Doug, if you don't have a good enough reason to go for extended oil change intervals, then I wouldn't bother using synthetic oil. Our Westy gets used mostly for long distance service, so for us, extended drain intervals are a big plus. I don't have to deal with oil changes on the road, which can get really interesting when you're traveling with a cat. He really hates Wal-Mart waiting rooms, and I can't say that I really blame him. I change both oil and filter at around 8,000 mile intervals, using Mobil1 15w50 and Mahle filters. Back in the day, I tried pushing 20w50 dino oil (Castrol) past 4,000 miles and began experiencing low oil pressure at 2,000RPM (that buzzer sure is loud!), upon restarting and leaving a gas or rest stop after a long hot run. After the switch, this phenomenon never happened again. One other plus is that damned lifter noise every owner of a 2.1 hears every now and then became a thing of the past, even after a five month period of downtime. The engine started right up and nary a tick was heard. George/ATL '89 Westiico, Wernher |
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