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Originally Posted by JinnKai
VERY untrue. Mechanics and people with the longest running cars (200,000+ miles) recommend checking your oil every 500 miles or less. It is the most important fluid in your engine, and changing it early can be very necessary. I live on all dirt roads, and the excess dirt that I stir up when driving easily gets into my oil -- turning it BLACK in under 2000 miles. Oil is not supposed to be black.
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Ok, I will have to jump in here. You are so far off, it has to be corrected. The original statement about your cars reccomendation should be followed. Most are 5000 miles or greater. And if you change it every 500 miles, you are not only wasting your money, but you are wasting oil. I am a hobbyist mechanic - took some classes for it before I went to school to be an engineer. And I DO have a car that has 210,000 miles on it. Change the oil every 5000 miles and it looks spotless inside - I had the oilpan off it 2 weeks ago.
And if you get dirt in your oil, you have a serious problem somewhere. The engine and oil is a closed system. Even if any dirt or dust was fine enough to get through your airfilter, it will be fine enough to get blown out the exhaust as well.
The only reason for changing the oil on shorter intervals is if you are driving the car hard - it has nothing to do with the dirt or dust in the air. Heat is the cause for increased viscosity in oil. If you spend all day during the heat in stop and go traffic, and floor it between lights, or actually race your car, then maybe go to 4000 or 3000 miles. But normal daily driving conditions will get you 6000-7000 miles before the oil begins to break down.