Is it better to change the oil at 3k miles or 5k miles when using regular oil? The car dealer says 3k miles but that's because the want your money and they can sell more oil changes. Has anybody here had any issues (or problems) when wating to change the oil after 4k-5k miles and using regular oil. I know that synthetic oil can last 5k miles easily.

Thanks,

 

For conventional(regular) motor oil I would go 3000 miles. For synthetic motor oil I change it at 5000. I base this information on many articles I have read over the past 20 years and through personal experience. There is also a post here on the forum showing the cam and valve body on a engine using regular then synthetic. For the relative inexpensive price of oil and a filter it is cheap insurance to keep your changed at these intervals.
I prefer NOT going to the dealer for oil changes. In the US there are many oil change places that do the same service for half the cost.

https://mitsubishiforum.com/forum/sh...ight=synthetic

 

I run 5k intervals using a blend in my ranger. The outlander gets a full syn every 5k miles. I'm sure the outlander can go longer on synthetic, but not until the warranty is over and I send in a used oil analysis to see what's going on inside.

If price is an issue, you can find Motorcraft 5w-20 for pretty cheap and is a pretty good oil. This month, Advance is running a promo for Mobile1 (5qts) and a filter (mobile1 filter) for 30 bucks. For 3 bucks less you can get 5qts of Pennzoil Platinum and purolator pureone filter...still a good buy.

 

The maintenance reminder says 4700 miles. And the manual says 7500 miles but I'm sure that that's the max and that they are talking about synthetic oil. My neighbor whos a mechanic says it can go to 5k miles but I think that's a bit risky. The maintenance reminder on the dash says 4700 miles.

I think I'll change it at 4,500 miles for the following reasons:

I mostly drive the speed limit. I drive in the city alot in stop and go traffic but not everyday. I take my other car to work. This does not really tax the engine that much. However, I do push the gas hard when I need to pass cars on the highway although I've never red-lined it (but came close a few times). I'm thinking that somebody that red-lines their car often needs more oil changes.

 

If you'd like a shot of confidence about oils, head over to bobistheoilguy.com and there is EXTENSIVE discussion on different oils, how far they should be trusted, what brand and which line within the brand is best for certain motors and driving styles. Before my ranger and outlander, I was a die-hard conventional oil and 3k mile change intervals...but I've read up on it and have seen that better oils will last longer. They even came out with a new oil standard last December. The oils we had 10 years ago were much different than what we have available now.

Stop-n-go driving is supposedly the worst on an engine. Constant driving on the highway is the easiest. The 7500 mile interval in the manual is for a fairytale land situation. Some place that is not dusty, hot, too cold, no pulling around extra weight, etc...everyone has something going on that will put them into "severe" maintenance. The good thing though, if you use better supplies, you can use them longer. read up at bob is the oil guy and put your mind at ease.

also, pick up a rubber/metal crush washer for 5 bucks that you can re-use. the outlander was the first vehicle I've had that had crush washers. I don't like having to buy an all metal one every time I change my oil.

 

Even easier solution than a crush washer for someone who does their own oil changes:

http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/Se...lts.asp?Cat=33

Used one on the van for the past 5years and on the outie for 3years. No more unscrewing anything except the filter. Get the one with the extension adapter and nipple.

 

Hey all,

Wouldn't just sticking to the oil change interval for the severe schedule be the easist thing to do - 6000km or 3750miles, until the warranty is up? I am still on the fence about switching to synthetic since I am not messing around with the interval due to warranty issues, and throwing in synthetic every 6000km seems a bit of a waste, but please correct me if I'm wrong


My old car I put in synthetic and changed it every 9000km - never a problem...

 

my wife drives the outlander so I can't see...and I don't remember reading it or not, does the manual say what should be used (conventional vs synthetic)? A 3750 interval would make sense with a conventional oil...but would not make sense for a synthetic. Now you won't hurt anything, but you'd be spending more than you'd need.

 

No, it doesn't tell you what you should use, but I am going to assume it is basing this on conventional oil. However, like you said, synthetic would be more expensive, but it may be beneficial using it instead of the regular stuff.

My initial point was that while it was under warranty, no matter what you throw in, it might be wise just to stick with the reccomended interval....So I guess my question is is it worth putting in synthetic 5W-20 every 6000km? Does the synthetic advantage come into play even if you are changing your oil on a "conventional oil" schedule? Some say yes, some say no....

 

tcp, could you share one pic of your valve installed on your Outie?