PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

So. Got my oil changed today, decided to go with semi-synthetic oil, I can send in a mail in rebate and get a semi-synthetic oil change cheaper than a conventional, so I figured wth. I'm curious how long you guys think I should be able to go between oil changes. My car only has 82K miles on it, and the oil is always fresh and full when changed, and that's going to about 4K miles on conventional. My driving is about 90% city driving, and I have a heavy foot.

I'd go no more than 6k on it, especially if you're mostly just driving around 'Cloud with the car, as short trips are hard on oil.

I tend to follow these mileages..

Dino Oil: 3,000 miles
Semi-Synthetic: 4,000 miles
Full-Synthetic: 5,000 miles

Call me crazy, but that's generally what I follow.

For me personally, I'd say don't go more than 5k on it.

Keep an eye on the color and smell. It will let ya know.

While the official information distributed regarding Valvoline Durablend states nothing about the dino:synth ration, looking at the MSDS sheets reveals that it is about 4:1 (at least it was when it was released in the late 90s). My theory on changing oil is when I can't see the dipstick through the oil, roughly 4500 miles for me with my quasi-highway driving on dino juice

Cool, sounds like I can tack an extra click on it. That's what I was thinking, just wanted some verification. Of course the guy at NTB said 3k for dino juice, and 4k for semi, which is what I was putting on my dino. I just feel like all oils, even dino juice have came a long way from where they were 20 or 30 years ago, and 3k is just overkill anymore, but that's just my opinion.

You can likely go an easy 6000 miles on that. Cripes, I did 7500 mile oil changes with full syn on my old LeSabre, and that engine was clean as a whistle on the inside. Currently I have 5000 miles on the Cruze's full syn oil, and will change once it hits 8000 miles. Yes, that fully complies with warranty requirements!

Go long, my friend. Go long.

I'd change it when the OLM tells you to. With mostly highway driving, mine tells me to change about every 8k, which has been fine so far on regular dino oil, usually the cheapest bargain oil I can find. I have had all analyses show "wear metal" (I take these oil analyses with a grain of salt) way below average, and that's proof enough for me.