1999 Acura Integra with 100k
I have been on Mobil 1 Synthetic and had been changing every 5k. Seems to cost me $50 for an oil change nowadays.
Maintenance schedule clearly says 7500 miles. Would this be a wise move to do the oil change every 7.5K?
There is an article from Consumer reports, 1996:
http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-tips/maintenance/oil---lubrication/58-the-surprising-truth-about-motor-oils.html
Thanks for your recommendations
The oil change interval is a function of both the oil quality (and its additives), where you live, and your DRIVING STYLE!!! Forget what Consumer Reports says; if you drive mostly highway in moderate temperatures, the 7500 mile interval is OK. Consumer Reports does not test cars with over 200,000 miles on them or in Minnesota in the winter.
However, if you do many short trips, park outside in cold weather and do not have a block heater, I would stick to 5000 miles, or even less.
Is your Mobil1 synthetic the regular or the Long Drain Interval type? The latter has more additives against sludging and can tolerate a longer drain interval.
What does your Acura’s manual say about TIME intervals; most have a 6 month time intertval.
Quoting @MB - Are you trying to get the most out of your oil or the most out of your engine? You decide. Oil changes are cheap…engines aren’t.
I’m flattered, my friend.
To the OP, you could save some money by learning to do the oil changes yourself. If you’d like, we can offer some guidance.
I am in Calif - The manual recommends 7.5k for my driving conditions - no harsh condition
Mobil1 I use is Full synthetic.
I have done oil chance and it is messy - besides the filter is located in an awful location. I still AT oil but not the engine oil.
I change the oil in my cars between 7000 and 7500 miles and have no adverse effects. The Buick Regal lasted about 150,000 miles before we parted ways. I still have a 2003 Olds Silhouette with about 150,000 miles it doesn’t burn oil. The OLM says to change between 7000 and 7500 miles. My 2005 Accord has 124,000 miles, doesn’t burn oil, and I change between 7000 and 7500 miles. The other 3 cars in the family are too new to mention. The California State motor pool did a test similar to the CR test and decided to use the OLMs to determine when to change oil and not at a standard mileage.
@Docnick, the CR article addresses driving style. Why do you make a big deal out of it if CR addressed it in their test? @scionf, if you use Mobil1 Extended Performance, Exxon/Mobil says you can go 15,000 miles between changes. If you stick to 7500 with the extended performance, you will be fine.
The Mobil 1 says Advanced Full Synthetic.
Not sure what is their recommendation?
Similar to this:
Any recommendations?
It looks like the price of Extended Performance compared to Advanced Full Synthetic is just about $5.
"The Mobil 1 limited warranty is valid for 10,000 miles or your vehicle’s OEM recommended oil change interval, whichever is longer."
www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Warranty.aspx
If I am referring the right page, then 7,500 is fine!
If you are a conservative driver and do mostly freeway driving – you know , tooling down the freeway at 60-70 mph – 7,500 miles is probably ok. If you have a heavy foot and there’s quite a bit of stop and go driving involved, 5,000 miles would probably be better for the long term life of the engine. But I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. The difference to the wearing parts of the engine interals, if any , wouldn’t likely show up until 150K miles or later. You may have already sold the car by then. The most important thing is to make sure the oil is clean and the level remains within the two marks on the dipstick.
I believe the vast majority of cars in the US fall under the severe service category
The fact that a 1999 car has only 100K makes me believe that is also the case here
No offense intended to anybody . . .
“Normal” seldom applies in the real world. I’d like to see Consumer Reports do a study about prematurely worn engines, engines with oil consumption issues, etc. and what the real world oil change regimen is on those particular motors.
A cut and paste about Acura…
Severe Maintenance Schedule
Follow the “severe” schedule only if you drive in one or more of these conditions most of the time:
5,000 mi/8,000 km Scheduled Maintenance
Replace engine oil.
The criteria are:
Mostly it is not driven for less than 10miles - this is the only suspicious criteria.
If you want to economize skip the synthetic and use conventional every 5k miles. Acura Integra motors could care less what you put in if driven normally. I would have no hesitation using synthetic if you don’t go past one year/7500 miles.
With an oil life monitor the larger V6 in Acura MDX seems to do about 5500 to 8000 miles dependent how much winter is involved(it knows). I drive typically 10 miles or less, lots of stop and go and winter temps on coastal New England. The monitor assumes I am using conventional oil(spec’d in manual) not synthetic.
Although more highway biased my wife and I had a pair of Civics. We used 6000-7000 miles oil change intervals using Walmart’s SuperTech at the 150k-200k+ range. They were both sold running perfectly at 200k and 230k miles to happy owners.
I am of the feeling do what is most comfortable to you and convenient. Just check the level occasionally.
I go 7,500 under similar conditions.
Synthetic and 7500 miles ? Perfectly doable. Even 10000 miles on State Vehicles resulted in over 200k with no engine problems do to related wear what so ever in our state.
Mobil1 web site says to follow Acura’s filter change interval for their oil.