What does your oil change cost?

[mjhpadi]

. Even thou I rarely keep a car past 60K, I still think it is cheap insurance to never go over 5K on an oil change

Neither did I until I said "I do" and then everything changed....my sports cars turned into minivans and now I keep a car much, much longer...which explains why I have a SHO instead of a GT-500. In 23 years of marriage, I know who wears the pants in this family...and my wife said I could say that!!

 

[esfoad]

Give her time. After the kids were old enough and had their own cars, my wife wanted to change from SUV/minivan to a convertible. 4 cars later, she drives a Vette convertible! Now I get the "family car" but it's a SHO so

 

[mjhpadi]

Give her time. After the kids were old enough and had their own cars, my wife wanted to change from SUV/minivan to a convertible. 4 cars later, she drives a Vette convertible! Now I get the "family car" but it's a SHO so

It's been 23 years!! I don't think she is going to change now....I'm just happy to get the SHO, she wanted an SEL...said there's no reason for all the goodies or the twin turbos....

 

[SHOrod]

My wife of 10 years helped me buy my 2007 G35, then encouraged me to trade it in for the SHO since she knew how much I like the SHO (I've had a '93 and a '98 in the time we've been married). She's also adamant that she will not own a minivan, which also helps us stop at two kids since they both fit comfortably in her 2010 MKZ.

-Rod

 

[SHOtime2511]

This thread really shows a difference between the older SHO owners and the new SHO owners.
It's kind of entertaining,to a point.

 

[McGee2134]

I've been running Shell Rotella T (now T6) in both cars. As far as filters... I'm not entirely picky on that one. I just get the biggest one I can (which the one on the STi is smaller than the one on my previous Civic, which should be mounted on a lawn mower) in a quality brand like AMSOIL, Purolator ONE, Wix, etc. I don't use Mobile1 filters as they've been one of the most restrictive. TBH, when I drive the cars, I spend a lot of time in bypass anyway.

I'll never push what oil to use, just recommend researching before swearing by one, not that you are.


Most "full-synthetics" are just fully synthetic additives. I don't even have to remove the drain plug to change oil in most of my cars now. I got a pump that allows me to take it out through the dipstick tube. The filter is the only thing I have to get on the ground for and the SHO is easy as my other cars have a damn under-tray without an access door.

I personally don't trust anyone to do something on my car, especially engine blood. My wife, before we met, had an oil filter fall off on a trip across country after having her oil changed somewhere. I had another buddy in AZ go pick up and start his car with no oil in it.



It's probably been a year or so since I last looked, but I haven't heard/seen anything good about RP from any test results I've seen.

I've got a friend that took her car to one of those oil change shops and they didn't put the drain plug on tight. No oil= no motor.
I used to used those places when I was younger and poor (with no means to do it myself) and once had them put on the wrong filter and once on my Subaru they didn't put a crush washer on the drain plug so it leaked oil. I wasn't going to take it back to them so went to the dealer and had to pay them.

Now I usually do all the maintenance myself except in the winter I take it to the dealer. Way too cold in MN in my garage.

 

[Got5onIt]

Do my own oil change. There's usually an oil/filter sale going on and I grab whatever synthetic fluid/filter is offered at the time. Total cost ~$35. Total time ~30mins.

 

[PappyPwnerton]

This thread really shows a difference between the older SHO owners and the new SHO owners.
It's kind of entertaining,to a point.

Dont know how to take this, but I have joined 4 different SHO forums lately, it seems some are very inactive or very anti Gen 6. Well for me I owned a 1994 MTX Candy Red and now Own a 2011 PP SHO Tuxedo black. I probable would have never looked at the SHO if I did not fall in love with it when I owned the 1994. As for this animosity between Early Gen owners and Late Gen Owners I really hope this is not the case, there are very few of us SHO enthusiasts, most of the general public has no clue what the car is and how it is different than the base bull and very few companies make aftermarket parts. So I hope all of us are on the same team to promote all Generations of the Taurus and SHO.

 

[EcoBrick Bob]

Dont know how to take this, but I have joined 4 different SHO forums lately, it seems some are very inactive or very anti Gen 6. Well for me I owned a 1994 MTX Candy Red and now Own a 2011 PP SHO Tuxedo black. I probable would have never looked at the SHO if I did not fall in love with it when I owned the 1994. As for this animosity between Early Gen owners and Late Gen Owners I really hope this is not the case, there are very few of us SHO enthusiasts, most of the general public has no clue what the car is and how it is different than the base bull and very few companies make aftermarket parts. So I hope all of us are on the same team to promote all Generations of the Taurus and SHO.

This animosity seems to crop up frequently and is very unfortunate. A large bunch of the EB SHO owners have abandoned this site for that very reason.

Since I am just an interloper anyway... with an EB Engine.... I still enjoy this forum, but miss all of my former 6 GEN SHO friends posts on this site.

I did leave the Flex Net Forum for similar reasons. A Ford Engineer made lots of comments, mostly worthwhile, but when asked to clarify them refused to help those of us with tunes. I have no issue with being kidded or disagreed with... but when it begins to get personal... no site is worth that hassle. Also... help others if you can... not just selectively.

Really loved my 4 early SHO's and someday may pick up a 91-94 for some fixin good times!

 

[shaker281]

Worth every penny. If I did it myself it would cost me $35. For an extra $45 I dont have to jack up my 4,000lb+ car, stick it on jack stands, drain, change the filter, fill it up, take it off the stands, then find a place to take the old oil. Doing all of this while it's freezing outside. No thanks. Changing the oil would take me at least an hour, and my time is worth more than $50 an hour. Besides that I hate crawling under a car on stands.

That is why I have race ramps for my SHO, GT500 and my son's Accord. Zip right up, change oil and back down. Walmart and Murray's both take the oil when I go there to buy new oil and filters. I change oil in late fall and early spring, no real problem with weather. With 4 vehicles, if I save $45 per change, it comes to $360 a year in savings . 1/2 hour per change and that comes to $90 (after tax) per hour. Not too bad in my book! A trip to the dealer and back would take almost 2 hours.

As to the original question, 6 qts of MC synth from Walmart and a MC filter cost me less than $30 with tax.

 

[shaker281]

Seriously? Have you ever even heard of a car whose engine was worn out because the oil wasn't changed frequently enough?

I really believe that the "3,000 mile oil change" interval is because oil change places want to sell you unnecessary oil changes. If Ford's deliberately trying to get you to follow maintenance procedures that will result in the premature wear of your engine, then they're part of an industry-wide conspiracy, because I can't think of any street vehicle whose maintenance schedule includes 3,000 mile oil changes. Especially with synthetic oil!

Do a Google search for "3000 mile oil change myth" and see what sites like Edmunds have to say about it.

I am with you 100%. I do my son's Accord every 5000. The SHO every 5000. The Explorer every 6 months (3000) and the GT500 every 6 months (3000). The latter two just don't get the miles, but it pains me to dump 6.5 qts of synthetic after 3000 miles. Still, that motor gets run hard and hot! I am a lot easier on the SHO.

I have had plenty of engines go over 100,000 miles without any oil related issues. Some call it "cheap insurance", I call it a waste of time and money!

 

[shaker281]

Consumer Reports did an interesting study (1996 I think) where they tested a fleet of New York taxicabs: some received 3,000 mile oil changes and others 7,500 mile oil changes. After 100,000 miles they tore down the engines and found no differences in the internal wear.

As a hobby I write reviews of computer equipment for a review website. One thing that's been hammered into me is that empiricism reigns: if an AMD fanboy claims the new Radeon 6970 video card outperforms an NVIDIA GTX570, what you do is test them: run gaming benchmarks against each and graph the results. Results are what matter.

And nobody anywhere has ever demonstrated that regular 3,000 mile oil changes have any benefit at all (for modern passenger vehicles driven under normal conditions. But the NYC taxis were certainly under what most of use would consider "severe service", and 3K interval oil changes didn't help there...).

Granted, they won't hurt anything, but if you really love your car, you should concentrate your service efforts on something that will actually make a difference. Check your belts and hoses. Change your radiator coolant when recommended (many years ago, I helped a friend change a rusted-out heater core. Never again!) Be obsessive about keeping your expensive Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires at their recommended pressures. Wipe down the leather and vinyl areas of your interior before they get too dirty. Stuff like that.

What? Rely on facts and empiricism? That is simply outlandish! Just do what your daddy did.

 

[GLADIATOR]

Costco puts Mobil1 on sale like every other month. $26 dollars for 6 quarts and $5 autozone motorcraft filter=$31. I do all my own maintenance. Takes me all afternoon and I don't get a honeydoo list that day.....

 

[shobote]

http://www.smartsynthetics.com/articles/nothing_outperforms_mobil1.htm

THis is what I use; retail price is higher than Mobil 1, but all you have to do is register and you will get a 35% discount, so same price. you can go longer than 3,000 miles

http://www.smartsynthetics.com/articles/409000_mile_teardown.htm

 

[Bob Gervais]

This animosity seems to crop up frequently and is very unfortunate.

I have to agree. And it's a problem that's on both sides of the fence: those of us that own older SHOs, and those of us that own newer SHOs. I've seen this trend for years, first when I ran the TCCA, and now here. The TCCA is Taurus-based, obviously. Back in the day, when an SHO guy came along, regular Taurus owners assumed that the SHO owner had a chip on his shoulder because he had a faster pile of shit. Many times, that was not the case, and a prospective new member was turned off and left the site. I've seen the opposite happen also, SHO owners that thought they were elitists or special because of the car they had.

Personally, I think all it really takes is some maturity and understanding. As car guys and gals, we're not all the same. Some of us would never think of letting anyone work on our stuff, and enjoy working on our cars. Some of us just appreciate the performance of the car, but have no desire to work on them.

When it comes down to it, we're all enthusiasts. Doesn't matter if we're driving a spanking new $40k car, or a 20 year old rattletrap. Not so sure why that's so hard to understand....

 

[esfoad]

i have to agree. And it's a problem that's on both sides of the fence: Those of us that own older shos, and those of us that own newer shos. I've seen this trend for years, first when i ran the tcca, and now here. The tcca is taurus-based, obviously. Back in the day, when an sho guy came along, regular taurus owners assumed that the sho owner had a chip on his shoulder because he had a faster pile of shit. Many times, that was not the case, and a prospective new member was turned off and left the site. I've seen the opposite happen also, sho owners that thought they were elitists or special because of the car they had.

Personally, i think all it really takes is some maturity and understanding. As car guys and gals, we're not all the same. Some of us would never think of letting anyone work on our stuff, and enjoy working on our cars. Some of us just appreciate the performance of the car, but have no desire to work on them.

When it comes down to it, we're all enthusiasts. Doesn't matter if we're driving a spanking new $40k car, or a 20 year old rattletrap. Not so sure why that's so hard to understand....

right on!

 

[luigisho]

Personally, I think all it really takes is some maturity and understanding. When it comes down to it, we're all enthusiasts.

Quoted for truth.

For the new model SHO folks, I can only say I hope you can block out most of the negative aspects you see around here. I've been a member for a good while and have seen immaturity, class envy, and all manner of things in this community. Some of it is just good ribbing and some maybe not so much. There are enough good and helpful folks around here to make staying on worthwhile. I've seen plenty of posters grow up and mature over time here.

I am very interested in eco boost offerings from Ford and the experiences of new SHO model owners. Hopefully the forum group on here will grow. Just remember alot of the older model SHO's can be had for +-3k and therefore demographics trend much younger.