What's Different About High Mileage Oil, And Should You Use It?

Clock enough miles and your engine develops quirks. Not failures or crises. Just quirks. A little oil burn here. A tiny seal seep there. And you're searching for that youth serum for engines that aren't ready for retirement.

Enter high-mileage oil — specially formulated motor oil purposely made for old cars belonging to the high-mile club. Instead of doing the bare minimum, this oil brings a mixture of goodies that makes high-mileage oil different than standard oil. It's formulated with seal conditioners, detergents and dispersants, viscosity modifiers or stabilizers, and anti-wear additives. All loaded and locked in to give the engine more longevity.

Older engines are more open to deterioration as they age and stack up miles. High-mileage engine oil tries to tackle those exact problems. Oil leaks can be addressed by high-mileage's conditioners to repair the seals. High-mileage oil can also help in reducing oil consumption by cleaning out sludge and soot deposits. Its high viscosity and film strength can help minimize metal-on-metal contact inside a weary engine. It can help improve the engine's efficiency and performance.

So high-mileage oil isn't just marketing fluff. High-mileage oils are slightly pricier than regular oil, but the oil formulation is loaded with advanced additives intended to solve specific problems for high-mileage engines, making the added expenses valid. 

High-mileage oil isn't magic. It's a tool. And like all tools, it works best when applied in the right situation. Start using high-mileage oil between 75,000 and 100,000 miles, though it depends on your driving habits and engine condition. But you don't have to wait for the timing if you observe small leaks, more oil being consumed, lesser gas mileage and reduced throttle action.

If the car's still new (that is, under the mileage threshold), you don't need to switch to high-mileage oil. Regular oil does the job just fine. In those cases, high-mileage oil won't hurt your new engine, but it won't benefit from the oil's additives. Many manufacturers warn against using it in new engines that don't need its special properties. 

As for oil-change intervals, high-mileage oil generally follows your manufacturer's regular schedule. If we reference time or mileage, the old guidance was every 3,000 miles or every three months. But due to modern advances, automakers extended oil change intervals between 7,500 to 10,000 miles or six to 12 months. Oil changes cost between $50 and $70 using high-mileage oil. A bit higher than regular oil's $30 to $50 cost, but cheaper than full synthetic at $60 to $100.

Use the right oil for your engine's life stage. In a high-mileage car, high-mileage oil isn't a gimmick. It's cheap insurance to prolong your beloved car's life.