No test needed for this guy.... if it's black its got to go!

To me its worth the extra $25 to not have to give it a second thought.

 

I'll take a sample of my Mobil 1 10W-30 at 5k miles and send it in for analysis. Plenty of autocross and dyno time in that 5k too. My guess it comes back with plenty of life still remaining in it. My friend, running a nearly identical setup, will do so too.

 

I'll also send a sample to blackstone labs once the car hits 25K. 3.5K miles to go.

5K change interval on German Castrol Syntec 05W30 w/ Napa Gold Filter.

Since the last oil change, the car has seen a couple of mountain runs but is a daily driver most of the time.

 

this is one where it'll take another 20 yrs to overcome the "change it when it's black" or "change it every 3k" mentality. For a street driven car this is just not necessary. It's not 1975 anymore. Oil is much better, even conventional oil, than it was decades ago. Cars run cleaner with unleaded gas and EFI than they did with leaded gas and carburetors attempting to correctly meter fuel. Yet people still think the same change interval is necessary? How many cars go to the junkyard today from not having the oil changed often enough? You'd have to really abuse it to do shorten the engine life on a street driven car.

Conventional oil in my wife's civic tested at a ~6500 mile change was still in great shape, good for another 2k? miles according to the analysis. And interestingly, the analysis results/recommendations corresponded exactly with the % oil life remaining meter that is displayed in the instr cluster. Guess those Honda engineers actually did some research.

Mobil 1 at 5k from my Evo still had significant life remaining (I can't remember and too lazy look it up) but I will change it at 5k since that's what mitsu says for max change interval.

Black oil is normal. The black is small enough so it passes thru the filter therefore it won't hurt anything.

Of course typing this is all pointless as it will convince no one.

 

^ I'll still change it when its black. I run a cocktail of 110 leaded almost year round and lapping days are hell of alot harder on oil than a 60 second autocross or spirited rip down a twisty road. To put it in perspective.... I'm changing my brake fluid as often as motor oil!

 

Don't have to convince me... I have been fighting this for over 35 years

 

I changed oil every 2K miles when I was using Mobil 1 EP and OEM filter. Now with Amsoil and EA filter, I do it every 3K miles. I wasted a lot of oil but peace of mind is priceless.

 

I just pull dipstick, and rub oil between my fingers. If it feels kind of like lotion and is slippery, it's ok. If if has a consistency closer to water, it's getting changed.

126,842 miles on my 03 and it doesn't burn oil.

My money, my car.

 

^^Seeing that mileage just gives me so much hope about my car being a reliable DD

 

Yep, your money, your car...

But some people like to do more for their car or whatever.

You CANNOT tell if oil is bad by looking at it, feling it, smelling it or even tasting it.
Naturally, there are some indicators, but if you can feel it, smell it or taste it, chances are, you are already overdue. Analysis...

Almost 345,000 miles on my van... Don't burn any oil.... Has probably had fewer oil changes than most cars with 45,000 miles much less 345,000

That is the difference when science is used compared to a guessing game.

I find it hard to believe that a Forum where so many seem to be Tech Savvy (Science) in not only their jobs, but with the performance mods on their vehicles, and won't use the best instrument available for accurately judging not just when maintenance is due, but if there are any problems going on right from Air Filtration on down.

Merry Christmas,

Doc

 

I use amsoil and change it every 4k on my evo. It gets expensive. I would never go over 10k on it.

 

I change my oil every 3k miles and clean the air filter also after every oil change.
I always use mobil 1 5w30 and oem oil filters....

 

Cars burn gasoline and convert it into ash, acid and other resides. Some of this as well as water and gasoline gets into the oil. Fumes from blowby condense on internal parts and plate on. This is varnish. Good oil with detergent will remove varnish. So, I don't care if the oil came down from heaven, after a few thousand miles, if it doing its job, it is full of crud. And, I don't need a lab report to tell me the oil is dirty, a visual analysis of the dip stick will do.

Forget about all the glorious synthetic technology, the only reason to run synthetic oil in an Evo is to keep it from coking in the turbo. Otherwise, dino would do fine.

 

If your engine is mechanically sound and you use AMSOIL with the AMSOIL EA Series filter, you are fine to a minimum of 5000 Miles. Try an Oil Analysis once oe twice. I have them for $22.55 Including the postage to send it to one of our ISO Accredited Labs.

I am sorry you have such a misconception about Synthetics. I myself felt that way many years ago. When I had my first shop I knew one of the main keys to longevity was oil. Within a few years, I learned that the performance of Synthetics was far superior to petroleum products even though it was the early days when AMSOIL first appeared and then was copied by Mobil 1 a couple years later.

Although it is an excellent reason to run a True Synthetic, it goes well beyond that of coking the Turbo Line. Oils such as AMSOIL SSO and Mobil 1 use Esters which are Excellent Cleaners and also Polarize the oils. Another place where "All Synthetics are NOT alike", a pure PAO oil does not protect as well due to the lack of Polarity.

Oil has 4 Major Functions: Cool, Clean, Seal and Lubricate. A True Synthetic will do them all better than a Petroleum oil.

Oils such as AMSOIL and M 1 being PAO Products, will also give you a smoother running engine, cooler running, more HP, better fuel mileage and better wear protection whether the engine is cold or hot.


Doc

 

So, just to be clear, I never said that Amsoil was inferior to Mobil 1. It isn't, Amsoil rules. For the Evo owner that doesn't frequent the track, this is the only option I would recommend. I have used Amsoil in many other vehicles and have not been disappointed.

However, I'm not going to get a $22.5 oil analysis after every track weekend to see if I should change the oil or not. Instead, I will spend $30 and just change the oil and filter. It would cost me more to use Amsoil, even if I didn't have to change it every weekend, since I would need to be getting an oil analysis every time I turned around. After thousands of track miles, she has been running like a champ so I am happy. That being said, it probably would be a good idea to get an analysis done at least once.

...or maybe I'm just crazy - that's totally possible.