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Old 10-23-2001, 05:01 PM   #1
redobs
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Default Synthetic oil users...how long before you change your oil?

I've heard some people say that they don't change their oil until 5,000 miles on synthetic oil. I was wondering what most of you do, since this is the first car I've own to use synthetic. Do you change it at 3,000 miles? 5,000 miles? or more?
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Old 10-23-2001, 05:04 PM   #2
plurbe
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I was wondering about synthetic oils, a friend that is in college for automotive told me not use synthetics cause my car isnt made for it.............anyone know if this is true
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Old 10-23-2001, 05:10 PM   #3
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Plurbe,
Your friend is full of beans.
I plan to change my synthetic oil every 3K or so. The manual says 5K intervals I think, and that is on dino oil. However, I think it's a pretty good insurance policy to change more often.
Long intervals are problematic if your filter does not hold up even if your oil can technically handle it...
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Old 10-23-2001, 05:30 PM   #4
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I change synthetic oil (amsoil) every 6,000 miles and oil filter change every 3,000 miles.
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Old 10-23-2001, 05:46 PM   #5
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Some folks do it every 6000, some 7500, and some who really dont care about their car 12,000.

I personally use Mobil 1 Oil, and Filters, and change every 3000 miles. I play hard on my engine and want to treat it as good as possible, and I dont like the idea of contaminates in the oil for more than 3000 miles.

Just how I was raised though. Not like oil is THAT expensive. I mean for 5 quarts of Mobil1, and a Mobil 1 filter = 20 - 25$. Every 2 months isn't too bad. Considering going to Speedy Lube will cost like 35$ to use their KMart filter and crap oil. and 50+$ to use syntetic oil and their Kmart filter.
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Old 10-23-2001, 06:24 PM   #6
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I change mine every 3,000 miles, but don't worry if I run a little over the mileage.
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Old 10-23-2001, 06:35 PM   #7
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I run Mobil 1 Synthetic in my RS and change it every 3000 miles. This is the best policy, not only does it keep you on top of your maintenance issues by making you look under the hood and undercarriage, but it also takes care of problems like our cars burning oil! (mine does at least) (stay on top of it!!)
Do it every three thousand - mine is dirty at that point and DIRTY IS BAD.

DIY and it's not that pricey either.

-Adam
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Old 10-23-2001, 06:39 PM   #8
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I agree with Zerly every 3k do a filter and top it off, then every 6k do the oil AND filter.

Tats.
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Old 10-23-2001, 06:54 PM   #9
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In the past when using Amsoil, I would change my oil every 2 events ( dyno tuning, or days at the track ). If for some reason there weren't any events going on, I would change it between 4-5K miles, but I'm really picky about my engine's life. That was using an Amsoil filter that held a lot of contaminants vs the OEM one. I plan to do the same if I find the Amsoil filter being a better choice vs the OEM one ( filtration and capacity ). Whenever I can't get ahold of Amsoil, I'll go with Mobil1 and the OEM filter and change it every 3K miles.
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Old 10-23-2001, 06:58 PM   #10
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Ah, I never thought of replacing only the filter.

-Gerlando.
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Old 10-23-2001, 07:10 PM   #11
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Well I suppose how often to change also depends on your local conditions and how you drive. If I were a city driver with a lot of stops every day I would change every 3,000 miles. My driving is mostly country which is more like lower speed highway driving I plan on changing Spring and Fall which will amount to every 5,000 miles. Of course I haven’t quite made up my mind yet. I just changed to synthetics at 4,000 miles before Winter using Amsoil and a Purolater filter.
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Old 10-23-2001, 07:22 PM   #12
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Pete - I was planning to change my Mobil 1 at the 7500 factory interval, but with all the track days, and my aggressive driving, I've decided to change every 3750... Plus, I found the oil pretty "dirty" at 3000 miles last time, not long after Mont-Tremblant.

-Ray
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Old 10-24-2001, 07:23 PM   #13
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mobil 1 5w-30 every 3000 miles

shaun
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Old 10-24-2001, 08:12 PM   #14
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Wow, I expected to see more longer intervals. I'm putting in synth at my next change (10k), and had planned to go 5k miles per change. I guess I'll take a good look at it around 3k.

Many guys on the quattro list run 10k+ on synth. A number run 25k, changing the filter a few times in there. Seems crazy to me, but they've got big mileage cars...

YMM definitely V!
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Old 10-24-2001, 08:45 PM   #15
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I do my oil change buy smell and color, if it smells like gas and look dark it's time for a change. I use Castrol Syntec & Tough Guard
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Old 10-24-2001, 10:29 PM   #16
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I go 5k miles between changes (filter & oil). I use Mobil 1 10w30 year round here in south carolina.

If I'm going on a road trip or have *really* been beating on the car then I will change it before the trip or if it is looking nasty at 3k miles.

Mobil 1 tends to hold up pretty well though.
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Old 10-24-2001, 10:53 PM   #17
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Every 5000 is more than safe.
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Old 10-24-2001, 11:24 PM   #18
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Default Flame me, I'm ready...

Alright guys.......... I know I'll hear something about this.... here it goes.

My father, who is a Diesel Marine Mechanic, and is a major advocate of Amsoil (The oil I use), has told me repeatedly that due to synthetics superior chemical formula you do can change the oil once every six months or 12,000 miles, and do a filter swap every 3 months or 6,000 miles, which ever comes first.

Now, my father is a TOP NOTCH mechanic and he's been doing this for a living for over 20 years....... using Amsoil for most of it.

Personally, I think I'd like to change it ever 8,000 and do a filter every 3,000..... because of my driving.

You also have to remember, if you use a good filter your oil might look dirty, but it really has a lot of life left........

Sooooooooooo what I'm going to do is send a sample of oil to the lab for Analysis to see if it's doing its job, and make a decision. I'll let you guys know what they tell me.

*Hopefully they won't tell me I have like parts of my pistons floating around in there* hehe j/k



My only suggestion is.............. do what you feel safe with and you should be fine.....

Flame away



P.S. This Post was Edited. I'm sorry fellas (and gals) My source was mistaken. On a turbocharged engine you need to change the oil ever 12,000 miles and filter ever 6,000 or so......... SORRY for any confusion.

Last edited by BlueDemon; 12-04-2001 at 09:34 PM.
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Old 10-24-2001, 11:38 PM   #19
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Change every 3000 miles, clean oil is better than dirty oil. Besides, you really don't need to lift the wrx to change oil. I did it last weekend without lifting the car, piece of cake.
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Old 10-25-2001, 12:34 AM   #20
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I installed a FumotoValve on my RS I can change my oil without using a ramp just reach up and under and swap oil filters, and open the valve with one hand under the car to drain the oil
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Old 10-25-2001, 12:24 PM   #21
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I believe that when Mobil 1 first came out, Mobil claimed that it NEVER had to be changed. Of course, every car manufacturer went ballistic! I'm not sure what Mobil claims now for longevity, but BlueDemon's dad is probably on target with 25k miles. The bigger problem is the dirt that the oil carries. The Mobil 1 filter filters down to a much smaller particle than conventional filters. I have a friend who changes his Mobil 1 oil every 15k miles and changes the Mobil 1 filter every 7500 miles. His car has well over 200k miles. He's never had an engine problem. His previous car went well over 200k miles and the engine was tight right up until his daughter totaled it.

Personally, I'm using Mobil1 15-50, and a subie filter and change every 5k miles or so. Working so far.
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Old 10-25-2001, 01:02 PM   #22
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Cool!!! Thanks for the opinions guys!! I was gonna wait till 5K to change my oil, but I think I'm gonna change it anyway this weekend. I'm running 10w30 right now. So, I'm gonna change the weight anyway for winter time. Plus, I plan on running a rally-x next weekend, and want to have some fresh oil in there.
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Old 10-25-2001, 01:19 PM   #23
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I change the oil and filter every 3000-3500 miles. I use Mobile 1 synthetic and a Bosche filter. The way I see it, change it when the oil appears dirty, which is typically around 3000 miles. Also, what can it hurt to change it this often. It is a simple 15 minute, $25.00 way of helping to prolong the life of the engine.
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Old 10-25-2001, 02:31 PM   #24
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Not to mention turbo engines degrades the oil faster (much more heat than your NA engine.) Turboed engine usually require some constant oil changes to remain in top shape.
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Old 10-25-2001, 02:40 PM   #25
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When you change your filter, do you change it when the engine is cold? (so less oil runs out)

OR do you do the typical oil-change warm up drive before?

I can't really picture removing a filter w/o a bunch of oil dumping out.
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