Oil changes

I have a 4.0 l tacoma 4x4 . I use mobile 1 synthetic 5w30. I currently change it every 6,000 miles or 6 months. Its my understanding that synthetic oil will last this long. Or should i be changing it at 3,000 or 3 months. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I do mine every 15K miles, with Amsoil Synthetic. I'm able to go to 25K, but I just do it at 15K.

 

What aboout mobil 1 extend performance? It claims 15k protection.

 

no matter what kind of oil you use, its always a good practice to change every 5000 miles. or, for older trucks, every 3000 miles

 

If you run oil analyses on Mobil 1 (and probably other quality synthetics) you will probably see that the oil is just fine up through 12-15,000 miles. I wouldn't do it under warranty, though.

On my last car I was running 10,000-12,000 mile intervals. My oil analysis at 8,000+ miles showed all contaminants well below limits, oil viscosity was still within normal limits, and additive package was still working fine.

 

not sure where to send the oil to have it checked

 

Blackstone Labs (google it) will send you a sample kit for free. You send it back with a check (or credit card info) for $22.50 and they send you back your analysis.

 

I run Mobil1 and change mine every 5k.

Do you use the same oil filter the entire 15k? Or do you swap it out at 5k 10k and again 15k? Or maybe half way 7.5k?

 

So it not worth spending the extra $ for the extended perform mobil 1.

 

Extended Performance or not the Oil Still gets dirty. If you read the fine print on
Mobil 1 Extended Performance it basically tells you to follow the manufactures
oil change intervals. Toyota recommends 5,000 mile OCI I think that's too long.
I changed the factory fill at 1,089 Miles and plan to change next at 3,000 miles
than every 4,000 after that using Pennzoil Platinum Oil. Yes that's overkill but
Oil is cheap and engines are not. I also plan to run the truck to 500,000 or better
and think that with Toyota's Quality that is easily within reach.

 

I trust the data I get back from oil analysis, which says that (on my last vehicle) at 8,000+ miles the oil was not outside of acceptable limits on any contaminants.

I ran the last 100,000 miles on my previous vehicle using Mobil 1 with extended drain intervals, and the engine is still in excellent shape. There has never been any evidence of abnormal wear, despite me driving it pretty hard.

Mobil 1 says to go with the manufacturer's OCI to stay kosher with the warranty, not because the oil needs to be changed. When Mobil 1 was introduced it was advertised with a 25,000 mile OCI.