When I took mine in the guy looked at me funny for wanting it changed early at 7k.

 

Old wisdom over corporate greed? The problem with old wisdom is that it's old... out of touch with current technology.

Corporate greed is just a demon people use to explain business decisions. I don't know of anybody who buys a car based on how many oil changes they will have to make in the next several years. It certainly wasn't one of my considerations. If it was not good for the engine, manufacturers wouldn't recommend extended service intervals because it would cost them far more in warranty claims. Sure, most cars would still get past the end of the warranty before experiencing problems with longer service intervals but a larger percentage would experience problems within the warranty period. That would cost the manufacturer far more than any perceived difference in total cost of ownership would affect sales.

Using your logic, you should be replacing your spark plugs every 10,000 miles like we used to do in the 60s and 70s. That's the old wisdom. Of course modern cars don't require that because of the improved technology. It's the same with oil.

And nobody is talking about making the oil last. We just don't want to spend money unnecessarily when we could spend it on other things. I don't care how much one makes, wasting money is always foolish.

 

And, should you think the longer oil change interval thing is a relatively new phenomenon, check this out:



That pic was taken of the engine compartment of a '69 Mach I, I believe. 43 years ago.

That said, I've gone by every 5,000 miles or 3 months for my cars because I've always used the argument that it's cheap preventative maintenance - nobody ever had a motor blow because they changed the oil too often. However, I did a Blackstone Labs report on my last one, which you can see below:



Based on this, I may start extending the interval a bit more. I understand where Gster and others are saying though. We've all seen the 3,000 mile number for so long that it's tough to get past it - shows you the power of good, consistent marketing messages by the quick lube places. Yes, I work in marketing so I always like pointing out places where "we" did our job, as almost everyone says, "advertising doesn't affect me at all!"

 

Jc....be careful with that. I would inspect that area where he touched it again. my guess is that there might be some marring or scratches where he touched it. That would make me livid. No dealerships for me.

 

I firmly disagree. Has nothing to do with pride with the car. I have plenty of that, as well as my 2005 F150 with over 130K. It got oil changes at either 5K when I used semi synthetic, or 8 to 9K when I used full synthetic. I bought what was on sale (semi verses full synthetic) at the time.

When using semi synthetic, your intervals would be alright if you want to be that way. Full synthetic can go way above 5 to 6K.

I for one take extreem pride in my Mustang. Oil changes every 8 to 10K now. Ford said they added an extra quart to the pan to extend the oil change interval.

I got castrated awhile back for questioning the engineers relating to an oil issue. Learned that lesson. Now I follow the recomendations.

 

Good marketing can always increase sales....think of 3 words that almost doubled sales over night of a product....wash-rinse-repeat... for shampoo.

 

Did that actually work? I can remember all the jokes on the radio and late night TV about who would actually pay attention to those instructions. But I suppose if it's necessary to put warnings like "remove infant before folding" on baby strollers then it's possible that some people thought "repeat" was important.

 

There's another guy on this forum who changed it several times prior to reaching 5k miles...simply, utterly wasteful, both in money and oil. Yes, the oil is recycled but it's impossible to return 100% of the used oil to a usable product, even if all you've done is run it in the car for 100 miles. Changing the oil in a mustang that is less than five years old more often than the recommended intervals for the usage it gets from you is ignorant, stubborn and wasteful. No, it DOESN'T provide a benefit, whether you think it does or not. It DOES waste a very important commodity in our society and makes the gas prices go up, among other things. The engines are designed to use this oil over a certain interval. It is a MUCH heavier-duty lubricant than what we had even ten years ago, let alone compared to what your dad used. Hey, why take the risk at 3000 miles? Wouldn't 2000 be even better protection/show even more pride in your car? Hell, by that measure, unless you change your oil every time you drive it into the garage, you don't have REAL pride in your car. Come on.

And I'm sorry, but those of you complaining about the service techs daring to touch your car when they service it...good lord. Yes, it's goofy. No, their fingerprints are not going to permanently **** up your paint job. If you care that much about it, you'll probably spend the very next entire Saturday afternoon polishing/waxing/treating/clay-barring it anyway, which means it will be gone from your car in less than a week. I understand guys loving their cars, and I keep my mouth shut about most of the things talked about on here, but this is just patently absurd.

 

Bucko

I remember that man. Lol. Sorry


Kco you know I respect ya and all.

But as far as being worried about other people like service techs touching my paint and scratching it, yes that does bother me. Very much so. If you don't think the human finger/skin can scratch todays very soft clear coats, meet up with me sometime. I'll show you just how sensitive paint is. Swirls and scratches are so easily done. in fact, I remember one time, I just tried feeling my paint after applying a new lsp....what happened after? My finger left remnants of light scratching. yes, I had to remove it via a buffer. Was it necessary? to most people...no. To me yes.

In the end, a select few of us MUST have our paint PERFECT. And I am proudly one of those. So yes, a dealer service tech touching my car would royally **** me off. Can my car be buffed by me anyways to be perfect again? Yes. But so what? It's MY car. And I have the right to have it perfect by my own standards. Besides did you know that whenever it gets buffed, a certain amount of clear coat gets removed? So less touching is better....lol

So to some people, if some people are okay with scratches from other people touching their car....that's fine. I respect them for it. But I expect the same for me.

 

Gas prices go up????? That's like saying if I use a condom tire prices will go up

 

Fine. Prove to me otherwise.

 

I go 5000 on my truck with Royal Purple. I'm going to change the oil in the Mustang this weekend, it just turned 1100 miles, probably go back with Royal Purple and a Wix filter. I've never seen an oil change place that has filled the filter before installing it. That's a pet peeve of mine. 10K miles is a long time, but I have a buddy with a 92 Chevy 4door 2wd dually, '93 Cummins, Eaton 10spd on 22's. He uses Amsoil, and takes oil samples and has them analyzed and then decides on when to change. I know he has gone over 10K miles many times.

 

My little 8 quarts of synthetic oil i put in every 3 months is far less a strain on oil than you me and everyone else that fills their gas tank up every day.

 

Did I mention synthetic meaning not mineral

 

You guys are thinking small scale....

Take 1million people changing their oil 3k miles x8qts
Take 1million people changing their oil 10k miles x8qts

How much oil do you think you'll be saving as a whole.....quite a bit. Think about the whole picture not just yourself.

 

My ignorant self is going to go fishing this weekend and not only fill my boat with gasoline but stoke 2 oil. So when gas prices go up for 4th just blame it on me

 

Hey why not let your engine go 20000 heck let it go 30000 you don't want to waste a precious commodity that there discovering more and more every day. Even though most of it is synthetic and has nothing to do with crude. Come on man save the world.

 

Foolish. Simply go with the recommendations Ford puts out. Your warranty is good, and your wallet benefits.

And you have more money to fish with. That's the important part.

 

Lol. True. A bad day fishing is better than a good day working.

 

I live in a very hot and dusty climate,...I'll go every 3k. If an NDI or engineer came down and told me I could do it at 8k miles and be fine I wouldn't listen. I will continue to waste money on my 3k intervals here in the valley.