Once a MONTH? And your oil looks dirty? How many miles a month do you drive?

if youre not putting on 3000+ miles/month, once a month is a tremendous waste of money IMO

I'd like to add here that K&N oil filters are made by Champion Labs, the same company who makes AC Delco, Mobil 1, and a few others. It'* probably been mentioned a few times here that K&N filters don't filter as well as Mobil 1, but they do allow greater oil flow. You will never outflow an AC Delco or Purolator, so there'* little reason to go with any other filter.

I get the Purolator 24011 and AC Delco PF52 filters for my Bonnevilles, and I change the oil about every 3000 miles with $20 5qt jugs of Mobil 1 synthetic from Wal Mart or Rice Zone. Either your oil change interval is nuts, or your driving is. For the cost of a $6.50 Purolator Pure One oil filter and a $20 jug of Mobil 1, I believe you actually would get better filtering and better lubrication than you would with the often foaming Lucas and looser K&N filter.

If your oil looks kind of bad, drop the pan and clean it up. Since you're used to spending a ton on oil changes, get some extra oil just to drain your car, fill it with the extra oil, drain it again, and then switch filters and put in the other new oil. Do it once, though. No more overdoing.

It'* good you like your car so much, but there are far more things that could take the extra money you're flushing down the oil drain hole each month.

http://www.royalpurple.com/rp-testing-summaries.html

Those are really interesting tests, and thanks for the links. However, I think it'* like the other great synthetic oils like Mobil 1, and any oil with such quality as what Royal Purple has could give you such a benefit.

I have not noticed any performance gains with the 145 hp Aerostar...

Granted, I use my cars for daily transportation, no heavy duty driving, racing, WOT'* and my cars are bone stock. When I buy a used car, I will immediately change the oil and filter, run it a day, check the oil.. If it looks dirty again real quick, I will change it within 1000 miles. I have never had to do this more than twice before I get super clean oil.. Pull the dipstick after 1000 miles, still clear looking on the dip stick.. When I get near the 3K mark, I keep an eye on the color of the oil, when it starts darkening up, or when I hit 3500 miles, it gets changed, and I've never used synthetic. The bonny that I am restoring, 130K on the clock, I took the engine apart to replace all the gaskets (excpet for the head gaskets) and the inside of that engine was spotless.. I mean spotless. So again, with my type of driving, 3000 - 3500 miles, regular oil, I'd rather put money into my girls' college fund... Just my 2 cents worth.

You can NOT tell if your oil is dirty by looking at it. I go 10,000 miles between oil changes and have 165,000 miles on my car. The only way to know how dirty your oil is, is to get an oil analysis. I have done this twice(its time for another) on my car and the oil was still good at 10k, but i change it at 10k because its very simple to remember when to change the oil. If you change your oil at 1,000 to 3,000 miles all your doing is giving the oil company'* your hard earned money, but hey it'* your money.
Even in my owner'* manual it says to change the oil at 7,500 miles. My car does not fall under the short trip definition of : "most" trips under 5 to 10 min., "most" trips include extensive idling, "most" trips are through dusty areas, tow a trailer, vehicle is used for (police), (taxi), or other commercial application.

Here is where i get my oil analysis,

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

ROD

If i changed my oil the way you do i would have spent over $2300 on oil and oil filters(96 oil changes @1per month). I have changed my oil 18 times in 165,000 miles for a cost of $432.

ROD

I see your point, 3500 miles may be a little early.. But, I did the math on your numbers, and it comes out to $23.96 per oil change, which brings us right back up to the very top of this thread... you must be using some pricey oil... My last oil change cost me a tick under 12 bucks.. And, then you pay to get your oil analyzed?.. Dirty oil? yeah, the best way to know for sure is to have it analyzed... but it seems to me that if the oil is black, it is not exactly clean anymore. My Bonneville has 130k on it in 15 years, that'* 44 oil changes (give or take) at, lets say, 10 bucks per change average over the last 15 years, 440 bucks, 30 bucks per year.. I could drop that to a 7000 mile interval, save 15 bucks per year and then remove oil that looks like rustoleum gloss black paint, and I'm guessing a lot of guys on this site will spend that saved 15 bucks on beer tonight, every Friday night... I think I'll stick to my plan, been working for me for close to 30 years now.. But like you said, it'* your money... Just my 2 cents.. Mike

I use to go 80k to 100k between oil changes( Mobil Delvac 1) in my truck, when i was driving the 11 western states. I only use Mobil 1 5w-30 in my cars, the synthetic oil helps get the most MPG from the $3.65 a gal. gas here in Calif. and it has been documented many times that synthetic oil saves gas or diesel over conventional oil. With some oils the color of the oil after a short time of running has more to do with the base that the oil is made from than how dirty the oil is.
I stock up when somebody puts Mobil 1 on sale, this month Costco has an $8 off(6 qt case) coupon, so i will pick up 36 qt'*, that should last me a while.

ROD