no longer than 5000 but that will be the most I do. I would hate to add up all the $$$$$ I have spent over 25 years and could have saved 1/2 of that!
One other note. I work for a Toyota Industrial Equipment Company that sells Toyota forklifts. Until working there I used the Fram filters. Once I saw a Fram filter and a Toyota Filter cut in half, I now use only Toyota.
TS
For the past 25 years I have changed the oil in every vehicle at 2500 miles with dino oil and new filter. After reading some of the many comments I decided to start doing mine every 5000.
Thought about going to synthetic oil but then I ask why? As one of the replies stated that changing your oil is to "remove" that contamination. That contamination is what changes the color of oil. My wife's 2003 V6 Camry at 2500 mile looks like new. I do know there is a problem with this engine and I need to go no longer than 5000 but that will be the most I do. I would hate to add up all the $$$$$ I have spent over 25 years and could have saved 1/2 of that!
One other note. I work for a Toyota Industrial Equipment Company that sells Toyota forklifts. Until working there I used the Fram filters. Once I saw a Fram filter and a Toyota Filter cut in half, I now use only Toyota.
TS
Just for a little info here. I have a Honda civic 2007 model that has the oil change percentage light that goes from 100 down to 0 and they recommend you change it when it hits 10%.
First oil change going by the clock was at 9000 miles and thats on dino. Mostly all highway miles,
First oil change going by the clock was at 9000 miles and thats on dino. Mostly all highway miles,
ALLEGRO
New member
NoWayOut said:
Same for me with my Corvette. Mobil 1 is required and I change every 5K due to time and not mileage, usually about 9 months of driving. The Engine Oil Life System has never read in the lower 50%. Most on the Corvette Forum are changing according to the indicator at over 10K. It is recommended to the point of humor by GM that they follow the OLS. The system is based on an algorithm based on time, mileage and service severity. Track days or very spirited driving can shorten this by 75% or better. The dynamic thing here is that GM designed the LSx engines for a 200K life, and there are nearly no reports of failure other than severe modifications and extreme service cycle.
I agree with the frequent changing, it for sure cannot hurt. BUT
Jordan Petry
New member
I just did my first oil change on my t4r at 5k miles w/ M1 synthetic. Reading what some of you guys have posted I think I might wait til 7.5-10k seeing how expensive it is to change your oil, especially using synthetic.
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