Fair nuff but being called ignorant isn't a slam, it simply means you don't know any better. Why would you change expensive syn oil every 3K no matter how many miles you put on the car? Why would you use such an expensive oil if the car burns it? Why would you even use 15-40 in the first place? In Michigan no less? Because the car burns it? Why don't you repair the car? And do you honestly believe RP is the only oil that'll "hold up"? What do you base that belief on? Sorry, but your statement has ignorance written all over it.
I used to run castrol ful systhetic, i would get between 270ish and 280ish miles out of a tank of gas with mixed highway and city driving, someone recomended i try RP, so i did, 2nd change i now get between 320ish and 330ish miles per tank, same mixed driving. you asked why i use 15-40? because i use less of it, with 10-30 would go though about 3 quarts per change, so i raised the weight that i'm using and i burn a little less oil...
now do i believe that RP is the only oil that will hold up? no i do not, i know there are a lot of good oils out there that would not have a problem at all, i run what i like
It's your car (and your money) so you can do as you please. Nor do I have a problem with $6/quart oil. The oil I use costs almost the same, I'm just not foolish enough to throw it away after 3K miles. You say you need an top of the line Group V synthetic that'll hold up, yet you believe that same oil only does so to 3K miles. Does that make sense? Does it reveal even a basic knowledge about what happens to a motor oil in service? I mean come on, the cheapest SM rated Group II dino oil on the market will "hold up" to 3K miles no matter how much you beat on it.
i change my oil and filter ever 3000 - 3500 miles because thats my choice as you said, but with all the cars i have had i have had:
1. engine blow because an oil like blew and a 1/4 inch like can dump a lot of oil real fast when its at 60psi
2. blew the apex seals in my RX-7 from running to high of revs in it while racing when the engine already had 223K on it with no rebuild
He asked for costs and you contributed. From where you sit you done good but your costs are not representative of owning the car because they're not represenstative of someone who understands the right way to care for the car, nor the way to get value while still doing right by it. You might as well tell him the cost of putting new tires on every 3K miles or what it'll cost to gold plate the wheels. Since ownerships costs are behind his asking the question in the first place what you're doing makes the data point next to worthless. I'd go so far as to call it misinformation. All it accomplishes is him thinking the costs are more than they should be.
These are repesentative of owning the car, because i do own the car, this is just how I treat my cars, and my treat me good. yes, I run expensive oil, yes i change said oil every few thousand miles along with the filter, but as has been said, my choice, i personaly don't agree with changing the oil every 25k - 30k miles, but thats your choice.
as for my data being "worthless" is is a long way from that, I offer how much I drive, how I drive, and how I treat my car, you may not agree with how I treat my car, but like i said, i don't agree with how you treat yours either. I'm at one extreme, you are at the other extreme and if mine is misinformation, then yours would be also, we just treat our cars diffrently is all
As for yourself, you have a choice: You can get bent or you can get educated. I suggest the latter.
