Discussions

All depends on the car and it's oil requirements! does it take synthetic, most Mazda's do. and does it require a special oil filter. some will cost 50 to 70 dollars and some cost up over the 100 dollar mark. 10,000 km sounds fairly high to me I would say between 5,000 to 7,000 depending on the time of year winter being harder on your oil.

What does the owner's manual say? Each make and model are slightly different.  
 
We take all our vehicles to West End Service for everything and anything.

Engine oil and filter in all of our vehicles at 10,000kms , but you should check with your manufacturer. I don’t use synthetic unless the manufacturer specifically recommends it as it is overpriced and overrated. I do all of my own maintenance (29 years qualified technician) . Otherwise I would only use a dealer or a reputable repair shop.

Nost new vehicles have a built in oil life monitor that is based on running time, km, numbers of starts/stops, operating and ambient temps, etc...  
 
I always go with with synthetic for my driveway changes and find it's not too expensive if you stock up on sale. The cold weather performance vs conventional is worth it for most anything imo.

Synthetic oil is far better oil for today's engines. The owners manual will give you info what oil, and when it should be changed. If your not able to find it yourself, call your service department at your dealer. They will advise you what is recommended for your vehicle.

It’s a farce. It is not worth spending the extra money on synthetic oil unless recommended by the manufacturer or for heavy equipment engines in winter use. My truck has 300,000 Kms on it and has never seen synthetic. The key to long engine life is regular scheduled oil changes I guarantee it.

Agree that as long as your intervals are good, conventional or synthetic is fine, with correct weight. synthetic intervals are longer but usually  
more expensive.  
 
One word of advice though is going synthetic if you have a direct injected turbo engine. I believe it’s the group 4 base synthetics you want. High heat load and shear from these engines. Bobistheoilguy is a great forum and people even send their oil to labs for results.

Your confusing opinion with knowledge as you often do.

I’ve been a professional qualified mechanic for 29 years with experience in automobiles, motorcycles, ATV’s and agricultural equipment. I think I might know what I’m talking about .

I mentioned earlier,I thought you would have knowledge about this, but I see you do not.

You are saying that a qualified mechanic with extensive industry experience knows nothing about engine oil, vehicle maintenance or engines. I have a hard time following your logic . I’ll trust my own experience gained from working in franchised dealerships and having been shop foreman in three of them.

In the summer I run 5-30 conventional. And in the winter I switch over to a full synthetic never had any issues. Going on 300k

I could not sit back and watch the eBrandon contributor that does nothing but state their opinion as "professional advice" on so many threads, Obviously they have no time to actually try anything out for real the amount of time they spend disagreeing with everyone and everything  
 
I have used synthetic Mobile 1 0W-30W for as long as they have made it and would not use anything but.  
Contrary to " expert opinion " on this thread synthetic is far better, cheaper as it lasts much longer.  
Most persons who use syn go 25-30,000km between changes and some of us go 35,000 to 40,000km between changes. Even newer car manuals say 25,000 kms with syn.  
I always get over 450,000 kms out of all vehicles I have used syn in.  
When I buy a used vehicle I right away change to syn and you can tell the difference immediately summer or winter but especially so in winter.  
Anyone who is wondering, just google some research instead of going by arm chair opinion disguised as professional advice.

On shop experience. Nothing wrong with synthetic but if manufacturer does not recommend it I don’t install it. Some manufacturers are now specifically advising to use conventional oil and some engines I have found tend to ‘burn’ synthetic oils needing more regular topping up. Manufacturers specification, grade, good quality and regular oil and filter replacement intervals are more important. I advise that people use the engine oil recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. That is what I do on my own vehicles, equipment and trucks.

I go to the place next door to the south of Dollar store on 18th street. Always good, courteous quick service.

Ya me too. It's quick and they're friendly. Price is not bad. Give you a paper to read and if you're lucky you might get a free air freshener

Royle purple and every 5000 k all my vehicles

My Dad usually says twice a year. once in the summer and then in the fall (unless you store your vehicle) I check my oik regularly to see it if clean, never had a problem.  
 
I usually used Walmart during the week-day as I was always lucky to get someone really hones and knowledgeable. Meaning that that they would let me know if I needed a new filter or not and not just add it to the bill. Unforgettably , I am hearing rumours that the garage is leaving Walmart. It was nice as it was an affordable place to get your oil done with nice service. (they once told me I needed new tires but let me drive home, but more likely as they didn't have the tires for my car, 18" rims and all)

40,000km between oil changes?? Damn... I would only need to change my oil about every 4 years. I sure hope I don't ever buy one of your used vehicles ha.

Engine oil is one topic that you will find thousands of opinions on over the years. Myself I probably change mine more often than needed but better to be on the side of caution. I prefer synthetic, especially in winter as it flows better on cold starts on those really cold winter nights. I do my own changes and stock up on oil when on sale. I like to change it late in fall and early in winter. I probably change every 8000km but will sometimes go to 10000. The extremes in winter temperatures can cause condensation and can contribute to oil breakdown, especially with short drives in town when the vehicle doesn't get a nice long warm drive like on the highway. I also use quality filters like Napa Gold. NEVER Fram.  
Dealerships like to do oil changes so they can upsell you on other maintainance that maybe you need maybe you don't.

If the manufacturer doesn’t call for synthetic I would stick with conventional. For the extra cost I don’t know that you’ll get the extra value. Especially if you’re doing it at a garage cause they’ll likely suggest to come back in 5000km regardless.  
 
In my truck I do my own changes with conventional oil. 5000km intervals at 5000km, so when it hits 245,000 I know I’m due next.  
 
Depending on the vehicle I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in the oil life meter. We had a Cobalt that had one, and if we went solely by the meter it would’ve been up to 15,000-20,000 km per change on conventional oil. Took it on about a 10,000km road trip and I think the oil meter was still at around 40% or so.

You would need to show proof of service record if you have engine warranty issues. Not sure of your end game here? You purchase vehicle, you pay for fuel and service of that vehicle. To me not that complicated.