I have a 02 Chevy Cavalier with 146K. It hasn’t given me much problems yet. Is high mileage oil worth it? I generally change the oil about every 4,000 miles and I want this car to last to 200K
No.
Usually “high mileage oil” has additives that attempt to plug up small oil leaks.
The key thing with oil irregardless of brand or type as long as its numbers/letters meet spec is acutally changing it in a timely fashion for your driving type. That is 90% of the battle in engine longevity. 10% can likely be attributed to oil brand or synthetic vs normal etc.
Agree 100%! For normal use,such as in your Cavalier, no turbo, no trailer towing, the normal off-the-shelf brands are fine. Just have the right viscosity for you area (read the manual), and the right API designation (also in the manual) and you’ll be fine.
If you have small oil leaks, as stated, the high mileage oils will reduce those leaks. If you live in a cold area, the real way to increase your engine life is to use a block heater to pre-warm your engine before starting. About 80% of engine wear is due to cold starts if you live in a cold climate.
If you go to certain places on the internet, you will find comparisons of oil. It will be easy to identify the better oils. If I were to keep a car for more than 100k miles I would use the best oil I could buy (within reason). For instance, some have zinc, some dont. Zinc helps to reduce wear, but has to be kept below a certain percentage to ensure that it doesnt foul the catalytic converter. Racing oil has the highest zinc rating. Check sites for oil filter comparisons too, this is as important as the oil. If you asked me what to do, I would say use a premium oil filter and synthetic oil, but then drive it to 6,000 miles or a few more, this way it is not much more expensive than regular oil and a fram filter.
The absolute best oil you can use is the one specified in your owner’s manual.
Make mine another vote to not vary from the manufacturer’s recommendation. I’ve always follwed that and have never worn out an engine in over 40 years of car ownership, some even after hundreds of thousands of miles.
If the engine is leaking or burning oil, yes, it is worth it. I use it in my 98 Civic. It used to burn a little oil between oil changes. Now that I have switched to high mileage oil, it doesn’t burn a drop of oil.