Sir Nuke

yep....its right there in the manual....

and although the CENTERS of your tires don't show any uneven wear....you will see a lot more ware on the edges of the "fronts" especially if you drive our cars like they were MENT to be driven....ZOOM ZOOM!!!! :{D

any performance tire will require rotation at more frequent intervals do to the soft compounds....that is if you want to keep them really even.

yellowsub5

I have 2000+ miles on my protege5. Is it time to get an oil change? I was going to wait until I hit 3000 miles, but I think that may be a bit late.

hihoslva

Well, with all the **** I carry around every day, I do take it easy most of the time. I just don't want my crap shifting all over the place in the hatch, possibly cracking a panel or something.

So I guess carrying extra weight has SAVED my tires - strange, in a way.

But when I get to empty it out, and clean her up - then it is always zoom-zoom time. Last time, I realized I need to fasten my tall, narrow sub box down somehow - damn thing flopped over on me.

P5Freak

Who are you going to believe??

The company that built your car or the dipshit at Jiffy Lube begging you to come back in 3k mi?

The oil change companies want you back every 3k because it's about twice as often as it should be. Therefore twice the money for them.

My honda says 7.5k intervals, I've got 150,000 miles and never look back.

If your car burns a little then you'd need a shorter interval just to fill what you have lost. Otherwise read the manual. IMHO

turbonium959

I would totally agree. I used to work in Stiffy Lube, and 3k is a total bullshit. The only reason you are told to come back in 3K miles, is because by then a conventional oil filter is full of ****. Only now they got filter that will last up to more than 7K miles. Don't listen to Jiffy Lube, they are just making money off of you. All you have to do is to check your oil level if it has been 3 months, or 3 miles. If it is slightly low, then add (do not overfil!!!). My ***. manager in Jiffy forgot to drain a truck, and added the new oil right into the engine. When the car was started, it started puffing more smoke, than a Shuttle during a take off. Not a great experience!

Tom Slick

something to ponder.
in the 1950's, when engines and oils were not made of the quality materials they are now, it was recommended that you change your oil at 3000 miles. those engines usually didn't make it past 50,000 miles. now fast forward 45 years where we have engines built of high tech materials and oils that damn near eliminate wear and deal with contamination better than ever. when do we think we need to change our oil? 3000 miles. interesting!
buses, which get abused in traffic all day long only get their oil changed every 6000 miles.
on a new car i don't believe that you need to change the oil every 3000. i changed my oil at 3000 the first time, 5000 the second, and filled it up with mobil 1 last time and i am only going to change it every 10,000 from now on. i'd be willing to wager that i have the same engine life as anyone else. i will admit that my car is driven on the freeway 80 miles a day, everyday which is about the easiest you can be on an engine.
higher milage cars need oil changed more frequently due to wear and contamination, but not brand new cars.

ProtegeMaster

A few others have called "bullshit" on the 3000 mile oil change myth, and they're totally right. It's total bullshit, and only exsists because oil companies and changer outfits want to push the turnover rate of their products and make more cash.

Consumer Reports ran a vigorous, excellent test on motor oils a few years ago. Driving around in city traffic? Your're concerned about protecting your engine under those circumstances? Well, consider that, in thinking about what application might best test a motor oil in real world situations, Consumer Reports opted to run their test in New York City taxi cabs. I challenge you to find a routine that any of you drive that's harder on an engine than that.

Anyway, they found that the 3000 mile oil change interval is utter bullshit. They tested engine wear on the microscopic level and found no significant differences in changing oil at 3000 vs. 5000, even 7500 miles. Remember this was in New York City taxi cabs.

The moral of this story is the 3000 mile oil change whine everyone always cries about is a fixation of creative, fiscal imagination, and is a total load of natural resource and money wasting BULLSHIT . You can feel good about changing your oil every 3000 miles if you want, but the reality of the situation is you're just throwing your cash out the window, and you're not buying any more engine life out of it to boot.

I'm not trying to rip on anyone for their preferences-- I'm just saying you don't have to waste your money needlessly. I'd say, save it for mods... or a stereo upgrade... or new rims... or just about anything else you'd like to buy to improve your ride.

If you go by what the manufacturer's owner's manual says in terms of oil changes, you'll be totally fine. Personally, I work hard for my money, and I choose to use it in an informed, intelligent manner, and won't let anyone pull the wool over my eyes. That's, for instance, how I scored my ES 2.0, with nearly all options, for only $15.5k, U.S.. Yeah, baby!

hihoslva

The only issue worth noting is the useful life of the filter.

I know that today's engines are built to such tolerances that a 3000 mile oil interval is not necessary, but does this apply to the filters also? It would seem as though it would - however the life of the filter is generally what determines the life of the oil.

If the filter can be used for 10,000 miles, no reason the oil can't. But if the filter is really only good for 5,000 miles, then a 10,000 mile oil change interval is not safe.

So - can any oil filter be used for such a long interval, or do the life of the filter and the life of the oil go hand in hand?

MDV Synthetics

The filter is definitely one of the more important factors in determining how long the oil can be used. To go 25K on an oil change, Amsoil requires their oil filter to be changed every 12.5K miles or 6 months. If other filters are used they must be changed at the factory recommended intervals.

I've done 2 oil analysis from my car. One was at 8060 miles with a Mobil 1 filter and Mobil1 5W-30 oil. The second was with an Amsoil filter and Amsoil 5W-30 for 8K miles. Both reports came back excellent in terms of wear. The biggest difference was that the Mobil 1 was beginning to show signs of being near the end of it's life, while the additives in the Amsoil showed that it was capable of much more use. I think I've mentioned it before, but if not, some people over at maxima.org have started a spreadsheet of oil analysis results to see how different vehicles driven under different conditions with different types of oils and filters hold up. It's very interesting reading. One member put 15K on Amsoil and the lab told him it was okay to go longer next time. It can be seen at http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=100060 or http://www.mdvsynthetics.com/analysisintro.htm

To answer your question, yes the life of the oil and the filter go hand in hand. Additional information on filters and their makeup can be found at
http://www.mdvsynthetics.com/guides/oilfilters.htm