CW, the term "dyno" or "dino" does not necessarily mean it came from dinosaurs. The term refers to "very old" from the age of dinosaurs, and "petro based from the ground". as compared to man made.

 

steve(ill), Wikipedia provides the conventional meaning for the root word "dino": "The term "dinosaur" was coined in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen and derives from Greek δεινός (deinos) "terrible, powerful, wondrous" + σαῦρος (sauros) "lizard"." There was no "very old" implicit in Owen's definition.

A Google search, key words "dino oil" reveals that many others believe the "dino" in "dino oil" refers to dinosaurs. You seem left out of the the loop believing the term refers to "very old".

As for "dyno" most people would interpret the word as short for 'dynamometer'. Alternately its been commonly used as a name for oil companies. The concept being derived from Sinclair Oil's long use of a dinosaur image.

IMO its extremely common to find people who still believe petroleum comes from dinosaurs. Considering that a majority apparently reject Evolution & accept Creationism, its pretty easy to see where they'd also reject what I consider "very old".

 

And using the same technique, Wiki defines "mineral oil" as a colorless product derived from the distillation of petroleum:

Mineral oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Likewise, in the first few pages of Google hits, there is NO reference to "mineral oil" being a generic term for unrefined crude oil. Mineral oil is the stuff that you take for constipation, or use for baby oil.

"Dino oil," regardless of the correctness or incorrectness of the term in the historic origin of oil, is a much more commonly used term (and therefore more correct, IMO, in the context of common usage) than "mineral oil" to mean non-synthetic petroleum.

Looping back to the original question, my approach is to change dino or semi-syn oil at 3-5k miles, and synthetic at maybe 6-7.5k miles.

George

 

To each their own, I have had very good success with extended oil change intervals, and find that it not only saves me money, but the advanced oils really do help the engines last longer too.

I think I have the mileage to prove it.

 

I go by gallons of gas run through the engine and not miles. It will vary between somewhere around 325 to 450 gallons. I have a small log book and when I get the to the bottom of the page that is my signal to change the oil.

In summer the actual miles is less as I do a lot of towing (5,500 pounds) of my boat through out the state.

I have always use MC 5W20. Only reason is that back in 97 that was the only 5W20 that was easily available, so I keep using it today even though it is available by many brands today.

 

YG, You seem to be struggling w/terminology & confusing "Mineral Oil" w/motor oils. We know what the "product" Mineral Oil IS, its mostly used to remove makeup or as a laxative. Essentially liquified peroleum jelly. There's also an abundant Raw Material commonly called mineral oil, the same meaning as Crude Oil.

I'm guessing that by "semi-syn oil" you refer to what oil companies commonly call 'Synthetic Blend' oils? Don't let the jargon swamp you in a pool of your own "non-synthetic petroleum"!

You failed to use "the same technique" & forget that you can never prove anything thru a lack of evidence. Its always best to search & discuss motor oil Topics, NOT what "you take for constipation, or use for baby oil" when the Topic is motor oil. Here's some of the evidence you should've searched for & found:

mineral vs. synthetic oil - Google Search

This is terrific logic "regardless of the correctness or incorrectness of the term in the historic origin of oil, is a much more commonly used term (and therefore more correct" IF you can get away w/it! IMO there's not neccessarily any connection between what's "commonly used" & what's "more correct" they're 2 different worlds. We see "incorrectness" in "commonly used terms" all the time. No matter how popular the term 'Dino oil' might become, it will not alter the fact that crude oil is primarily from plant material, NOT dinosaurs.

I've been using Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic Blend claimed to provide benefits for older motors over 75,000 miles. I'd like to believe the High Mileage oils do offer some benefits, but have no evidence 1 way or the other. GM recommended my Chevy go 7,500 miles between oil changes on conventional oil. I seldom let anything go over 5,000 miles & was once an AMSOIL Dealer.

 

Isn't it great no matter which oil one uses the quality is far better than 20 years ago!!!! I guess that is dating myself as my kids would say, but I still have the urge to change the oil at 2000 miles. And we use to budget an engine overhaul by 75000. Never thought a engine could last as long as the vehicle. We have hard working pickups with 325,000miles. Bear River has over 520,000 on his vehicle, that is a statement to the oils and the fast improvement in the quality of engine parts. I am glad the widow the road gave me a couple of old round cardboard quart cans of husky oil to display on the shelf in my garage just to show the grandkids when i get the chance. Cheers to the old and the new. Maybe next they will dazzle us with better mileage!!!!!!

 

I run AMSOIL 0w-30, GOOD FOR 35,000 OR 1 YEAR recommended change. I change the filter and top off at 12,000. The oil still looks clean and AMSOIL even test a sample for you to verify the life left in the oil.

 

I run the Castrol blend in the grey bottles and change it every 4-5k. I read on one of these threads that almost went the exact same way that we change our oil because it gets dirty, not because it wears out. Now, that was actually new to me. All my years I was changing it because I thought it was losing its oil properties - whatever the heck all that chemistry stuff is. Changing it because it gets dirty makes sense to me and since - like many have said on this thread as well - I want to run the wheels off this truck, I am going to keep paying a little extra for the slightly better Castrol and a little extra for not pushing the oil changes too far out.

It still amazes me when I pour the oil in how thin it is. I grew up with 20/50 being the general oil we used and this stuff looks like sunflower oil my wife cooks with. But, I'll be going over 150k this week and the engine seems strong as ever.

 

Where extending intervals between oil changes & oil analysis are used, its common practice to replenish important additives that do essentially 'wear out'.

The oil itself can be recycled. Additives that fight corrosion, neutralize acids & work as detergents to suspend dirt are consumed. Lots of oil that just looks "dirty" can pass oil analysis. My oil always looks "dirty" long before its due to be changed. Quality oil filters are extremely effective at removing dirt. Some have additives built in & premium filter mediums that remove the tiniest specks of dirt. Filters can't remove most of the dissolved contaminants which accumulate in oil, so they can't just keep on replenishing additives.

 

You are correct about oil improvement. On top of that engines are far superior today when compared to the older engines of the day. Machining techniques and clearances have made precision so fine that engines can run at tighter tolerances and reduce unnecessary wear due to miss alignments.

 

BTW i go 6-8 k miles before i change my oil. I just run Castrol GTX High mileage. Seems to do the trick.

 

I use Amsoil also, but run the 5W30 which is good for 25,000. Instead I run it for 20,000 miles and change the filter and top off at 10,000 miles. I have had good results doing it this way.

 

Thats longer that i would run any oil. But thats just my personal preference. How many miles are on your engine, and how long have you been doing this?

 

Expensive oil gets dirty just as fast as cheap oil and not just with particulates that can be filtered out with a standard oil filter. I'm talking about chemical contamination.

But whatever. Luckily our oils and engines are much better and more durable than ever.

Mike