Originally Posted By: qwerty1234
I always here 5,000 miles for an oil change w/ a good oil/filter combo. However, what about older automobiles? I have a 2000 Honda Civic with 170,000 miles on it and currently have 4,200 miles with Valvoline Max Life and a Fram Tough Guard filter on it. I plan on putting in some 5 30 Quaker State that I got at Menards for like 2.50 a quart. I'm a bit scared to run it to 5,000 miles. It seems to lose about a half a quart of oil per 3,000 miles but otherwise seems to run extremely well. This has been one of my most reliable "beater" cars I have ever owned.
My brother has a 1997 Civic. He bought it in 2006 with 92,000 miles on it. It now has 275,000 on it. He lets me change the oil on the car, along with the other maintenance, because he knows I love working on our vehicles.
The Civic has used oil since he bought it, and it has been consistent, we tried PP, then Ultra for the majority of the miles, a couple of intervals with Amsoil.
Now, the current oil in the sump is Mobil 1. What is interesting, is that the consumption is decreasing and slowing down.
I know for some other people, they have experienced more consumption with Mobil 1, but in this case, it is the opposite for us, Mobil 1 is slowing down/almost stopping the Civic's oil consumption.
The oil usage with PP, Ultra, and Amsoil was almost the same as yours. My brother runs the oils out to roughly 7,000 - 7,500 intervals.
The Mobil 1 fill is around 5,500 miles right now, and I've only had to add a few ounces to keep it topped off.