OIL? Should i switch to synthetic since i don't drive much.

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:57 pm

not sure if this goes in engine or general.. but a couple questions..

i might put 3000 miles on my car a year.

currently i get my oil changed every 6 months or so... regular dino oil.. its been 5 months since my last change, and ive only put 1000 miles on the car...

i think i wanna start changing the oil myself, its 43+$ for regular dino oil change around here.... and i can dispose of the oil where i work...

would i benefit to switching to synthetic? less viscosity, breakdown, repel water etc, will it last longer so i can do a yearly change? or should i just keep using dino and just change it at 3-6 month intervals for the hell of fit..

am i right to think that the oil will be fine, but the filter needs to be changed every few months since the filter breaks down?

in that case.. has anyone every used a oil filter relocation kit? to put it up in the engine bay right side up.. that way i can change the filter every few months and leave the oil alone.

like this. ignore the pump nonsense, i just want the relocator part.. http://www.amazon.com/Spectre-5971-Easy ... 097&sr=1-2

any thoughts or ideas are appreciated.. im at 70k miles on a 10yr old car, just wanna make sure i do the right thing so she lasts as long as possible...

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:12 pm

I would change the oil based on mileage, not time. Synthetic is superior to standard oil in every way, so of course it is a good idea. It comes down to budget for most people, it's 2x the price of standard oil. I run Mobil 1 full syn with K&N filter and change both together every 5k. The filter isn't going to wear out any faster just because the car sits a lot, I would just change it with the oil. If you do 3k a year, conventional oil will last the entire year easily. Synthetic should easily be good for 2+ years at that rate.

Even if you wanted to change the filter more often than the oil, why spend a bunch of money and time relocating the oil filter, when you can just jack the car up and swap it out when needed? I can change the oil on my car in my garage in 30 mins, probably half that time is draining and filling the oil, so you're looking at 15 mins to swap filters and top off the small amount lost.

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 5:21 pm

ah i just figured if i take off the filter all the oil will just come pouring out, so im essentially retarded..

if all im losing is the half a quart in the filter then i can just change filters every 6 months for good measure, and change the oil every year, so i guess i'm gonna switch to mobil 1 synthetic... should i go for a high mileage version? or does it matter...

anything special i need to do when switching to synthetic? like seafoam it, or just drain it as much as possible, and fill with synth?

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 7:32 pm

Actually most oil manufacturers tell you to change the oil yearly regardless of mileage.

I am in the same boat as you. I don't drive my Neon much at all. I change my synthetic oil once a year regardless of mileage. If I would have been using conventional I would still be using conventional. There is probably no real reason for me to keep the synthetic going in my car. But it's only ~$35/year and I can do it during the summer.

If I remember correctly you have an extremely short commute. How often do you take it out for a good drive to get it thoroughly hot? I personally try not to even start my car unless it's going to drive at least 10-15 miles.

If I were in your position, I would stick to conventional oil and change it yourself. Conventional oil is light years ahead of what it was even just 10 years ago and the latest SN spec is very strict. I don't see a single benefit for you to switch to synthetic. Water will still accumulate if you don't get it hot enough to "burn" it off. Changing the filter midway through is not necessary either. My filter goes the whole year.

If you shop at Walmart conventional ranges from $13 - $19/5qt jug depending on the brand. I have a thing for Castrol GTX, no other reason than I like it, and it is the more expensive conventional oil on the shelf.

Not like you have to worry about winter changes down there

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:04 pm

hmm, thats good food for thought... tyvm.. yes stupid short commute to work. 30 second drive.. i have been riding the bicycle to work until recently, its the rainy season.. so it rains every afternoon.....

car goes out for a good drive every weekend..

i will look into the castrol gtx, what is in high mileage versions of the oil that makes it diff? more detergents? etc... would i benefit from a high mileage oil, car is 100% running condition, zero problems.. other than slow ass 3spd atx hahahaa....

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:05 pm

IIRC, Super Tech synthetic is about $18/5 quart jug here, so it would be the same cost as the higher end conventional oils.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:08 pm

I think the high mileage oils have more seal conditioner in them. I know if I run high mileage in mine, it doesn't leak as much. In fact, I think it has stopped all together. Kind of scary.

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:12 pm

If your car doesn't consume oil, don't worry about the high mileage oils.

In the end it's more of a bandaid than a true fix.

Getting it out for a good drive is the most important thing you can do. I see a lot of people say they start the car once a week in the winter, but only let it run for 15 min or less. That does more harm than good because a car doesn't get up to true operating temp after 15 min of idling.

The Castrol GTX is just a personal preference. There is nothing wrong with the other options from Pennzoil, Valvoline, Quaker State, Super Tech, etc.

Even though it has to pass the same tests, I'm still wary of the Valvoline NextGen oil which is half recycled oil. Probably unnecessary concerns thought.

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:12 pm

No leaks in my system so far. Thankfully

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:37 pm

Not sure how accurate it is, but I have read that the oil you drain from your car is better than when it comes out of the ground. If true, then NextGen prolly isn't that bad.

It is kind of like drinking water that has been purified from pee. It won't kill you, but you know where it's been.

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:42 pm

I'm sure that's all it is.

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:35 pm

racer12306 wrote:Actually most oil manufacturers tell you to change the oil yearly regardless of mileage.

I am in the same boat as you. I don't drive my Neon much at all. I change my synthetic oil once a year regardless of mileage.

I do the same in my Mustang that sees about 2,000 miles/year. It's got Pennzoil Ultra and a Purolator P1 right now.

cgneon · Post by **cgneon** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:59 pm

awesome thanks guys... i think im gonna just try the castrol gtx mentioned above and a k&n filter and top off throughout the year..

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:02 pm

I think synthetic would be a waste of money.

Synthetic will allow for a longer drain interval; however, given the yearly mileage you put on you will still need to change your oil on an annual basis.

I'm in the same boat as you with a different vehicle that has an in-dash maintenance minder and computer behind it. 80% oil life left with about 1,800 miles on the vehicle... so I'm thinking I will reach the one year point before the maintenance minder suggests a change.

OB · Post by OB » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:59 pm

^The current drain interval for most major companies is 5000-7500, the latter being for the latest models. Pretty much all new Ford vehicles are 7,500 now, save a few specialty cars/trucks.

I believe the reminders are mainly influenced by both mileage and drive cycles, depending on the vehicle, some possibly with inputs from additional components. In theory, having the computer calculate this should be a more accurate way of determining actual oil life, rather than using a set mileage interval that doesn't account for things like extended hill climbing, racing, and other conditions that rapidly decrease oil life. This is why I change mine early, somewhat eliminating the chance of running less-than-optimal quality oil.

thecause17 · Post by **thecause17** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:15 pm

OB wrote:^The current drain interval for most major companies is 5000-7500, the latter being for the latest models. Pretty much all new Ford vehicles are 7,500 now, save a few specialty cars/trucks.

I believe the reminders are mainly influenced by both mileage and drive cycles, depending on the vehicle, some possibly with inputs from additional components. In theory, having the computer calculate this should be a more accurate way of determining actual oil life, rather than using a set mileage interval that doesn't account for things like extended hill climbing, racing, and other conditions that rapidly decrease oil life. This is why I change mine early, somewhat eliminating the chance of running less-than-optimal quality oil.

There are different schedules in the owner's manuals that account for this. One schedule being normal use, another schedule for towing/fleet use, and I've even seen "light duty" that extends intervals slightly past the normal schedule. On my wife's Grand Cherokee I use the 6000 mile standard oil change interval, but on my truck I use the alternate schedule at 3000 mile intervals since I do tow with it occasionally as well as I'm probably harder on it than she is her Jeep. Her's does have the maintenance reminder on the computer for the 6000 miles, but it is also adjustable to the other intervals if you wanted.

NEON PARABOLA · Post by **NEON PARABOLA** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 1:58 pm

I've got 140,000 miles on my neon, should I switch to prolong her life? or is there no point?

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:30 pm

Switching to synthetic isn't going to prolong the life of your engine in general day to day driving. There are places for synthetic oil when not being used to extend your drain interval, but an N/A 2.0L Neon isn't going to have those needs, IMO.

If you really want synthetic but don't want to break the bank, the Wal-Mart SuperTech Synthetic oil is actually pretty decent (made by WPP last I recall) and you get 5 quarts for about $18.

JKD · Post by **JKD** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:37 pm

Mileage always trumps time. I would worry more about changing your oil once you reach a certain mileage.

That being said, I change the Neon's oil around every 3k and use Mobil Super 5k dino oil and use one of my company's oil filters.

I do quality and R&D work in the engineering laboratories for a major filtration company so I got the hook up on filters

2005.Neon.SXT · Post by **2005.Neon.SXT** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:43 am

I've always been told that it's either 3,000 miles OR 3 months, whichever comes first. I work at an oil change shop and from what has been explained to me (and from what I've seen in customers' vehicles) that you still want to change the oil when one or the other comes. Synthetic, however, does have a longer shelf life therefore it's safe to leave it in there a whole year if you don't drive a full 6,000 miles in one year... but you'd still want to change the oil at least 1x/year.

I don't approve of those "oil change reminders" because all they do is keep a counter... we've had so many people coming in when it hits 0% and they've gone 10,000 on a 3,000 mile oil change with no oil left in their engine, all sludged up, and wondering what they did wrong. This is why we have stickers that we print off and put in the windshield.

That's just my take on it, and that's how I sell at work. If they do a lot of driving, can't really find time to get an oil change on time, going on a trip, have a lot of miles, or even a brand new car, I'll suggest synthetic. Otherwise they'll get the regular oil change, but I'll still stress that they need to get it changed every 3,000 miles otherwise they're going to have sludge built up from the oil breaking down when they've gone past that point.

Any thoughts on all this?

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:56 pm

5K or 6mos on dino oil is fine nowadays. Other than that, yeah, pretty much.

thecause17 · Post by **thecause17** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:15 pm

2005.Neon.SXT wrote:
I don't approve of those "oil change reminders" because all they do is keep a counter... we've had so many people coming in when it hits 0% and they've gone 10,000 on a 3,000 mile oil change with no oil left in their engine, all sludged up, and wondering what they did wrong. This is why we have stickers that we print off and put in the windshield.

Any thoughts on all this?

I'm really not sure what you mean. My wife's grand cherokee is set for 6000 mile intervals. I change the oil, reset it, 6000 miles later it beeps and I change it again...no different than a sticker...

I had a civic that did not show what the milage was, but I believe it was also 6000 miles. Change it, reset it, and it goes off after the same number of miles. What's the problem?