Months v.s KM's debate (OCI)

[Jsun]

hey guys i'm new here hope this is the right place to ask this. just wondering how you approach your OCI (oil change intervals) in this situation. I drive about 90% city short trips between my OCI's (i use synthetic oil), I really don't drive it too hard, I do get on it once and awhile. Now, if you follow the 3-4 months or 6,000km OCI, I will always reach the months before the KM's. So my question is should I just go ahead and change every 3-4 months even though the oil looks kinda good or should i ride it out to lets say 5000km's? my only concern is that since I do mainly short trips a lot of the time my car does not reach operating temps, so maybe my oil would expire faster due to things such as fuel dilution etc. What do others with this driving condition do? thanks guys

J

 

[StevieC]

to BITOG!

I would do 6-7K KM OCI's or 6 months, whatever comes first. Use a quality oil and filter...

What kind of car, engine and mileage?

 

[Jsun]

Thanks for the welcome! Oh sorry forgot to mention is a 2004 Subaru WRX stage 2. its basically a stock motor running a bit more boost and a tune.

 

[CATERHAM]

Jsun, welcome!

I think you're being a little too anal on the time element.
If the oil is not building up noticeable condensation during the winter months then you're likely OK.
You haven't given any details of your car but since your using a syn' oil 10,000 kms or one year would be a reasonable OCI.

 

[Jsun]

lol ya i'm a bit anal just want to be safe. how do you find out if the oil is building up condensation? I updated my earlier post with car info but i'll put it here too

2004 subaru wrx
2.0L turbo
stage 2 (tuned and more boost)
using GC 0W-30
I live in toronto, canada

 

[StevieC]

I wouldn't go more that 6 months as from what I have read Subarus can have nasty fuel dilution issues. Might want to do a used oil analysis on one of your fills with a TBN/TAN analysis to get the "Safe" mileage for you... A cheap one-time investment could save you lots in oil changes and/or costly engine repairs from over used oil...

 

[CATERHAM]

Good oil choice particularly for a newbie.

I suspect your turbo engine is getting the oil warm pretty fast reducing the condensation time in the winter considerably.

Condensation can be observed under the oil filler cap. Any white mayonnaise like oil/water emulsion build-up present is a sure fire indicator that your commuting distance is too short.

 

[Jsun]

thanks caterham for the condensation advise. Ya i've read alot about GC and its capabilities are known on alot of subaru forums. I debated on using Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 or Pennzoil Platinum 5w40 (euro) or rotella T 5-40. ive heard those are great oils for the subarus as well, esp the rotella T, but its hard to find 5-40 rotella T here in toronto.

 

[Stu_Rock]

I also am interested to hear the various opinions on this question, since I am in a similar situation for the three cars in my household. Most of our trips are 6.3 mi/19 min on suburban streets.

My OCI approach is 12 months or 1000 mi, whichever comes last. I use decent synthetic in all (CVX or SOPUS products, obtained cheaply during sales). Of course, I would do a change sooner if I were to accumulate mileage quickly (probably following the manufacturer's recommendation).

I worry about condensation and fuel dilution, but I have never seen any evidence of the former on the dipstick or fill cap. Regarding the fuel dilution, I don't do used oil analysis, but the oils always drain out smelling OK and blotter tests seem normal.

I wonder if conventional oil might be OK for my service conditions, though I feel little incentive to save those few dollars per year.

In case anyone is interested, my engines are:
2005 supercharged GM 3.8 (5000 mi/yr)
2002 VVT Honda 1.7 (1500 mi/yr)
1998 Chrysler 5.2 (900 mi/yr).
They all have about 50,000 mi. The Dodge has a small amount of sludge from the previous owner, but nothing that I worry about now. It looks like it's cleaning up.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd follow the 6 months or 6,000 miles ritual. A good synthetic can go a year under the right conditions, an instance where a used oil analysis would pay.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: Jsun
thanks caterham for the condensation advise. Ya i've read alot about GC and its capabilities are known on alot of subaru forums. I debated on using Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 or Pennzoil Platinum 5w40 (euro) or rotella T 5-40. ive heard those are great oils for the subarus as well, esp the rotella T, but its hard to find 5-40 rotella T here in toronto.


Again I think GC is a good choice and with a TBN of around 12 it's a long OCI candidate.
As far as determining the optimum OCI for your particular application, having a used oil analysis done once to establish a benchmark as Steve suggested is never a bad idea. If that's not something you're likely to do you could peruse the used oil analysis section to see if WRX owner's have posted a report. If can't find anything check out ZoomZoom who has a high output S4 who has run GC. I think you'll find 10,000 kms (6,200 mi) should not be a problem.

 

[FZ1]

I agree with Stevie,don't go more than 6 months. The numerically greater number of short trip start ups introduces more fuel into the oil than highway driving. Your original thought is correct. Run a good synthetic.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
Most of our trips are 6.3 mi/19 min on suburban streets.


Your 6.x miles is 19 minutes long. You should be fully warmed ..oil included.

Under those conditions one year is probably is too often ..but you've got to draw a line somewhere.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Quote:
Most of our trips are 6.3 mi/19 min on suburban streets.


Your 6.x miles is 19 minutes long. You should be fully warmed ..oil included.

Under those conditions one year is probably is too often ..but you've got to draw a line somewhere.


That's what I figure--I think I am being conservative too.

I am surprised to see so many people calling for a six month OCI. GM and Honda call for 12 months.

The Dodge--made in the era of API SJ oil--is the only one whose service recommendation I am ignoring. I go about 13 months on that one. It feels so wasteful to drain oil with less than 1000 mi on it.

 

[CATERHAM]

Stu, because of your mild climate and no evidence of condensation etc.' I'd go 2 years on the Honda and 3 on the Dodge.

 

[zoomzoom]

you can easily ran GC for 12 months without any problems