Shinj1EVA

I have to drive up north (i live in southern california, taking a trip up to SF/Bay Area). I'm at about 4000 miles, should I just go in and get an oil change before I leave? Or just wait till the MID tells me I have to get an oil change? I know it's not THAT far of a drive, but I want to take care of my car as best as possible

leo221

don't waste money and resorces please.

Aspector Gadget

Whats the MID say? What % oil life?

JoganJani

Wait for MID to become <10% and then change it.

Shinj1EVA

leo, i don't see how i'm waisting money or resources, i'm simply asking if it's a necessary precaution.

And MID still displays 40% for oil life, so I guess i'll just be taking that trip w/out the oil change Thanks for the responses.

grktl

Mine was at 30% and i was at the dealer for other issues, and
they told me they will change the oil for free for me as they didn't
want me wasting another day at the dealership. I was under 4000 miles.

bfogarty

Well I have to say there are a lot of folks that say to wait and wait and wait. I have 5 vehcles and I change the oil on all of them. Two use synthetic oil and 3 use regular oil. The longest I ever go before changing oil is about 4,000 miles or a little more. The interesting thing is that at about 3,000 miles the oil when it is drained still looks pretty good. When you get to 4,000-4,500 miles the stuff coming out appears to be filled with a lot of waste. Clean oil--you can take a bath in. Oil at 3,000 miles-maybe a bird bath-at 4,000 miles plus we are talking serious carcinogens. Whether or not the look and feel of the oil has any connection with how it works is beyond me-but I will never wait 7,500 to do an oil change based on what I have seen.

Aspector Gadget

Good choice, oil is in short supply anyway. (I believe thats what leo meant by wasting resources, changing oil when its not needed)

Shinj1EVA

Either way, I was planning on using amsoil which is pure synthetic. But I can see where he's comin from, just didn't need to express it the way he did.

Road Rage

Unless your change interval is longer than the others, you are not saving anything but fuel running Amsoil - the PAO's in its base stock are petro-sourced. It is a quality synoil though, and can easily go a MiD cycle with complete confidence.

I personally would not allow my car to go past 5K miles with the mineral oils commonly available, unless they were all highway miles. They start to get iffy after that point, and it is not worth thre risk to me to save a few sheckels.

The only exception is the Motorcraft 10w30, which is essentially the same as Amsoil XL-7500 for 1/4 the price! It is the best deal out there. Next best bets in minoil are Havoline and Pennzoil - Havoline is what used to be ChevronSupreme oil, which is highly respected for its quality. Pennzoil is available in 5w20 for the warranty-nervous folks out there.

leo221

bfogarty

Please note I said that you could take a bath in CLEAN motor oil. The label is very specific it says USED motor oil. As I noted in my post used motor oil is filled with carcinogens.

dsc888

RR,

You are truly a walking lube God! What is your opinion of Motorcraft Synblend 5w20? It seems pretty reasonably priced at the local Walmart and I many consider using it at my next oil change. Sorry for the hijack guys.

dsc888