I recently purchased a used 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor 3.8L V6 with 78,000 mi. I don't know too much about the history of the vehicle, but based on the age of the car and the mileage, I would assume it was used for a long highway commute (100mi/day) and therefore mostly ideal driving conditions. Also, the vehicle appears to have been well maintained according to service records.
Last week I decided to start using synthetic oil and changed out the old oil (pretty sure it was a dino...I had an oil change sticker from a Jiffy Lube type place in the windshield) with Mobil 1 Extended Performance and a Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter. I plan on an initial OCI of 5k miles or 6 months, then I'll switch to 10k miles or 1 year. It will cost me roughly $36 each time ($26 for 5 qts. of Mobil 1 Extended Performance + $10 for Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter).
I drive about 10k miles a year, with a typical 15 minute commute of 1.5 miles on stop & go city road, 7 miles on a highway at 70mph, and 2.5 miles on a 50mph country road. The commute is then reversed for the drive home.
Does anyone see a problem with my plan, choice of oil/filter, or rationale for switching to syn in the first place? I figured $36/year for one change a year on syn would be about the same cost as 3 changes a year on cheap dino and a decent filter (Wix, Purolator, etc). Also, I'd like to think that synthetic will produce less sludge over the long run than dino.
I know I'll probably need to get a used oil analysis to make sure I'm in the clear, but I'm also interested in hearing what you guys have to say.
Thanks.
Last week I decided to start using synthetic oil and changed out the old oil (pretty sure it was a dino...I had an oil change sticker from a Jiffy Lube type place in the windshield) with Mobil 1 Extended Performance and a Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter. I plan on an initial OCI of 5k miles or 6 months, then I'll switch to 10k miles or 1 year. It will cost me roughly $36 each time ($26 for 5 qts. of Mobil 1 Extended Performance + $10 for Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter).
I drive about 10k miles a year, with a typical 15 minute commute of 1.5 miles on stop & go city road, 7 miles on a highway at 70mph, and 2.5 miles on a 50mph country road. The commute is then reversed for the drive home.
Does anyone see a problem with my plan, choice of oil/filter, or rationale for switching to syn in the first place? I figured $36/year for one change a year on syn would be about the same cost as 3 changes a year on cheap dino and a decent filter (Wix, Purolator, etc). Also, I'd like to think that synthetic will produce less sludge over the long run than dino.
I know I'll probably need to get a used oil analysis to make sure I'm in the clear, but I'm also interested in hearing what you guys have to say.
Thanks.
