Originally posted by FavoriteMystaque:
I noticed you are in Texas, your car probably doesn't run "cold" as much as it does here in the frozen North. I think the cold running rich causes the oil to smell bad and get dark early. The oil interval I figure what's right is what works for the conditions . I can see the camshaft(V6 at the oil fill hole) in the Mystique basically does not wear, using Mobil 1, even after 100,000 miles.



You're right, I completely forgot about the temperatures. For a while there, we had a mini-winter(about two weeks...) where it got REALLY cold. Now I don't know how unusual this is in other states, but in Texas, it is considered really poor weather when you get out and your antenna has literally turned into a popsicle. No joke, I had a sheet of ice covering my car. Other than that, My car almost always runs in the "AL" range on the coolant temp gauge. Sadly, my oil is tortured beyond normal circumstances on a daily basis, between my brick-like right foot and my fans malfunctioning(low-speed fan comes on when Hi-speed should, not when it should normally) my oil sees some PUNISHMENT. Mobil 1 withstood it for 8K without any signs of failure. I call that a winner.

However, I cannot attest to knowing about COLD weather performance. Of that I know very little. Maybe someone can look into it?

J.T. 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 294ci V8. Custom CAI, headers on the way... 1997 Mercury Mystique Zetec ATX Deceased February 2006