Considering oil change

[ceestand]

I'm going in Sat for an ordinary oil change anyway, but this is about the time I was thinking of changing anyway. I'd like to know people's opinions on my situation.

I've got a 2005 Chevy/Daewoo Aveo w/ 11k on it; about equal city/hwy miles. I've been running Chevron/Havolene 5W30 dino in it since the factory fill. OCI I would estimate as every 3k or less and I change out the K&N HP1001 filter every time.

I had planned to switch to M1 5W30, since the break-in is over, but visiting BITOG on the subject has me wondering. I would probably keep the OVIs I've been going with anyway, so some say don't bother going synthetic others caution about leaks when switching. I live in southern NY so I'm on the fence when it comes to the winter starts. And I've also heard that when going to M1 I should go to 0W30.

Kinda confused here...

 

[kanling]

I'd dump the K&N, then put the savings into synthetic oil.

But, with those kind of short intervals, save a lot more by just using semi-synth. (Truthfully even dino would be good enough)

 

[eljefino]

You won't leak with a new car and 11k miles. Not even 10 years and 110k miles, probably.

I agree with kanling, keep it cheap on the filters. If you want to splurge on synthetic, winter is the time. Jump back to havoline next spring to save $$.

 

[TallPaul]

Go synthetic and extend the oil change interval to about 6000 miles. Get a less pricy filter, like Wix or Purolator.

 

[ceestand]

Thanks for the replies.

I went with the K&N because I did a lengthy research bid on BITOG when I first got the car, and the K&N appeared to be the best middle ground between filtration and flow.

My primary concerns here are squeezing all the performance possible out of the slightly anemic Aveo 1.6L, and reducing engine wear as much as possible. When I got the car, the financing guy asked me when I thought I'd be trading it in. I told him "never."

 

[TallPaul]

To squeeze out all the performance possible and since it is a 1.6L you will be driving it hard. I would go with Redline Oil and a one year interval, assuming one year is something like 10,000 miles. Redline will take the abuse and give better mileage and power with lower friction. You probably could run 5w20 as it has a high temp/high sheer viscosity better than most 30 weight oils.

 

[MarkC]

For a better middle ground between flow and filtration, get a Wix or Napa Gold filter for about $6.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

If you want filtration and flow then go with a Purolator Premium Plus. When you're trying to "squeeze" the performance out of your car just remember you're driving an economy car and that when performance is in the same sentence then you just created a paradox. I know cause I drive a Civic and it sucks to either floor the gas or crawl slower than a turtle.

 

[TallPaul]

Redline oil and a supercharger will get the job done.

 

[Achilles]

Royal Purple 5w30

 

[C4Dave]

If you're trying to squeeze out performance, put synthetic oil in the transaxle. It will help more than the engine oil. The oil you are using now will serve you well past 100,000 miles. And a Wix or Purolator filter will save you some money and give equal protection to the K&N.

 

[Truck&Cycle]

Don't forget your warranty before you move to any extended OCI's. If anything should go wrong and the dealer sees you are going beyond the stated oil change intervals, you may face a delema in getting them to honor the warranty.

I have discussed this with my Toyota dealer. He knows I will be doing my own changes and has told me to keep them within 5K intervals to hold up the warranty. He said slightly longer changes wouldn't bother him but Toyota USA may have something to say about it if there ever was a warranty issue.

 

[TallPaul]

For 5K intervals you probably don't want to go with Redline. Too costly. The M1 will be fine. C4Dave is right on. I would check with SpecialtyFormulations.com for a good ester based transaxle fluid.

 

[vad]

At 5K intervals any good dino or semi-synthetic will do.
Don't waste your money on expensive synthetics.
If you absolutely have to then shop by price and buy them when they go on sale.
Righ now GC is on sale at $4 qt at your local AutoZone.
RedLine at those intervals would be an absolute overkill.

Again if you enjoy throwing your money into the drain then by all means use it.

BTW get rid of the K&N!
You don't benefit from any flow advantages whatsoever. A paper filter already provides more air with better filtration than your stock set-up is capable of digesting.

 

[ceestand]

For the record, the K&N HP1001 is an oil filter.

 

[vad]

My bad...

Yet still, according to this thread there is no such a thing as a "high flow oil filter".
IMO, the K&N oil filter is grossly overpriced.
It won't protect your engine any better than a filter priced at 1/3 of K&N's cost.

 

[nobadges]

I use the K&N cause it’s the only thing other than Fram that is sold around here.

Recently I hear good things about the Fram XG…but Fram is so badly trashed by everyone I feel better paying 15 bucks for a K&N versus 12 bucks for a Fram.

 

[TallPaul]

You can get a WIX filter from NAPA stores. They are sold as NAPA Gold and are the same as WIX.