As I always look for sales on oil, I find it usually for $26 dollars for a jug, in Canada;

1 jug is perfect for a complete oil change;

I tried using castrol synthetic and at 3000 miles the oil was very dark, the oil change light came on and when I changed it the oil filter looked TERRIBLE; ( I used a fram filter)

From now on I am sticking to a wix filter, and pennzoil 5/30 platinum synthetic oil;

In Canada, Canadian Tire usually has a sale on this oil every 6 months or so, I stocked up on 3 jugs, as my son drives a 2005 Ion level 2 standard shift car;

My 2003 level 3 car is an automatic, and has 42000 kilometers on it,

So this time I am going to try to make it to 5000 miles before changing the oil or when the oil change light comes on I will send it for oil analysis just to see what’s up;

Amsoil oil is supposedly the best but cost $$$$$$$$$.

“Obviously the oil companies along with the companies that provide oil changes, like Jiffy Lube, are going to continue to promote the myth to get the business.”

Oh, lookee, another conspiracy theory on the Internet…and I thought I’d gone to Sybernetnews not DailyKOS.

The sticker on my windshield shows a handwritten 5,000 miles for the next change.

Stick to news and leave the rabble rousing for the lunatic sites.

Fred, one of the benefits of authoring a blog is that I am able to express an opinion along with facts. That’s simply what that statement was.

Oh, lookee, another conspiracy theory on the Internet…and I thought I’d gone to Sybernetnews not DailyKOS.

The sticker on my windshield shows a handwritten 5,000 miles for the next change.

Stick to news and leave the rabble rousing for the lunatic sites.

The oil-service center where I have my oil changed still puts a 3/mo – 3,000/mi change reminder sticker on my windshield each time. However I just go by the digital Saturn oil-change-needed indicator on the dash readout. Hard to tell but it seems to be hitting every 7,500 mi or so. I’ve logged over 110,000 miles so far on the car (mostly highway) and it hasn’t seemed to increase in frequency at all over that time.

I’m very good about getting it changed about a week or two after the alert.

Synthetic oils tend to last longer, and based on testing at [neptune.spacebears.com] you can see that a high quality synthetic can actually perform for over 15000 miles. And that was before the current crop of Mobil 1 synthetic oils that claim the 15000 oil change interval.

As for “darkening” of the oil, these days that doesn’t tell you too much by itself. The fact that the oil gets dirty just means that your engine is NOT getting dirty… and that’s a good thing, assuming your oil filter can keep up. Of course, particles in the oil that are “small enough” to not get filtered by a quality oil filter don’t really matter, but still make the oil look darker.

Bottom line, there’s a LOT to look at. Personally, on my turboed motor (Subaru Legacy GT) I go about 6000 miles before I think about doing an oil change, but I also use Mobil 1 because it’s a turbo motor. My previous car (Mazda MX6) ran for 163k miles under my care, and still goes just as good as new (also ran M1). My wife’s Mazda Tribute is at 110k+, and got the same treatment, and is still chugging along just fine. In the end, these days, vehicles don’t really fail due to motor wear issues… it’s usually electronics or transmissions or other such things that go bad. That’s a testament to better engine and oil design of today. 3000 miles is certainly just a waste in most cases.

Thanks for reminding me of oil changes. I tend to be forgetful and drive continuously—like the Duracell bunny—without checking the miles driven. Usually my wife is the one who raises the red flag.

You mean the Energizer bunny, right.

I have a 1981 Nissan Bluebird, and it has been running like a Swiss watch, defying my lousy maintenance habits.