Oil Changes: Is Every 3,000 overkill?

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by Happy Little Pony

That's the problem. You say that the car will last just as long using conventional. And I think that you are correct. And by the way, so does Toyota. It's what they recommend. But how do I prove it?

In this thread you can see that people are scared of conventional oil. Don't use it past 5000 miles. Don't use it past 3000 miles, even. In other words, conventional oil equals BAD oil. I think that this is wrong, and that a modern API approved conventional oil is quite capable of handling the lubrication needs of the 1nzfe up to 5000 miles. And even well beyond that.

So, to test my theory, I'm going to put cheap Mobil Super 5000 in my car and run that oil out past 6000 miles. Then I'm going get an oil analysis performed and see how the oil held up. I can then use this information to make an informed choice about my cars lubrication needs, not just make idle speculation. My warranty is expired. I can do stuff like this now!

And, really, I was going to get one done to see if my new air intake was doing a good job of cleaning. This just makes for a more interesting oil change and offers me some amusement in my otherwise drab life.

Tell us what the analysis is when it comes back.

I did my own test of synthetic oil comparing my mileage on my trip from NJ to AK two summers ago. 5200 miles there on conventional oil, 5200 miles back on synthetic. Gas was ~$7 a gallon in northern Canada. Synthetic oil used to claim back in the 70s it increased your mpgs. I needed all the help I could get with those gas bills! (over $100 every day)

It did nothing as far as make the car go farther on a gallon of gas.

You would think if there was anything to the claims its "better" than conventional oil they would take identical cars and run one on regular and one on synthetic until they break.

But they dont. Probably because then synthetic oil would be exposed as just an expensive excercise in mental masturbation.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Tell us what the analysis is when it comes back.

I did my own test of synthetic oil comparing my mileage on my trip from NJ to AK two summers ago. 5200 miles there on conventional oil, 5200 miles back on synthetic. Gas was ~$7 a gallon in northern Canada. Synthetic oil used to claim back in the 70s it increased your mpgs. I needed all the help I could get with those gas bills! (over $100 every day)

It did nothing as far as make the car go farther on a gallon of gas.

You would think if there was anything to the claims its "better" than conventional oil they would take identical cars and run one on regular and one on synthetic until they break.

But they dont. Probably because then synthetic oil would be exposed as just an expensive excercise in mental masturbation.

Was gas any cheaper in Alaska?

[fnkngrv]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Was gas any cheaper in Alaska?

I would be interested to know that as well. When I was in Alaska back in 2006 it was roughly the same prices as it was for me in Maine, maybe 10-15 cents less.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Was gas any cheaper in Alaska?

Yes quite a bit cheaper compared to northern Canada (Yukon) Here is a picture of a sign in Fairbanks...

Gas in the lower 48 out west at the time was ~$3.79.


Gas in the Yukon was $1.53 a liter which is about $6 A GALLON. bUT YOU HAVE to PAY $1.10 for a Canadian dollar so add 60 cents to that figure...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Yes quite a bit cheaper compared to northern Canada (Yukon) Here is a picture of a sign in Fairbanks...

Gas in the lower 48 out west at the time was ~$3.79.


Gas in the Yukon was $1.53 a liter which is about $6 A GALLON. bUT YOU HAVE to PAY $1.10 for a Canadian dollar so add 60 cents to that figure...

Good! Was the Alaska part of your trip easy on your Yaris? (as in no dirt roads, no potholes, no dirt roads with potholes, etc. )

[bronsin]

The roads were better than the best 2 lane road Ive ever been on in NJ.

They were excellent Canada and AK.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

The roads were better than the best 2 lane road Ive ever been on in NJ.

They were excellent Canada and AK.

Good to know. I asked because I was wondering if the roads would put my high mileage Yaris on its last legs. The roads at some campgrounds in Newfoundland chewed up the steering rack on my high mileage Swift. If you had indicated the roads are more like some I encountered in Newfoundland, I would think it would be better to take a new car.

It's amazing how different jurisdictions can differ re maintenance of virtually the same road. Sometime in the 2000s I drove from Las Vegas to Pahrump, NV to check out a property. I then turned onto NV 372 heading toward the California border (to get back to I-15). A real quality road. At the California border this becomes CA 178. My heart sank. Quality wise, it was like falling off a cliff. Right at the border, the difference was like night and day. CA 178 was very poorly maintained road, at least at that time.

[bronsin]

I dont see why you couldnt drive almost anything to AK thru Canada.

Theres construction in spots but its very short...

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I dont see why you couldnt drive almost anything to AK thru Canada.

Theres construction in spots but its very short...

Sounds very different from 'yesteryear'. I remember my grandfather telling me about 3 different times in the 1960s when he and my grandmother made that drive in whatever Lincoln he had at the time. He said that on each end the car would be so dirty that he'd have to pay $10.00 to get the car washed. He told me the cost to illustrate how dirty the car would be before each wash. Ten dollars isn't that much for a car wash now, but 40+ to 50 years ago...wow. Not much in the grand scheme of things even then, but a tremendous amount for a car wash back then according to my grandfather (I was too little then to really know for myself).