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Oil Change: 3 or 5k?

Old Dec 9, 2002 | 07:19 PM
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Default Oil Change: 3 or 5k?

Ive got a GSR with 90,000 miles and I run Castrol Syntec oil with Honda oil filters. I have an open element air filter (AEM intake) and drive the car about average (as gentle as I do hard). Should I be changing the oil every 3k or can I make it 5k without any problems? It's just that synthetic oil is really expensive so chaning often gets expensive, but with a high time engine I don't want to do anything that is going to cause me probems in the future. Thanks for the imput.
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Old Dec 9, 2002 | 07:27 PM
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i bet everybody has a different opinion on this matter. i say 5k is okay because the people who tell you to change every 3k are the castrols and the jiffy lubes of the world. if you change your oil every 3k instead of 5k, they'd be earning 66% higher revenue.

if the oil is still clean, i don't see why it needs to be changed.
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Old Dec 9, 2002 | 09:19 PM
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I say stick with 3K because oil is cheap compared to engine repair or even worse, a new car payment.....
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Old Dec 9, 2002 | 09:24 PM
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like jclau said, what does you oil look like when you change it after 5k? if it is clean, then keep changing at 5k.
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Old Dec 10, 2002 | 06:22 AM
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i read somewhere that conventional oil starts breaking down almost immediately whereas synthetic starts breaking down at only 3k or so (i think)... meaning, there is no harm in changing synthetic at 5k, at all. especially if you're driving more highway than not.

save your money and do 5k. you'll be safe. the ones saying 3k are just repeating what they've heard.. i'm willing to bet they haven't done any research to back up their claim.
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Old Dec 10, 2002 | 09:19 AM
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how much more is synthetic than your regular oil?

I try my best to keep at 3 on my teg, the oil is usually pretty nasty by then.
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Old Dec 10, 2002 | 09:23 AM
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I change mine ever 3750. Recommended by acura
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Old Dec 10, 2002 | 09:30 AM
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Originally posted by The Bum
how much more is synthetic than your regular oil?

I try my best to keep at 3 on my teg, the oil is usually pretty nasty by then.
petroleum runs about 1$ a quart.

synthetic runs about 4$ a quart.
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Old Dec 10, 2002 | 09:35 AM
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Originally posted by reno96teg
save your money and do 5k. you'll be safe. the ones saying 3k are just repeating what they've heard.. i'm willing to bet they haven't done any research to back up their claim.
I just roll a dice and whichever is facing up first, 3 or 5, is what I go with.... :fawk:
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Old Dec 10, 2002 | 11:14 AM
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check the amount of oil youve got and its color. If it doesn't look drastically different from unused oil and the levels seem normal at 3k miles, you should be ok to go to 5k or so.

In my last integra i already had 5k miles between the change and I went on a 2k mile road trip in one week. NOT good on the engine, but it held up perfectly with no engine damage or anything.
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