Why 5000 miles oil change interval I’m a believer

are you asking about “you” or “the customer base”

 

I used to use Prolong in my Ranger way back when and religiously changed oil at 3-5k but this was before the herd of synthetics clogged the market. At the time, it made sense and wasn't very expensive. Not sure if it worked but here I am with a 24 year old Ranger with 240k on the odometer that has had nothing more than an alternator replaced. She's getting tired, though but still strong.

Prolong worked awesomely in the bedroom, as well!

 

I use Lubro-Moly' Oil Saver in a high mileage Veracruz with a leaky valve cover. It stops leaks.
Used Lubro-Moly's ZDDP in a Chrysler from time to time. Added it to dino oil.

 

My Tacoma has 270k+ on it without any additives and hasn’t had any oil-related failures. Not sure our single data points mean anything.

 

yes…and oil threads in general often mean nothing. I would suggest anyone interested take the time to run UOA and find a routine which works for their specific needs.

 

I’m trying to follow the discussion so may I ask a question? Do we believe conventional oil is better than synthetic or do we think synthetic is better than conventional?

 

Thanks for sharing Data is oftentimes helpful.

I’m not following you comment “they aren’t going to argue if you want to change early.” Who is “they”? Blackstone? Aren’t they just a test company?

 

If nobody cared why is there a market for oil testing? Seems like someone cares. I have not ventured into that area-yet. Don’t know if I will. I do learn from all of you here and have changed my mind on several things by reading, contemplating and learning- and I’m an old dog!

 

In my world we send a lot of fluids out for test. Blackstone caters to both public and OEMs. We use them for some testing however they can't do some tests we require.
As far as my truck? It's fine.

 

I took his point to mean no one
Is going to care if you change your oil early because there is no negative effect. Labs that test oil don’t mind telling you your oil is still well within its protective lifespan (and will gladly take your money while doing it), but they’d likely give you a concerned response if you send them oil with 20k on it.

 

As someone who hasn’t tested my vehicles oil here’s what I’ve gathered from all of you. Feel free to point me in the right direction if I veer off the track a bit.

1. Seems like oil analysis is a big enough deal for a company or two to sustain profitability.
2. Oil analysis seems to be able to detect leading indicators of potential performance concerns.
3. Oil analysis seems to be able to determine “life” of the tested sample. I.e expired vs remaining life.
4. It seems oil additive packages aren’t all created equal. If so, it’s likely this alone that could be the discriminator between one oil and another.

Personally, I’m not overly interested in paying a $30 test fee over several trials to try and dial-in what OCI maximizes my oils life but I do understand others may and that’s fine. I do like the leading indicator results that could point me in the direction of a situation I should monitor.

Here’s probably the biggest question I have with all of this oil discussion. What does the majority believe is better for current day vehicles? Conventional oils or Synthetic?

If the opinion is Synthetic, would oils with a higher percentage of “synthetic” be better than blends that have less?

 

This thread is too complicated. Just wait until you see smoke coming out of the engine. That’s the only way to really know you need an oil change

 

I used Slick 50 one time in my 100k mile Chevy Citation and within the next oil change it sprung leaks every where, when before it had none, never again.

 

I used Slick 50 in my 1990 Honda CRX and had all of 325,000 miles. I decided to swap out the engine for an Integra motor because I had head gasket leaks. The mechanic asked what I did to my engine. I asked him what he meant and he told me when he removed the engine oil drain plug NOT A SINGLE DROP of oil came out. Hmmm, I just drove 70 miles to his shop and wasn’t aware of a single issue.

 

I buy the oil intending to do it at 5k..... but it always happens at 6k.