Originally Posted By: Dak27
From what I'm learning here I would say SN Dino oils are very good for most applications, and in terms of overall quality, they have improved greatly over the last. decade.
My wife's SUV currently is running Conventional, but I'll change it to Synthetic this Fall as we don't have a garage, all the cars stay outside year round, and Winter gets very cold here.
My other two vehicles don't get driven a lot, and I run Synthetics in both. I typically do an OCI on both once a year, which I know is a bit OCD, but it gives me better piece of mind.
I'm new to this board and Synthetics. Before coming here I was of the Conventional oil, changed every 3 months or 3000 miles Club.
Honestly, in 35+ years of owning many cars I've never had an oil related failure. I've always payed close attention to vehicle maintenance and frequent (-probably too frequent) oil changes over all those years.
I'm with you Dak. I've learned through this web site, my own UOAs and hard experience that engine immortality is overrated. Instead of obsessively changing high dollar oil a third of the way through its service life, maybe I should take better care of the cosmetics of the car instead of puzzling over oil brands and types. After all, a well-maintained car receiving very hard use can still last twelve years or so. A more average use would imply 15 years service life. The question is, do you still want to drive something that looks as bad as the average twelve to fifteen year old car?
Besides, what is most likely to strand you? Obviously electrical, starting with the battery. Next comes hoses and belts. "Engine blowing up" is way down on the list. The percentage play is to very conscientious with the oil changes but to really stay on top of those other things that are so easy to neglect.
So I took the Ford down to have its oil changed this year, at about the 7K mark instead of the 5K mark. I had them change out the differential oil. OK, so I'm 130,000 miles early. Next year I'll get the transmission done.