Oil Recs.

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ffl

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Hello, new to the site.I have 3 vehicles. My wife's car is a 2003 Impala LS with a 3.8. I use M1 10w30 and mobil1 filter. Car has 130K miles and uses 1 qt./1500 miles. Change between 5-7.5k miles. No oil leaks. This is my only car that uses oil. Any suggestions? 2nd car 2008 Focus w/ 73K miles. M1 5w20 w/ M1 filter. Change at 5K miles. 3rd vehicle 98 Ford E150 w/ 4.6 V8, 130K miles used for towing a 3500 lb. boat. M1 5W30, M1 filters changed yearly or every 3000 miles. No oil burning issues on either Ford. Thanks
 
My Dad bought a 2004 Impala LS 3.8 off of me (like it but I'm not really a car guy unless it's got a stickshift.)

When I had the car I hadn't switched anything I owned over to Synthetic... With 63K on the clock I changed out the oil on the Impala with OReilly Full Synthetic and a Mobil 1 filter and told my dad to make sure to check the oil and leave it in there for 10K.

He did go the full distance however I believe he used two or three quarts of top up oil over the course of that 10K (not sure if it was because we just switched it over or what.)

Every Chevy vehicle I've owned has burnt a little bit of oil over the course of 5K...

You might want to use a synthetic blend and change the oil every 5K miles (probably would be cheaper than having to continually add a quart every 1500 miles.)
 
Not many people have maintenance practices as good as the ones above. I would not recommend you do anything different. You could but these are good solid choices with conservative OCI's. Just stick to what you are doing, unless you are unhappy in any way, just stick with this plan. Keep up the good work!
 
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For the Impala you might do better with one of the 'high mileage' oils. They're a tad thicker and the consumption/leak could slow down. Is it leaking or drinking the oil?
 
For vehicle #1 possibly try the HM version of M1 10-30 it may help with the oil consumption.For vehicle #2 if you wish to continue using M1 5-20 i would extend the oci to at least 7.5k or better yet 10k the oil and filter combo is well suited for that mileage and will save you some bucks,or if you are set on the 5k oci switch to a good conventional of choice and a good filter of choice,Motorcraft comes to mind,and save some bucks as 5k is a waste for M1 oil and filter combo.For your van i don't think you could do any better for the situation it is in. My
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Originally Posted By: ffl
Hello, new to the site.I have 3 vehicles. My wife's car is a 2003 Impala LS with a 3.8. I use M1 10w30 and mobil1 filter. Car has 130K miles and uses 1 qt./1500 miles. Change between 5-7.5k miles. No oil leaks. This is my only car that uses oil. Any suggestions? 2nd car 2008 Focus w/ 73K miles. M1 5w20 w/ M1 filter. Change at 5K miles. 3rd vehicle 98 Ford E150 w/ 4.6 V8, 130K miles used for towing a 3500 lb. boat. M1 5W30, M1 filters changed yearly or every 3000 miles. No oil burning issues on either Ford. Thanks


Impala - try swapping to a High Mileage oil. They have special additives and conditioners to rejuvinate seals and help to slow/stop oil consumption. Won't stop a major leak due to a failed gasket but it might help. M1 offers a full synthetic HM 10w30. Or try Valvoline MaxLife blend of full syn. I really like the MaxLife. You might also consider Auto-RX.

Focus = good!

E150 = bump it to yearly or 5K. full syn even in a towing application like this can do 5K easy.
 
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I'd try Rotella T5 10w30 synthetic blend in the Impala to see if it improves usage, although a quart every 1500 miles is not the end of the world if you have to live with it.

The M1 has been serving you well in the other cars and there is no reason to change. I changed from M1 to Rotella products in all of my vehicles several years ago, however, and I've been very happy with the cost, results and UOAs since doing it.
 
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