Synthetic Oil change intervals

For those that are recommending going over 5,000 miles or 6 months (which ever comes first) on oil changes I'm assuming your past your warranty period correct?

 

You can also get a kit from Blackstone that allows your to pull a sample of oil without draining your oil. You can also buy bulk samples for cheaper rates. Provides great information on your oil and your engine! I didn't vote since I've only owned my truck just over a year and changed the oil once at 5000mi, I will be going to 6000mi and sending another sample. On the 4.0l trucks it would be very easy to change the filter without loosing too much oil.

I've read a number of articles that suggest that changing your oil too soon is actually more detrimental to your engine. The reason is that when the oil is new the molecules are more "rough" then when they have some wear on them and they "smooth" out. Plus if your changing your oil too often your wasting resources and polluting more, and wasting your money!

 

Thanks for the part on getting an oil sample done. That sounds like it could be useful.

 

just switched to synthetic and haven't changed it yet. planing on doing an oil change at 5k though.

 

I do mine every 4K w/ Mobil 1 5w30 full synthetic. I do a lot of towing/hauling and 4wheeling as well as plenty of fairly short trips. Winter temps get down to the 10's around me, so sometimes on my college commute the engine just barely hits operating temp before i shut it off and do it all over again.

 

so what exactly do you look for when these oil samples are sent in? my brother is an environmental chemist and works at a lab in edmonton who can test it for me, i just need to know what to look for.

 

I change mine at 5,000 miles/recommended intervals.

It's not a question of whether the oil lasts - it's a question of what's IN the oil. After 5,000 miles - the oil is very dark/black. To me - that's dirty oil regardless of what oil analysis will tell me.

I'd rather waste money on buying more synthetic oil for my main primary transportation than I would buying coffee & donuts & lunch at work.

 

I usually change my oil every 3000 miles, I'll use a synthetic blend with a decent filter (fram tg or bosch) I have never used 20,000 mile oil , and never have done an oil analysis, I think that will be my next oil change, but am always looking out for dark oil. Daß ist nicht gut!!

 

If Toyota says you can use a 5000-mile change interval with conventional oil, you should definitely be able to go longer with synthetic. I do a lot of highway driving so I think a 10,000-mile interval with Mobil-1 is very reasonable. I did that with my last vehicle and it was still running strong and not using/burning a drop of oil at 120,000 miles. As for what gets IN the oil during that time... that's what the FILTER is for. For obvious reasons, the oil companies LOVE for us to believe that the oil is toast at 3000 miles and we should always change it then - but that's just not the case. Throw your perfectly good synthetic away at 5000 miles if you want... it's your money.

 

Wow--- I would think with your oil analysis' you would have extended it to a bit higher - If I had that at my disposal, I would test and get it further out. On one of my cars I think I am somewhere between 10-11k.

EDIT: I know I've mentioned this before on this board but, I used to supply oil and transmision coolers for Peterbilt, Kenworth, Volvo, Freightliner, Mack, Sterling, Case, Caterpillar, Ditch Witch, Stewart & Stevens, yada, yada, yada.... and when you see a cooler come back with a 100k miles all cloged up using conventional oil and others that we bought back with 300,000 plus on synthetic that looked damn near new on the inside - I will never use anything but synthetic lubricants!

 

On my last truck I did them every 4500-5000 miles with synthetic oil. On the Taco I decided I would start using AMSoil. I did the first oil change about a year ago and the second a month or so ago. This time I had an analysis done on the AMSoil that I had run for almost 12k miles with the filter change done only at the time of oil change. My oil analysis is posted here if anyone wants to read it. I'll probably run the current oil for 13k and do another analysis. I do agree that it's the lifeblood of your engine. I started doing the analysis because of the longer drain interval claims made by AMSoil. So far I'm impressed.

 

The magnets are just very strong and force the particles to cling to the inner wall of the oil filter until you remove the magnets once the oil filter is removed for an oil change. I began using synthetic when I was still in the Jeep crowd. A manager of mine at the time's father was an engineer for Dodge in the southwest. His father had done extensive testing with synthetic and his entire family used nothing but. I have never heard of it damaging seals but I can imagine where that idea came from. Synthetic molecules are smaller than conventional. So, if you have a tiny wheeping leak and switch to synthetic it will find it and be gone in no time. Another downside to synthetic is with moisture. Something about moisture not mixing like it will with conventional (to some degree). Synthetic does not really combine or cling to anything such as impurities, sludge, metal flakes or what not. With this in mind the filtration is key. I used to use a Ford F-150 filter on my Wrangler which was twice the filter area of my stock size filter. Bottom line is that Synthetic does protect better and it does last longer. But it does cost more. If you want to pay the difference and help everything last longer than go for it. If you don't plan on keeping your rig, then don't bother. This could be debated on here for months with alternate ideas and what not but everything I have ever seen with actual scientific testing has shown it is well worth it in the long run.

 

just got my first oil change at 8000 km ( 5000 miles ). I wanted to go synthetic but they said its not recommended until 15000km. Does that sound right to you guys?

 

Thank you, Bob The Oil Guy.

 

Exactly. I do a whole 2 oil changes a year. That $50.00 isn't putting me in the poor house.

 

No, that is a myth. See: https://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/Myths.aspx

 

When you get your oil analysis done, and they send you the report, they have information that tells you exactly what to look for. What is too high, what is good, etc, etc. So you can decipher additive levels left, wear metals, any potential problems etc. Also, if you are in doubt, you could also get a second opinion on your oil analisys results by posting it at Bob is the Oil guy.com. They also give you universal averages for your engine so you can compare and contrast. In a nutshell, if you've never looked at an oil analysis report, the information they give you will let you decipher it.

Whether the oil is "dark" or not has nothing to do with it's life left. You know nothing about your oil or your engine until you actually get the analysis done. You are probably wasting good oil.

 

The AMSOIL drain interval for Signature Series 0W-30 is one year or 36,000. I don't drive as much as I once did, so it's an annual thing for me.

 

One thing to remember about any oil, is that there are by-products of combustion that get in there and can't be filtered out, which will make your oil acidic over time. I figure this can't be good for your engine. As for me, I'll go with the factory maintenance schedule with synthetic oil