Those of you that run full synthetic, how often you change the oil? Isn't it like a 5 or 7 thousand mile oil? Again, ole school stuff but I change my oil religiously between 3 and 3.5 in everything but the tractor!

 

every 3000 reguardless oil breaks down and its not allways gonna be at the same point and time so id say 3000 unless your running amsoil which is like every 15000 miles its good stuff.

 

I change my oil around the 5k mile mark. Synthetic doesn't break down nearly as fast as dino oil does, which is why you can go longer with it. You have to change your "I gotta change the oil every 3k miles" mentality, you don't. And since synthetic is far superior to dino oil, using a "miracle additive" would be a waste of money. I get Mobil1 for $22 for a 5 qt. jug. Add it all up, and using synthetic oil ends up being a money and time saver.

 

I change every 5000 km, synthetic or no. With the Cobalt I'm just following the maintenance schedule so's I can be sure the warranty stays valid, and with the Camaro I'm just being overly protective, lol.

5000 km = 3106 miles, btw

 

The truth of the matter is that EVERY motor oil has additives, even the super-cheap brands you pick up at Wal~Mart or gas stations. Every brand has different amounts and different types, but if you ran a completely additive-free oil in your engine it wouldn't work. Every oil has additives to reduce particle size, reduce foaming, increase/decrease viscosity in temperature changes, etc.

If the oil you buy has the star logo, look at it for details on the performance of that oil. If it doesn't have that star logo anywhere on the bottle, DON'T BUY IT. Most sold-separately additives are designed to be used in oils that have minimal additives of their own (these ones wouldn't have passed testing, and therefore wouldn't have the star). Any oil that has the star has been tested to meet the standards it lists, and it doesn't need additional additives.

 

At least describe it right, it is the API Certification Mark:
http://www.api.org/certifications/en..._OIL_GUIDE.pdf

"Star logo" could mean anything...

I mean is it THAT star? ;-)

 

True. By "star logo," I did of course mean the certification mark.

Thanks for the link, too! That's very helpful for people who don't know how to read the label.

Your best bet with buying oil is to read the labels and find an oil that's qualified for whatever it is you need. If you do that, you don't need additives.