tttP5

I got my first old change at 2000 mile then at 5000 mile...
and after that my dealer wrote that I should next get it changed at 10000 miles (u know.. on that little sticker they put on your windshield)

am I supposed to change at every 5000 miles now? cause the first time I got it changed they wrote to come back after 3000 miles....

help pls?

NoahsMP5

I would think that after the brake in period you would be fine getting it done every 5000 miles. I put synthetic in mine and I do mine about every 7000 miles. The first oil change I thinnk is more to get out any of the residue from the factory.

Sir Nuke

look in your manual for the car....what does it tell you there in the maintenance schedule? follow it if you are using normal petroleum oils.....if you have switched to synthetics...you can go longer.

just because your DEALER says it...does NOT make it true, OR the best idea.

azrakain

The manual says 3000 miles for "in the city, stop-and-go traffic" and 7000 miles for less harsh driving conditions. According to the manual, unless you drive on the highway most of the time, then change it every 3K miles. On that note, shouldn't the miles be ultimetly determined by your oil brand/type?

Sir Nuke

Not really....for all the oils meet a specific STANDARD which, if they all meet the same standard, puts them on the same level of performance....however....personal preference comes into play there....some may in fact EXCEED those standards...which makes one better than another....as long as the oil you use meets the required standard...you are good to go.

IF you are using standard oils....well lets be real....we are talking about something that is pretty inexpensive.....4 quarts of oil....what $5 tops right? (OBVIOUSLY SYNTHETICS ARE MORE).... Oil Filter.....about $7 if you use a Mazda one...cheeper if something else, except a few....so a complete oil change about $12....pretty cheep insurance if you ask me....especially seeing how much the people here think of their cars....they are MORE than transportation.....

I have always changed my oil every 3000 miles...regardless of the specific conditions.....highway, city, stop and go....that way I am covered either way.

:{D

stocker

Sir nuke is right, 3000 mile (5000km) oil changes are the cheapest repair job you will ever do to your car. Why risk damaging the car for a difference of a few measly dollars. If you can spend 2000G's on a stereo, spend a few bux on oil changes.

Stocker

njaremka

my manual says 5000 miles for severe driving conditions, 7500 miles for normal driving conditions, and my dealer says 3000 miles for any driving conditions. with the way they are making cars and the way they are making the oils these days, you can go on average 5000 miles. makes for a good number to watch for on the odo, too.

nick

I personally change mine before or right on 2500. The only reason I do this is, when I change the oil at 2500 and I feel more power, then I changed it too late.

The myth behind synthetic is yes you can run it for a very long time, but you have to change the filter at the regular times. You still get a build up of gas and deposits and these things cause pitting on internals. As far as I know filters do not remove contaminates. Synthetics just don't break down as fast, they still carry the same crap as your dino oils!

I ran synthetic once and it was worn the F out at 3000. So I couldn't see spending all that money to just change it at the same time anyways

ZoomZoomH

yup, 5k is a nice even number to remember, and that's what I'll be doing this weekend, changing my oil with Mobil 1!!!

and it's memorial weekend! woohoo!

Sir Nuke

something else to think about......with the dunlops....tire rotation is suggested every 3750 miles....so at every oil change (at every 3000 miles) its just another thing I do...tire rotation.

should keep the wear real nice and even.

zeus

Tire rotation is something I do regularly, but I’ve been running Valvoline synthetic ever since it came out and I only do oil changes every 12k miles. However, I do swap filters and top off the oil level every 4k. Everyone may not agree with that, especially the dealer, but it has worked for me. I’ve had several cars and trucks go over 200k with this schedule, and even had a motorcycle go over 70k, all without any internal wear related failure. My last car was a civic, and it hit 265k miles before I sold it. I still see it on the road with what must be over 300k, and it just now looks like the valve guides are shot. I also look at the color and smell of the oil when conditions are harsh to determine if it needs a change sooner. Just my .02.

MDV Synthetics

The filter changes are only necessary for extremely long drain intervals with synthetics. The length of service you can get from them depends entirely on your driving conditions as well. There is a great spreadsheet with several real world examples of how different oils (conventional and synthetic) hold up under many different driving condiitons and geographic regions on maxima.org. Very interesting reading. It can be found at the links below.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=100060
http://www.mdvsynthetics.com/analysisintro.htm

hihoslva

Rotate tires every 3750 miles? Jeez, what a pain, IMO.

Actually, I change my oil every 3000 miles - why the hell not? You're only doing a good thing for you car by changing the oil more often.

And, BTW - I just did my FIRST tire rotation - I picked up a screw in one rear tire, got it fixed, then needed a balance (shuddering at 70 MPH because of the patch - fixed now), so I had all four tires re-balanced and rotated - at 23,500 miles. Ooops!

Maybe I'll pay a little more attention to tire rotation now....but I gotta say that I had no visible uneven wear, and no problems going 20,000 miles without rotating the tires. Not that it's a GOOD thing, just wasn't a BAD thing in my case. Lucky, I guess.

And I'm kinda pushing for these tires to wear out so I can justify to myself (and my lady) spending the extra bucks for a nice tire/rim combination. Long weekend coming - powerslides, anyone?

tttP5

what does long weekend have to do with powerslides?

MDV Synthetics

It's playtime