EMOT

I just got my first oil change done at 5k miles. Yes, I know I waited too long, but I can’t turn back the clock. I decided to go with Amsoil. I don’t want to rehash the old debate over which oil is best, however going with a syn oil is a no brainer. I went with the Amsoil due to cost and convenience.
I found a local Amsoil dealer online that charged me list for the product and only $20.00 in labor. Total charged was $82.45 for the oil change. He came to my house to do the oil change and showed up in a Cayenne to boot.
I was originally going to do a Mobil One change at a local shop until I did the math. I called 3 shops and all were ~$70.00. I asked all what filters they used and none offered a Mobil One filter. It doesn’t make sense to use 15k mile oil and a 3-5k mile filter. The Amsoil oil and filter are both rated for 25k.
I also had my manual tranny fluid changed as well. BTW, the $20.00 labor was for both the engine and tranny. I was going to do the rear diff but there was a snag. We found out that 05+ mustangs don’t have a drain plug on the rear diff. You have to crack the cover and then use silicone to reseal it as it doesn’t have a gasket either. He unfortunately did not have any silicone or he would have done that as well, and yes that would have been included with the $20.00 labor charge.
I am very happy with the results. I have only put on 50 miles but the car runs great so far. It idles much smoother now. The tranny works great as well but I always thought it shifted like butter anyway. I decided to change all 3 fluids to get better performance and better fuel economy. I am obviously more interested in performance and power as I would have bought a Prius for fuel economy.
I will let you know my thoughts after a few hundred miles on the changes.
I put Magnapacks on last week and will do a post on those once I get a clip. We all know an exhaust post with no clip is useless.

1mike1

i need to switch to Amsoil soon.

metroplex

Amwayoil's dealer pricing was higher compared to the M1 5-qt jug pricing at Wal-Mart.

EMOT

True, but M1 oil and filter are not good to 25k.

metroplex

Neither is Amsoil unless you have their bypass filter system installed in the car. Otherwise it is just tricky advertising.

With my annual mileage, I would just change the synthetic at 6k miles or 1 year, whichever comes first.

Arrow

Holy bald tires! $80 bucks for an oil change? Did I miss something?

EMOT

If you can find a local shop that will do a M1 change for less than $70 please let all of us know. Std oil changes can be had for ~$30.

TacoBill

Unless you physically can't, try changing the oil yourself next time; it's much more rewarding than handing over $20... JMO.

Pwny

I have heard great things about Amsoil. My girlfriend's cousin's husband is a dealer for Amsoil. He says its great.

Unless he is just pulling my chain to get some money =)

metroplex

Amsoil works on a pyramid scheme (which is why I call it Amway oil) but you don't have to do that to remain a dealer. Reportedly, the oil itself is very good stuff. It just seems their advertising seems overly optimistic. For instance, they claimed their European 5W-40 formula met a series of Mercedes-Benz oil specs. I contacted Daimler and they said the spec was non-existent. Amsoil simply copy and pasted the page numbers of the specs it claimed to meet, ignoring the fact that one of the page numbers did not actually contain a spec/requirement. Amsoil products don't carry genuine certifications because it costs too much to get them tested. Mobil 1 did not state their Mobil 1 ATF met Mercon-V until after they obtained certification, which costs tens of thousands of dollars in testing.

Another example is their Amsoil ATF. It meets a variety of specifications including Mercon, Mercon-V, ATF+3, and ATF+4. ATF+4 is a HIGHLY friction modified ATF (lots of friction modifier content) while Mercon has a much lower friction modifier content. It's almost impossible to meet both specifications with the same product, yet that is what they claim. Buyer beware...

Their engine oil, on the other hand, has gotten rave reviews but last I checked their dealer prices were not very good. I could walk down to Wal-Mart and buy the Mobil 1 for $4/qt whereas dealer Amsoil pricing puts them at around $5-$6/qt. They claim their filters are rated for X miles, but they recommend 6 month changes. What makes oil and filters self-destruct with 0 miles of use in 6 months??

The only way to get close to 25k mile oil change intervals with Amsoil is to use a bypass filtration system. It seems hardly worth the effort if you drive 6k-12k miles a year. For a trucker or long distance commuter, it might make sense due to less downtime for maintenance.

I recommend changing the oil more frequently (in terms of mileage) rather than later, and do it yourself with a new FL-820-S change. It costs me about $30 or less total per change (6 qt Group III synthetic, 1 new FL-820-S). Most auto shops take the used oil for recycling (Wal-Mart does it around here).

tacbear

Last one I got at Wal-mart was $48.99!! 5 quarts of 5W20 Mobil 1 and a Motorcraft Filter (this was my 02 Harley F 150, the Mustang doesn't go near Wal-mart).

70MACH1OWNER

Why are a number of people always try to see how long they can go between oil changes??? 7,500...10,000...15,000 miles...or more. Why not just change your oil with a good oil at the manufacturers suggested interval? Go into the dealer with a bearing or ring issue and tell them you are changing oil at 10,000 or 15,000 mile intervals because Amsoil or Mobil 1 says you can. After the laughter stops you can try to explain why these oil makers say you don't have to change your oil for that long. And these oil makers won't warrant your engine problems either. The dirt and nasty stuff that accumulates is oil every day never goes away until you drain the crap and put in new. Sorry don't buy it.
Scott

Pwny

I don't understand that either. People should change their oil at the recommended interval. I would at least.

281GT

It doesn't matter how good an oil was to start with, dirty oil is dirty oil. While the synthetics won't break down as easily as non synthetics they still get contaminated with harmful particles. Change at the manufacturer's recomended intervals or even SOONER if the engine is operated under harsh conditions. Anyone who is trying to extend oil change intervals is fooling themselves into a false economy or otherwise just being cheap.
The ONLY instance I can think of where one could legitimately extend oil change intervals is when operating the engine on propane or natural gas. These fuels burn MUCH cleaner than gasoline and the oil doesn't get dirty nearly as fast but this doesn't apply to the average Mustang.

blkstang06

Right on! Charlie, the simple truth is when a motor oil changes color as in darkening, its either breaking down and or as contaminants in suspension. change your oil at least as Ford recommends I don't care what these oil peddlers say!! I run Royal Purple 5W20 with the Ford Racing filter (CM-6731-FL820) I change it at 3500 mile intervals!

Glenn

having dirty oil does not mean its gone bad. Only an oil test will tell you wheather the oil is bad or not. These oil companies have tested and retested their oil and they know it is good untill a certian amount of miles are put on it. I don't think its a matter of being cheap as it is not wasting oil.

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

one of several tests out there on the net.

theedge67

I change my oil at 7,500 miles and according to every analysis I have done of the oil, I am being conservative. If I have a ring failure at 350K miles, I don't think it was because I extended out the oil change interval.

Glenn

I just don't understand. No one throws their tires away when they are half wore out or their computer or their blender or their frying pan or lightbulbs or watch or a half gallon of milk, shoes, brake pads, or any thing else that is half wore out. So why do some throw perfectly good oil away? If your going to do 3k 4k or even close to 5k mile oil changes just use reg oil.
Waste I tell you waste.
I posted this a while back but thought of it when I read this thread.

metroplex

Good luck trying to prove that the oil didn't cause whatever engine failure that occured. Ford dealerships generally don't acknowledge Amsoil as being better than Motorcraft 5W-20.

As for the oil tests, or used oil analysis, they will cost upwards of $20 or more and require good sampling techniques or else you contaminate the sample. Most people won't bother to do that and I don't blame them. Just change the oil regularly and the engine will last a long time.

Oil is a maintenance/throw-away item, while blenders and computers are items you do not throw away unless they are damaged/broken. You are comparing apples to oranges.

69Mach1-409

I'd rather spend a few extra $$$ and turn a wrench now, then possibly have a big problem later on I could of prevented.

I've used RP or Mobile 1 in my truck and now the stang every 2.5-3k. My truck had 73k miles on her when she was traded in and was still running like the day I brought her home.