How often to change oil?
- Thread starter rockwall
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PaulB-2006 T4R
New member
Mobil 1 Extended Performance is good for 15,000 miles or 1 year. I'd also suggest a Mobil 1, K&N or PureOne oil filter. In general synthetic oil should have a synthetic filter media.
PaulB-2006 T4R
New member
I should also say I change my oil filter every 5,000 miles then top off the oil.
chaz
New member
under 6k a year, id say just get a good reg. oil, syn. is great but it seems like a bit of a waste of $ with such little miles per year. personally, & ive searched over & over for a definitive answer, about time vs miles, so imo, if the syn. is good for 10k, & u want to use mobil 1, just change the filter (mobil1) every 3-5 k) & change the oil every 1-1 1/2 years. the filter is whats most important,since that holds most of the contaminates, but maybe someone else can chime in & answer this, example: if u put in new oil, & drove only 1k, then let it sit the rest of the year, why then would the oil need to be changed every year? anyway, i did this in my old vec. for 11 years ( drove only 3k per year)with no problems, there are also companies that do this for they're fleet vec. if in doubt u can get it analyzed for 20 bux & find out for sure. http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm
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audiqtr
New member
You drive 6,000,000 miles/year? Whoaaa !!
just playing.... change it once a year, you're good. New oils are much better quality than old school oils, but they are oils overall, viscosity drops over time, heat and mileage....
chaz
New member
im sorry, i cant believe that the oil will go bad if its just sitting in a mostly unused vec. the filter takes out 99% of contaminates & whats left in the oil itself is not growing, theres no heat, friction, etc. or anything except maybe a little air, that would cause sludge or anything. its not being broken down from use or having any new contaminates added to it, its mostly sitting in the pan. when i was growing up my family never changed the oil more than once a year & that was back in the old days (when money was tight) & when most were told to switch it out every 3k, & they're cars had to & did last for years & years with no problems. 12 to 15k a year i can understand, but 2-5k is next to nothing in use, whats that, down to the grocery store & back, afew times a week? some may consider that kind of use extreme duty on a vec.( changing the filter should take anything new added to the oil out) but id like to see written proof that oil with only 2-6k on it breaks down inside an engine that is just sitting most of the time, as fast as in an engine thats used 15k a year. it would be like saying , buy a quart of oil, uncap it, recap, & then having to throw it out after a year of sitting on a shelf.
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One of the big problems with low-mileage vehicles is condensation forming inside the engine. Of course it will contaminate the oil and that's never a good thing. The engine and oil really benefit from being heated up to normal operating temps to burn off any condensation that has formed. If I only drove 6K per year, there's no way I'd only change the oil once per year.
Oil sitting in a container on a shelf doesn't build up condensation if the container is capped.
chaz
New member
i agree,somewhat, but if you say, go out every day,7 days a week, drive the car a couple of miles or so to & from the store, then let it sit the rest of the day, imo, it is still benefitting from starting & stopping, show me proof that what little condensation u may get from that doesnt burn off & ruins the engine or oil. now im not saying going 3 or more years without a change, but it would be redundant to change oil in a vec. that is used 1/2 as much or more.
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Yeah, as long as it doesn't sit too long I'm sure that condensation won't be a big problem. But if a car is sitting for long periods of time, it can definitely build up. Another problem that I've seen is with cars that are only driven very short distances....like the little old lady who lives in town and only drives to grocery store or to church. If the engine seldom gets up to full operating temperature, it's really tough on the oil. One sure sign is a yellowish sticky substance on the inside of the oil fill cap.
chaz
New member
oh yea, i agree it should be brought up to running temp. if i had to be away for 2 weeks or so, ive always had a buddy exercise them for me. im just saying that i myself have done this for at least 20 years, (always switched between 2 vec.) & they always ran better & were in better shape when i sold them than when i purchased em. at least the garages where i had them checked out before selling thought so.
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