OCI: Go by mileage or months

[WWCT9A]

The last time I changed my oil was was in April. I've accrued less than 1k miles since then. I don't drive much as it is and I will be on vacation for the last week of July and most of August. I was planning on changing my oil in September (5 months since last OC). Car would have accrued less than 1.5k miles by September. Should I change my oil in September/October or wait to reach maybe 4 or 5k miles. I'm running Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 on a Mitsu Evo 8 with ~40.8k miles.

 

[rx7rage]

I'd like to know this as well.

 

[Gary Allan]

Is the low mileage accumulation due to short trips or long spans of idle time ...or both?

I'm reluctant to advise anyone with short/low mileage to anything other than 6months as a minimum ...at least without certain qualifiers.

If your low mileage is due to short trips ..okay ..fine ..there's surely lower end buffering to handle so much/many that you may not have to do 6 months. This view is how the oil is impacted.


If your low mileage is composed of regular length or long trips with long bouts of idle time, I'm less concerned with the oil and more concerned with the engine sitting with open valves and whatnot. Not much to really be done about it ..but it's not taxing on the oil.

 

[WWCT9A]

Mostly short trips. Couple of 65 mile trips to and from VA. Little useless idling and I don't drive in traffic much.

 

[firemachine69]

I'd go for September.

I'm in the same boat as you. Car usually barely warms up. 6 month OCI for me simply because of the warranty.

 

[Gary Allan]

I'd say Sept or Oct would work. That's some low usage. I'd like to say one year, but it's a tough call for me unless it's a Sunday driver or an ultra-high miler.

 

[Drivebelt]

With a good synthetic like PP, run 1 year/5k.

No difference if you run that same 1.5k miles over 2 months or over 6 months. So, since the oil would not need to be drained after 2 months and 1.5k, no need to drain that oil after only 6 months and 1.5k miles.

 

[Dominic]

Mileage usually unless you make unusually short trips (<5 mi)

 

[FZ1]

Agree. I have a lot of short trips but also many longer trips which I thought would burn off any dilution. Didn't work in my case as the oil smelled like gas and was "shot" after 10 months but only 5k.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Me,I just go by the old school 3/3000.

 

[WWCT9A]

I guess I'll change my oil sometime before the new year. Lol

 

[Cutehumor]

before it snows for sure!

 

[zulu]

OK, with an EVO 8 you are one of two drivers. Baby it of beat the living [censored] out of it. If you are the first, then 5K/1year are fine. If you are the latter, then the more the better. Is it modded?

 

[WWCT9A]

I'm somewhere in between the two. The car has some minor bolt ons and cams.