Interesting Oil Change View

When I was putting 20k per year on the car, I changed 4 x /year. Now that I'm not, I change 2 x /year largely out of crankcase condensation concerns. X ? (whatever) on the cheap insurance part. I'd rather pay too much to keep what I have running rather than try to pay too little for something else.

I'll agree that additive packages are crucial to oil and that keeping the oil clean is paramount. That said, I'll kick open a couple of cans of worms. Base stock is important. I don't know why it is, but every valve cover I've removed with oil congealed in it so thick it needs to be scraped out with a putty knife has been either Pennzoil or Quaker State. If I ran these oils, I wouldn't push them past 3k miles.

The other thing is that oil filters are not created equal, even within a brand. Some brands OEM their filters through third parties. Sometimes that works out well, other times not so well. Look for filters with lots of pleats in the filter material, metal bypass spring, solid crimp between the filter body and the top plate, and a concentric gasket. Where you can comparison shop, pick up a cheap filter compare it to others that fit your ride. You can feel the difference in weight.

For what it's worth: Mercedes uses a filter that has cotton as a filtering material. They tell their owners that this filter is good for 15k miles under normal conditions regardless of whether they use a conventional or synthetic oil.