Should you change your oil every 15,000 miles? Here's how to decide
By Steven Lang August 11, 2014 5:00 PM Motoramic
There is good news and bad news when it comes to the 15,000 mile oil change — a standard five times longer than those often recommended by the quick-lube merchants. The good news: Yes, it is possible with certain vehicles and motor oils, to do so with no harm to your car.
The bad? Unless you plan on keeping that car until half-past forever, you likely won't see any long-term benefit from doing it.
Most automobile engines are now designed to last well over 250,000 miles with proper care and conventional motor oil. To make matters better for owners, a lot of these motor oils now come with additives that can better resist the depletion and breakdown process. This resistance helps the motor oil maintain the viscosity needed to keep your engine running properly, and helps prolong oil change intervals to a moderate degree.
A few vehicles require the more-expensive synthetic oil, a recommendation used to be the sole domain of higher-end vehicles such as Maseratis and Ferraris (and, surprisingly, the Chevrolet Corvette.) Today, even entry-level vehicles such as the Mazda 2 and Ford Fiesta now demand full synthetics.
That's Due to better quality chemical additives, conventional oils are lasting longer than ever with many manufacturers now promoting 7,500 mile to 10,000 mile oil changes under certain driving conditions.
So why would you want to go 15,000 miles with a full synthetic oil that can often cost more than two to three times as much as conventional oil? There are three potential reasons: You want to baby your car, you prefer to do oil changes yourself to save money or you expect the car to take a significant amount of abuse.
For most, the decision may be as simple as using a better product at a lower, long-term cost. Yet there can often be confusion between what the manufacturer recommends in the owner's manual and what your friendly mechanic/lube consultant says.
Not everyone is better off with a synthetic oil. In fact, I use a conventional oil with a 9,000 mile oil change interval for a 2002 Toyota Prius that now has 206,000 miles. That engine was characterized as a "spring chicken' by the laboratory that tested the metal contaminants in my motor oil, and I do my best to maintain it like a top.
With that said most cars on today's roads can still hit the highest mileage levels with a high quality conventional oil and a caring owner. So if you do go down this route of fewer oil changes, make sure you have the right habits when it comes to caring for your car.
link: https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/...-134321080.html
By Steven Lang August 11, 2014 5:00 PM Motoramic
There is good news and bad news when it comes to the 15,000 mile oil change — a standard five times longer than those often recommended by the quick-lube merchants. The good news: Yes, it is possible with certain vehicles and motor oils, to do so with no harm to your car.
The bad? Unless you plan on keeping that car until half-past forever, you likely won't see any long-term benefit from doing it.
Most automobile engines are now designed to last well over 250,000 miles with proper care and conventional motor oil. To make matters better for owners, a lot of these motor oils now come with additives that can better resist the depletion and breakdown process. This resistance helps the motor oil maintain the viscosity needed to keep your engine running properly, and helps prolong oil change intervals to a moderate degree.
A few vehicles require the more-expensive synthetic oil, a recommendation used to be the sole domain of higher-end vehicles such as Maseratis and Ferraris (and, surprisingly, the Chevrolet Corvette.) Today, even entry-level vehicles such as the Mazda 2 and Ford Fiesta now demand full synthetics.
That's Due to better quality chemical additives, conventional oils are lasting longer than ever with many manufacturers now promoting 7,500 mile to 10,000 mile oil changes under certain driving conditions.
So why would you want to go 15,000 miles with a full synthetic oil that can often cost more than two to three times as much as conventional oil? There are three potential reasons: You want to baby your car, you prefer to do oil changes yourself to save money or you expect the car to take a significant amount of abuse.
For most, the decision may be as simple as using a better product at a lower, long-term cost. Yet there can often be confusion between what the manufacturer recommends in the owner's manual and what your friendly mechanic/lube consultant says.
Not everyone is better off with a synthetic oil. In fact, I use a conventional oil with a 9,000 mile oil change interval for a 2002 Toyota Prius that now has 206,000 miles. That engine was characterized as a "spring chicken' by the laboratory that tested the metal contaminants in my motor oil, and I do my best to maintain it like a top.
With that said most cars on today's roads can still hit the highest mileage levels with a high quality conventional oil and a caring owner. So if you do go down this route of fewer oil changes, make sure you have the right habits when it comes to caring for your car.
link: https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/...-134321080.html
