Considering interval change. Opinions please.

[Riptide]

Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 and 5W20 is the motor oil being used. 2005 subaru legacy gt and a 2009 ford focus are the vehicles. Both of these cars are driven 5000-6000 miles per year.

I have been changing the oil/filter on these cars twice a year. Once in spring and once in the fall. OEM filters.

I am considering switching over to a single oil change per year on these two cars, performed in the spring. These two cars do see use during the winter. They do not just sit there.

Opinions? TIA

 

[addyguy]

Sounds like a perfect plan.

 

[Jim Allen]

Go for it... unless when they are driven, they are only driven short distances. Plenty of good UOAs in my case going 8+K miles and 18 months here in Ohio and if you look thru the UOA section you will see plenty of similar instances.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Go for it... unless when they are driven, they are only driven short distances. Plenty of good UOAs in my case going 8+K miles and 18 months here in Ohio and if you look thru the UOA section you will see plenty of similar instances.


Agree. Any OTS synthetic is good to 7500 miles or more. Maybe consider getting one of the "long distance" filters to be on the safe side.

 

[Riptide]

I forgot to mention that detail actually. These cars are driven short distances. Typically 3-4 miles at a time, maximum. That is the distance between home and the office

 

[rjacket]

If the cars are mainly driven short distances, then the answer would be no, keep to 6 months.

However, 4 miles one way, 10 times a week, 47 weeks a year would be ~2000 miles a year. You said 5000-6000 a year so it seems you do some longer journeys at least once a week.

If that is true, then you could go to once a year OCI.

 

[Riptide]

That's true however we do occasionally make longer trips than that around town. Groceries, going out to see the parents, etc.. The typical use is the shorter trips to work and back however. I wanted to err on the side of caution on the mileage - perhaps I shouldn't have.

 

[rjacket]

So long as you are getting out once a week on a longer journey, preferably at least 15 minutes on the freeway after warming up, then you'll be helping the oil.

Consider doing a WOT once in a while.

 

[NYSteve]

Suburu recommends 3750 mile OCI due to turbo oil screen plugging up and taking both the engine and turbo with it on the Legacy GT models. Check out legacygt.com forums for extensive coverage.

 

[rjacket]

That's a great point. You should be doing everything in relation to the manufacturer's (latest) recommendations.

 

[Riptide]

Thanks Steve I knew about that problem. IIRC if you use a good filter and oil you shouldn't have problems with that screen getting blocked up.

 

[LeakySeals]

IMO spring and fall is perfect. With that mileage think the oil is overkill use PYB.

 

[deven]

Do once a year oil changes. Putting low mileage like this, you will have to worry about wear and tear items or rust before you have any issues with the engine.