15k Miles on '96 Stratus?

[BorisBorf]

15k miles with Mobil 1 Extended Performance? Really?

I'm driving a '96 Dodge Stratus (2.5L V6) with 114k miles on it. It's due for an oil change, and I've been using conventional oil in it for years, changing it every 4k miles.

So this time, I'm gonna change it myself and I have been looking around for oil. I've been thinking about putting in Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 with the hope of actually running it for 15k miles before the next change. Along with it I plan on putting in a quality filter.

Am I crazy to expect 15k miles out of this oil change on this model/year of car? I live in Minnesota and temps get into the single digits often this time of year, hence the 5w30.

Any tips? Should I be using 10w30?

 

[PT1]

The only oil I would go that far on is amsoil with an amsoil filter. But that is just me. Stick with 5w30 in those temps.

 

[StevieC]

Make sure you do a few short changes with your new synthetic before going for an extended drain interval so that it ensures maximum synthetic in the engine and not a mix of dino/syn. You might also want to Auto-RX it first to clean out and deposits the dino had left behind...

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

If you run highway all the time... Possibly? However, with your first oil change, you'll still have some residual conventional oil in the sump. If you are going to convert over to Mobil 1 Extended Performance, I remember reading on the M1 FAQ, a good way to do it would be to 5k on the 1st change, 10k on the second, then finally 15k onwards.

Wouldn't hurt to do a used oil analysis after a 10k interval just to be sure things are running okay.

 

[hate2work]

Your best bet would be something like Amsoil's best oil, the SSO. It happens to be a 0w30 oil, so that would work well for you.

I think with a Pure One or Amsoil filter, it's doable

Your next 2 runs should be for 3k each with conventional oil and ARX, then switch to synthetic.

 

[oilboy123]

Welcome to the Bestest website Ever!

You really should Auto-RX it first.

 

[Steelhead]

what type of use does the auto see? long freeway miles only. lots of short distance city driving?

your 2.5L V6 is not one of the sludgers requiring synthetic oil

do a double Auto RX and then at least one UOA to see if you already have a high wear engine that may not last the extra miles you're planning on.

low wear numbers, go for it. engine should be good for 200k miles
transmission, who knows?

but why change a good thing. synthetics are only going up with increased electrical and oil costs in the future. both major production costs in highly processed syn oils. look for that Mobil 1 ext. to be over $10 a qt in 2 years.

will always be able to get the come in the door mineral conventional oils on sale for less than 1/3 the price of synthetics. the oil companies and parts houses use them to drag us in the door to the oil shelves. we feel guilty when we don't buy the full bore synthetics.

 

[JHZR2]

my mother can do 8-10k with mainly 5-block (!) commutes on m1 in het 97 plymouth breeze (same car, hers has the 2.0L 4cyl though). UOA led us to this conclusion. You need to let UOA drive you to that conclusion...

 

[Steve S]

Can't lump into things with out knowing the whole story. If you want to learn .this site has guys that will learn ya,

 

[BorisBorf]

Well, what I'm really looking for is something that will extend the life of the engine. The reality is I'll probably be changing the oil every 8k miles even with that expensive oil. I'm not concerned with the transmission (can deal with that if it goes bad). Also, I do a lot of quick take-offs (for some reason this car has extremely good pickup, better than my SRT4), so anything performance-enhancing is good.

Also, I put about 8k miles on the car each year, but my job requires me making a lot of short trips (
So, how are other fully synthetics? I'm lucky to have a Walmart near me that sells about 7 different brands, all in 5qt bottles. I see this SuperTech 10w30 fully synthetic that looks appealing (price-wise), but is that generic stuff any good? I also am considering this Valvoline 5w30 max-life fully synthetic.

And how about filters? I am looking for something nice, and all Walmart has is Fram, so I'll probably end up going to AutoZone for the filter.

 

[VK56VD]

The Fram Extended Guard is a very good and top notch filter at WalMart.