I run Penzoil high millege oil in my 92 Firebird with 127k miles. I've heard that if you change your oil every 3000 miles that high millege isn't really needed unless you drive say 100+ miles daily. Cost wise I can do 2 oil changes for the price of 1 using high millege. Just wondering what others thoughts are about high millege oils. Thanks!

 

I have never heard this before, but I have always used high mileage in my cars too. I guess Ill be looking into this... I am always ontop of my oil changes, so if this is true it might save me some money too!

 

High mileage is a synthetic blend. Change your oil your self, the penzoil hm is only 2 or 3 dollars more than the conventional and a lot better. Personally I recommend full synthetic but that can get pricey when you're on a budget.

Also once you start using full synthetic, you're not supposed to switch back. Im not possitive but id almost be sure that that rule would apply to synthetic blends like high mileage oils as well

 

Not true at all, you can switch between the two no problem. However, the first time you install full synthetic (after using using regular dino) its not uncommon to use a 1/2 to 1 Qt. Had it happen to me on two differant cars and seen it happen to others and I have no idea why.

 

Any good oil you are comfortable with is fine. If you've been using that I'd stay with it. I have religiously used Syntec Blend in my vehicles and I have 147k and 168k respectively and neither one uses a drop.

 

Yeah it takes quite a while to put 3k miles on my car so I think I'll stick with the HM. I take it to a local shop and they only charge me $10 to change it out.

 

Since when is 127k high mileage?

 

Well I concider 127k broken in really well. It's suggested to start running HM oil at 80-90K miles to keep the seals from drying out and other interior engine components in good condition so I do so.

 

If you drive the car once every few weeks the seals never have time to dry out, besides, whats some fancy oil going to do to prevent seals from drying out without being constantly circulated?

 

with today's oil additive packages and standards, 3k is a bit much. non-synthetic i tend to go around 4.5-5k, full synthetic in the 7.5-8k range. Usually 2-3 oil changes a year with my typical driving. But keep an eye on the color, that's really what you should be using to help gauge things.

if you're engines not smoking or burning oil, you don't need to do the high mileage stuff.

 

Doesn't smoke or burn oil and the owner of a auto shop I go to told me the same thing you did. I may just use regular Penzoil that's been used in it since '94.

 

Marketing.

 

"fancy oil"??? No comment...............

 

 

FYI: There is also "fancy gasoline". High octane in case you don't understand........

 

The comment was about oil different than standard conventional, which the high mileage synthetic blend using several additives to work some superstition on an older engine is

FYI, octane rating has no bearing on gasoline quality, it is simply the minimum octane rating for the fuel

 

Wow, So there's no differance between 87 and 93 octane? I hear ya Jethro!

 

Finally, some wisdom comes to this thread.

As a side note, I've been meaning to change the oil in my T/A for quite some time now but I can no longer find Royal Penn-Zo-Line for Red Cars... Now what am I supposed to do?

Proper lubricant is proper lubricant whether the assembly has just been broken in or has 5000 hours on it. If the lubricant is working, don't add anything unnecessary.

If the clearances have changed, alter the viscosity, not the additives.

If the seals are drying, add a seal conditioner (plasticizer, not homopolymers).

If there is scuffing, add EP enhancers.

If there is acid formation, or dissolved metals, just fix the vent system to keep moisture down and change the oil more frequently to minimize etching.

If there is sludge formation, change the type of oil and install a good filter since whatever is being used is either reacting to its environment to create deposits instead of carrying them to the filter and/or the filter is incapable of trapping the particles.

The soup of additives usually blended into "High Mileage" products probably contains something intended to address a problem that might be experienced with well worn assemblies, but also probably contains a lot of things you really wouldn't want in your lubricant.

If you really want to do something good, use the extra money you would spend on designer oil to change the oil more frequently. Or better yet, send off a sample of the drained oil for analysis so you have a clue about what's going on instead of watching TV commercials.

 

When people ask me at work what the best oil is, they get frustrated because I tell them the 'Any SAE Approved oil in the correct weight for your car that you change it every 3000 miles'. I realize 3000 miles is old school and most modern oils and modern filters can go twice that, but It's a good, easy number for most people to remember. And yes, it's over kill, but nobody has ever blown an engine from having clean oil and a fresh filter. Besides, it's a good habit to get into. I'm constantly seeing cars that are 3 and 4 years old, only 100K on them and the oil is black as coffee and thick as taffy. They come into the shop with no oil on the dipstick because the car had like 5 oil changes in 100K. When you tell the person they had no oil in their car, they always want you to tell them it'll be ok now, and I further upset them by telling them no, because Metal doesn't heal.
Me: You buy that car new?
Them: Yeah..
Me: How many times have you changed the oil?
Them: I don't know...
Me: You should have had it changed about THIRTY TIMES for this kind of mileage..
Then: What.. woah, really?

And I stress the weight because there are always idiots who tell me they 'don't believe in 5 weight oil' or 'I've always run 15W40 Delvac in my Toyota truck... what engine noise?'. In the long run, more expensive oils may increase horsepower, may reduce consumption, may do a lot of things. But changing it is still the best. Just my 2 cents.

 

Well put, my oil and filter gets changed every 3k miles on any vehicle.

 

Great information, thanks for the input.

 

Great explanation, my question is answered and what you said makes sense. Thanks and regular Penzoil it is.

 

Best

Idea

Evar

 

Thanks for the advise. Oh and by the way if you have any extra money a Webster dictionary comes to mind for you.

Best

Idea

"Evar"?

 

I used Pennzoil years ago when I first started driving, but I found in my '87 Z-28 at the time it broke down to quickly and would leak past the valve seals in turn fouling out my spark plugs (granted this was in the mid 90's). I switched to Castrol, in the proper weight for my vehicles and have never gone to anything else. My current Camaro has over 170,000. I've owned her for over 10 years and have not had any internal engine problems. The same would go for the rest of the vehicles I own ('06 Cobalt bought new with over 110,000 on it now/ '99 Durango bought used now has almost 100,000/ '99 Trans-Am WS6 bought used now has a little over 90,000, though I run full synthetic it's still Castrol). I also religiously change my oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles which ever comes first (and yes the same goes for the use of the synthetic even though I can get more than double that). I am fully aware that manufactures these days insist that you can go roughly 5,000 miles between oil changes on conventional oil and upwards of 9,000 miles on full synthetic (I worked at a GM dealership for several years and not sure how many people paid attention, but when this came out so too did the increase in the number of quarts used in vehicles). I am a firm believer in preventative maintenance and changing your oil or having someone do it for you is the simplest thing you can do.

 

True that. The 5.0 in my camaro takes 5.0 quarts... but so does the 2.8 liter 4 banger in the new Colorado/Canyon and the 3.0 V6 in a ford taurus. The northstars, ranging from 4.4-4.6 liters take 7.0-7.5 quarts. The Vortec 4200 (which I actually believe is probably one of the best engines GM has made in a long damn time, and I will fight you over it! ) takes 7. The 4.7 Liter Mopar V8s (Depending on application) Range from 6-7 quarts, VS the 5 quarts the old 5.2/5.9 magnums took.