Oil changes with synthetic

[pasusan]

How often do you change your oil if you use full synthetic oil?

We have a Chevy 6.0 gasoline engine. We are putting Mobil 1 synthetic oil into it and are finding differing requirements. Some say go by miles, others say if you don't put on that many miles change it every year.

We only drive it 2000 to 3000 miles per year. Can we really wait for 7000 miles or more to change it or should it be done every year?

My thinking is why go synthetic if you have to do it every year anyway?

[fj12ryder]

dodge guy wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"No way could I go a full year without an oil change. I just couldn't do it."


The oil Companies love you.

And technicians love the extended oil change guys!

I dunno about that, I'd need to see the data to back up that statement.

I change the oil in the 2001 Cummins at roughly 5,000 miles, however long it takes. I run Delvac 1300 Super in it, non-synthetic, and Blackstone Labs keeps telling me I can easily run much longer. But I chicken out too soon. 🙂

[dodge_guy]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"No way could I go a full year without an oil change. I just couldn't do it."


The oil Companies love you.

And technicians love the extended oil change guys!

[Grit_dog]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"No way could I go a full year without an oil change. I just couldn't do it."


The oil Companies love you.

His bank account probably still loves him too, since he's rolling a 250k+ mile (I think) truck. He's saved more money than many of us put together and the peace of mind of doing something that may keep a high mile engine ticking 1, 2 or 5 years longer is worth far more than an extra $50/year in oil.

[Cummins12V98]

"No way could I go a full year without an oil change. I just couldn't do it."


The oil Companies love you.

[specta]

pasusan wrote:

Seriously - not a troll, just wanted information. We've used regular motor oil before this and thought that synthetic would be better and we wouldn't need to change it so often.
Carry on...

My apology.




Both my "newer" vehicles the factory recommended a blended synthetic.

The car they recommended every 5000 miles which is when I change the oil but this is what I prefer to a blended oil.




If I go by the reminder light the truck would get its oil changed every 10,000 miles, I change it every 5000 and it gets the same oil as the car.

I'd rather have clean oil in my engine than old or dirty oil.

No way could I go a full year without an oil change. I just couldn't do it.

[BenK]

Synthetic has higher spec than dino...though dino's spec has been creeping up and up...as has synthetics...

OP, change it as you wish, as it is your vehicle. Just make sure to change the filter too and use one of the better filters. I like PureOne or WIXs (NAPA gold)

Have several vehicles and when married, she didn't put more than 5K per year and couldn't stand to leave it there over a year. So changed if yearly

All personal preferences

[pasusan]

specta wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
"Loving the replies" - So you're trolling?

I was thinking the same thing. No one here is going to change his mind.
He already knew what the replies were going to be before he ever posted the question.

OP here again...
Wow - sorry guys. Because I'm happy to hear what you all think I'm a troll? We never did synthetic oil before. Just wanted informed information on how to do it. I trusted you guys here on RV.net.

Seriously - not a troll, just wanted information. We've used regular motor oil before this and thought that synthetic would be better and we wouldn't need to change it so often.

Carry on...

[RetiredRealtorR]

jdc1 wrote:
What does your owners manual say? The automotive engineers that designed these vehicles are more savy than those that post here.

100% agree.

Changing full synthetic oil every 4000 miles is like throwing away a perfectly good ice cream cone after you've eaten less than half of it!

Common sense needs to come into play here :C

[ppine]

Synthetic oil is a great idea for engines that don't get used much. That oil can go for a year no problem, and actually longer.

[Lwiddis]

“I think we should be safe with every 2 Years.”

Should be? When the manufacturer says at least yearly? All this over an oil change. My, my.

[Grit_dog]

jdc1 wrote:
What does your owners manual say? The automotive engineers that designed these vehicles are more savy than those that post here.

Like Ram’s 6 month interval requirement as of recent years? That’s a joke.
And liability, not reliability figures in a lot into requirements and specifications.
To be fair, there are components of both, but to blindly follow whatever is “required” ( boy, could drag this one the distance…ahem, masks, ahem, vax) may be the ultra “safe” way to go.
But to blindly follow and not question is to be a sheep.

PS, just because you may not have extensive knowledge in a particular subject, does not mean others around you don’t.

[bgum]

We tow less than 10,000 miles per year and use the truck sparingly for other trips. We therefore change oil and filter once per year.

[specta]

mkirsch wrote:
"Loving the replies" - So you're trolling?

I was thinking the same thing. No one here is going to change his mind.
He already knew what the replies were going to be before he ever posted the question.

[mkirsch]

"Loving the replies" - So you're trolling?

I see nothing that doesn't show up in every other oil thread. Some people change it every 2999 miles. Some people never change it. Nobody ever has had any problems that can be attributed back to the oil.

The whole "acid" thing is outdated to the point where it's a myth. Maybe back in 1982, but not now. Engines are much tighter, oils much better.

All that said, I change the oil in my 2015 daily driver every 6000 miles, when the oil life gets down to about 25%. I change the oil in my 2002 8.1L Chevy every 2 years whether it needs it or not. No evidence of "acid" in the 2002.

[valhalla360]

jdc1 wrote:
What does your owners manual say? The automotive engineers that designed these vehicles are more savy than those that post here.

I would generally agree with this, except....

Assuming the manual is purely miles based, I would worry about forgetting if the miles only call for a change every 3.5 years...

For a gas engine where it's $30-50 and I presume you put her away at the end of the season, I would just go ahead and do it before she gets put to bed. That way she has nice clean non-acidic oil sitting in her during the down time.

But really, modern engines really can take a lot of abuse and keep humming along. As a kid, I recall hearing about engines dying fairly regularly due to lubrication issues (most of those were oil leaks and the engine ran dry). I can't recall the last time I heard of one that could possibly be oil change related.