I understand the reasoning behind mileage based oil-changed intervals, but I’ve never really heard an explanation of the time based oil changing. I’m sure it’s a combination of hype, fact, and myth.

I can see changing the oil if you have 2500 miles on the it when the 3 months are up, but what if you have a weekend car that you only put 500 to 1000 miles on in 3 months? For example, letÂ’s say you have a nice classic 50’s or 60’s muscle car that you only put 1000 miles a year on. How often do you change the oil?


Here’s my question:

I put the Si in storage for the winter and when I put it in, I had about 800 miles on the oil. I decided not to change it because I run synthetic. Do you see any problem with this?

Would you recommend changing the oil after I take it out of storage, or wait until I get another 800 to 1200 miles on it before changing it?

Thanks



Modified by Buzzbomb at 11:24 AM 2/3/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Buzzbomb &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I understand the reasoning behind mileage based oil-changed intervals, but I’ve never really heard an explanation of the time based oil changing. I’m sure it’s a combination of hype, fact, and myth.
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you're absolutely correct, the time estimate is based on the average driver, driving the average mileage in 3 months. if you drive your car HARD, the time based estimate becomes less and less applicable.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Buzzbomb &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Here’s my question:

I put the Si in storage for the winter and when I put it in, I had about 800 miles on the oil. I decided not to change it because I run synthetic. Do you see any problem with this?

Would you recommend changing the oil after I take it out of storage, or wait until I get another 800 to 1200 miles on it before changing it?

Thanks
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as a habit, i always change my oil after downtime(which is ALOT, with my car). i dont have any proof that this is better/worse for the engine. but, theres nothing wrong with changing your oil too much...so if you think you should change the oil, do it!

 

The newer recommendation is to change the oil every 5000 miles or 12 months.

The reason for the time interval is because engine oil is supposed to absorb the by-products of combustion as well as lubricate the engine. It can become slightly acidic if you don't drive long enough to fully heat the oil and it retains the moisture it absorbs.

 

There still can be condensation in the crankcase. Just another thing to consider if you're storing the car and it gets NO miles at all.