Wikipedia: same oil change interval between synthetic & conventional???

2001 Tacoma v6 4wd [city driving within SF bay area, CA; less than 7000 mi/yr ; no 4wdriving ; never used synthetic]

I've been learning more about possibly switching to synthetic oil. Many people commented about significantly extending oil change intervals as one of the main benefits of synthetic oil. Wikipedia did mention that, BUT for automotive use, the interval is the same between synthetic and dino oil. What gives???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

"For automotive use, the oil change interval for synthetic oils is the same as for conventional oil, typically 7,000 miles to 10,000 miles following the manufacturer's "severe service" schedule (which is the schedule that covers city driving). Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type."

 

Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type.




Thats not gospel though. Lots of differenct scenarios. If you really want to do extended drain intervals, send oil sample to blackstone and see. If I were you I'd run conventional and change it twice a year.

 

Another blackstone vote.
Ive got 2 sample kits, 1 for the truck and 1 for the camry...
Itll be the camrys 1st oil change at 5k (im not going 10k). Curious how it comes out.

 

They're gonna tell you to try 8,000 miles. Then at 8,000 miles they're going to tell you to go for 10,000 miles after youre out $70.00 in tests. Might as well get it out of the way the first time.

 

Im more interested in the 1st oil change analysis on the car.

As for the truck, just shits and grins.

I dont think ill ever go past 5k on either vehicle, regardless of what they say

 

I change mine every 3-5K depending on the color. When it starts to look dark I change it. On my wife's highlander I go 10K and the oil always looks pretty good.

I run Castrol "blend" in my taco and mobile 1 synthetic in the highlander.

 

Switched to Mobil-1 syn, hurt my back and forgot about the trucks, wife drove about 5000miles, a year later remembered about the oil change, drained after a year and looked like the day I put it in. Now back to six mo changes, about 3500 miles, no problems......

 

Can anyone reply to the point at hand...wikipedia indicating same time interval for both synthetic and dino??? But many on forums stating extended intervals for synthetic...

 

Well it is Wikipedia....soooo.... I wouldn't take it as the gospel.

 

I go every 5000 with synthetic. It may be overkill, but it certainly wont hurt it and I like a tidy engine. Besides, there's usually good sales on Mobil one if you scout around.

 

Dear Windnsalsa,

So you want to verify if Wikipedia is correct in their analysis of the intervals being the same for dinosaur blood and full synthetic. The answer is "No." Full Synthetic Motor Oil was created from research in a modern laboratory. It is by far the superior lubricant to dinosaur blood. If you look hard on Tacoma World, you will find threads that discuss this in much greater detail. I have the exact same rig as you except mine is a little older. This is what I do for oil changes. I completely changed to full synthetic motor oil about ten years ago right before it 100,000 miles. Please also understand that our old Tacoma does not burn any oil, and it has 170,xxx some odd miles on it. We change the oil every 6,000 miles, and we use Castrol 5W-30 Full Synthetic with a high end oil filter. The one thing you will notice when switching to full synthetic is that it will use about a 1/2 quart of oil every 3,000 miles, and it does this because synthetic is a lot slicker than dinosaur blood. As a result, it can get by pass piston rings and valve seats much easier.

Here is the general rule of thumb when it comes to oil:
Conventional Motor Oil change it roughly every 3,000 miles and do the filter at the same time
Conventional and Synthetic Blend change it roughly every 4,000 miles and do the filter at the same time
Full Synthetic change it roughly every 6,000 miles and change the filter at the same time, but check your oil level at 3,000 miles

One more thing:
Make sure you use a high end oil filter

Good Luck,
Paul

 

Black lab analysis or some BS like that. Or jump on bobistheoilguy forum.


Or take read in the owners manual.

 

The wiki excuse is right in your quote....

"Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type"

Why are forums different?
Cause ur asking thousands of ppl about their own opinion that drive their vehicles in different ways?
I dunno, its a forum.
Ask about an intake, tires, an exhaust, a paint color....watch the opinions flourish like a bad infection.

 

I had the synthetic oil used by my truck analyzed. I change it every 10K miles, or once a year, whichever comes first. Have been doing this to all my cars, since 2004.

 

...

Then we should question if many claiming the significant extended interval time is a product of something false (or just plain opinions) that has been going viral versus a truth based on technological advancement.

 

I'd trust Wikipedia over a bunch of sheeple on a forum.

 

While your on to something, previously a 3k mike oil change interval was more or less a marketing tactic to get customers into the service bays. It also allows many quick lube change places to make money.

Nowadays the minimum recommended oil change interval in most vehicles with Dino oil is 5k miles. With synthetic it’s 10-15k.

Perhaps this is due to better manufacturing tolerances in the engine.

For synthetic to have a higher change rate is most likely solely on the chemical makeup. Most synthetic manufacturers suggest 10-15k change intervals so it’s not just random forum guys saying 10k miles. Yes particulates can accumluaye at the same rate but it’s not just that your looking into. Viscosity will change due to the extensive heat cycle and thus breaking down the oil faster etc. really need a chemical engineer to properly explain the dynamics of this.

FWIW I’ve had plenty of vehicles with 200-300k miles and have changed at 3-5k miles with Dino oil and 10k miles with synthetic and never have had a problem due to this. It has always been a Toyota though.

It’s pretty crazy to think people change synthetic oil at 5k intervals. Yeah it’s a peace of mind thing but most likely if you get the oil tested it could go 13-20k miles depending on the type of driving.

 

I’d also like to point out this is completely dependent on the type of driving and conditions the vehicle is in.

The best way for you to determine how many miles to go before an oil change is like others have said to get your oil tested. For people who like you said drive only 7k miles a year, I would just change my oil once a year with syntethic and forget about it.

Just like Toyota recommends diff oil changes at 15-30k depending on your driving. The first would be the most important. But after I changed my trucks diff oil at 60 and 90k and both times the oil looked brand new and most likely could have gone 100k miles without being changed.

Edit: but the sole fact to use synthetic is to lower the change intervals and most likely cost sending out your oil to get tested kinda defeats that purpose. I would just pick a game plane and stick to it.

 

Here’s actually a good info page(I think) from AMSOIL explaining some of the breakdown processes of oil. Since synthetic is made up of structures to slow this process compared to most Dino oils with jus some additives one can deduce longer change intervals from just that fact.

https://www.amsoil.com/newsstand/motor-oil/articles/why-motor-oil-deteriorates/

 

As several people have pointed out above, there is a way to know for sure what the remaining lifespan of your oil is, whether it is conventional or synthetic - get an oil sample analysis from a lab like Blackstone. They will break down the contaminants in the oil, and what the remaining additives are help suspend particulate matter and water in the oil.

Synthetic oils usually have better additive packages included in them, which can lengthen the lifespan of the oil by keep contaminants, particulates, and fuel/water in the oil suspended for a longer period of time. Part of the reason they can do this better than conventional oils is because the hydrocarbon chains in synthetic oils are more uniform in size than in conventional oils.

As for "3000 mile oil change intervals" or anything of the sort, that's simply marketing gimmicks by the oil consortium. It made sense in 1965, when fuel was highly contaminated (and also leaded) and large amounts of combustion byproducts blew by the piston rings into the oil. In today's close-tolerance engines, with the latest in oil additive packages, changing the oil every 7500-10k miles is perfectly reasonable.