How often do you change your oil?

[Scouzer]

10,000km when im not stuck with a fram filter (like now, which will get about 5,000km)

mobil 1 synthetic

 

[OrganizedChaos]

3,000 on the cheapest dino oil and a fram filter. if i had a brand new car with zero miles i would run amsoil oil and filters and only change the oil every 20,000 and filter every 5000

 

[Zee]

if:

- most of your trips are less then 4 miles
- it's below freezing where you are and you make short trips (<10 miles)
- your engine is at low speed most of the times (traffic)
- you are towing stuff/ have heavy stuff in car
- you drive through dusty places

then you are supposed to change the oil AND filter every 3000 miles or 3 months (whichever comes first).

Else change every 7500 miles or 12 months (whichever is first) and change the filter at every OTHER oil change.

That's the industry recommended way.

Unless you live in Montana or Alaska or something, most people fit into the first rule...

 

[0roo0roo]

change the filter at every OTHER oil change

u sure?

 

[darkjester]

Originally posted by: Kalvin00
I change my oil every 300 miles.

Wow, that's ten times as often as I change it (every 3,000 miles).

 

[Calin]

At some 5000-6000 km until now. With new oil, the engine has a high pitched tone that suggest me a turbocharger on high The engine sound is more heartening, it purrs more round.
and I drive in areas with dust in the air some times, so I choose to be on the right side. Anyway, I might try a oil change schedule a bit longer (7500 km)

Calin

 

[CtK]

i get it changed whenever my Bimmer tells me to

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Lazee
if:

- most of your trips are less then 4 miles
- it's below freezing where you are and you make short trips (<10 miles)
- your engine is at low speed most of the times (traffic)
- you are towing stuff/ have heavy stuff in car
- you drive through dusty places

then you are supposed to change the oil AND filter every 3000 miles or 3 months (whichever comes first).

Else change every 7500 miles or 12 months (whichever is first) and change the filter at every OTHER oil change.

That's the industry recommended way.

Unless you live in Montana or Alaska or something, most people fit into the first rule...

NO!

NO NO NO!

There is NOBODY, no manufacturer that recommends doing this, and if they do they are an idiot.

If your oil filter becomes saturated, it bypasses. FILTERED OLD OIL IS BETTER THAN UNFILTERED "NEW" OIL in this scenario. Obviously, you wouldn't want to just replace your oil filter, either. They need to be changed together.

Most oil filters are quite small for the ammount of oil they are filtering, and are designed to be changed every time you change the oil.

They're starting to come out with larger capacity filters to help with the extended oil drains that modern engines and lubricants are achieving.

Your filtration system is more important than the oil you use. Think about it; any and [/b]all[/b] oil is rendered useless if it has solid particles in it.

Your air filter is the first line of defense. Anything that gets passed it will end up in your oil. From there, it's your oil filters job.

That's why I don't recommend K&amp;N air filters if you care about the longevity of your engine. Sure, they flow well.. but due to the laws of physics, that also means they flow more dirt. Stock paper filters are probably about as good as you can get. AMSOil dual-layer foam filters may or not be better at both filtration and air flow. Of course, they claim they are.. but then again, so does K&amp;N. I'd love to see some real tests. Paper filters need to be changed more often because as the "pores" get filled with dirt, the air flow is reduced drastically.

Anyway.. I recommend getting the cheapest name brand oil you feel comfortable with, and a quality oil filter like Mobil1 filters and changing your oil every ~3500 miles.

Most people misdiagnose their driving habbits. Some people might think that a short trip to the store down the street would be light duty, but it is not. Short trips are very hard on your oil because it never reaches operating temperature long enough to boil off impurities. Impurities that accumulate especially fast during engine warmup.

If you are a "spirited" driver, live in a dusty, cold or hot area, take many short trips, infrequently drive, do more than ~20% of your driving in the city, your engine is beginning to wear out/has a lot of miles on it, etc.. you need to be using the "Severe" service schedule for your automobile.

Just about the only thing that can be considered light duty is extended freeway driving. In that case, assuming your engine's internal seals aren't leaking like sieves, you can extend your drain interval by a few thousand miles.

 

[Sundog]

10-20K miles between oil changes

 

[jlee]

Mileage..

 

[Chaotic42]

3000 miles or 4 months.

Once I start school, it will definitely be every 3000 miles.

 

[Linflas]

Every 3000 miles +/- 500 miles.

 

[FoBoT]

i take it to an oil change place/wal-mart fairly close to what the sticker says, which is 3k or 3 months

sure it might be overkill, but my 1990 mazda has never had an engine problem after 14 years and 177k miles , so oh well

 

[phray]

Originally posted by: Isshinryu
Every 3000.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: poopaskoopa

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: welst10

Originally posted by: poopaskoopa
6000~7000 miles. The owner's manual says to do it every 7,500 miles. 2000 Honda Prelude.

that's normal condition schedule. If you use conventional oil, that's a little too long. Few ppl recommend >5000 on conventional oil.

Especially on an engine like his. 7800 rpm and dirty oil don't mix

Well, I don't drive hard, if that makes any difference. When I hear VTEC, I hear $$$ draining from my pocket... I have no idea if synthetic oil lasts longer, but that's what I use(Mobil 1 5w-30, cuz I can get 5qts for about $23 at Wal-Mart :thumbsup. I've been adding oil after 3000 ~ 4000 miles, because this engine burns oil, which I've read is normal for the Preludes' engine.

And you still bought a 'lude?

Funny, my engine hardly uses any oil if I don't drive "hard". But eh, where's the fun in that?

 

[Kelemvor]

Every 6700 miles or so. My car has an Oil Life Monitor that records RPMs, Speed, etc and calculates how long the oil should last for. It's never done me wrong.

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Lazee
if:

- most of your trips are less then 4 miles
- it's below freezing where you are and you make short trips (<10 miles)
- your engine is at low speed most of the times (traffic)
- you are towing stuff/ have heavy stuff in car
- you drive through dusty places

then you are supposed to change the oil AND filter every 3000 miles or 3 months (whichever comes first).

Else change every 7500 miles or 12 months (whichever is first) and change the filter at every OTHER oil change.

That's the industry recommended way.

Unless you live in Montana or Alaska or something, most people fit into the first rule...

NO!

NO NO NO!

There is NOBODY, no manufacturer that recommends doing this, and if they do they are an idiot.

If your oil filter becomes saturated, it bypasses. FILTERED OLD OIL IS BETTER THAN UNFILTERED "NEW" OIL in this scenario. Obviously, you wouldn't want to just replace your oil filter, either. They need to be changed together.

Most oil filters are quite small for the ammount of oil they are filtering, and are designed to be changed every time you change the oil.

They're starting to come out with larger capacity filters to help with the extended oil drains that modern engines and lubricants are achieving.

Your filtration system is more important than the oil you use. Think about it; any and [/b]all[/b] oil is rendered useless if it has solid particles in it.

Your air filter is the first line of defense. Anything that gets passed it will end up in your oil. From there, it's your oil filters job.

That's why I don't recommend K&amp;N air filters if you care about the longevity of your engine. Sure, they flow well.. but due to the laws of physics, that also means they flow more dirt. Stock paper filters are probably about as good as you can get. AMSOil dual-layer foam filters may or not be better at both filtration and air flow. Of course, they claim they are.. but then again, so does K&amp;N. I'd love to see some real tests. Paper filters need to be changed more often because as the "pores" get filled with dirt, the air flow is reduced drastically.

Anyway.. I recommend getting the cheapest name brand oil you feel comfortable with, and a quality oil filter like Mobil1 filters and changing your oil every ~3500 miles.

Most people misdiagnose their driving habbits. Some people might think that a short trip to the store down the street would be light duty, but it is not. Short trips are very hard on your oil because it never reaches operating temperature long enough to boil off impurities. Impurities that accumulate especially fast during engine warmup.

If you are a "spirited" driver, live in a dusty, cold or hot area, take many short trips, infrequently drive, do more than ~20% of your driving in the city, your engine is beginning to wear out/has a lot of miles on it, etc.. you need to be using the "Severe" service schedule for your automobile.

Just about the only thing that can be considered light duty is extended freeway driving. In that case, assuming your engine's internal seals aren't leaking like sieves, you can extend your drain interval by a few thousand miles.

Ok, in all honesty I mostly agree with you. However, that's why I emphasized that it was the INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED WAY.

I personally think oil and filter should be change around every 5000 miles unless under extreme conditions (desert, lots of stop-and-go, cold, etc etc). But what I quoted was the way GM recommended for years. They might have changed their standards recently which means what I posted is probably out of date, but I stopped keeping track a long time ago and change mine every 4-5K.

But what I posted was actually the way it's been printed in car manuals and stuff by GM. Hopefully it's been changed and updated though.

 

[dirtboy]

Manufacturer requires Mobil 1 0W40 every 7,000 miles. The car has an oil sensor, so depending on my driving habits it can be longer or shorter.

 

[fs5]

nissan recommends every 3750
I go every 3k because I'm used to it and with a nissan oem oil filter + mobil 1 full syn.

 

[FiLeZz]

8,000 Miles.
Car only takes mobile one synthetic oil

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: fivespeed5
nissan recommends every 3750
I go every 3k because I'm used to it and with a nissan oem oil filter + mobil 1 full syn.

imo, every 3,000 miles on mobil 1 syn is too often. If i were to change every 3,000 miles, thats like every month and a half.

I change every 5,000-10,000 depending on what car I am servicing. I use german castrol 0w30, and mobil 1 in 10w30, 0w40, 5w30. For dino, I use Chevron/TexacoHavoline.

 

[welst10]

Originally posted by: fivespeed5
nissan recommends every 3750
I go every 3k because I'm used to it and with a nissan oem oil filter + mobil 1 full syn.

3000 with mobil 1 seems like overkill. Some ppl go as long as 15K on mobil 1.

 

[UTmtnbiker]

04 Acura TSX. First 10,000 miles, I changed the oil 3 times (3,000; 7,500; 11,000 - close enough to 10,000). Now I'm going with the recommended schedule which is an incredible 10,000 miles for normal (which means me) driving conditions.

EDIT: I use whatever the Acura dealer uses as they have been servicing my car for free up till now....probably an OEM Honda Civic filter with 5W30 (factory recommendation) normal, not synthetic, oil.

 

[HiTek21]

Before or when it reaches 3000 miles. I usually get to it before it hits 3000

 

[welst10]

Originally posted by: UTmtnbiker
04 Acura TSX. First 10,000 miles, I changed the oil 3 times (3,000; 7,500; 11,000 - close enough to 10,000). Now I'm going with the recommended schedule which is an incredible 10,000 miles for normal (which means me) driving conditions.

EDIT: I use whatever the Acura dealer uses as they have been servicing my car for free up till now....probably an OEM Honda Civic filter with 5W30 (factory recommendation) normal, not synthetic, oil.

I thought Acura/Honda recommends 5W20 since 2001. My 03 Acura CL recommends 5W20. BTW, 10K on conventional oil is too long.