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Oil change opinion

The Fed

Old Guys Rule
Location
Florida
Always "old school". My first oil change was at 2,000 miles, every 5,000 miles afterward for this high performance Turbo motor. Your short commute does not create enough heat to evaporate the condensation, even in summer. Condensation can mix with the oil making a kind of mayonnaise. This makes for poor lubrication and can clog oil passages especially in the upper end; camshaft, etc. Tests have determined that engine life can be better related to the number of cold starts rather than just miles.

I drove lots of miles in the past with normally aspirated engines and just mineral oil (not synthetic) Always changed at 3,000 miles. Never an engine issue on many cars going back to the early '60s. Oil changes are cheap compared to rebuilt or new engines. Being an alert buyer, I usually can find oil on sale keeping the DIY oil change to around $45. Dealers often have coupons for $65-70.

But in "our" day there was no synthetic oils, no multi-grade oils, Babbitt bearings were inferior, and the tolerances between the moving parts were much greater. We ran heavy oil in the summer and lighter oil in the winter (if you lived in the North). The mineral oil wasn't as refined as well as it is today, and had few (if any) additives. Oil filters weren't as good either. You were lucky to get 50,000 miles before needing rings and valve guides/seals. You HAD to change the oil every 3,000 miles, or even 1,000 miles if you really wanted your engine to last. Even then, ring material and rocker arms sucked unless you changed to high performance components.
 

surfstar

Ready to race!
Location
Cali
Stock. I'm on 10k routine. I did 3 to get to 20k, as I wanted a bit shorter for break in (5k, then 7.5k x2) now I can have nice round 10k changes.

I'm hoping for 150k mi or more, as long as the car stays reliable. I have a feeling most people who do the 5k changes are "car guys" and get bored and trade their cars in before they're even paid off, so it doesn't even matter.

If you're tuned or have short trips, sure go with 5k. I do plenty of highway miles and I'm happy with 10k. 6qts for a 1.8L engine seems plenty. In my past n/a engines, they'd be 1.6-1.8L and take ~3.5 qts. If our engine had that small a sump, yeah, 5k.
 

ghost_03

Ready to race!
Location
Syracuse, NY
Fwiw 5k, 10k and then every 10k is my plan. If I didn't put in >10k/year then I'd do it at the 1yr mark. Basically the recommended intervals with an extra thrown in at 5k--even if it doesn't accomplish anything it makes me feel better about it.

We ran heavy oil in the summer and lighter oil in the winter (if you lived in the North).

I'm just a bit too young to have done this in a car but I've heard plenty about it from my Dad and Uncle. :D :D Still have some remnants though; I don't use the same oil in my lawn mower as I do snow thrower.
 
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