[Jeff Guidry]

Quote:

Originally posted by grinch cheap-asses

Spend thrift.

 

[gaineso]

Quote:

Originally posted by john_jcb I have never owned a car that the owners manual recommended 3,000 miles between oil changes except in harsh environments. Most of my vehicles are kept between 150K and 200K miles and I have never had to replace or rebuild an engine. I believe the oil change places have hoodwinked the public with the every 3,000 mile line. Change your oil every other weekend if it makes you feel better about keeping the car new. I does not matter to me.

I change oil in my Durango every 2 months. That's between 4,000 & 5,000 miles, a lot of which is 80+ MPH on the interstate with a 600 lb+ load. Also 200 to 300 towing a 2200 lb boat at 60+. I figure that's enough like "Severe" useage to justify. I plan to try for 200K on it. 318 V8 should do it.

 

[john_jcb]

The most severe environment for a cars engine is stop and go city driving. Chicago police cars for example take a beating. They go from periods of prolonged idle to high speed bursts. High speed driving is not that hard on an engine, towing does add to the stress and the cooling load however.

My only point with the 3,000 mile statement is that the quick change oil companies marketing departments have the American people convinced that 3,000 is the magic number that should not be exceeded without taking the chance of doing harm to your engine.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by john_jcb I have never owned a car that the owners manual recommended 3,000 miles between oil changes except in harsh environments.

if i were a grimey car company bent on making money, i'd overestimate the time needed between oil changed as well. this makes more money for the dealers (through repairs) and more money for the car companies (when people buy another car).

actually, the best car mileage story i have heard recently came from a guy who worked as a mechanic and changed his oil the third saturday of every month. apparently, his car now has $238k miles on it without a single repair or glitch in the entire engine (other than timing belt changes every 60k, tires, brakes, etc.) and still runs perfectly. these things make a difference, whether or not you will believe they can.

also, i'd like to say my car is a turbo-charged 2.0L four cylinder, which redlines at 7k rpm (and boy does it). highway travel at 80mph runs the engine at over 3k rpms. i also live in the new york city area which means i see plenty of traffic. turbo-charged engines are also said to have a higher sensitivity for dirty oil due to the turbo charger. i am not a mechanic, not that i'd necessarily trust the word of one, but i feel that changing it every 3k miles doesn't hurt a single thing.

i'm sure you put regular fuel in your car as well, as mine only accepts premium (not that i would ever dream of putting anything less in it). i also pay the extra $0.05 a gallon and put 94 octane from sunoco in it. boy, i'm just wasting money left and right..

 

[gaineso]

I run a lot of higway miles at over the limit, any cops on here I'm just kidding, but I also spend a lot of hours in South Florida gridlock.

The only person in Miami that actually knew how to drive was killed in a multi-car pile-up, so NO ONE in that entire 5 million + people has a clue.

Lauderdale's not much better, and West Palm Beach is terrifying. Orlando, well what can I say. They just stop. 4 or 5 lanes wide because they feel like it.

I don't mind Jacksonville too much, but the influx of 500,000 Yankees in the last 15 years is creating some problems. Oh. I'm sorry if I didn't insult someone quite enough. That's DAMNYANKEES!!!!!

So. The Dodge gets a mix of about all kinds of driving. I think my 2 month schedule works.

I had a Grand Marquis that I would occasionally go 12 to 13 thousand between oil changes. That was all highway and in 1 month. 200K when I sold it to a co-worker who pulled the engine and put it in his '72 Mustang.