3k a year, what OCI?

[bheinz57]

Hey guys, my wife works a mile away from home, drives a Subaru Baja, sometimes gets coffee on the way (another ten minutes of engine running) We have 3,900 miles on it in one year, use dino oil, changed twice now. Getting ready for another 6 mo. oil change.
Does that sound about right? Just change it every 6 mo. no matter what? Valvoline once, then I think Castrol from the dealer. No signs of moisture problems yet in the crankcase. 10-Q. Brian

 

[MariusVT]

Personally Id just stick to the 6month OCI. or just pick a good synthetic and change once a year.

 

[Gene K]

quote:

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Originally posted by bheinz57:
Hey guys, my wife works a mile away from home, drives a Subaru Baja, sometimes gets coffee on the way (another ten minutes of engine running) We have 3,900 miles on it in one year, use dino oil, changed twice now. Getting ready for another 6 mo. oil change.
Does that sound about right? Just change it every 6 mo. no matter what? Valvoline once, then I think Castrol from the dealer. No signs of moisture problems yet in the crankcase. 10-Q. Brian

---

I would just stick with the program you are doing. I would try to put a 20 minute drive on it each weekend to make sure the oil got up to temp to burn off any condensation or fuel in the oil. Castrol GTX is a well regarded Dino Oil around here so that sounds like a good plan.

I suspect the oil is required to be changed every 6 months for warranty. If you are allowed to go 12 months between oil changes you might consider a switch to Mobil 1 Synthetic in the appropriate weight and annual changes.

Gene

 

[bheinz57]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies guys. Yeah, I take the Baja out on the weekend sometimes to get the cobwebs out. Brian

 

[Quattro Pete]

I think I'd stick with twice-a-year OCI with dino as well. Well, maybe synthetic if it gets really cold there.

With such short trips, the engine does not get warmed up and I suspect UOA would show some fuel dillution. For that reason, I'd stick with 6 month OCI, one in Spring, and one in Fall.

I guess you should do some UOAs to see if there's any benefit to running synthetic oil under these circumstances.

It's good that you let it run longer on weekends - it helps burn the moisture away.

It's not necessarily good that you're wife leaves the engine idle for 10 minutes while she's getting coffee.

 

[toyo]

I have to say letting the car idle for 10 minutes is better than driving it 1/2 mile, shutting off then driving another 1/2 mile. It will at least get up to normal operating temp for a few minutes. I dont recommend idling but in her case I dont see it as hurting.

 

[mf150]

Red Line oil w/ change once a year will not hurt the pocketbook and the engine may benifit.

 

[davefr]

Short trips, 10 minute idles, and cold Nebraska winters is a "severe" condition. I wouldn't even consider extending the OCI like some posters have suggested.

If the car was mine, I'd stick with a good Dino and do 4 month OCI's. (at least in the winter)

quote:

---

Originally posted by bheinz57:
Hey guys, my wife works a mile away from home, drives a Subaru Baja, sometimes gets coffee on the way (another ten minutes of engine running) We have 3,900 miles on it in one year, use dino oil, changed twice now. Getting ready for another 6 mo. oil change.
Does that sound about right? Just change it every 6 mo. no matter what? Valvoline once, then I think Castrol from the dealer. No signs of moisture problems yet in the crankcase. 10-Q. Brian

---

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

I'd use Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 from Wal Wart at $12.88 per gallon.

And I'd change it twice a year, unless you start to get in more long highway trips a few times a month, then a 9 to 12 month interval would probably be OK.

Since this oil has a better base stock,and a more robust additive package it should be better for a car that rarely gets the sort of beneficial sustained 20 minutes of higher speed drivng.

The API SL rating is acceptable for the Subaru engine, and the absence of the Starburst or GF-3 rating should be far less important than the increased protection the extra additives and viscosity provide.

The main reason for not having the Starburst and GF-3 is probably because of the the extra additives and viscosity.


"ROTELLA T Synthetic SAE 5W-40 is made with Shell’s XHVI Synthetic base stocks, which are Group III."


"ROTELLA T Synthetic is a universal oil, meeting API Service Categories CH-4 for diesel engines, and SL for gasoline engines. Where the engine manufacturer recommends oil meeting either one (or both) of these Service Categories, or earlier categories, ROTELLA T can be a good choice.

However, ROTELLA T does not meet all the requirements of ILSAC and API Certification Mark (starburst symbol) standards, sometimes specified for gasoline engine oils (in addition to API SL).

These additional standards deal with fuel economy, and also limit phosphorus content (an element in all engine oils, but usually at a higher concentration in diesel oils). Phosphorus can affect catalyst activity in some exhaust emission control systems.

If your manual specifies only API SL (or earlier designation), then the catalyst is likely not sensitive to higher levels of phosphorus. If it also specifies ILSAC standards, using ROTELLA T may risk some catalyst activity loss."

If the Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 doesn't appeal to you, then I'd use the Motorcraft 5W-30, Chevron Supreme 5W-30, Havoline 5W-30, Castrol GTX 5W-30, Pennzoil 5W-30, Mobil Drive Clean 5W-30 oil every 4 to 6 months.

I'd take the Motorcraft 5W-30 as my first choice.

 

[cweed]

From my own experience, when living in a densly populated city, you end up idling most of your trip because you're stuck in traffic most of the time and sometimes you dont even get to go over 30 mph during the entire trip of 5mins up to 2hrs. I know this sounds impossible, but it happens all the time. When I am in a rural area i feel like my car is in heaven because everything is so far away you end up driving for at least 15 mins at 50 mph just to get some groceries hehe.

And its funny how in rural areas people tell you oh yeah the grocery store is down the block, when it is like 10 miles away! in the city when folks say its down the block its usually a few steps away, literally!

 

[Gene K]

quote:

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Originally posted by davefr:
Short trips, 10 minute idles, and cold Nebraska winters is a "severe" condition. I wouldn't even consider extending the OCI like some posters have suggested.

If the car was mine, I'd stick with a good Dino and do 4 month OCI's. (at least in the winter)

quote:

---

Originally posted by bheinz57:
Hey guys, my wife works a mile away from home, drives a Subaru Baja, sometimes gets coffee on the way (another ten minutes of engine running) We have 3,900 miles on it in one year, use dino oil, changed twice now. Getting ready for another 6 mo. oil change.
Does that sound about right? Just change it every 6 mo. no matter what? Valvoline once, then I think Castrol from the dealer. No signs of moisture problems yet in the crankcase. 10-Q. Brian

---

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Well, I dont really consider a 3900 mi on Synthetic any more extended than 1850 mi on Dino.

I really think changing the oil every 1300 mi would be overkill.

If you want some piece of mind you could do a UOA. You can get a basic one for about $10.00 each if you buy a package of three.

Gene

 

[ekpolk]

My wife puts only 8-10k per year on her 2001 Sequoia. We had done twice per year since new, with M1. I'd recommend a one-time UOA at about the six month mark to see how you are doing, especially with the TBN, which may be the limiting factor in your scenario. If it looks good, keep on course. If not, consider a change to synthetic or more frequent changes.