If you normally change your oil every 3,000 miles, ie your car is in good running condition and has had routine maintenance done on it, how long can I go without changing my oil? Basically I need to go out of town tomorrow morning and don't really have time to change it before then

How bad will it fuck up your car if you go an extra 1,000-2,000 miles before changing the oil? Is this something I can get away with this oncE?

10/11/2006 4:29:06 PM

hell i go 15-20k between changes and my engine is still fine after 190k miles

10/11/2006 4:37:16 PM

i change mine every 15K using Mobil1 extended performance. 3K oil changes are a thing of the past. hell, even new cars recommend every 7500.

10/11/2006 4:58:21 PM

sweet...i'll still change it when i get back and my drive is only about a 500 mile round trip, but i figured i'd ask some of the automotive experts

10/11/2006 4:59:10 PM

a better indication of how long you can go without an oil change is to look at the oil

Take out the dip stick and check to see how black the oil is.

10/11/2006 5:02:55 PM

yeah its still got some brownish "clean" tint to it

most of the mileage since last oil change is highway miles also...I'm guessing thats good as far as not putting as much wear and tear as stop-and-go city traffic?

10/11/2006 5:14:23 PM

^correct, youre ok for the trip and probably then some

10/11/2006 5:36:07 PM

I go between six and seven thousand miles between changes.

Of course, my engine holds 13 quarts. But it's also a diesel.

10/11/2006 8:17:37 PM

a lot of manufacturers that use full syn. oil recommend around 5,000 miles. for some reason the evo is recommended at every 3750 miles. German cars like the MB, usually are recommended at much much higher ratings then that....over 10k

10/11/2006 8:24:29 PM

Its probably the turbo and they are worried about it cooking the oil. Europeans are more concerned about the environmental impacts of waste fluids from cars and tend to have longer service intervals. Thanks Jiffy Lube for the 3,000 mile marketing campaign.

The oil change interval in a 996 Carrera is 15k but it uses Mobil1 and has almost 12 quarts of the stuff on board. The coolant is good for the lifetime of the vehicle so they claim.

10/11/2006 9:15:38 PM

on recommendation from beatsunc i go 5000 so its easy to tell on the odometer when i am due without the damn stickers or keeping track somewhere

my 01 civic recommends 7500 mile intervals, and 5000 for "severe service" or whatever the term is.

the 3000 mile interval came from jiffy lube wanting to make $$$ and is complete crap.

10/12/2006 8:53:37 AM

i've had my amsoil tested after 10kmi including daily driving, lots of autoxes, and track days. it was A-ok and the lab said i could try extending the interval. i'm sure any good synthetic will hold up to 10k just fine.

10/12/2006 8:57:23 AM