YACT: 13k oil change interval...

Rkonster

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2000
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The oil change interval for my car is 13k. This seems to be a little scary for me, even though I use Mobil1 synthetic. Someone recommended to me that I change it twice that interval? Is this too often? Will I be wasting money? I plan to keep my car for a long time, so would changing it at the 13k interval hurt, let's say 100k+ miles down the line?
 

OrganizedChaos

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Apr 21, 2002
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if its a new engine i'd change it at the first 3000 miles to get the new engine crap out of there. with the 5 doller a quart mobil1 you should be able to do 13k without any problems, but i would change the filter at least every 5k
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Half that interval is good.

Stick with that.

IMO, the varying ammount of driving conditions is too great to say "Change it at xxxx".

That's why everyone recommends 3,000 miles. Even in the worst possible conditions, most modern oils should be able to last 3,000 miles.

When it comes to a 15, 30 or more thousand dollar piece of machinery, you have to be a complete idiot to want to save money by not changing your oil. It is cheap insurance.

Remember, though.. your oil is only as good as your filtration system. Any and all oil is rendered useless if it has solid particles in it. The first line of defense is your air filter. A tight intake(meaning no leaks) is a must. The second line of defense is your oil filter. If it gets passed your air filter, it will end up in your oil. Just remember to change your air filter at the recommended intervals. This, combined with an above average oil filter and in your case, synthetic oil, is about as good as you can get without getting too fancy.

Stay away from K&N air filters if you want longevity. They do not filter better than stock paper filters.

With the Mobil1, you should be good for ~6,000 miles. Do some research and see if you can find a larger than stock oil filter that will fit your engine. OrganizedChaos's advice is sound, only if you can prove that your oil is lasting all the way until the 2nd filter change. If you decide on the 6k interval, the larger capacity filter will help, since a clogged filter is useless and permits the flow of unfiltered oil when it bypasses.

If you drive "spirited", take many short trips(less than 25 mins), live in an extremely hot, cold, or dusty environment, spend 80% of your time driving in the city/stop and go, regularly climb any long, steep grades that require a downshift, or anything else that can be deemed "Severe Service", you might want to consider a ~4000 mile interval. Seriously, you just can't change your oil enough, and without oil analysis there is just no way to tell. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Look in your manual. See if it has a "Severe Service" oil change interval recommendation, and unless you spend 80% or more of your time cruising the highways, start there.
 

Rkonster

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Feb 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
if its a new engine i'd change it at the first 3000 miles to get the new engine crap out of there. with the 5 doller a quart mobil1 you should be able to do 13k without any problems, but i would change the filter at least every 5k

I was planning on changing it at 1000 miles. I'm curious why car companies don't tell you to do this. They insist that my first servcie/oil change is only necessary at 13k.
 

Shelly21

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May 28, 2002
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My new dodge truck booklet says 3000k for harsh conditions, and 6000k for hardly driving it.
 

Sundog

Lifer
Nov 20, 2000
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Originally posted by: Eli
...and without oil analysis there is just no way to tell.


Exactly.....am at 18K right now on one vehicle. The 12 mo. oil/oil filter change is due in 2 weeks. Just got the analysis back from an oil pull 2 weeks ago....A-Okay.:)
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Rkonster
Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
if its a new engine i'd change it at the first 3000 miles to get the new engine crap out of there. with the 5 doller a quart mobil1 you should be able to do 13k without any problems, but i would change the filter at least every 5k

I was planning on changing it at 1000 miles. I'm curious why car companies don't tell you to do this. They insist that my first servcie/oil change is only necessary at 13k.
Yes, change it at 1,000 miles.

IMO, 3k is too long for break-in oil to be in there.
 

Eli

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Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Eli
...and without oil analysis there is just no way to tell.


Exactly.....am at 18K right now on one vehicle. The 12 mo. oil/oil filter change is due in 2 weeks. Just got the analysis back from an oil pull 2 weeks ago....A-Okay.:)
Nice.. what oil are you running and in what automobile?
Originally posted by: Shelly21
My new dodge truck booklet says 3000k for harsh conditions, and 6000k for hardly driving it.
Wow.

So when is it's first tuneup due, at 100,000,000? ;)

lol

I can guarentee you that it does not say to change the oil every 3,000 miles for harsh conditions and every 6,000 miles for "hardly driving it".

That is absolutely not what "Light Duty" means. I really wish they would be more clear on that issue. People think that taking short 10 minute trips to the store is "Light Duty" and the fact is that those short 10 minute trips are orders of magnitude harder on your oil than steady highway cruising.
 

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: Shelly21
My new dodge truck booklet says 3000k for harsh conditions, and 6000k for hardly driving it.
These intervals can be misleading too though - if you drive your vehicle in traffic, at low speeds, stop-and-go (i.e. if it is a commuter vehicle) or in temperatures significantly different from about 70, then you need to adhere to the short interval. As weird as it seems, low-speed driving in traffic is about as 'harsh' as conditions can get for your car.

Manufacturers advertise infrequent maintenance (remember all those ads for cars w/ 'first tune-up at 100K miles'?). Your car would last longer if after a the first couple of thousand miles you change basically every fluid it has in it. I'm not really sure why manufacturers don't recommend a first oil change after 1-2000 miles either though. I guess people are really resistant to having a breakin period on their new vehicle.
 

Sundog

Lifer
Nov 20, 2000
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Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Eli
...and without oil analysis there is just no way to tell.


Exactly.....am at 18K right now on one vehicle. The 12 mo. oil/oil filter change is due in 2 weeks. Just got the analysis back from an oil pull 2 weeks ago....A-Okay.:)
Nice.. what oil are you running and in what automobile?


AMSoil 0W-30 in both a Chevy Venture and a Honda Civic
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Eli
...and without oil analysis there is just no way to tell.


Exactly.....am at 18K right now on one vehicle. The 12 mo. oil/oil filter change is due in 2 weeks. Just got the analysis back from an oil pull 2 weeks ago....A-Okay.:)
Nice.. what oil are you running and in what automobile?


AMSoil 0W-30 in both a Chevy Venture and a Honda Civic
That's what I'm talkin' about. :beer::D

I doubt Mobil1 would've been so lucky.
 

Rkonster

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Feb 16, 2000
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The dealer charges me 75 bucks for each oil change...this is going to get expensive. Would I save that much by doing it myself? I apparently need 8 or so quarts of Mobil1 and a filter...
 

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: Rkonster
The dealer charges me 75 bucks for each oil change...this is going to get expensive. Would I save that much by doing it myself? I apparently need 8 or so quarts of Mobil1 and a filter...

If you have it done elsewhere, you may get a better price; and usually doing it yourself saves quite a bit. If you are decreasing the interval, maybe someone can recommend a less expensive synthetic for you?
 

FiLeZz

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: Rkonster
The oil change interval for my car is 13k. This seems to be a little scary for me, even though I use Mobil1 synthetic. Someone recommended to me that I change it twice that interval? Is this too often? Will I be wasting money? I plan to keep my car for a long time, so would changing it at the 13k interval hurt, let's say 100k+ miles down the line?

Mine is the same way with the same oil. I change it every 7k thats about 2 times a year.

But I think it would be ok at every 13k..
Just my 2 cents.
Also how many quarts of oil does yours take? Mine takes like 9 quarts.
Takes a longer amount of time to dirty up that much oil.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Rkonster
The dealer charges me 75 bucks for each oil change...this is going to get expensive. Would I save that much by doing it myself? I apparently need 8 or so quarts of Mobil1 and a filter...
75 bucks!?

Christ!

Wow, 8 quarts is a lot though. What are you driving? A big truck? lol

Well, I can guarentee you that it would be cheaper than 75$.

2 gallons of mobil1 is about 36$ at Wal-Mart. A good Mobil1 filter is ~10$.

So yeah, it will be cheaper than at the dealership.
 

Rkonster

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Rkonster
The dealer charges me 75 bucks for each oil change...this is going to get expensive. Would I save that much by doing it myself? I apparently need 8 or so quarts of Mobil1 and a filter...
75 bucks!?

Christ!

Wow, 8 quarts is a lot though. What are you driving? A big truck? lol

Well, I can guarentee you that it would be cheaper than 75$.

2 gallons of mobil1 is about 36$ at Wal-Mart. A good Mobil1 filter is ~10$.

So yeah, it will be cheaper than at the dealership.

Hmmm, so I might save 30 bucks or so each time.

Oh, and I drive an SUV.
 

Sundog

Lifer
Nov 20, 2000
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Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Eli
...and without oil analysis there is just no way to tell.


Exactly.....am at 18K right now on one vehicle. The 12 mo. oil/oil filter change is due in 2 weeks. Just got the analysis back from an oil pull 2 weeks ago....A-Okay.:)
Nice.. what oil are you running and in what automobile?


AMSoil 0W-30 in both a Chevy Venture and a Honda Civic
That's what I'm talkin' about. :beer::D

I doubt Mobil1 would've been so lucky.




And the beauty of oil analysis.....at one point (2 years ago) the oil analysis caught an intake manifold leak (very slight oil contamination) before any damage was done and before any sensors gave an error message. The dealer thought I was nuts when I brought it in, said there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. He tried to blame it on the long oil change interval until I wipped out the oil analysis that also had a compliation of all the past analysis' done and the intervals between changes with the results.

I must say it caused quite a stir within the ranks of the mechanics at the dealership. I had no fewer that 5 of them come out and talk with me when I went in to pick the vehicle up.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Rkonster
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Rkonster
The dealer charges me 75 bucks for each oil change...this is going to get expensive. Would I save that much by doing it myself? I apparently need 8 or so quarts of Mobil1 and a filter...
75 bucks!?

Christ!

Wow, 8 quarts is a lot though. What are you driving? A big truck? lol

Well, I can guarentee you that it would be cheaper than 75$.

2 gallons of mobil1 is about 36$ at Wal-Mart. A good Mobil1 filter is ~10$.

So yeah, it will be cheaper than at the dealership.

Hmmm, so I might save 30 bucks or so each time.

Oh, and I drive an SUV.
But wait though, this changes things a little.... I assumed you were driving a family sedan with your typical 4 quart sump...

What does your normal driving consist of? If you run 8 quarts of oil, and do a lot of highway traveling, 13k is much more reasonable, and you may be better off changing the filter every 6.5k...

Hmm...

If you really care about your automobile, I'd suggest running some oil analysis. It's pretty cheap, about 20 bucks a pop, but that way you know if your oil is OK.

You could have it tested at 6k and then at 12k. I would do that maybe twice. If your driving(and the results) are consistant, this will tell you if your practices are acceptable. Otherwise, it's a gamble and most reasonable people will err on the cautious side.
 

Kraeji

Platinum Member
Oct 21, 1999
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what's all this oil analysis stuff you guys are talking about? Links please.. :)
 

Rkonster

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2000
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Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Rkonster
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: Rkonster
The dealer charges me 75 bucks for each oil change...this is going to get expensive. Would I save that much by doing it myself? I apparently need 8 or so quarts of Mobil1 and a filter...
75 bucks!?

Christ!

Wow, 8 quarts is a lot though. What are you driving? A big truck? lol

Well, I can guarentee you that it would be cheaper than 75$.

2 gallons of mobil1 is about 36$ at Wal-Mart. A good Mobil1 filter is ~10$.

So yeah, it will be cheaper than at the dealership.

Hmmm, so I might save 30 bucks or so each time.

Oh, and I drive an SUV.
But wait though, this changes things a little.... I assumed you were driving a family sedan with your typical 4 quart sump...

What does your normal driving consist of? If you run 8 quarts of oil, and do a lot of highway traveling, 13k is much more reasonable, and you may be better off changing the filter every 6.5k...

Hmm...

If you really care about your automobile, I'd suggest running some oil analysis. It's pretty cheap, about 20 bucks a pop, but that way you know if your oil is OK.

You could have it tested at 6k and then at 12k. I would do that maybe twice. If your driving(and the results) are consistant, this will tell you if your practices are acceptable. Otherwise, it's a gamble and most reasonable people will err on the cautious side.

I drive about half city/half highway in mileage, though this equates to spending much more time in the city. Does the dealer do oil analysis? Or do I have to go to a special place?
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Kraeji
what's all this oil analysis stuff you guys are talking about? Links please.. :)

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
Originally posted by: Rkonster

I drive about half city/half highway in mileage, though this equates to spending much more time in the city. Does the dealer do oil analysis? Or do I have to go to a special place?
You don't have to take it anywhere, it's done through the mail.

You go like you're changing the oil, but instead of actually letting it all drain out, you let it drain for a second and then fill a bottle that they provide up with oil. Make sure the oil is warm and has recently been circulated through the engine when you do this.

You then top the oil off in the engine, mail it off and wait for your results.

Oil analysis is used religiously in mission critical applications. Like I said, it is the only way you can tell if your lubricant is still doing its job. At it's heart, it is a way for companies(and individuals) to save money by being informed.
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: Sundog
Originally posted by: Kraeji
what's all this oil analysis stuff you guys are talking about? Links please.. :)


Oil Analyzers
Is that who you use? Any advantage over Blackstone that you know of?

Cheaper maybe? Shrug. Haven't looked into it in a while.
 

ndee

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
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I think you americans are crazy about the oil changes. In the cars we have here in Europe, we change the oil about every 7000-10000miles, I don't know ANYONE who changes it frequently at 3000 miles.