Just to add more links as to why Changing Oil Often leads to more engine wear.

Long term UOA test results.
Mobil 1 Test Results


SAE white papers.
The Effect of Oil Drain Interval on Valvetrain Friction and Wear

Antiwear Performance of Low Phosphorus Engine Oils on Tappet Inserts in Motored Sliding Valvetrain Test

Raman Characterization of Anti-Wear Films Formed from Fresh and Aged Engine Oils






3,000 mile oil filter changes are too frequent. I think 61x and 60x filters should be good up to 7,500 to 10,000 miles. But a UOA on the specific engine will tell for sure.


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It is a personal choice.


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Of course it is.

Some personal choices are well-grounded. And some are not.

I wonder if the apparent reduction in wear material accumulation over time is not, in fact, a reflection of the oil's inability to maintain said material in suspension.

I don't think that is the case. I could be wrong about this, but this is my understanding of how the oil functions through reading various articles around the net.
Motor oil is produced with an additive package that bonds to the moving parts through the high pressure contact of the said parts. These additives account for like 3% of the volume of engine oil, but produce 90% of the engine's oil protection. With only 3% of volume, these additives need to be continuosly circulated to start bonding to the engine.
Here is an article on bob's the oil guys website about how one additive works, which is similar to the other types.

Moly Basics - Bob is the Oil Guy

When you change oil often, you introduce an initial cleansing detergent. This detergent attacks and cleans out all contaminants from the previous fill. Though it does a great job of cleaning, the drawback is it also cleans off the existing additive bond and prevents the new additives from forming their bond to the moving parts until the detergent cycle is used up during the first 1000 or 2000 miles. This is why when doing an oil analysis, several UOA's has been posted in various forums show the engine oil's wear rate is actually higher at 3,000 miles, then it is at 7,500 mile and at 10,000 miles. By keeping the engine oil in there longer, the detergent cycle is reduce and the additives get a chance to bond longer which leads to less wear on the engine plus with the added benefit of saving a lot of resources and money.


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__________________
1983 123.133 California
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That is exactly my point. The oil analysis appears to give a false indication of when the wear is actually occurring. The increased dispersant capacity of the fresh oil is giving the impression of "new" wear, when, if fact, the wear particles are remnants of the previous oil cycle. The old oil was just not able to keep the wear particles in suspension.

Your point of residual metals of the previous fill might be valid. I do believe the cleansing refers mostly to removal of organic contaminants like acid, soot, water, etc. than the non-organic contaminants like wear metals. But I would think the lab would be able to trend and identify when the oil becomes saturated and loses it's ability to hold the wear metals. Also, you should be able to tell with a decrease in count of the additives magnesium and calcium that the oil no longer has the ability to remove, hold and suspend the contaminants which would lead to residuals left behind during an oil change.
I would also have to consider the SAE studies that I pointed to earlier to holding a lot if weight in this subject. It is one thing to look at an oil sample, but to get a better point of view, look at the actual parts in questioned for actual wear rates.


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__________________
1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System