Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Your experiences: synthetic motor oil and change periods

In my truck I have now I use Mobil 1 full synthetic. Change around 7000 miles. I use a good oil filter.

I use Shell Rotella in my 2004 Dodge diesel and 89 jeep, change every 4000.

Rotella t6 in everything. Did some oil analysis yeas ago at 10k and they said got on to12. Figured that was enough. No oil issues ever. Much cheaper than Dino at 3000 miles. Vatozone used to be the cheapest but prices are going nuts now. Thanks uncle joe and the ho.

I was going 30K miles with filter changes at around 6 or 7 K miles with my old 5.9 Cumins. Periodic oil tests showed all to be good! I still use extended change intervals in my 6.7 Cummins! memtb

Advice is all over the place. Who knows?

My Cummins 5.9 has two factory recommended schedules - A& B.Usual trip is 20-30 RT into town and back. I now average the schedules as that's my driving, at 5K,( and easy to keep track on the odometer) using recommended oil (Valvoline Blue? full synthetic ) and high end filter. I've used Delo Dino at 3K, and Royal Purple at 10 K with new filter and quart at 5. The vehicles are now housed in a heated garage (winter) for the last 5/6 years - which may help with pretty near everything, particularly my wife's happiness....

Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference - as long as you keep it all fresh....and a ood filter, I don't think there is any local service for oil testing, so I don't worry my pretty little head about it. Factory specs are very likely overkill to start with -but the oil testing should tell. Sans that............

2003 Ram 3500, LanceCamper, some towing., coming up on 115K. ( basically parked from 2010 to 2018, run a bit summers only). it ought to be good for 300K, at last I figure - other things are going to go south before then! And have.

Since this is a pre-low-sulfur engine, I use the supplements in the fuel. A bit over minimum in fact- can't hurt!

My wife's Expedition tells you when- I think that is strictly hours. I doubt there is an on-board oil testing system.

The old push in opener with spout paper pensoil can 1/2 full... early 70's ..dad went to add oil to the car and it wouldn't pour ...full of maggots ! ...that was the end of that brand at our place ! Lol !

"The synth oil is Costco's finest Kirkland"

I doubt that it is full synthetic. Costco also sells Mobil 1 which is 100% synthetic. I have been using full synthetic since 1979 in all my vehicles. I put over 300,000 miles on my '78 Chevy pickup and had no engine problems other that worn out valve seals and worn timing chain/gears that I replaced once. I used Mobil 1 and changed the oil/filter every 25,000 miles. A friend bought a '78 Chevy pickup just like mine at the same time and changed his oil/filter every 3000 miles. By the time he drove it 200,000 miles it was smoking, burning oil, the lifters were clattering and it had no power.

when synthetic was gaining acceptance in the early 80s, i noticed a lot of fleet customers were changing to synthetic. when fleets make a change it is only because there is a clear benefit. when i got my next company car...it was a taurus, i decided to experiment. mobil was advertising at the time a 25k change interval. i ran the original oil 5k and put in mobil 1. ran it 25k. changed it and when i turned the car in at 52k, i pulled a valve cover off and it was clean. the car never used oil.

i go by the maint light which now days gets a change at 8 to 10k. works ok so far.

At 30,000 miles I switched to Amsoil 15W-40 Diesel & Marine oil and added an Amsoil bypass filter in my 2005 Dodge Diesel. Since then I have changed the oil and filters every 10,000 miles. I bought it new in Dec. 2005 and so far the only engine maintenance I've done is to replace the water pump, serpentine belts, idler pulleys, radiator hoses and thermostats twice.

An FYI for all the 2004-2009 Dodge diesel owners: I didn't replace the belt tensioner assembly (about $140 at the time) because a friend at the parts store told me that the he had an ACDelco pulley that was the same size as the pulley on the tensioner and I could just change the pulley instead buying a new tensioner assembly. If it's still available the part numbers are: ACD# 38023 and GM# 88926780

I use synthetic oil and change oil and filter around 7,500 miles. I could go longer before oil breakdown, but for me it's about avoiding the contaminants that collect in the oil and get pumped through the engine thousands of times.

Walmart's Syntech, and Costco's Kirland synthetic oils are made by the same manufacturer, and are full synthetic from what I'm told.

Exactly. There is no real world advantage with synthetics unless you want to go 10k+ between changes. I'm not going to do that.

In an article written this month, James L. Roche provides the following (excerpts) about the Kirkland full synthetic motor oil, and compares it with Mobil 1.

"- - - Warren Distribution brand manufactures the Kirkland motor oil, and it is a North American company that is one of the largest blenders of private oil. They are also known for their quality in the oil industry, and they only produce top-class oil for vehicles. - - - -

Kirkland Oil vs Mobil 1
Mobil 1 is undoubtedly a commonly used oil among car owners. But does it mean that Mobil 1 is better than the Kirkland oil? Let’s discuss it in more detail and have a comparison of Kirkland motor oil vs Mobil 1 down below.

Mobil 1 is now recommended by car owners and professionals across the globe. But if you compare it with the Kirkland motor oil, you’d see that these are pretty much identical in terms of quality. But the Mobil 1 is definitely a more costly option. The following points will showcase the similarities of these oil products.

Both are Dexos and API Certified
These both provide great mileage
Enhances the fuel efficiency of the engine
Added additives help to give better wear protection
Fully synthetic design
Trusted manufacturer
Boosts the engine performance

As you saw, these are identical qualities that these oil brands share, but there is a big gap in the pricing and a few of the qualities. Let’s discuss these down below.

While the Kirkland motor oil can’t beat the reputation of the Mobil 1 oil for obvious reasons, it comes much cheaper than it. That truly helps to reduce your overall maintenance cost for your vehicle.

In terms of base stock, both are equally good, but if you’re dealing with a top-class vehicle, it’s better to use a premium quality full synthetic oil in that case.

However, in the comparison for additives, Mobil 1 is the winner. They simply have better additives that help to keep the engine healthier for longer. But Kirkland gives a better fuel economy and better overall performance that you crave.

So, you can already tell that it’s a tie in terms of quality between these two oils. But as Kirkland is a much cheaper alternative compared to the Mobil 1, it’s truly a solid option for you to try out. It’s definitely worth your money and might surprise you with its quality and performance."
FAQ

I drive a ‘19 Hyundai Sonata.

~100 miles a day

At the time. Best mpg for $$$

*I* change mine every 5k miles.

Cheap $40 to blow.

Big truck. Whatever they run, they're doing a 40,000 mile interval. Another company with the same make and model, did 35k the first change then 75k after that, which seemed excessive, but, for their 15000 trucks it musta worked. It looked "bad" on day 1.

I do a full change with synthetic at 10k kms. No troubles. Oil looks clear. No smell.

Warren Oil Mfg

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/

The reality is that carbon is going to build up no matter how much you pay for your oil synthetic or not. Change your oil at the same intervals as you would regular oil.

I have read so much on that forum about oil, I realized I will never know it all.

one thing that helps with extension of oil life is that engines are so much cleaner these days. for what it's worth...back in the 'good old days' the change interval to use unless you used white gas was 1000 mi.

there are so few deposits these days that the filters don't do very much work. almost every re ring job i did as a baby mechanic wasn't because the rings wore out, they were sludged up until the rings wouldn't flex to do their job.