Why do we change our oil so often?

[Noridetoolow]

The "Every 3000 mile" rule is also very old and dated. Oils are better made and newer cars are better adapted as well to less frequent oil changes but in and of itself, the advances in oil quality that we now run in our cars allows for longer stretches between oil changes.

[JohnD1079]

I find it funny how the tuner crowd swings from the manufacturers recommendations at their own discretion. People will religiously change their oil early. Do the timing belt on time, never think twice about changing their coolant, etc..
I agree with tippy here. If people are so worried about their cars oil, they should send it in for testing insteak of changing it every 3k.

Me? I used to get shit all the time because I change it at 5k, but im gonna change it and do 7,500 mile oil changes now.

[A Zombies Minge]

I change my filter more often than my oil. I replace the filter at 3k, but only change the oil at 6k. I figure by 3k he filter has trapped enough impurities that it will begin to allow those impurities back into the stream. With changing the filter every 3k I notice that when I do the oil at 6k it still appears to have some life to it. I run my CB hard everyday, my drive to work is only a 10 min drive but I am doing 70+ the whole way. My drive in is up a steep incline and I am usually in 4th gear most of the drive. I can feel when my car need an oil change by the lack of response and decreased millage. I am pushing 300k and I don't burn or leak any oil. I guess it is all a matter of personal preference.

[mercyboy]

well i say 12,000k should ba the right km to change oil...usually if you smell burn oil or your oil is black then it's changing it....but it's up to them if they want to change there oil early or not.....

[Ralphie]

I find it funny how the tuner crowd swings from the manufacturers recommendations at their own discretion. People will religiously change their oil early. Do the timing belt on time, never think twice about changing their coolant, etc..
I agree with tippy here. If people are so worried about their cars oil, they should send it in for testing insteak of changing it every 3k.

Me? I used to get shit all the time because I change it at 5k, but im gonna change it and do 7,500 mile oil changes now.

Do what you will, but there is a clear difference between cars on here that are taken care of and not.

[jdmwannabee]

Do what you will, but there is a clear difference between cars on here that are taken care of and not.

that sounded condescending.

[Ralphie]

that sounded condescending.

No, just saying that if you appreciate the reliability of the cb platform and enjoy maintaining your car, spending a few extra dollars and doing it more regularly isn't a big deal.

I am still not sure where the thread was headed....he wanted to know why people waste their time doing it at 3k when Honda says 7500k.

I did my oil every 3k and filter every 3k when i had my cb.

She burned a little and seeped some into the plugs but all in all, she never left me stranded and ran great 100% of the time.

I wasn't trying to be condescending, but if you look at MRT(not only on this site) but in general, it is easy to tell who does what.

[jdmwannabee]

No, just saying that if you appreciate the reliability of the cb platform and enjoy maintaining your car, spending a few extra dollars and doing it more regularly isn't a big deal.

I am still not sure where the thread was headed....he wanted to know why people waste their time doing it at 3k when Honda says 7500k.

I did my oil every 3k and filter every 3k when i had my cb.

She burned a little and seeped some into the plugs but all in all, she never left me stranded and ran great 100% of the time.

I wasn't trying to be condescending, but if you look at MRT(not only on this site) but in general, it is easy to tell who does what.

that's cool. i used to change my oil and filter every 3000 miles, now i do it every 7500. i think someone pointed it out already that if we follow manufacturer's suggestions for everything else, why not oil. there are some people that are die hard "genuine honda". so, to them, i would think that following honda's recommendations would come easily. especially with advances in oils both conventional and synthetic.

to me, saying that there's a difference in cars that are taken care of vs. those that aren't is a jab at whoever doesn't subscribe to the more conventional method.

but it's all in fun.

[Ralphie]

that's cool. i used to change my oil and filter every 3000 miles, now i do it every 7500. i think someone pointed it out already that if we follow manufacturer's suggestions for everything else, why not oil. there are some people that are die hard "genuine honda". so, to them, i would think that following honda's recommendations would come easily. especially with advances in oils both conventional and synthetic.

to me, saying that there's a difference in cars that are taken care of vs. those that aren't is a jab at whoever doesn't subscribe to the more conventional method.

but it's all in fun.

Well i don't own a cb now but on the CG i do my oil/filter every 6k.

I feel if your going to follow the manufacturers, then you might as well with everything.

I mean as with most things, try and apply some common sense.

If you see the air filter needs replacing you don't have to WAIT until the lapse is up....you can do it early no one will laugh at you.

Same with anything else.

I also rotated changing my tranny fluid on the cb....every other oil change i changed my tranny fluid...so every 6k on the cb....im not sure what it calls for or what people do but being a 93 and being driven daily and hard, i felt it was just the right thing to do.


And i was in NO way saying that if you don't follow the recommendations that your a moron or slacking or in the wrong.

Everyone is guarenteed one thing with their car.....the freedom to do whatever they want with it.

I have respect for both the tuner who changes their oil at 3k and the one who does it at 7500.....know why?

because they are changing it.

The people im taking jabs at are the ones who let their oil take on the viscosity of caramel.

Thats just fucking lazyness, and then of course you come on here and mispell every 5th fucking word and expect us to help you rebuild your shit because we are here in the first place.

[cb7rush]

oil is getting moe advanced, but our cars arent..our cars are still old and continue to age..

my cb can go 5k after an oil change before it starts to get black..i change it at 5k because at 3k it looks as new as the day i put it in..i also use a k&n oil filer and clean and oil my aem air filter regularly..

my girls 04 corolla has been on the ame oil since we bought the car back in april or may..and it looks newer than mine.. new cars are built for the oils that are made today..our cars used to run on some shitty oil back in the day.not enough testing and not enough people other than race drivers cared about the oil in the car.

my point is that even though honda recommends changing the oil at 7500, the api says that for newer cars it is safer to run longer on the used oil.but on older cars it is recommended hat you change it at 3-5k because of the mileage of the older cars.

back then the thinnest grade available for oil was 5w30. now we have cars running on 0w20, 0w30, 5w20, these thin ass oils that if we put that in our car would burn that shit up fast..but newer cars can run 7500 miles to sometimes 10k miles on the same oil change..

[gloryaccordy]

I really think it pays to change the oil more often with older motors. Especially if you have mods. The open element "filters" people have let a lot of dirt in. The driving styles enthusiasts employ are a lot harder on the engines. And all the internals are near the end of their service life. 3,000 might be a lot... but I think 7,500 is too long.

[deevergote]

I go 5000 with a synthetic blend in the H22, and 10,000 with full synthetic in the Fit.

[quickangel93]

This whole 3000 miles oil change thing started as a advertisment back in the day to make oil companys money. They tell you if you dont change your oil in 3k miles things will break. thats so total bs. Gas mileage doesnt change because you oil is black. The way you press your foot down on the gas pedal does. I change my oil every 5k. I did on the m5 i had, the prelude i owned, and my cb7 at one time. I usually just get Mobil 1 5000 with a HONDA oem oil filter, and it lasts. Lexus's new cars warrenty specifies if you change your oil ever 3k your warrenty is voided. That just gives you something to think about. So dont change your oil every 3k because you drive through dust storms, 110 degree heat, 0 degree winters, rainy days and so on because it doesnt affect oil. Oil usually warms up to 220-240 degrees, so just cus its 100 degrees out doesnt mean your oil is going to loose its lubrication. I heard from one local pepboys mechanic that a cb7 came into the shop and the guy didnt change the oil for 40k miles. there was 1 qt left in the engine and it was making rocker arm noises. They changed the oil gave him a new filter and he went his way and the noise stoppped. Also my manger at a&a auto parts used to have a ranger. he drove 200k never changed the oil, just the oil filter. and it drove fine. added oil when it was needed only.

[deevergote]

It was actually started by Jiffy Lube.

The fresher the oil, obviously the safer an engine will be... but 3000 isn't really necessary. It won't hurt, but I'd say 5000 is fine unless you really push your car hard, or you drive in extremely dusty areas.

[19dabeast85]

It really depends on the specific engine. Our cb7s have all seen different driving habits and environments and each one has unique wear. You NEED to get a few oil analysis performed to determine your specific oil change interval.

If I use non-synthetic oil it the traditional 3k / 3months.
If I use quality synthetics like Royal Purple, Amsoil, Torco it's 4k / 4months

If you have a cold air intake with a quality dryflow filter like AEM or Apexi knock 500 miles off your "normal" oil life. If you have a junk filter like K&N knock off 1,000 miles. Otherwise the dirt that gets through will destroy your engine. I have oil analysis that prove this.

My oil temps (f22a1 without oil cooler) top out at 220* F. This is fine because the analysis' show the flash points are 365-380. Your oil needs to get up to at least 200* every time you drive so the condensation will boil off. My engine takes 10 minutes on a hot day for the oil to reach 200*. fyi.