Short trip oil recommendation for newbie

[bakechad]

I have two vehicles and both of them are really geared towards short trips. My wife and I both take the train to work, so our total commute is less than 3 miles a day. Our primary vehicle is a 2006 Honda CR-V which we put about 13,000 miles per year. Our secondary vehicle is a 2006 Dodge Caravan (2.4L) which gets about 3000 miles per year.

Up until now I have been taking both cars to the dealer for oil changes. I’ve decided I will start doing them myself (first time in 13 years) and am trying to decide what would bet best oil for my driving patterns.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks

 

[flatlandtacoma]

I would run 5w20 in the Honda and change it 3 times a year (just because of all the short trips.) 5w30 in the Caravan changed once a year.

I would use whatever API SM oil was on sale.

 

[bakechad]

How about synthetic vs. Dino? Does synthetic provide more protection for short trips?

 

[Win]

Our Jaguar Xj8 makes about four (4) very short trips ( ~ 2 miles) per day.

I deal with the short trip issue by changing her oil every other month ( I have a vacuum extractor so it's easy ) and I use Havoline synthetic in the engine.

This may or may not be the best practice, but it's what I do.