Its all good..I trust the engineers, plus after experimenting on a 5.7 for 21 years and 300k+ miles I have strong confidence in synthetics

 

In a practical sense the above is nonsense.

It is true that if you had some very accurate measuring equipment and your ran some laboratory-grade fuel economy tests, you might see a very slight difference in gas mileage between a 5W30 and a 10W30. Perhaps a small fraction of a mile per gallon.

From a long-term durability standpoint, running a 10W30 is better than a 5W30.

I run my HHR on 10W30 at all times.

As for the "Oil Life Monitor" it tracks only two data points 1) oil temperature history and 2) number of engine revolutions since the last reset. To some old folks, this might sound too simplistic but, trust me, GM has used this system since 1990 and the OLM is highly accurate in its warnings.

That said, there are two conditions under which the OLM is not accurate: 1) duty cycles which include regular operation in dusty environments (ie: offroad) or 2) upgrade of the engine oil above what is recommended for use in the engine (ie: on other than an HHR-SS, going from petroleum-based oil to a premium synthetic.

With case 1) you must go to a 3,000 mile oil change. With case 2) my rule of thumb has been (based on about ten years of testing) is to multiply the OLM by 1.3 to 1.5...for example...I use Red Line synthetic oil in my HHR. I run it to 0%, reset and run to 50% then change the oil. I also change the filter at 50%, 0% and when I change the oil at second time I see 50%. This usually works out to 15,000-18,000 miles.

 

I was at 29%. Figured that I had time left. Than I checked the oil. It was Black. Time to change regardless of months, miles or guage.

 

I have gotten about 7k miles on mine now and am at 48%. That is all I have owned the car for. I am going to change it around 10k miles just because.

 

I usually change mine when it hits 40-45% on the oil life moniter, but also try to keep track of miles also( I am kinda ole skool with oil changes every 3,000 miles).

 

Mobil 1 5w30 full syn & NAPA Gold filter

I change the filter at 50% and the oil/filter at 15%-10% on DIC

 

I use Amsoil, change oil filter every 5,000 miles using NAPA Gold filter and change oil at 20,000 miles. The oil states you could go 25,000 miles before change. I do this to my wifes 2008 2.4 Malibu and my 2008 2.2 HHR. never had any isues. 66,000 on HHR and 54,000 on Malibu. Each of us drive about 20,000 miles a year. I have used Amsoil extended drain on my cars for 12 years and have never had problems just wish Amsoil made a filter for the GM 2.4.

 

I had a 2001 Ford Focus I bought new. For the first few years, I changed the oil every 3,000 miles. Later on, every 5,000 miles. I used Motorcraft, Castrol or Mobil 5000 clean dino oil. I gave the car, with 167,000 miles, to a niece a year ago. The thing ran like a top and never burned one drop of oil and still doesn't. I remember changing the gasket on the cam cover around 100,000 miles and was amazed at how little wear there was on the cam lobes. They really do build engines a lot better now.

Unless you are in an extremely hot climate or rod the piss out of your car, regular oil will serve you well. Now my Electra Glide gets synthetic, but is is air cooled and gets hot and I do mean hot.

 

Always good to see your postings Hib :)

 

And once again I have to go change the oil now, as I base it on changing it whenever a thread here is started on how frequently one changes their oil. I think this makes like 7 changes this year. Damn, this is getting expensive.