I don't wanna lay under my truck every other month for oil changes. Synthetic oil far outways non-synthetic oil. Synthetic is superior in all driving conditions. At roughly $3.00 more a quart and what an engine costs do you really think your $18 savings is worth it? Oil is pretty thick at 10 degrees until it warms up. Synthetic isn't. How many people today actually stick to changing their oil that often and let their engines warm up when it is cold? I maintain 6 vehicles. 10 degrees outside and my kids run out, start their engines and off they go. Regular oil probably isn't even getting to the rockers yet when they leave the driveway.

 

The BMW thing, yes its true, they have a set meter than runs green to yellow to red. I had one. If you look at the older BMW's, which had the same system and ran conventional oil, they are all falling apart. WHy you ask? Oil related problems, siezed oil pumps, clogged pickups and channels. So BMW switched over to synthtetic to remedy the clogged pickups and channels. But the fact remains, BMW doesn't make oil. BMW makes automobiles. Sure, they test stuff, but do you think the oil gets the attention the rest of the car gets from an auto manufacturer? It doens't. Would you go to the proctologist for a wart on your foot? (I hope not)

I seriously doubt that Mobil 1 came out with that kind of milage in the 60's or 70's. I have never heard such, and won't believe it until I see proof of such.

The recommended oil change interval for the corvette is set on the indicator light just like all other GM products. It will start at about 5000 miles and over time go down to 2000 miles. Its a faulted system, it needs redesign.

3000 miles on conventional oil is all you're gonna get before the oil starts to break down. In case you didn't know, oil breaks down into grease (thats the sludge) The grease over time builds up in the pan, heads, oil channels and pickup tube and causes oil related failures in engines prematurely in their lifespans. Thats a fact. Synthetic oil is merely a better oil, designed to be changed at the same milage. Synthetics don't break down into grease, they break down and loose their lubricity factor. This in turn, makes synthetic a poor lubricant when broken down. Thats another factor in premature engine death syndrome.

I don't really think what the oil in a propane car or truck looks like is relevant. I have only ever seen one. Its not a mainstream powerplant, nor will it ever be, so it carries no weight in the discussion of the longetevity of oil.

I know amsoil makes oil. Delorean also made cars. It wasn't a gimmic either, it ended up a failure. Pennzoil has been around for something like 80 years. Lets just say, 50 years longer than amsoil. Thats alot of time for R&D. And they still say, 3000 miles. Its hasn't changed because oil hasn't changed. Sure, there are more additives that make it work BETTER, but not LONGER. It still breaks down in the long run. Pennzoils business is oils, conventional and synthetics. They know what they are doing. Every 3000 miles

 

Some propane companies in S Jersey have converted their piston engines to run on propane. Been around at least 20 years. Sealed system and the oil doesn't get dirty like other engines.

From Mobils website:
If Mobil 1 Extended Performance is recommended for 15,000-mile intervals, what’s the maximum limit to which it can be pushed? In other words, if a driver goes an extra 1,000 miles or so, is he going to damage his engine?

Mobil 1 Extended Performance is recommended for up to 15,000-mile or one-year oil change intervals. However, if your vehicle manufacturer recommends an oil change interval beyond 15,000 miles and Mobil 1 meets the performance level specified, you can be assured that Mobil 1 will go the distance.

 

Maybe yoy missed this part, with all the exclusions

Mobil 1 Extended Performance

Mobil 1 Extended Performance Motor Oil Limited 15,000 Mile or 1 year Warranty

This is a limited warranty covering the Mobil 1 Extended Performance lubricant you purchased. ExxonMobil warrants its lubricants to be free from defects and will replace any Mobil lubricant that is defective. For vehicles covered by a warranty, follow the vehicle's oil life sensor or the oil change interval recommended in your owner's manual. Follow your owner's manual if the vehicle is operated in any of the following severe services: racing or commercial applications including taxis, limousines, etc.; frequent towing or hauling; extremely dusty or dirty conditions; or under excessive idling conditions. If your vehicle has exceeded the duration of the manufacturer’s warranty, ExxonMobil warrants that the Mobil 1 Extended Performance lubricant you purchased will protect your vehicle’s critical engine parts from oil related failure for 15,000 miles or 1 year, which ever comes first. If not, provided the engine was serviceable at the time the oil was installed, Exxon Mobil will have your vehicle repaired and replace the oil at no cost to you.

ExxonMobil Lubricants & Petroleum Specialties Company, a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation ("ExxonMobil") provides this limited warranty to the purchasers who use Mobil 1 Extended Performance lubricant in their vehicle.

This limited warranty covers the Mobil 1 Extended Performance lubricant and critical engine parts lubricated by the lubricant.

This limited warranty is valid for 15,000 miles or 1 year from the date [purchase or installation], whichever is earlier.

If there is equipment failure related to the Mobil brand lubricant you purchased, ExxonMobil will repair any equipment damage directly caused by a defect or malfunction of a Mobil lubricant, provided that the lubricant was selected and maintained in accordance with specifications of the original equipment manufacturer or the written instructions (which includes product packaging) of ExxonMobil.
To file a claim under this Limited Warranty, you must:

Upon discovery of the damage (but not later than six (6) months from the date the damage occurred) call 1-800-AskMobil.

Allow an ExxonMobil representative to examine the equipment and maintenance records, if available, and provide proof of purchase to determine the extent of the damage and to confirm that a Mobil lubricant was the cause.

Allow an ExxonMobil representative to obtain an oil sample from the engine for oil analysis at no cost to you to assist in determining the cause of the equipment failure.

This Limited Warranty excludes:

Mobil lubricants used in mechanically deficient equipment as a result of abnormal operation; negligence; abuse; damage from casualty, shipment or accident; or, equipment modification done without written authorization from the OEM.

Situations where the OEM required lubricant standards do not match those stated by Mobil without written approval from ExxonMobil.

Mobil lubricants that have been used in conjunction with any other product or additive that has not been authorized for use by ExxonMobil.

Failure of equipment due to a pre-existing condition that is unrelated to the use of Mobil lubricants.

The remedy provided here will be your only recovery against ExxonMobil. You will not be able to recover incidental or consequential damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion of or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary from state to state.

http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/Mo..._Warranty.aspx

 

Amsoil came out with their synthetic in 1972.
I use Amsoil in all my vehicles. I currently do around 10,000 mile intervals, sometimes a little longer depending on everything else going on in my life.

Amsoil beats Mobil 1 SuperSyn:

http://www.performanceoiltechnology....lvs.Mobil1.htm

 

I'm not advocating the use of Mobil 1 or Amsoil. When asked what oil to use, I tell people to use what makes them comfortable. If asked what I use, then I tell them, I run Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic in everyone of my cars, my parents cars, and my sisters car. There is no substitute for frequent oil changes for engine longetevity purposes. I have run two 4.0 OHV explorer motors over 200K miles changing every 3000 with synthetic. I have one customer who has a 97 Yukon with 410,000! miles on the clock, running only synthetic blend every 3000 miles. (and yes, that is the factory motor)

I do not believe that at this time their is an oil available for an internal combustion engine that can handle more than 5000 miles before it drops below acceptable lubricating capacity. Sure, you won't see any sludge from 10K intervals with amsoil, simply because its synthetic and synthetic doesn't form sludge. But what could be happening (and in my opinion most likely is happening) is that when that synthetic amsoil begins breaking down just like every other oil breaks down, the lubricity goes down, causing premature wear to internal components. This can vary from light scarring on bearings and moving parts, to higher friction and heat levels on the cylinder walls. I have read all the facts about all the oils, I know this to be true. I have been changing oil and building performance cars since I was 15. I am now 26. That might not be as long as some of you old timers, but I am constantly educating myself to new products, and when amsoil came around, I showed him the door. I looked up their site though, and found some things I found interesting

That is a very misleading statement. Using their product may not invalidate your warranty, however, following their recommendation on intervals will in fact nullify and void your engines warranty. Thats a fact.

5. In the event of a claim against AMSOIL INC., the procedure below must be completely followed.

e. In cases where the OEM warranty is still in effect and that warranty coverage is denied based on the use of an AMSOIL lubricant, the customer shall immediately notify AMSOIL INC. and provide a written copy of the OEM warranty denial.

Wow, they even have it in the directions for warranty claims! What to do when the OEM denies your claim!

AMSOIL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT A WARRANTY CLAIM FOR ANY OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. Failure to follow all OEM recommendations for warranty coverage, including lubricants, maintenance, and drain intervals, prior to the first installation of AMSOIL lubricants.

So, unless you drive a BMW with a 15000 service recommendation, Amsoil requires that you drain at factory recommended intervals. Bet none of you Amsoil users ever read that. They will deny your claim because you followed their stated recommendations, but failed to follow the OEM. Kinda contradicts doesn't it?

http://www.amsoil.com/warranty.aspx

All the above was from that URL.

So all these "extended" life drain interval oils have exclusions that keep them from having to follow what their advertising says, because you don't follow the OEM, of course unless you own a BMW.

I know you will, but how do you argue against that?

 

I can't do changes every 3000 miles. I'd be spending too much of my life on my back and at the recycling center with 6 vehicles. I do major tune-ups every 75,000 miles. I try to replace certain parts before they break. It's important to me that my wife and kids have dependable transportation.

But synthetics are so much more superior when compared with conventional oils that I don't think the cost savings are worth it. Oil is the engines blood. I use synthetics in everything that I can although some motors/engines recommend against it.

 

Hold on a sec. I'm not sure we're on the same page here.

With that do you mean that synthetics aren't worth it, or that its not cost efficiant to change the oil at the 3000 mark?

I mean, for nice round even numbers here, if you changed your oil every 3000 miles for 100000 miles, at an average of say, $50 a pop, you'd spend $1650 on oil and filter. The average person drives about 20K miles a year I think, so it would take 5 years to hit 100K miles. ( I Know that some people do more than 20K a year, these are just nice even numbers) So that would be $330 a year. Now, should you overextend and loose your engine, whats that going to cost you. I don't really know an exact amount for a 4.6 or a 5.4, but I am going to guess somewhere in the 4-6K dollar range. It's like gambling with your transportation for pennies on the dollar. Even if you drove 50K miles a year, hit 100K in two years, you'd still only have a cost of $825 a year. Thats like 1/5th of the cost of a motor, and its spread out over a year, not all in one shabang!

I'm not going to tell you that a synthetic won't go 5K miles, becuase I know that it will. I see people do it everyday. But I also see their engines consuming oil long before others do. I know that my 5.4 sucks down about 1.75 quarts per 3k miles driven. Someone who owned it before me obviuosly didn't believe in the 3k mile oil change either, and now I am paying the price with consumption. I guess my whole point here is, that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Sure, maybe this vehicle it works for, and maybe the next too, but sooner or later its going to come back and bite you in the butt, and I'm just trying to save you a couple bucks in the future. But, if you have to run such extensive intervals, at least make sure every couple thousand miles your still fulla awl!

 

Bottom line, if you are going to change it every 3000 miles then buy the cheapest oil that meets the proper ratings/certs for the vehicle you are working on. Save yourself some cash. If you want to extend your intervals use a quality synthetic and change it at the recommended intervals provided by the oil manufacturer. If you want to see how far you can go between changes I would recommend oil analysis. It costs less than 20 bucks for piece of mind. I am going to add a bypass filter to my truck and I will extend my intervals and use oil analysis to check for problems.

 

If the OEM requirements were not followed PRIOR to the first installation of Amsoil not after!!!!

 

So, even though the manufacturer will void your warranty for installing their products and following their intervals, you'd still do it? You trust Amsoil that much that you give away your manufacturers engine warranty for parts and labor for XXX miles to amsoil, to cover it for 15K miles at a time? What planet did you say you were from?

You get what you pay for. I drain at 3000 with synthetic. Like I said, mine burns 1.75 quarts per 3K miles. Why on gods green earth would I buy cheap crap that barely meets the minimum for it? Minimum coverage for minimum budgets doesn't really fit this bill

 

I guess I should have made this more clear. Synthetic motor oil, not blends, are about $3.00 - $3.50 more a quart. To me the savings aren't worth using conventional oil. It only costs me about $18 more per oil change to go straight synthetic. My goal is to change the oil every 10,000 miles but I don't worry about it if I go 12,000 miles. This is based on an oil that Amsoil says can go 25,000 miles.

When I used conventional oil 35 years ago I had engine problems well below 100,000 miles. I haven't had those problems today with synthetics. "Knock on wood". But I'm also sure todays engines are much more dependable today because of technological changes that have been made over the years.

 

OK, I thought I had misunderstood that

 

Check the attitude young one. I have been doing this for at least 14 years more than you. What planet are you from?

The manufacturer is not going to void your warranty if you follow their (meaning the manufacturer!) instructions and they would have to prove that oil caused the failure which is very hard to prove. If you change to extended intervals during your warranty period and had a very rare oil caused failure Ford would still have to prove oil related damage and if Ford was successful at proving that Amsoil would cover it.
I have 82000 miles on my truck and do not care about Ford's warranty any longer. I am using the proven best oil out there and I will get a long life from my truck. No worries.

 

It's your money. Think of the mods you could by with it!