How Often Do You Change Your Oil?

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Old 06-10-2007, 12:20 PM
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How Often Do You Change Your Oil?

Wondering what kind of oil you run and how often you change it. The local Acura stealership said if you run full synthetic you can go 7500 miles between changes but they'd recommend changing it at 5500 miles. My car has always had full synthetic (changed by my dad's cousin's shop as it's $39.99 including tire rotation & balancing vs $75 at the Acura dealership).
Old 06-10-2007, 02:54 PM
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I change with full synthetic every 5K miles.
Old 06-10-2007, 03:20 PM
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Mobil 1 full synthetic with K&N oil filter, every 3000
Old 06-10-2007, 04:40 PM
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Originally Posted by gc86
Mobil 1 full synthetic with K&N oil filter, every 3000
Ouch.. why so often?

Most people go 5k-7.5k with fully synthetic. Even in most forced induction applications 3k would be overkill.
Old 06-10-2007, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by TheWeez
Wondering what kind of oil you run and how often you change it. The local Acura stealership said if you run full synthetic you can go 7500 miles between changes but they'd recommend changing it at 5500 miles. My car has always had full synthetic (changed by my dad's cousin's shop as it's $39.99 including tire rotation & balancing vs $75 at the Acura dealership).
regular dino oil from Acura every 5K miles ( do all highway driving )
Old 06-10-2007, 05:47 PM
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im inconsistant with my oil. last owner said they used royal purple. now im using synthetic blend, expect to use it for 4.5k then i dunno whats next. if its dino, then it will be maxlife for 4k. if its gonna be full syn then im thinking 7.5k with mobil 1 filter.

remember that service intervals in the manual is based using dino oil from acura.
Old 06-10-2007, 06:48 PM
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just changed my oil today and went 5k car feels good used synthetic oil...but stupid stearlership forgot to use the oil i bought which i purposly said twice is in the trunk and use it...now i see a receipt for regular oil...asked the service lady why am i getting charged and she didnt know anything....was like forget it...saw the service guy and got a free oil change...so all good in the end but man sometimes....

i jus feel like luda.....

slapping a fool today.....slap slap....
Old 06-10-2007, 07:46 PM
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I use Mobil-1 Extended (15,000 miles) and Mobil 1 filter- I still change the oil every 3,000 miles. My CL has 160,000 miles and runs great (knock on wood).

My family usually keeps our cars till around 300K and I am convinced we get suchgood use from our cars because of excellent maintainence. As a family, we use 93 or 94 octane gasoline from mobil, exxon, sunoco, BP in all our cars. We clean the fuel systems regularly and with the CL change the tranmission fluid regularly as well. While it adds a couple hundred dollars to the bill each year, it saves us tons in repair costs like that of a poorly maintained vehicle and we get to keep cars we like.

I know it's probably over kill but its been tested true in my family. Just my
Old 06-10-2007, 08:22 PM
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Old 06-10-2007, 08:42 PM
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What ever full Synthetic is on sale with a Purolator filter one a year or 7500 miles.
Old 06-10-2007, 08:57 PM
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every 10-15k miles (depending on the type of driving that was done on the oil)
Old 06-10-2007, 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by STypeAcura
I use Mobil-1 Extended (15,000 miles) and Mobil 1 filter- I still change the oil every 3,000 miles. My CL has 160,000 miles and runs great (knock on wood).

My family usually keeps our cars till around 300K and I am convinced we get suchgood use from our cars because of excellent maintainence. As a family, we use 93 or 94 octane gasoline from mobil, exxon, sunoco, BP in all our cars. We clean the fuel systems regularly and with the CL change the tranmission fluid regularly as well. While it adds a couple hundred dollars to the bill each year, it saves us tons in repair costs like that of a poorly maintained vehicle and we get to keep cars we like.

I know it's probably over kill but its been tested true in my family. Just my
First off, its good to hear that atleast you take care of your cars, thats much better than people who try running E85 in their CL.

Now just a little constructive critism.

Changing synthetic oils at 3,000 miles is pointless, this does nothing to prolong the logevity of the car for our Honda engine. If you were driving a Nissan/Infiniti with the VQ engine, they are known to eat through synthetic oil much quicker. Honestly, you are really wasting your money changing your oil at 3K, especially, ESPECIALLY since you are paying for the premium Mobil 1 15k synthetic oil.

As for gas, thats another waste of money. You say you run 93 or 94 octane in all your families cars. If the car isn't a high compression engine like the CL-S, then you and your family is just tossing money at Big Oil.

Once again, I commend you and your family for caring for your vehicles, but honestly I have many cars that have last over 200K miles without spending the extra money as you have.

As for my CL-S, its an 01 and has 125K on it. I will put it up against any car with 30k on it and that my CL-S runs as smooth and is as squeek free as any other car on the road.
Old 06-10-2007, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by pits200
First off, its good to hear that atleast you take care of your cars, thats much better than people who try running E85 in their CL.

Now just a little constructive critism.

Changing synthetic oils at 3,000 miles is pointless, this does nothing to prolong the logevity of the car for our Honda engine. If you were driving a Nissan/Infiniti with the VQ engine, they are known to eat through synthetic oil much quicker. Honestly, you are really wasting your money changing your oil at 3K, especially, ESPECIALLY since you are paying for the premium Mobil 1 15k synthetic oil.

As for gas, thats another waste of money. You say you run 93 or 94 octane in all your families cars. If the car isn't a high compression engine like the CL-S, then you and your family is just tossing money at Big Oil.

Once again, I commend you and your family for caring for your vehicles, but honestly I have many cars that have last over 200K miles without spending the extra money as you have.

As for my CL-S, its an 01 and has 125K on it. I will put it up against any car with 30k on it and that my CL-S runs as smooth and is as squeek free as any other car on the road.

Much appreciated advice. That's why I love this forum. I honestly don't know much about engines and what not to be honest, but you have made some good points and I will do my research.
Old 06-10-2007, 11:40 PM
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Old 06-11-2007, 12:09 AM
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Mobil 1 5-30 every 10,000 miles.
Old 06-11-2007, 12:22 AM
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Originally Posted by M.J.H.
I change with full synthetic every 5K miles.
Old 06-11-2007, 12:27 AM
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Mobil clean 5000, every 5000-5500 miles I change my oil!!
Old 06-11-2007, 12:59 AM
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If you have a few minutes check out this link to read about synth oils. Long story short, Mobil 1 at 10k miles is protecting your engine better than the preferred standard oil at 3k.
Old 06-11-2007, 11:08 AM
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Interesting. But it is hopefully common knowledge by now that synthetics are superior to conventional motor oils.
Old 06-11-2007, 11:41 AM
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Originally Posted by pits200
Interesting. But it is hopefully common knowledge by now that synthetics are superior to conventional motor oils.
I should have directed my post more specifically... I just meant that you don't really need to change synthetic every 3k. It doesnt hurt tho (except for the old wallet!)
Old 06-11-2007, 12:48 PM
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just do it like once or twice a week and you dont ever have to worry about anything, thats what I do. Sometimes even three times a week...
Old 06-11-2007, 12:51 PM
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I use to get mine done weekly when I got free changes. Now I realize how wasteful that is. Help kill the enviroment for your children!
Old 06-11-2007, 12:58 PM
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I'm not going to have little monsters. Do the synthetic a couple times a week, thats not killing the enviroment...besides, they don't just dump the used oil in the rivers or lakes...
Old 06-11-2007, 01:10 PM
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7500 miles with 5w-20 dino oil... Just like the factory service schedule recommends:

http://john-perry.com/acurazine/docu...aintenance.pdf

I don't know about you, but I think the engineers at Acura know alot more about our engines then we do

Originally Posted by pits200
Changing synthetic oils at 3,000 miles is pointless.


That's one of the reason to use synth oil... longer drain intervals. Heck, some of the synths are up to 15K miles drain schedules now [1]. Why bother buying a product and not using it to it's intended limit... It's like buying a footlong sandwich and throwing half of it away...

But if they don't have anything better to do with their money, I'm ok with it... it's their money...

I always laugh when I read forsale ads that have "mobil 1 oil changes every 3K miles"...

I've used synth oils before (mobil 1), but I did it because I was driving 65 miles to work (each way)... I needed the extra long drain interval back then (9-10K mile oil changes).


[1] http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...ance_FAQs.aspx
Old 06-11-2007, 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted by nbennettksu
[COLOR=Red]I'm not going to have little monsters.[/COLOR=Red]
Good, we don't need any more idiots that waste their money for no reason. Our government already has plenty of idiots wasting money.

Originally Posted by nbennettksu
Do the synthetic a couple times a week, thats not killing the environment...besides, they don't just dump the used oil in the rivers or lakes...
Sure they don't dump it in the rivers but they do pollute the air while making it and disposing of it. You get ZERO benefit from changing your oil that often.
Old 06-11-2007, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by AcUrAge703
just changed my oil today and went 5k car feels good used synthetic oil...but stupid stearlership forgot to use the oil i bought which i purposly said twice is in the trunk and use it...now i see a receipt for regular oil
correct me if i'm wrong, but that could seriously damage your engine (synthetic, dino, synthetic).
Old 06-11-2007, 02:58 PM
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Originally Posted by nbennettksu
just do it like once or twice a week and you dont ever have to worry about anything, thats what I do. Sometimes even three times a week...
why do you constantly post stupid comments. just answer the questions with a smart answer and move on.
Old 06-11-2007, 03:38 PM
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Originally Posted by andre
correct me if i'm wrong, but that could seriously damage your engine (synthetic, dino, synthetic).
Ya, it is recommended that once you go synthetic that you should not switch back because the seals can get damaged.

But I am pretty sure that if you don't switch back for prolonged use, you shouldn't run into much of a problem.

People put too much emphasis on oil. Don't get me wrong, I know it is an important part of motor longevity. But the only reason I went synthetic was not because it is better for the engine, but because I travel 4k miles per month and didn't want to have to change my oil every 4 weeks. Kind of like what GreenMonster was saying, its away of saving time by going synthetic, not because it works so much better.


Whether it be dino oil or synthetic, if you change your oil during the intervals that the oil recommends, if your engine fails, I highly doubt it will be the result of the oil that you used.
Old 06-11-2007, 03:56 PM
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red text is sarcasm...
Old 06-11-2007, 06:21 PM
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Mobil 1 5w30 EP with Mobil 1 EP oil filter, change my oil once a year.
The millage happens to be 6000-7000 K miles... as you can see I don't drive much. You have to change oil at least once a year. Had I driven more miles, I'd go for 10K miles/1 year.
common people, even manual recommends 7.5K/1 year with the regular oil, if you are using synthetics and getting less than that, its a pure waste of money.
Old 06-11-2007, 06:58 PM
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Depends on where you live too, meaning harsh climate or not. I live in Arizona where it feels weird if it's under 100° out, so in my case I have it changed every 4.5k miles (Mobil 1) just because of the constant intense heat. Same would go for a climate that's always very cold. Somewhere in between I can't see why you couldn't push it a little more, say to 6-7k miles.
Old 06-11-2007, 08:09 PM
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Originally Posted by nbennettksu
red text is sarcasm...
if we wanted sarcasm we would watch comedy central.
Old 06-11-2007, 08:40 PM
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Originally Posted by nbennettksu
just do it like once or twice a week and you dont ever have to worry about anything, thats what I do. Sometimes even three times a week...

Damn that's funny. LMAO! Phew! I do mines about every 5 - 5500. Mobil-1 and Fram filter.
Old 06-11-2007, 11:47 PM
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Originally Posted by DBLOCK1226
if we wanted sarcasm we would watch comedy central.
:gheyfight:
Old 06-12-2007, 12:24 AM
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for the switching back and forth: oil is oil. prev owner used so called royal purple, then i used syn blend and my next oil will be full syn or high mileage dino oil. high mileage oils protects your seals so that answers that argument.
Old 06-12-2007, 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by aznboi2424
for the switching back and forth: oil is oil. prev owner used so called royal purple, then i used syn blend and my next oil will be full syn or high mileage dino oil. high mileage oils protects your seals so that answers that argument.
You are right that all synthetic oils are synthetic oils and they will protect your seals fine.

But the question is if you switch back and forth from regular oil to synthetic oil regularaly. And yes that will cause a faster wear on the seals if you do this.
Old 06-12-2007, 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by GreenMonster
7500 miles with 5w-20 dino oil... Just like the factory service schedule recommends:

http://john-perry.com/acurazine/docu...aintenance.pdf

I don't know about you, but I think the engineers at Acura know alot more about our engines then we do

[1] http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...ance_FAQs.aspx
I used to fall for the every 2500-3K miles also. Since going to 7.5 I have noticed absolutely no dropoff in performance nor has oil been much dirtier coming out.

Big Oil putting out an urban myth spin to jack up profits? No, those folks wouldn't lie or manipulate would they?
Old 06-12-2007, 02:56 PM
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Hi - new member here. Good forum. We have a 2003 3.2 CL Type S.

A previous post made the point that Acura engineers know more about our engines than we do, and that's surely true. Still, it seems odd is that the Acura maintenance schedule only advises changing the oil filter every other oil change - in other words, every 15,000 miles.

I'll be changing my filter every time.
Old 06-13-2007, 01:41 AM
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Originally Posted by pits200
You are right that all synthetic oils are synthetic oils and they will protect your seals fine.

But the question is if you switch back and forth from regular oil to synthetic oil regularaly. And yes that will cause a faster wear on the seals if you do this.
i wasnt talking about syn oil only. i was saying oil is oil. as in syn oil is dino oil is syn oil. syn oil, to me is only good for longer intervals. nothing more. and ill happily use maxlife every 4k.

and yes, do change your filter everytime you change your oil. for some reason, they say change the filter every other oil change and most of the owners manuals.
Old 06-13-2007, 12:00 PM
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I use conventional oil and change every 3k miles or 3 months. My mechanic tells me to use the dealer filter because it keeps some oil in the engine after you turn off the car so when you start it next time its a much smoother start. Any truth about this? BTW my mechanic doesnt work for Acura...


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