3,000-4,000 mile oil change interval

[MrMPG]

I bought my 2022 mirage G4 brand new June 1st, I've done 3 oil changes in 7,000 miles using quality oils like Pennzoil ultra platinum, Amsoil and Royal Purple. So far Royal purple has felt the best out of the 3, Not a fan of mobile 1 (which is what my dealer uses) It's not even in the top 3 additive package wise when analyzed by Blackstone labs compared to others. My mirage is noticeably louder on the top end and rougher idling with the mobile 1 in it, Especially after a few thousand miles on that oil. I feel like a max of 5k intervals should be recommended for this engine for highway use and 3k for city with a 3-quart capacity, 7,500 miles is asking for excessive wear imo. I can feel the engine behaving slightly different after the 3,000-4000 mile mark. I'm very in tune to my cars, even the smallest things get noticed. My goal is to basically have zero varnish build up in the life of the engine. Even quality oils will leave varnish behind after 5k intervals, Im going the don't even give the oil a chance to get dirty route, A clean engine is an efficient/happy engine. Also going to be doing full AAMCO transmission services every 15-20k including pan drop, fluid exchange, primary filter cleaning and secondary filter changes. Most would consider it over servicing, I don't believe in such things i consider it protecting an investment for the next 10+ years lol, I paid a lot for the 2022 mirage, $16,500 base and about 18k out the door with a fully extended bumper to bumper warranty. Im going to get my money and milage out of it lol.

[Mark]

I bought my 2022 mirage G4 brand new June 1st, I've done 3 oil changes in 7,000 miles using quality oils like Pennzoil ultra platinum, Amsoil and Royal Purple. So far Royal purple has felt the best out of the 3, Not a fan of mobile 1 (which is what my dealer uses) It's not even in the top 3 additive package wise when analyzed by Blackstone labs compared to others. My mirage is noticeably louder on the top end and rougher idling with the mobile 1 in it, Especially after a few thousand miles on that oil. I feel like a max of 5k intervals should be recommended for this engine for highway use and 3k for city with a 3-quart capacity, 7,500 miles is asking for excessive wear imo. I can feel the engine behaving slightly different after the 3,000-4000 mile mark. I'm very in tune to my cars, even the smallest things get noticed. My goal is to basically have zero varnish build up in the life of the engine. Even quality oils will leave varnish behind after 5k intervals, Im going the don't even give the oil a chance to get dirty route, A clean engine is an efficient/happy engine. Also going to be doing full AAMCO transmission services every 15-20k including pan drop, fluid exchange, primary filter cleaning and secondary filter changes. Most would consider it over servicing, I don't believe in such things i consider it protecting an investment for the next 10+ years lol, I paid a lot for the 2022 mirage, $16,500 base and about 18k out the door with a fully extended bumper to bumper warranty. Im going to get my money and milage out of it lol.

When Steve bought his "cheap plastic car" (2014 Mirage) several years ago, it came with free oil changes. Even though the Mitsubishi dealership went under, the owners honored the service through their Cadillac dealership. Steve received 50+ free oil changes (5W-30 conventional oil changed every 5,000 miles), & his engine was doing fine when he sold it after 307,000+ miles.

I agree that there is no reason to pay extra or less for Mobil 1 oil. If someone likes Mobil 1, however, I see nothing wrong with using it. If there is a bad full synthetic oil, I am not aware of it.

I think the key to Mirage long life is good maintenance, & I think your Mirage will have a good life!

If Steve's car did so well with 5W-30 conventional oil changed 5,000 miles, I figure a similar schedule with full synthetic oil should do just as well or better. Everyone has a different opinion on this, & it's hard to make bold claims without sending oil samples in to be tested. I am not interested in doing that myself, but I feel content with 5,000 mile oil change intervals for my driving conditions.

One of my cousins has a small town mechanic that claims synthetic blend is superior to full synthetic. His logic is solids in the oil drop to the bottom of the pan better. I don't really buy that. If nothing else, the solids suspended in full synthetic oil should be caught by a good quality oil filter. I just mention that, because people have different opinions when it comes to this stuff.

Pennzoil Ultra Platinum made the championship round of the Project Farm's test. The final clip below gives a great summary of the different oils. In the end, he uses Super Tech or Amazon Basics full synthetic. If you keep on top of your oil changes, I see no reason to pay a premium price for full synthetic oil. If someone likes premium brand name oils, there's nothing wrong with that, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWuKvnCq1js

[jbarr]

At 5000 mi oci I think any api sn oil in an acceptable viscosity would get the engine to the 15 year 400k mile mark. I personally am liking the stats on the Valvoline extended protection synthetic. Your cvt regiment seems a bit excessive but not overly so considering reports of others on here. Your car will last as long as you want to keep it with your plan, provided you rust proof it too.

[mohammad]

I bought my 2022 mirage G4 brand new June 1st, I've done 3 oil changes in 7,000 miles using quality oils like Pennzoil ultra platinum, Amsoil and Royal Purple. So far Royal purple has felt the best out of the 3, Not a fan of mobile 1 (which is what my dealer uses) It's not even in the top 3 additive package wise when analyzed by Blackstone labs compared to others. My mirage is noticeably louder on the top end and rougher idling with the mobile 1 in it, Especially after a few thousand miles on that oil. I feel like a max of 5k intervals should be recommended for this engine for highway use and 3k for city with a 3-quart capacity, 7,500 miles is asking for excessive wear imo. I can feel the engine behaving slightly different after the 3,000-4000 mile mark. I'm very in tune to my cars, even the smallest things get noticed. My goal is to basically have zero varnish build up in the life of the engine. Even quality oils will leave varnish behind after 5k intervals, Im going the don't even give the oil a chance to get dirty route, A clean engine is an efficient/happy engine. Also going to be doing full AAMCO transmission services every 15-20k including pan drop, fluid exchange, primary filter cleaning and secondary filter changes. Most would consider it over servicing, I don't believe in such things i consider it protecting an investment for the next 10+ years lol, I paid a lot for the 2022 mirage, $16,500 base and about 18k out the door with a fully extended bumper to bumper warranty. Im going to get my money and milage out of it lol.

I dont personally think too much about maintenance but i feel if you changed the oil at even 2,000 Miles you'd notice a difference, whether that be placebo or not is for you to decide.

[Top_Fuel]

I do 5,000 mile oil change intervals with Mobil-1 and have had Blackstone oil analysis reports done 6 times over 100K miles (see this post).

My TBN numbers consistently show that my oil has plenty of life left in it at 5,000 miles. 7,500 miles would not be a problem. The only reason I do 5,000 miles is because it's easy for me to remember and I rotate my tires at the same time. From a purely financial standpoint, I am draining usable oil from my car at every oil change.

If you're concerned about how your oil is really doing, spend a couple of bucks and get an oil sample analyzed after you have racked up some miles.

Whatever you do, just keep good records and receipts so if something does blow up under warranty (not very likely in these cars), the dealer won't use "lack of maintenance" as an excuse.

[7milesout]

I don't understand how Royal Purple could have "felt" the best.

Engineers put a lot of effort into conception, design, development, testing, etc in order to publish the o.c.i. that they do. If you ask me, I'm betting even the engine engineers would admit that 7,500 miles on synthetic is conservative.

In any event, you can maintain your car how you see fit and there's nothing wrong with that. I will stick to what the engineers say and as a current engineer and former automotive engineer, I'm perfectly comfortable with that. I believe engine trouble due to lubrication issues is the least of my (or any of our) worries. Smartphones are much more likely to be the root cause of the discontinued usability of any my vehicles. Far far FAR beyond the risk of a lubrication issue.

[Cobrajet]

I have done oil changes on my 2015 every 7500 miles since it was new. At 207,000 miles the engine is as clean as a whistle inside. Still runs like a top and has good compression. I used Mobil 1 almost exclusively for about the first 150k miles, but have since switched to Kirkland (Costco). The engine does consume a bit of oil, but that is to be expected on any engine over 200k.

Modern synthetic oil isn't like the dino-juice our dads and granddads used. Changing your oil as often as a conscientious car owner would change it in 1982 certainly can't do much harm, but it is kind of a waste. In fact, the OCI for the Mirage in Europe is 15,000 miles. Same engine. Why is it 7500 miles here in North America? Because the Europeans don't get the 10/100 powertrain warranty offered here. The point is these engines run clean enough and modern oil is good enough that those old super short OCIs simply aren't necessary anymore.

The 3A92 engines in the Mirage have proven to be very, very robust. In fact, they use them in ultralight aircraft. No need to treat it like a Ferrari V12.

[Fummins]

I bought my 2022 mirage G4 brand new on June 1st, I've done 3 oil changes in 7,000 miles using quality oils like Pennzoil ultra platinum, Amsoil, and Royal Purple. So far Royal purple has felt the best out of the 3, Not a fan of mobile 1 (which is what my dealer uses) It's not even in the top 3 additive package-wise when analyzed by Blackstone labs compared to others. My mirage is noticeably louder on the top end and rougher idling with the mobile 1 in it, Especially after a few thousand miles on that oil. I feel like a max of 5k intervals should be recommended for this engine for highway use and 3k for the city with a 3-quart capacity, 7,500 miles is asking for excessive wear IMO. I can feel the engine behaving slightly differently after the 3,000-4000 mile mark. I'm very in tune with my cars, even the smallest things get noticed. My goal is to basically have zero varnish build-up in the life of the engine. Even quality oils will leave a varnish behind after 5k intervals, I'm going the don't even give the oil a chance to get dirty route, A clean engine is an efficient/happy engine. Also going to be doing full AAMCO transmission services every 15-20k including pan drop, fluid exchange, primary filter cleaning, and secondary filter changes. Most would consider it over-servicing, I don't believe in such things I consider it protecting an investment for the next 10+ years lol, I paid a lot for the 2022 mirage, $16,500 base, and about 18k out the door with a fully extended bumper to bumper warranty. I'm going to get my money and mileage out of it lol.

Oil change intervals are like religion. Everyone has their own opinion as to who's right and who's wrong. You do you. Everyone else just guesses or takes other people's words as gospel.

How long can oil last=how long is a rope?
Would opinions change if these cars only held one or 1/2 a qt of oil? My 2 cylinder .8L side by side holds 4qt of oil and it gets changed every 600 miles. I should put the old oil in my car now that I think of it.

[Mark]

I have done oil changes on my 2015 every 7500 miles since it was new. At 207,000 miles the engine is as clean as a whistle inside. Still runs like a top and has good compression. I used Mobil 1 almost exclusively for about the first 150k miles, but have since switched to Kirkland (Costco). The engine does consume a bit of oil, but that is to be expected on any engine over 200k.

Modern synthetic oil isn't like the dino-juice our dads and granddads used. Changing your oil as often as a conscientious car owner would change it in 1982 certainly can't do much harm, but it is kind of a waste. In fact, the OCI for the Mirage in Europe is 15,000 miles. Same engine. Why is it 7500 miles here in North America? Because the Europeans don't get the 10/100 powertrain warranty offered here. The point is these engines run clean enough and modern oil is good enough that those old super short OCIs simply aren't necessary anymore.

The 3A92 engines in the Mirage have proven to be very, very robust. In fact, they use them in ultralight aircraft. No need to treat it like a Ferrari V12.

There are two maintenance schedules for the Mirage. 3,750 mile & 7,500 mile are the recommended oil change intervals. I highly doubt those recommendations are based on what will make your Mirage last forever. I'm sure one could do 10,000 mile oil change intervals & get past 100,000 miles (warranty period) on a Mirage without issue. Is that the best thing for your car, however?

If you had changed your oil at earlier intervals than 7,500 miles, it may not be burning some oil at 200,000+ miles. We don't know that for sure, however. It would be pure speculation on our part. Will a Mirage start burning oil at some early point with longer oil change intervals? It's a fair question.

Europe surely has some different oil standards. Their quality of oil may be better, too. They also don't only recommend 0W-20 oil for their Mirages. I copied & pasted the below quote directly from a UK Mirage owner's manual.

"Select engine oil of the proper SAE viscosity number according to the atmospheric temperature.
SAE 0W-20, 0W-30, 5W-30 and 5W-40 engine oils can only be used if they meet ACEA A3/B3, A3/B4 or A5/B5 and API SM (or higher) specifications."

I might add the temperature range (-35 to 60 C) is the same for all the listed oils above. It's not like 0W-20 is recommended for colder temperatures and 5W-40 for warmer temperatures.

Is the 0W-20 oil recommendation in North America done for best engine protection or best fuel economy numbers? If I had to wager money on it, I would pick the second reason. Once again will all Mirages go well past 100,000 miles (warranty period) on 0W-20 oil, sure it will. I wouldn't stick my neck out and say 0W-20 offers the best engine protection without proof, however. Nor am I going to state some other grade oil is better either. I have my own personal opinion on the matter, but it is not base on hard data to make any bold claims. I just take note that other grades options exist elsewhere, and Steve's Mirage did quite well on 5W-30 conventional oil changed every 5,000 miles.

If I did strictly long highway miles trips, I would lean towards 7,500 mile oil change intervals. I don't feel my driving reflects that, however. My Mirage is a daily driver that does a variety of tasks for me. I did 3,000 mile oil change intervals with conventional oils for decades. Most mechanics I respect feel 5,000 mile oil changes with full synthetic oil is a good recommendation. Since that falls within the two Mirage maintenance schedules, I feel content with that for my Mirage. Since switching to synthetic oil, we also went from 3,000 mile oil changes to 5,000 mile oil changes on all our drivers education cars.

I recently did an approximately 2,300 mile round trip with my Mirage. My Mirage was at about 68,700 miles when I left & I knew I would go past my 5,000 mile interval on this trip. I drove 954 miles on the last day of the trip, & all of those miles were above my 5,000 mile interval change. Did I sweat it? No way. I just ended up changing my oil much closer to 6,000 miles this one time (very close to 71,000 miles). I am going to change it at 75,500 miles next time, & then I will be back on track at 80,000 miles again (which means my next two changes will be approximately 4,500 miles each to reach 80,000 miles.

I plan to do my second manual transmission oil change at 80,000 miles, too. The factory oil was so clean looking at 30,000 miles, I decided to do 50,000 miles with the Redline MTL. I will base what I do on how it looks with 50,00 miles on it. Manual transmissions don't seem to generate heat like a CVT. Heat usually comes from friction. I am not convinced CVTs are more efficient for this reason alone. Manuals also require no special filters. I wouldn't own a small car without a manual transmission. I hand calculate at the pump. I pushed my Mirage hard through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, & New York on this last trip. My lowest tanks were around 42 mpg, and my best was near 48 mpg. If those numbers seem low, we can blame 5W-30 full synthetic oil on them.

Even Super Tech has different grades of oil.

Super Tech Synthetic Blend is considered a 5,000 mile oil.
Super Tech Full Synthetic is considered a 10,000 mile.
Super Tech Advanced Full Synthetic is a 20,000 mile oii.

The recommended miles don't mean much to me, except it indicates which oils are better quality.

For a long time, Super Tech Full Synthetic was cheaper than most brand name conventional oils. That's no longer the case, however. It's slightly higher (than some conventional oils). I am still willing to pay a couple extra bucks for a 5 quart jug of full synthetic.

Synthetic Blend is a bit of a joke in my opinion, because there are no standards for it. A synthetic blend could be 30% synthetic or 5% synthetic oil, & yet it can have the same name slapped on it. If you are going to change your oil every 3,000-5,000 miles, however, there's nothing wrong with using synthetic blend most likely.

I use 10,000 mile rated oil with a 10,000 mile rate oil filter, & I try my best to change them every 5,000 miles. I have no feelings of neglect.

[inuvik]

I'm in the 5k miles oil change club for both my OS/RVR/ASX & Mirage. The Mirage is now at a little over 120k miles / 190+k km with no oil burning issues. My experience has been the Mirage's oil appears to be just slightly a darker color at this interval than the OS. The OS oil looks fresh, like you just changed at the 5k mile interval. I'm using a Baldwin B1431 filter for both vehicles and not Mobil 1 for the oil but the standard Mobil synthetic 5w-20 viscosity.

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/...nthetic-5w-20/