I know that the issue of petroleum vs. synthetics has been thoroughly covered, and quite well with a lot of good info. But, I've often wondered about the 3,000 mile oil change recommendation. Obviously I can see where such a short interval is advantageous to the oil companies and service departments. It just seems like such a short interval. Has anyone got any good tech specs on this issue?

 

I have found 3000 miles to be too long to wait in my case. I ran the S2000 quite hard this year with loads of track time and when I would change the oil every 3000 miles, I would find it to be brown and very very used. I am going to change it at 2000-2500 next year, depending on how hard I drive the car.

Three thousand for most people is fine, I do think, given what happened to my oil this year, that if you run the car at tracks, you really need to change it more frequently...

My two rupees...

 

Just remember that the 3000 miles recommendation is from the oil company!! Honda recommends every 7500 miles (or 6 months) for normal driving -- but I wouldn't recommend that for gregstevens!

 

It depends upon your driving habits. If you drive highway miles at a reasonable pace (mostly 6th gear under 4500rpm) you can probably go 20,000 miles without a problem. If you make short trips (especially in cold weather), drive infrequently, or drive under heavy loads (track) you might need a change in 1500 miles.

The time / mileage requirement is a guideline that the manufacturer believes will satisfy the customer and protect their interests (minimize warranty work). But adjust if your driving is not in the normal range (12K a year, clean conditions, temps >32 <90, no excessive loads, cold starts, or stop & go.).

I drive city conditions with much stop & go, cold starts, few miles than average, punctuated with track loads. Therefore I change the oil every four or five months (always less than 3000 miles).

 

We drive 99% on highways.
However, we have a lot of fun on highways and with past oil "consumption" problem, we dropped the 7500 mile interval to 5000 miles.
We haven't seen any oil "consumption" since we switched to synthetic though.....
Maybe the it's the oil...maybe the engine is finally broken in.

 

Thanks guys. I guess with average driving, a change interval of 2500 - 4000 is probably good. Besides, its a good way to pamper our "lovely little snookies"(my wife hates it when I coo at the car). OK, maybe "Now, doesn't that feel better you little cutsie-utsie?" a little bit extreme when I wipe off that last coat of Zaino.