How long before my synthetic oil needs to be changed?

[imnotnotjoe]

I have a 2001 Toyota Camry 4 cyl. I just picked up a Purolator One filter and Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic oil. I have been told my conventional oil is recommended for change every 5000k. Does anyone know the specs for the synthetic? I was going to go Mobil 1 but have found a lot of people pushing toward the Pennzoil Platinum. I also went with the Purolator One filter because it is much better quality than something like Fram. Any help or prior experience would be greatly appreciated!

['97ventureowner]

FWIW I keep my synthetic in for one year. I drive about 12,000 a year. What is important however is oil filtration. What I do is change the oil filter 6 months into the cycle and top off the oil in the engine to compensate for any loss during the filter change. I have been doing this for awhile and it's worked great for me. The oil does not appear too dirty when it is changed at the end of the 12 month cycle.

[MagicRat]

Your engine condition, mileage and the type of driving has a lot to do with oil change intervals for synthetic. Imo if you do lots of city driving, short trips etc, (and your engine has higher than average mileage)you should stick to the car manufacturer's specs. This kind of driving increases the amount of byproducts of combustion which contaminate the oil and wear the oil out faster.

If you do longer trips, lots of highway driving etc, then extending the change interval somewhat is fine.

Also, all car manufacturers do not recommend extending oil change intervals, even when using synthetics. The idea that such intervals can be extended is something the synthetic oil manufacturers have come up with, imo, as a marketing tool to justify the extra cost of the product.