It’s a love-hate situation.  As much as I hate having to do oil changes, I love synthetic oil.  Those days of “three thousand mile” oil changes are now archived to the national automotive museum.

Short and sweet, I just went 19,300 miles on my last oil change in my 1997 Lexus LS 400 with 180,000 miles.  About a year’s worth of driving for me.  The car is doing great, and I want to keep it that way.  Catastrophic damage can occur from lubrication failure due to oil breakdown or loss of oil from dissipation or consumption.  So, the two important factors to consider are timing, and oil grade.  And, they each influence the other.

Oil formulation and wear is a science in and of itself (refer to my previous article How Often Should I Change My Oil?).  Not all oils are the same, and not all synthetic oils are the same.  I am not an expert on which is which.  But what I do know is that I trust Mobile 1 to take me 15,000 to 20,000 miles between changes.  Simple is better for me.

Funny thing is, I still know a few people who like to spend their oil change money every 3,000 miles; must be therapeutic or something

Happy Driving!

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