[Guillermo]

To satisfy the warranty you are forced to follow their recomendations.
But the only way to determine the best oil change intervals for YOUR car and YOUR driving patterns using YOUR prefered engine oil is to get samples of your engine oil analyzed every few thousand miles.

Contact these people:
http://www.wearcheck.com/


My friend has used them and his oil analysis results determined that his K&N filter in his Camaro was letting in too much silica (sand/dirt), so he changed to OEM filter and after a while oil analysis showed new OEM filter was working much much better at keeping the dirt out.

 

[Guillermo]

I'm not an auto engineer but i'm an mechanical engineer that works at a company that makes off-road machines. Hour meters are useful on machines that typically work hard all the time. Cars unfortunally are used in too many different conditions for hour meters to be any more useful then odometers.

People tend to be emotional about their cars and just as emotional about their "prefered" oil change interval. The fact is changing your engine oil and filter early and often is a waste of money and time. Not changing your engine oil and filter often enough causes higher then normal wear/damage to the engine and other components.
The only way to determine the ideal oil change interval is to study the results of an "oil analysis" taken from a small sample of engine oil at a recomended interval. Many companies with fleet vehicles do this because it makes the most economic sense, and this is an example where economic sense makes the most environmental sense as well.

I'm going to order a dozen oil analysis kits and start getting my engine oil analysed. I'll keep you posted in the comming months with the results when they come in.

 

[Guillermo]

Read this report to learn about extending engine oil drain intervals.
http://www.wearcheck.com/literature/techdoc/WZA021.pdf

 

[Guillermo]

Regular "dino" oil is full of compromises to produce it cheaply. One of the significant differences between regular oil and synthentic is the following:
Regular oil is refined from crude oil (that's why we call it "dino" oil, dinosaur juice get it?). Crude oil is full of nasty stuff you dont' want in your engine but they refine it enough so it works ok at a narrow temperature and application range. One thing they have trouble removing well is parafin (also know as wax) they have to add additives only to reduce how much the wax is going to solidify in cold temperatures!
Synthetic oil is created one molecule/chemical at a time into a very specific refined mixture. Everything in synthetic oil is there for a reason.

Because of these differences, synthetic oils are vastly superior in low temperatures and high temperatures.
The only reason they make so many different grades of synthetic is because people want to buy the same grade recomended in their manual that is refereing to regular dino oil.
A high quality synthetic like 0W30 Amsoil is much better in cold (obviously) but it's actually much better in real life normal and hot operating conditions compared to 5W30, 10W30 or even 10w40 dino oil (not so obvious!).
Synthetic oils are better in every performace catagory including lower fuel consumption because it reduces friction so much more.

Keep in mind that the SAE test that determines the viscosity of the oils at standardized temperatures (0W20, 5W30, 15W50 etc..) was developed a long time ago. The first number before the "W" indicates the viscosity of the oil at a specific "winter" temperature (feel free to look up the exact numbers because I don't remember them). The second number is the viscosity of the oil at a high temperature (forgot that number too). But the fact is that almost all modern engines are working with oil temperatures much higher then the temperature used to determine that second number!

Amsoil engineers have stated that their best engine oil for ALL cars in ALL conditions and ALL temperatures is their 0W30 series 2000 synthetic.
I've seen reports that showed that Mobil 1's best oil for ALL cars in ALL conditons is their 0W40 synthetic.

I'm willing to bet that a synthetic 0W30 (or even a 5W30) would give the same or better fuel consumption then a 0W20 dino engine oil.
This would be imposible to test outside of labratory conditions.

I better get back to work now, lunch is over....

 

[Guillermo]

The best engine oil filters in order are:
(This is my opinion based on some reports and other web info i've seen and people I know)

Amsoil filter
Mobil 1 filter
Purlator PureOne filter

These are higher capacity filters (in order of capacity), that will remove smaller particals and allow you to extend the filter change safely. By how much depends on alot of things.
The only way to determine that is adding some sort of pressure gauge comparing oil pressure before and after the oil filter, or doing oil analysis will also give you info such as recommend filter changes.