For what it is worth, here is my oil change routine on my 01 Prizm LSI and 99 Corolla CE:
Every 3,000 - 4,000 miles I change the engine oil/filter and remove the drain plug in the 4 speed automatic transmission(3.5 quarts ATF to refill). Draining the ATF adds a couple of minutes to the job. Every two years I change the automatic transmission screen.
Two days ago I changed the screen, with 216,000 miles, the inside of the transmission looks like new - bright and shiny, no discoloration and minimal metal flecks in the pan.
A lot of guys invest in synthetic motor oil which is great, but transmission repairs are not cheap. If cost is a factor, use my approach and you will minimize the chances of needing transmission repair.
That's is reason you have 216K on the car. I considered doing the same thing. I also use a fuel injector cleaner with every oil change and have not had any injector problems. I have 166K on a 94 Prizm with a 3spd Auto probably the best car I have ever owned.
When I purchased my car I changed all the fluids at 208,000 miles. I have an 03 Corolla. I noticed you didnt mention changing the anit freeze. I drained mine even though it looked new and replaced it with the 50/50 pre-diluted anti-freeze. I also put a can of sea foam in the gas tank occasionally to keep the injectors and fuel system clean. I am at 215,000 mile and hope to make it to 300,000 or more. I am going to service the tranny myself next time since it could save me about $60.00. I just enjoy doing the maintenance myself and I know it is done correctly too.
Obviously I can't argue that what you're doing is a good thing. That being said, if you go to bobistheoilguy.com you can find people on there with just as many miles on their cars and doing 10k oil changes with synthetic. One that I'm thinking of has a twin turbo (Volvo I think) with over 200k doing 10k oil changes and has no problems what-so-ever. And he doesn't wait for the turbos to cool down when he shuts it off.
Then you have to factor in better mpg with synthetic. For simplicity lets say you get 20 mpg. So you go 200 miles on 10 gallons. Now you change to syntehtic and you get 21 mpg (better if you change the tranny too) so now you get 210 miles on 10 gallons. If you drive 15,000 miles a year you'll save $87.50 at $2.50 a gallon. That doesn't count the cost of 1 oil change. but you get my point.
That's with only a 5% increase in mpg. Many people see 10% or better, especially when you switch the trans to full syn. And I've seen pics of trans pans after a full 100,000 of synthetic on them that look as clean as what you have described.
Other benefits of full synthetic are cooler operating temps and less wear meaning less repair and extended oil drain intervals. I take good care of my cars, but I'd rather be doing other things than changing my oil if given the choice. Synthetic gives me that choice.
If your comfortable with what you're doing, then by all means continue. But IMHO it's overkill. You're trans fluid is just fine after 3-4000 miles and you're not really adding any benefit at that point. Now if you were to do that every 3rd change, I could see benefit in that.
There was one guy on bobistheoilguy.com that changes his oil every 2000 miles. And argued to no end that what he was doing was necessary to keep that car going for the max amount of miles. Yet not one single person on that site agreed with him. And many of these people are highly educated and know way more than I do about oil. I would say that most of them have "used oil analisys" tests performed to see what the breakdown really is after an oil change.
Changing oil every 3k is old school and not at all necessary anymore. Oils and tolerances (and materials) have come a long way to keep engines running cleaner and longer. Even your owners manual will tell you that.
If you don't want to switch to synthetic, don't, but you can still go an easy 5k on one oil change, do a used oil analisys, and everything will still be well within specs.
Or maybe you own a lot of oil stocks?
Not be-rating you, just giving a well informed opinion.
You may be right however when its below zero here for a week or more at a time I want to make sure my oil has less than 4 thousand miles on it. I would rather spend a little more and have peace of mind that my car has fresh clean oil. I would hate to look at the dipstick and see how dirty it is @ 10,000 miles. I bought my car with high mileage and have 215,000 on it to date. I only drive about 2,000 miles per month so it would take me 5 months to accumulate 10,000 miles. No thanks. I will change apprx every 3,000 miles and try to save a few pennies elsewhere. I have an 05 Corvette LS2 with 5,000 miles on it and have changed the oil 3 times. You do what ya gotta do but 10K is too long for me.
Just for grins try doing a UOA on that oil. As I said there isn't one person on that oil site I mentioned that will agree with you. And these people know more about oil than I know about the back of my hand.
As for the cold temps, that's one of the biggest advantages of synthetic. It flows just as well at -40 F as it does at +100 F.
You're vette came with Mobil One. What does it recommend for change interval? And what have you changed it with? I'll bet it's close to 10k or better.
As for color, that's not an indicator of oil quality. Many times that's just from certain additives changing color. But I've seen some on that site say that the oil is still honey brown after 10k.
Synthetic lasts lnoger for several reasons. One of which is that because it lubricates and seals better you don't get as much metal to metal contact thereby getting less wear which means less dirt.
The film strengh of synthetic is as much as 6 times stronger than petrolium. So it takes a lot more pressure between parts to cause wear.
If you can afford an 05 vette, you can afford to throw your money away on oil. but you can also afford to do a UOA. Try it and prove me wrong. There is more documentation than you can read in a day on why 3k oil changes are a waste of money. But then it's not my money you're wasting, so go ahead.
I didnt look at the manual on the vette however I know it can go lots of miles between changes. I do believe you are correct in stating the cars can go 10,000 miles or even 15,000 miles between changes. I just like to have the peace of mind knowing my car is serviced very regularly. Since I have 215,000 miles on the car if I change oil with Mobil 1 every 5,000 miles and make it to 300,000 miles I will be very happy. As far as the Vette is concerned I dont put too many miles on it therefore I have to change due to the length of time between changes. The LS2 is a very expensive engine and at $5.25 a quart for Mobile 1 I cannot afford not to keep it serviced and change at a regular basis regardless of the low miles. Experts claim if a car is stored over the winter with brand new oil and even if the car is not driven at all the oil still should be changed in the spring. As far as the oil analysis is concerned I do agree with you. I am doing it more as cheap insurance than anything. If the car were driven 5,000 miles in 1 month I would definitely go 10,000 miles between changes but for short trips to work and back my engine barely gets warmed up therefore I am changing at an earlier timeframe. I also have a 99 Expedition that I use Mobil 1 in and it has 90,000 miles on it and I change the oil and filter twice a year regardless of the mileage. I use Mobil 1 synthetic in my snowblower and in my riding lawn mower. Again, I do believe the oil analysis will prove that you are correct. I am not arguing that point in any way, shape or form. Mobile 1 reps have stated in different surveys that most Mobil 1 synthetic owners do change before the recommended intervals.
Fair enough. Though I know they say it, I don't understand why it needs to be changed after a year. It has no shelf life in the bottle, why should it make a diff in the car? I've never gotten a diffinitive answer on this.
I believe the reason they say to change it is because the engine has properties and chemicals remaining that break the oil down. The oil actually has chemicals that protect your gaskets and seals etc. I believe even an open exposed can of oil would probably break down faster than a sealed can or quart. Similar to a bottle of soda left open for a year versus a bottle of soda whith a cap on it. Speaking of soda I am going to get a Coca Cola right now!
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maybe 300,xxx is in the horizon 
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