Mobil 1 20,000 mile oil change.

[Coyote machine]

Owned and ran a foreign auto repair and sales shop for nearly ten years in VT. Sold it before the market crash of '87.
We sold Castrol 10-30 and Mann filters which were OEM for Saab and Volvo, Mercedes, etc. Only engine failures we saw were a result of overheating and head gaskets failures, etc. The technology of engines and oils available wasn't what it is today. And particularly the head gaskets and rubber based seals, rear main seals, etc., has improved tremendously since then. We had one Mobil ! customer with a Saab, and he ONLY changed the filter and never the oil in his car.
We did 3K oil and filter changes, and part of the benefit we saw at that time was getting a look at all systems on a car several times a year. We did a LOT of preventive maintenance on our customer's cars and they spent a LOT of money keeping them in good shape. Some families had three or four European vehicles and understood that owning AND maintaining them would be an expensive part of their budgets.
But we had very few roadside breakdowns as a result.
Today the only tool I need to get anything repaired I'm not going to fix myself is a telephone.
I completely agree that Mobil is looking to kick Amsoil's butt with their new guaranteed 20K oil change concept. Can it work, 20K miles? Yes, but if there is a leak, or some other problem brewing it is less likely to be found before trouble occurs.
My vehicles all have guarantees, are ALL Toyota's on lease, and one owned. I don't worry about oil changes in general. There is a sticker on the windshield, and I take it to the dealer and they put in what the vehicle spec requires. I drive away.
Oil can look very clean, but if you want to KNOW what is in it on a high mileage car, then do an oil analysis. Water or antifreeze/coolant in one's oil is a way toward a dead engine, and can easily be seen in an analysis.
I've been going to synthetic in my lawnmowers, tractor, chainsaws, etc. too. Filters can and will likely remain a weak point, especially if they jam and bypass the filter element, so IMHO a twice a year oil filter change would be warranted, even if one does NOT change the oil.

 

[Toyboy]

I started using Mobil 1 back in the late eighties. I'll change out every 9k but every 3k I'll change filters and add make up oil. I've followed this procedure for almost 30 years and I'll keep doing it. I really don't care what the book says.
One interesting point though. Back in 2000 when I changed to Mobil 1 in my new Mountaineer from factory oil (around 3500 mi), I did see on the mpg gauge, that I'd gained 1 mpg over the break in oil they were using at the time. I'd heard rumors about the mpg gain when switching to synthetic, but never actually experienced it until I had a vehicle that had a way to show it.

 

[California]

Something fundamental I haven't seen yet in this thread - Many new and recent cars claim conformance to the PZEV, Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle spec. If you get 100k miles to a set of spark plugs its probably a PZEV. And these are sealed up against dust getting into the intake and the oil far better compared to back when 3k mile oil changes were needed. Oil bath air cleaners, an open crankcase vent, even no oil filter at all were the norm back when that 3k spec was written. It's an obsolete spec today.

I use the specified 7k mile oil and filter change intervals on the 10 year old Ford Focus and could probably go the 10k miles specified for the same care in Europe. It has an inconspicuous PZEV sticker in the window. Still on the original spark plugs at 120k miles. Its had a few air cleaners per the intervals specified in the manual. I don't recall anything else done on the engine, possibly belts. Uses no oil between changes and over 30 mpg if it isn't pushed, maybe 28 mpg lifetime average. This is the least expensive care to maintain that I've ever owned.

 

[AGRIMAN]

To each man his own, but I use Rotella and the oil in my gas engine vehicles is changed every 3K miles and the diesel pick ups every 5K miles religiously.

 

[bcp]

To each man his own, but I use Rotella and the oil in my gas engine vehicles is changed every 3K miles and the diesel pick ups every 5K miles religiously.

Doesn't that really mess up your nice clothes?



Bruce

 

[newbury]

Doesn't that really mess up your nice clothes?



Bruce

View attachment 502565

GOOD ONE!!

 

[newbury]

Oil Life Monitors, new and old, use an algorithm to determine oil life remaining. Each manufacturer uses different loading factors, but there all pretty much the same.

It takes into account mileage, RPM, engine load, engine temperatures, engine hours and outside temperatures.

In theory, an engine could idle and not drive a mile and it still can recognize when the oil needs changed.

However, I adhere to the twice a year theory, more out of convenience, than anything else. I change in March or April and again in September or October.

And how does it take into account advances in oil formulation?

<snip>
Oil can look very clean, but if you want to KNOW what is in it on a high mileage car, then do an oil analysis. Water or antifreeze/coolant in one's oil is a way toward a dead engine, and can easily be seen in an analysis.<snip>

To each man his own, but I use Rotella and the oil in my gas engine vehicles is changed every 3K miles and the diesel pick ups every 5K miles religiously.

And I think that just like a religion much of this oil change is being done based on faith, not fact.

I may have missed it but I did not see any poster saying they ran a baseline on their vehicle using a UOA. When I was finding out how far I could go between changing 15 quarts I ended up going 18,000 miles.

My oil in my 7.3's always looked REAL black about 100 miles after a change, but that's partially due to how Ford stores about a quart in the HPOP which is difficult to change.

I don't trust "Oil Life monitors", they don't know how I drive or what environmental conditions I go through. I do trust UOA's.

 

[Copperhead]

Anyone that changes oil at 3K now a days is wasting money. I bought a new VW years ago and the owners manual said change oil every 5K but the European manual for the same car said change every 10K, same year same vehicle.

My Sprinter Diesel says every 10K and I think now went to 15K miles.

I purchased a new Ford but it was a lemon so during the court battle I vowed to not spend a dime on that vehicle and I didn't. The legal case took three years to settle and 60K miles later and I never changed the oil or filter. If it got low I would put some in. My last Kubota I didn't change the oil for 15 years and she ran just fine and when I sold it she was running great. I was a nice guy and did put in new oil and filter for the sale.
My point being everyone is **** about oil changes and there is no need. Amsoil has a 25K oil change oil that I've been using for 20 plus years and have never had an engine failure on the 10 plus regular and Commercial vehicles I own today and 10-15 vehicles that I have owned and sold. Wife's Jeep Commander had 150 miles on it only changes the oil 6 times before we traded it in. Had a Ford Arrowstar same thing traded it at 150K and even the dealer said it ran like new. this isn't stories from some guy who knows a guy, this is me see what happens with my own eyes. More stories just like mine......What Has Been The Longest (in miles) Without Changing The Oil? (brakes, tires) - Automotive -Sports cars, sedans, coupes, SUVs, trucks, motorcycles, tickets, dealers, repairs, gasoline, drivers... - Page 4 - City-Data Forum

I can think of many ways that people "waste" money on what they do with vehicles, but oil changes are hardly one of them. Especially since an oil change is usually less than most folks blow on going out to eat and drinks on a Saturday night. It really is about one's comfort zone. If they feel comfortable changing oil at 3000 miles, and they are not worried about the cost, then it is not a "waste". Same if they only go to 5000 miles. The only time it can appreciably be called a waste, is if you start paying for their oil changes. Then you would have standing to determine if what they are doing is a "waste". That you are comfortable with longer intervals is cool, and you are the one paying the bills, so enjoy! I would be willing to bet that there is probably some stuff that you do that many of us would think it is a waste of money also.

I base a lot of what I determine for drain intervals on UOA's also. I have never gone by the OLM on any vehicle.

 

[DEWFPO]

A point of fact. Filters actually filter better the longer they are in use, but only up to a point obviously, before it causes too much restriction. So using a high quality oil filter for the correct amount of time/miles is better than changing an oil filter out every X thousand miles because it makes you feel better. You can change it out every 1K miles or every 50 miles but that doesn't make it any better at filtering your oil over the OCI.

DEWFPO

 

[California]

re oil filters more effective after they are slightly used:

One thing in my Yanmar Operator Manual that must have been translated from the Japanese version manual, where these tractors are primarily sold for tilling rice paddies with no dust at all, and the same engine is sold as a small fishing boat power source: The manual says the oil filter change interval is at every second or third oil change, or at every 50 hour oil change if the tractor is operated in dust.