Hi everyone,

Would this be stupid? Would it seriously prolong my engine life? Please advise....I appreciate it.

 

I won't go as far to say you're stupid, but I won't change at 3500 with synthetic. I have personally switched myself and change every 5000 miles.

 

That might be a bit excessive. If you are staying with a 3500 oil change interval have you ever considered using 1 or 2 Qts of synthetic mixed with 3 qts of regular oil?

 

Why would you do that?

Just do a 5K interval!

 

do NOT mix synthetic with an ash or crude oil.. I wouldnt even mix brands. SOme oils are ash like pennzoil, and some are crude as Castrol is, synthetic is many times better and many many tests have revealed that at 5000 miles the lubricating qualities are just as good as they were at 500 miles. In most cases the filter is the weak spot as most filters were not designed to last more than 3000 miles.. THere are many threads on this subject as well.

 

You may want to try using any of the Synthetic Blend motor oils available. They are not as expensive as full-synthetics.

 

All of the articles I've read and the many miles put on
my previous vehicle (300ZX) I discovered you can't
know for sure when to change oil until you do several
things. You must check your oil to see how long it
takes to get dirty. Without the factory aircleaner oil
won't stay clean as long. We make choices, K&N
filters allow more air in along with more dust. So
oil gets dirty faster. I've used Mobil l oil for over
150,000 miles on two cars and change oil and filter
ever 2,000 miles.....and you think your crazy
Costly yes, but my cars last and run very well.

 

Do you change your tires when they are only 30% worn also?

 

i think if you change every 3000-3500 miles......stick to regular....it's cheaper and it's still great for your car... i think with synthetic, prolong it a little bit more....maybe 4500 if you're not comfortable with 5000......

 

To know for sure when and if to change your oil an oil analysis should be performed.

 

It really depends on the filter and how hard you've been running your car... I wouldn't trust most filter to perform more than 4k miles...
I've always used Amsoil which is supposedly good for 7500 miles, but I still change it out by 4k miles because of the filter...

 

Does time play that big a factor in it? I only put about 7000 miles a year on the car. Will synthetic stay good for 9 months?

 

I really think the entire oil issue to grossly overemphasized. If you plan on keeping your car for only 60K miles, you could change your oil every 10k with brand X regular oil and you would not have a problem, (the next owner would). For 30+ years I have used regular oil and changed it every 5k miles and have driven my cars over 100K without any engine related issue. If you are plannng to keep your car for 100,000+ miles, then the oil you use and the frequency of changes starts to become very relevant in determining how long the engine will perform up to standard. Hey just my opinion and I could technically be wrong in what I am saying but it has worked for me.

 

No, it doesnt matter.. Oil doesnt go bad just sitting in your oilpan.. I have had my car for 12 months next month and only 8000 miles, 2 oil changes. one at 2500 where I did the synthetic option at infiniti and just had one the other at 7800 miles.. I have a 1997 Geo Tracker with 35000 miles on it.. just sits in my garage. It only gets one oil change a year, maybe..

 

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback.