how often do you change your engine oil?

[daan]

Speaking of filters, I know my Miata had much better oil pressure and a lot less "lifter tick" with good filters. (Mazda OEM was best, then "anything other than FRam" was next) I know I will be going to the dealer to get a box of filter cartriges for my 5 as soon as it's warmer out.

 

[rweatherford]

I never suggested using those cheap filters... Plus, were talking filteration quality... not build quality. As you will notice, I said the cheap wal-mart filter meets OEM specs but right on the border. I NEVER said it was as good as something like a Mobile 1 or a K&N Oil Filter...

My apologies, you are correct. My fault. (nuts)

 

[opus]

I try to change my oil between 3 and 4 months and 3,000 and 4,000 miles, depending on the amount of hwy vs. city driving. I bought a package of 6 filters from a dealership in Alabama and they ended up running about 4 bucks a filter, so I was happy at that point.

 

[bulwnkl]

I run UOAs on all my vehicles. Using an extremely high-quality synthetic blend (Schaeffer) which would run 10,000-15,000 miles forever in the Neon, the oil is shot by 7,000 miles in our 5. So, I'd personally never take any 'conventional' past 5,000 in this engine. It fuel dilutes and the fuel attacks and destroys the oil, leading to higher wear and/or corrosion.

So, it's 5,000 miles per change for me 'cause I like the easy-to-remember interval. I use OEM Mazda filters that I change every oil change, and I change the air filter with an OEM Mazda unit every 10,000 miles to try to keep combustion efficiency high.