Its a 05 TL currently at 82xxx miles....I tend to give it castrol synthetic engine oil (gold bottle), however almost 2 years ago I moved to somewhere that is only 2.5 miles away from my office and since i do a lot of things locally therefore everything is pretty much within just 2~3 miles. So I average 3000 miles every 6 month....(and 15~17mpg). MID reads 60% right before it 3000 miles interval, i usually change it at 50%. My question is base on my driving habit, should I stick with synthetic, is it ok to go back to conventional or it actually doesn't matter!

 

It probably doesn't matter, but to be honest why even bother changing? The price difference is minimal so might as well use the good stuff.

 

I don't think you can go back to regular when she went to synthetic I think it can mess up your sales and make them leak?..

you got a good car use good oil & premium gas...

 

You can go back and forth as you wish. That used to be what people said long time ago, but it was based on old formulas. As far as I know you can use whatever you want when you want now.

 

Doesn't matter.

 

Thanks guys. I thought about it because I feel like I am wasting the synthetic due to my driving habit. I don't get to drive it enthusiastically very often so i feel really bad for both the car and the oil!

 

As it was already said you can go back and forth as many times as you want.

Syn is definitely not needed especially in your case but keep in mind extended drain intervals are not the only advantage synthetic has over regular oil.

 

I used to use castrol syntec, now I just use castrol gtx, the $17 Walmart gallon, it doesn't matter, the book asks for conventional so that's why I switched back to the cheap stuff

 

Here's some information that may be helpful:

http://www.synthetic-oil-technology.info

You can switch back and forth between the 2 types and even mix them if you wanted. I use synthetic for peace of mind- not absolutely needed, but I feel it contributes to longevity of the engine

 

Instead of changing the oil every 6 months with conventional and just 3000 miles on the odometer and 50% on MID, why not change oil annually with a good synthetic?. A 3000 OCI with synthetic (or even conventional oil) sounds extreme for modern oils. If in doubt, run a blackstone analysis on your 6 month old oil and I bet there will be plenty of life left in it.

I have a little longer commute, and usually change my oil every 9-10 months.

 

I agree- if 6000 miles was 1 year of driving, I'd do the oil change just once a year, otherwise it's a waste of resources and money. Use a good quality synthetic once a year and be done with it.

 

That's true, but however the color of the oil is actually pretty dark consider it has only been driven for 3000 miles. I remember it was gold and clear when it's fresh and new, that's why I decide to change at 50%. Is it because I drive a lot of locals that's why it turns dark so quickly?

 

because of the short distances you are driving I would absolutely use synthetic oil. when driving just 2-3 miles at a time the oil never really heats up and doesn't evaporate all the moisture out of the crankcase.

make sure you take the car out for a good 10-15 miles drive once a week. get that oil hot!

 

and yes that's why the oil looks so dark after so few miles.

 

Use synthetic blend then

 

I change my Redline oil well before 3,000 which is a year or so. I take a company vehicle to work which is 45 miles each way. I drive 1.3 miles to pick up the company vehicle. Every couple weeks if I haven't driven it for a good distance on the weekend, I'll drive the TL instead of the company vehicle to burn off contaminates, charge the battery, etc. I drive it such short distances and so easy now I'm having problems with my brakes squeaking because they never get hot enough to lay down a transfer layer.

Still though, it's nice to know the car is always ready to go if I want to make a hard canyon run. Once I do the timing belt I'm going to take it for a good run through the canyon to really heat things up.

To get the core at full temp where everything is heat soaked, you need a 20-30 minute drive. The water may hit full temp in 5 minutes but everything else is not stabilized.