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Oil Change

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So I'm contemplating whether I should change my oil or not before I go on a long road trip in 2 weeks. I have 1800 miles on the Boss now. I hear from several people that they have changed their oil even earlier. I can see how one would need to change oil a lot when the car gets tracked a lot and all but I haven't done that yet.

Does the Boss really need an oil change every 1000 or so miles (or less even?!) or are people being extreme here?
With my '68 Mustang I changed it every 3000 miles.

I want to take good care of my car but I'm trying to figure out here what's realistic / normal and what's overzealous.

Advice?

The 'oil life' thing on my apps screen says there's tons of life left in my oil...
 

TMSBOSS

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TheMarco said:
So I'm contemplating whether I should change my oil or not before I go on a long road trip in 2 weeks. I have 1800 miles on the Boss now. I hear from several people that they have changed their oil even earlier. I can see how one would need to change oil a lot when the car gets tracked a lot and all but I haven't done that yet.

Does the Boss really need an oil change every 1000 or so miles (or less even?!) or are people being extreme here?
With my '68 Mustang I changed it every 3000 miles.

I want to take good care of my car but I'm trying to figure out here what's realistic / normal and what's overzealous.

Advice?

Marco

You sure came to the right place for advice. No shortage here.

3000 miles is a common, although old school benchmark for oil changes.

1000 miles for break in oil, first change, is also a common belief.

A mofern way to judge change interval now is through oil analysis. Take a sample and send it in for evaluation. The lab tells you condition of oil and additive content.

One option is to use Blackstone labs.


http://www.blackstone-labs.net

You can go to their site and request a sample bottle. It's free. Send them a sample, you pay shipping. Analysis was $25.00 last time I looked. This method should be able to tell you how long you can go between oil changes. With a oil change costing in the $70.00 and up range, the cost of the lab test can be recovered easily.

Good luck with all the advice heading your way..... oh yea, very common theme.
 
My first was at 2000 miles, my next will be somewhere between 4000 to 5000 for interval. 3000 mile oil change intervals are a bit extreme when running modern day synthetics even with some track time. If the car see a lot track time, I would change it around 3-4k miles or every 3-4 track days.
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
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I agree with 3-4 track days, however 4K (especially if street driving) may be a bit much - depends on the car and the driver ;D I think a good rule of thumb is the color of the oil. We all know the synth oil is slippery as heck, the issue is contaminents and carbon buildup in the oil. That said, if the oil starts to get 'too dark' I swap it out, independent of the # miles or track days....
 
With normal street driving (including spirited WOT pulls) you're more than safe following the manufacturers' recommended intervals. After all, it's their warranty they have to protect. If you're tracking your car that changes things and the advice already given is sensible.
 
302BOB said:
I'm changing my oil every 5k miles. That's less than what Ford recommends but more than the old school 3k interval. My Boss doesn't see the track...just a little "spirited" driving now & then.

That's my pattern as well for now. I think until I start tracking the car (right now I don't have the money for that unfortunately) I'll follow a similar interval. I'll have one change earlier though because it's new but after that I'll do something like this.
 
519
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This is a religious discussion with every performance car in the world. Look at any internet forum for any car and you'll see arguments.

I personally would have done the first oil change long ago, but you can do whatever you want. My reasoning is that there is no way to build an engine without getting at least some machining bits/machining oil/gasket material/dirt into the crankcase. Also, there is much more wear on the engine during initial break in than during the rest of the lifespan, so your oil will have more metals from break in. I change the oil on all of my new vehicles at 500 miles and again at 1000 miles for these reasons.

I'd like to point something out to the people who say to just follow the manufacturer's recommendation for oil intervals. The goals a manufacturer has in setting those intervals do *not* include you getting maximum life out of your engine. They are designed to get you to the end of the warranty without any claims, while satisfying environmentalists who are targeting frequent oil changes as "wasteful". I *GUARANTEE* if you took a survey of Ford engineers asking them how often they change their oil, it is more frequently than the factory recommendations.

YMMV.
 
Here is my crappy .02 cents worth ;D. My first oil change will be at 2000 miles. Then my normal interval will be 5000. These cars hold like 8.5 qts and if not tracking, there is no need for a 3k oil change. My experience comes from my 2008 Pontiac G8 that holds 9 quarts of oil. GM had to replace the crappy AFM lifters in my car for noise and they had to remove the heads. It was the cleanest engine they had seen internally. Used Valvoline synthetic since 5k miles(has 70k when work was done) and always changed it around 5,000 mile intervals. So, thats my plan.
 
This has been WORN out!!! Here is a solution:

1. Change your oil whenever and how often that makes YOU feel good. It's your car!!!!
2. Use whatever oil you want, of the three major choices(Motorcraft, Mobil 1, castrol Syntec) I doubt any of them will "hurt" your engine.
3. See 1 and 2.
 
The thing for me is that I don't need to spend $120 to 'feel good'. I want to do it when it's needed, not less, but definitely not more either. There's many better things to spend $120 on to 'feel good', including things that are for the actual car.

But it looks like this is the kind of thing where everyone has a different opinion. Combined with the manufacturer recommendations which are a compromise between the being 'the best for the engine' and 'the best for the environment' I suppose there's no such thing as a true, scientifically valid oil change interval that's truly 'the best' without wasting money.

Bummer, really... It seems like something so simple.
 
TheMarco said:
The thing for me is that I don't need to spend $120 to 'feel good'. I want to do it when it's needed, not less, but definitely not more either. There's many better things to spend $120 on to 'feel good', including things that are for the actual car.

But it looks like this is the kind of thing where everyone has a different opinion. Combined with the manufacturer recommendations which are a compromise between the being 'the best for the engine' and 'the best for the environment' I suppose there's no such thing as a true, scientifically valid oil change interval that's truly 'the best' without wasting money.

Bummer, really... It seems like something so simple.

Ok, to clear up what I thought was stated quite simply. FEEL GOOD was meant as what makes you satisfied PERSONALLY when it comes to changing your oil in your car. There are tons of opinions, but what it comes down to is what you decide, and that decision is yours so do what you feel is best. Then if someone has a different opinion, that's theirs. Yes, $120 is a lot of money, but if you are satisfied with when you change your oil then who cares. It's your money and your car. And last time I checked, oil is "for the actual car"

The last thing I'm worried about when deciding oil change frequency is the environment!!!
 
So it turns out my dealer wants only $69.99 for an oil change (9qts of Motorcraft 5w50 + filter). which is cheaper than doing it myself. Gonna get it done next week :)
 

ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
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Seems awfully cheap for FULL Motorcraft synth, even by the 55 gal drum. Can you have the service dept. verify for you that they use Use Motorcraft SAE 5W-50 full synthetic or an equivalent SAE 5W-50 full synthetic oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C931-B.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
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TheMarco said:
So it turns out my dealer wants only $69.99 for an oil change (9qts of Motorcraft 5w50 + filter). which is cheaper than doing it myself. Gonna get it done next week :)

Same deal at my dealer. A few bucks more for state tax. Hard to beat!!
 
He mentioned the Motorcraft specifically but I'll double-check when I go in with the car. That said, the fact that it's the same with TMSBOSS' dealer makes me even more confident that I'm gonna get the right oil.

That said, I've been reading up on lubrication and it makes my head spin till I'm completely dizzy, and then some. Apparently there's all sorts of opinions out there on what kind of oil to use. I see a lot of people claiming there's much better options than Ford's recommended oil. Since I completely lack the knowledge to make any kind of judgement on what all these people are saying I guess I'm gonna stick with Ford's recommendation and double check I get the exact right oil before I have them do the change.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
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Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
TheMarco said:
He mentioned the Motorcraft specifically but I'll double-check when I go in with the car. That said, the fact that it's the same with TMSBOSS' dealer makes me even more confident that I'm gonna get the right oil.

That said, I've been reading up on lubrication and it makes my head spin till I'm completely dizzy, and then some. Apparently there's all sorts of opinions out there on what kind of oil to use. I see a lot of people claiming there's much better options than Ford's recommended oil. Since I completely lack the knowledge to make any kind of judgement on what all these people are saying I guess I'm gonna stick with Ford's recommendation and double check I get the exact right oil before I have them do the change.

Marco

The decision for me is easy. I work overseas and barely put 2K on the car in a year. I change annually. Last change came with 1800 miles.

Ford products, yes I checked the product when it came from the parts department, Ford documentation of service, great price and someone's else's mess. Easy decision.

It's not about the work. I have done major overhauls on engines as small as a Briggs 3HP up to a Detriot Diesel truck engine. I enjoy the work. I also enjoy my time. Not having to mess with the waste oil gives me back some time at home. To me, that is important.

Enjoy your ride. One of Fords better efforts.

Tracy
 
TheMarco said:
He mentioned the Motorcraft specifically but I'll double-check when I go in with the car. That said, the fact that it's the same with TMSBOSS' dealer makes me even more confident that I'm gonna get the right oil.

That said, I've been reading up on lubrication and it makes my head spin till I'm completely dizzy, and then some. Apparently there's all sorts of opinions out there on what kind of oil to use. I see a lot of people claiming there's much better options than Ford's recommended oil. Since I completely lack the knowledge to make any kind of judgement on what all these people are saying I guess I'm gonna stick with Ford's recommendation and double check I get the exact right oil before I have them do the change.

If you are concerned, do an oil sample test. I don't recall the name of the place, I think it was something like Blackstone Labs, but you send them a sample and they tell you how much life is left in the oil. You can use that as a baseline for how long to leave the oil in.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
5,242
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
If you are concerned, do an oil sample test. I don't recall the name of the place, I think it was something like Blackstone Labs, but you send them a sample and they tell you how much life is left in the oil. You can use that as a baseline for how long to leave the oil in.
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Reply #1.
 

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