Was having a discussion today at lunch with some buddies on oils they use and milage and so forth, when i posed the fact that i have to change my oil every 3k because its "black" by then. So, the question is why? Is it carbon buildup from the engine? Is it carbon/heat from the turbo? Is the oil black, but the "life" of it still good up to 5k miles? Or is it simply the fact that we drive these cars like they were ment to be driven.

In my case, Mobile 1 10w30, i don't rev every gear and i never lanuch, i prolly shift around 3.5 to 4.5k in the first 3 gears and lower then that afterwards. Plus some road race weekends throught the year. So as a good practice i will continue the 3k sced. But just wanting to know if anyone can explain it technically why this motor eats the clarity of the oil away.

 

I change mine every 5k miles, I think any sooner is stupid and a waste of money unless your racing every weekend or something.

Found this info. for you:
"And don't worry about the engine oil turning black. It will lose it's golden-brown colour within a few hundred miles of being put in to the engine. That doesn't mean it's not working. Quite the contrary - it means it is working well. It changes colour as it traps oxidised oil, clots and the flakes of metal that pop off heavily loaded engine parts."

 

One factor = Today's pump gas is very "dirty". At one time I owned a propane (LPG) powered vehicle...the oil stayed cleaner for much longer than a gas engine.

 

do a blackstone test on your oil after 3k..they may tell you to go longer. i owned an audi s4 bi-turbo and many guys did the blackstone test. several were going 8k between oil changes. granted it is not as high revving or under the same stresses i would imagine as the 4g63 but still i would think you could get 5k...i do mine every 5-7k. have 45k on the car and the compression was perfect in every cylinder.

 

i do my oil every 3k miles...always have always will. if its a waste of money thats fine. but my motor doesnt see as much buildup. i also clean my evo 2 times a week. inside and out. and complete detail of the motor every month. my cars have always been like that. if you wait 5k miles...great for you. but nobody can convince me to change now.
i actually feel scared to drive my car after about 3500 miles without changing the oil.

 

i change my oil every 2500-3000 miles, plugs every 3000-3500 miles and now at around 10000 i will change all of my tranny fluids...

The cost of this maintenance is much much less than the engine...

 

if you change your own oil why not do it sooner than manufacture says. filter is only 4-5 bucks, oil is $20 bucks for 4qut MOBILE1. so after say 10 oil changes (35000 miles)you only pay for 3 extra oil changes ($75 bucks)if you were to do it 5,000 like mitsu says. not bad for 2 years of driving. better to be safe than sorry and loose performance after 50,000 miiles.

 

Well, because the oil filter needs to be changed at most times. But synthetic oil out lasts regular oil.

Here go read this on synthetic oil life test:

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

They did a test on Camaro and it lasted for 18k miles with out an oil change.

 

DUDE if you dont change your oil for 14k miles and you car brakes down, say goodbuy to your warranty cause you will have no proof of oil changes.
oil changes are cheap, it definetly cant harm your engine doing a change, and you get to keep your warranty.

 

whats a warranty? LOL

 

[QUOTE=travman;4390139]I change mine every 5k miles, I think any sooner is stupid and a waste of money unless your racing every weekend or something.


+2
I change my oil every 4-5k miles.
Dont really need to change it so early...unless you track your car very often.

 

They cant void your warrenty over that, your insane. I have been doing my own oil changes for the twenty thousand miles I have had this car. I get free OEM oil filters and Mobile 1 10w30 from my friends garage.

 

Hook me up

 

I usually change it around 4-5k. sometimes I add a quart in between if it gets low. But the Synthetic holds up pretty well. With regular oil I always went 2500-3000.