Time period is not an issue to me. In three months I'll put on almost 7,000 miles, so I always hit the mileage interval before the time interval.

 

Thanks for the link

 

How often do you have your oil changed then! That's alot of mileage in a vehicle that gets 22mpgs~ with a tail wind...

I'm going to send another oil sample out to Blackstone at 5K miles on the oil, my guess is (with the synthetic I used this time) if I can get 5K on dyno juice then I can get at least 6,500 on synthetic, I'll post back with results in a couple months.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gas-engine.php

BTW, for the HEMI, the only mileage interval listed in the manual is that you should change the oil no later then 6 months and never exceed 8K miles on the oil (which they recommend regular oil) My commute to work is just 5.1 miles, your mileage being all highway I bet you can stretch your interval a bit more then I can.

 

Resurecting this old thread to post an update on the oil analysis I promised over a year ago! Man how time flies!

Anyway, sent another oil sample out to Blackstone after 7,312 miles on a blend of 5qts 5w/20 conventional and 2qts synthetic Pennzoil. This oil change was done with some hard mileage. I did a 4,500~ mile road trip through the dessert and up in elevation to Yosemite where I drove it hard on some mountain roads (pedal to the medal for lots of switchbacks)

Wish I could post the pdf of the actual analysis because it shows the elements tested for, quantity in the sample, and the norm.

Here's what the analysis had to say:
PAUL: Copper and silicon continue to wash out of your V-8 Hemi. They're both in the average range now,
but there's probably a little more room for improvement, which we'll see next time. Even so, nothing here
looks like a developing problem at mechanical parts. The viscosity was in the 5W/20 grade range and no
harmful contamination like fuel, coolant, or moisture was found. The oil filter did a great job with oxidized
solids since insolubles only read a trace. The TBN was low at 0.9, but that didn't hurt anything. We think
running 9,000 miles should be just fine.


Despite their recommendation to extend the oil change interval to 9K miles I'll try 8K next time since that's the max recommended in the manual. Also, I've increased the synthetic to 5qts with only 2qts of conventional.

 

I always do my own oil changes as I then know what is going in and out of my motor and I know it's being done correctly. Funny how so many people trust the dealership to actually fill it up with synthetic. lol

 

I prefer DIY too but I'm not going to turn down Dodge's 4 free oil changes. I plan to have them change it every 3k miles and then start doing it myself at 15k miles. At 3k OCI, who cares what they put in....

 

I am going K&N oil filter and Pennzoil Ultra full synthetic on my first oil change.

 

Safford,

Very nice reading, Thanks. You do have me thinking about not going full synthetic on the first change. Where did you get the information on mixing in dino oil the first few times? I have always hears don't break an engine in with synthetic the cam/ lifters and rings need to seat and the super slippery synthetic isn't the best.

 

My dealer's service dept told me stick with traditional oil for the first couple of oil changes, said the synthetic doesn't allow it to break in effectively. I have the 6, not sure if they would say the same for the hemi. I did notice that around 13,000 when I switched the synthetic, it immediately felt a little more responsive. Not sure if that was in my head or not.

Steve

 

That is what I use exclusively, only sometimes using the Mopar filter
STEVE