Rock-a-Lex

iTrader: (4)

I like Amsoil as well and only use it in my tranny now. It is a BIG PITA to have to always order the stuff. When it is to replace ATF or diff fluid (that gets changed once every year or so) then re-ordering is no big deal but for oil changes the constant re-ordering is annoying...I like Royal Purple and can be found at better auto supplies stores!

az-dave

How about Everyone give their current ODO Mileage for reference...Ive heard reference to 350K miles...I have seen 1 car with 500K on it...it was a Subaru. Most cars interiors and body's give out before 500K. This should get interesting.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

I just did another oil change. Ran the car quite hard over the weekend and the oil is black lol. Only put around 1500mi on the oil. I was at the TX2K11 event and we were doing highway pulls non stop for hours on end every day during the weekend. Plus the 600 miles round trip. The high engine heat and turbo really breaks down the oil badly heh...

ivnnln

iTrader: (1)

Bacardi, why not push it to 6k since you use Amsoil? I hav been using Royal Purple and the filter for almost two yrs now, and I changed it every 6k. The oil was still a little reddish in its. Have you ever pushed it to 6k with Amsoil? If you do, how was the oil quality? Thanks.

Entropic86

50K with synthetic isn't absurd to me. I drove an old ('89) Buick Century for 6 years before I bought my LS recently. In the 60K mi I had the car, I only changed the oil/filter twice. I used the recycled cheap stuff once and the old oil out of my friends car (with 5k miles on the oil already) the other time. It wasn't an issue of money at all...I just found it funny to abuse the car as much as possible seeing as I traded a Chicago style hot dog for it (a friend thought the car was headed to the junk yard when it just needed a new battery). I didn't notice any sludge when I did get around to changing the oil. It only ever burned oil when I would drive through Colorado mountains with the pedal to the floor half the time. I'll probably change the petro-based oil in my '97 LS every 5K though. I plan on choosing the viscosity based on experimentation with different viscosities and the resulting oil pressure.

Edit: Ohh, and it ran like a top when I sold it with 140k on the clock

habeeb89

iTrader: (3)

I noticed absolutely no difference at all, both brands are very high quality oils.

aloysius

our gs had 225,000km when we got it at the end of last year, now has 245,000was serviced by the book (all bar 1) since we owned it i have changed it every 5000km. the first oil change it was black the second was good up to about 4000 then got dark fast, third had colour on the dip stick. just changed it today and it was very clean on the dip stick. only using valvoline premium mineral oil, i don't know what was used before we purchased the car but with how quickly it went black there must have been some sludge in it. but going by how clean it is now i think it has flushed a good amount of it out.
ps the reason for using this oil, I can afford to change it every 5000 I cant do that with Mobil 1
not disagreeing with you either az dave even my old saab with a hair dryer called for longer intervals running syn oil.

1QWKGS4

iTrader: (3)

Az-Dave: Not sure if this question was addressed but "How long does it take you to get 50K miles?" and what I'm trying to ask is how long can Synthetic last if unused (my situation is my Show car sits in storage for most of the year and only taken out a few times to drive or goto car shows/meets. I do change my Oil every 5K but sometimes it takes me a year or two to get to 5K.. Does it hurt anything? Should i changed it more often according to some "time interval" rather than miles since it takes me a long time to get to 5K..

neojungle1

iTrader: (8)

^^^my father(well my ) 1976 chevy g10 van get a oil change like once a year..but it only get driving like 500 mile or less yr oil look fine.. fyi its also running mobil 1 synthetic oil so i dont see a reason to change it just turn it on warm it up recharge your battery

az-dave

Good question 1QWK,

I used to drive this car A LOT, about 35-38K/yr. That was until 2009. I now drive it about 7-10K/yr.

Letting an engine sit for extended periods of time doesnt harm the Oil, the bigger problem is that the oil slowly drains off of all the internal parts, bearings, journals, etc, and when you start it back up, the metal has less oil for the first 10 seconds to lubricate. The oil itself will last forever unless its contaminated with coolant. Then the oil will slowly go bad.

Dark Oil DOES NOT indicate Bad Oil, most of the dark is microscopic soot, and a new Good Oil Filter (K&N) will sufficiently filter out the oil. I put new Filters in every 5K and add 1 Qt of Oil, or a tad less.

I really wish I had taken a picture of the Cams, Valve Lifters and inside of the Valve covers to show how there was absolutely no sludge or Dark Oil in there. I can see the Cam and One lifter thru the Oil Fill Cap...maybe I should snap that pic.

If your Engine has a lot of miles on it, dont switch to Synthetic...its not that the Syn "Causes" leaks, what it does is it dissolves old hardened oil at bad gasket/seal areas, and then lets the smaller Syn Oil Molecules leak thru. It "Finds" leaks that are either slow, or otherwise plugged up by Petro Oil deposits.

Have Fun!

raytseng

After oil enters service, it begins to degrade and the additives will separate out, even if you don't use the car at all. So it is expected that low mileage old oil is going to perform worse, and may have degraded far enough to be out of proper operating spec.

All manufacturers posts times as well as mileages when you need to change the oil, for Lexus I believe it says 6months in the 2gs manual? But many now say 1year.

These maybe somewhat conservative recommendations to prevent damage, since no one is going to know the exact conditions of your car use or your storage conditions.

Even if majority chance is your oil is ok to use, no oil manufacturer is going to make a recommendation over 1year that will open them up to liability.

Here's Mobil 1's saying 1year
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/..._Warranty.aspx

So rule of thumb, maybe 1year or so you should change it. If you want to go longer, chances are it will be fine, but the only way you are going to be completely sure is if you send out your oil for analysis, and no one is going to guarantee that for you.

az-dave

Im gunna need more proof than Mobile one scaring people into replacing perfectly good oil with...new MObile One. :-) Do this: Put in some Synthetic Mobil One oil, Drive 1000 miles, park the car for one year, drain some oil, take it to be analyzed. It will be more than fine. With no exposure to continued exhaust and other volatiles, there will be no chemical reactions going on in sitting oil that are measurable.

I have almost 250K on my car...the seats are ripping...its 13 yrs old, I drive it HARD...When I said I went 50K between Oil CHANGES since 2001, I meant it...that meant I was USING the Oil for over 1 year only changing filters. If the Oil lubricated for over 1 yr while be exposed to the extreme condition exerted on it from a gasoline internal combustion engine, why would it degrade worse while sitting? It burns no Oil, it drives as Strong as it did in 10+ yrs ago...what more can I ask for? (seats not to rip would be only thing)

raytseng

I am not taking Mobil 1's side. As I explained said, chances are it's going to be fine. But no one's going to guarantee it or put it in writing.

If you think nothing happens to the oil after you let it sit, that's a misconception. Once your oil's been put into service, you have potential for some condensation and maybe fuel in the oil. Even with no ADDITIONAL exposure, these components are already in the oil causing degradation and additive dropout.
But it's just a matter of conditions and time of how fast that degradation happens. I would agree 1year is a very conservative estimate. But that is the time frame in which you remain under Mobil 1's guarantee.

If they are so sure that absolutely nothing will happen after 1year, don't they use a longer time in their guarantee, thus being better than their competitors guarantees and drawing in some more business?
In other words, they aren't 100% confident that maybe they will get some issues with a small number of customers after 1year.

It's your car, do with it what you want, all I am providing is information on what are documented recommendations and what is guaranteed.

But the end of the day, if you follow az-dave's advice but your car breaks or sludges up, I don't think az-dave's is going to pay for your repairs, so keep that in mind... (I'm not paying either, but Mobil1 will).

Many many people have gone with longer intervals and timeframes and have had 0 problems. But some percentage of them have gone to longer intervals but have had problems. On the flip side, some percentage of people have gone with short intervals and have had problems as well too..

az-dave

Just an update. Took the car on 2 200+ mile trips in 115+deg weather and up some very steep long hauls (1000 elev to 8000 elev).

Car still plugging away great, Ive now got 10,000 miles on my last oil change and will swap the oil filter soon and put 1 qt new in. Im 3/4 qt low, so well within the expected 1/2-1 qt per 5000 miles that Lexus states is good....and Ive got over 250K miles.

Oil is a tad dark but still translucent.

On a slightly different note...Ive still got all original radiator and water heater hoses. I went to inspect the radiator hoses a few weeks ago before the big trip and they are still in great shape. Lexus be using some durable rubber materials on their vehicles...at least in 1998, not sure about now.

I still have no oil leaks and no other major problems except an occasional CEL with Code of P1384 too lean, I think I have a fuel injector with a loose wire or beginning to act up, no biggie.

qphoton

4 years i use only MOTUL 300v Chrono 10w40, i change it every 5000 km ..