Consistently changing the oil with appropriate spec and reasonable interval and motor will last if adequate design.
My parents I remember used every 7500 miles (spec’d?) in our AMC Eagle with a belching carb and Jeep 4.2 in late 1980’s into early 1990’s. The car/engine lasted till 289,000 without any mechanical problems and was sold since no one drove it for two years.
That is why I have taken a leap of faith with OLM in my Acura. The prior owner used 6k-9k as oil change interval based on it at Acura dealer.
@Tridaq ; That Consumer Reports test was done in 1984; at that time the API and other standards had not been tightened up yet. Some of the oils, especially Texaco, did not stay in grade, which meant the viscosity varied greatly from what it was supposed to be.
The test was repeated much later and all oils stayed in grade.
The selection of New York cabs was not the best, since taxis seldom go really fast and are warmed up most of the time. This allows for a very long drain interval since sludging and gasoline dilution is not a problem, and really cold starts are almost absent.
Car companies test many of their cars in Northern Canada (Kapuskasing, Ontario) and other cold locations to see how well they fare with engine lubrication and starting. The oil drain interval for cold operation is partially derived from that. I don’t know of any car company that tests its vehicles in New Yor City. Consumer Reports is located close to NY and the taxis accumlate miles very quickly there, their main reason for chosing those fleets.
Agree that this is an endless thread since there is a wide variety of cars, car owners, and operating conditions.
I last week changed my oil. When I did the Blackstone test on the Mobil-1 EP with 8800 miles on it, to find out what the truth was, I promised I was going to put in Quaker State Dino and change it around 6000 miles to see if those who say you gain nothing with synthetic oil, unless you are racing or towing, are correct.
To be honest, I do not think they are correct. But, I want to know. The truth is much more important to me than being right. So, at 6400 miles, I have my sample ready to send to Blackstone when I go back to the States in a few months. And, I will report the truth no matter how right or wrong my theories are. There is entirely too much guessing on this board.
I replaced QS with Mobil-1 EP as usual.
I agree with the person who posted on this thread that one should make up his own mind on what oil to use and how often to change it, and as long as he isn’t trying to force others to follow his plan, it is no one’s business.
But, in my opinion, anyone who makes sarcastic remarks about those who do not follow the same plan, are indeed trying to pressure others into following his own plan. Things like, “Must not care much for his car,” and so forth have been common over the years.
Castrol got a good reputation back in the 70’s when unleaded gas was introduced. The unleaded gas caused engines to run a lot higher and many oils of the day started to sludge…But Castrol didn’t. It was very good at withstanding thermal breakdown. Oils of old changed their formula and they are all pretty good.
Friend of mine owns a 05 BMW…and in the owners manual the recommended oil is Castrol…and specifically says NOT to use Mobil-1.
@MikeInNH Yes that is true for BMWs and Mobil1. Its nothing against Mobil 1 but BMWs just have some different oil specs and don’t like Mobil 1. My son had to add a quart on his with only 3500 miles though so they do tend to burn some oil, unlike most new cars. For him we just got the BMW oil for $7 a quart instead of messing with other brands.